“Easy Rider” Celebrates 50th Anniversary This Week

It's Easy Rider's 50th birthday, and the celebration will be happening this weekend. It'll be half a century since Wyatt (Peter Fonda) and Billy (Dennis Hopper) roared into theaters on their custom Harley Hydra-Glides en route to New Orleans. Along the way, Dennis Hopper's groundbreaking film became a countercultural touchstone and a box office hit, punching through to a mainstream film scene previously dominated by Westerns and musicals.

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Easy Rider follows its dope-smoking heroes Wyatt and Billy as they travel the South from Los Angeles to New Orleans with the profits earned in a coke deal, saying "man" a lot, hanging out with an alcoholic lawyer named George (Jack Nicholson), and tripping out in the Big Easy during Mardi Gras with two hookers. Nominated for an Oscar (1969) for Best Screenplay, the film is classic biker cinema and still touches a chord with audiences everywhere. The soundtrack was a smash too, packed with popular rock songs including the now-ubiquitous "Born to Be Wild" biker anthem. "In 1969, I went looking for America," said star Peter Fonda, who co-wrote the film with Terry Southern and director Dennis Hopper. "Fifty years later, I'm still looking."

Released in a brand-new 4K restoration by Sony Pictures Entertainment, Easy Rider rolls back into theaters for a special 50th anniversary celebration presented by Fathom and Sony Pictures Entertainment. The Fathom presentation will also include a new introduction by Fonda and will be shown in more than 400 theaters across the country for two days only: Sunday, July 14 (50 years to the day of its opening), and Wednesday, July 17. Showtimes will be 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. local time each day. For a complete list of theater locations, visit the Fathom Events website.

In 1998, Easy Rider was added to the National Film Registry, and the iconic movie is also part of the American Film Institute's list of 100 best American films. "A seminal counterculture film that spoke for a generation, Easy Rider captured the imagination and social consciousness of the late '60s," Fathom Events Vice President of Studio Relations Tom Lucas said. "On the big screen 50 years later, the film continues to resonate, doing so beautifully in its new 4K restoration."

Check out the trailer here.