While I definitely acknowledge that Easy Rider is a classic film, that doesn't mean I think it's very good. Confusing? Perhaps, but it doesn't have to be.

To me, a "classic" is anything that's either stood the test of time or that made a significant impact upon the genre. I'd argue that Rider doesn't qualify in the former category but that it certainly meets the latter criteria.

When I watched this DVD, it was the third time I saw Easy Rider. I first viewed it on VHS about 20 years ago and I absolutely loathed it. Since I didn't really experience the Sixties firsthand - I only lived through two and a half years of that decade, so for some strange reason, my memories of it remain few - I have to rely on the media's depictions to give me knowledge of it. Rider about perfectly portrays the stereotypical view of the Sixties: drugs, hippies, and free love.

I have nothing against any of those, really. (Well, I'm not too fond of drugs, but hippies don't much bother me, and I'm all for the free love thing.) Nonetheless, there was always something about the thinly-veiled smugness and demonstrated superiority of the kind of semi-hippies depicted in Rider that irritated me. It's that whole "back to nature/down with materialism" deal, the way that the farmer and the commune dwellers are glorified but any interest in more modern ways seems condemned - I find it grating and obnoxious, and that's the effect Easy Rider initially had on me.

When I rewatched it, I still didn't much care for Rider, but I did find it to be more compelling. The first half of the film - in which the hippie lifestyle is most heartily glorified - remains uninteresting, but the second half's not bad, largely due to a strong performance from Jack Nicholson. The first part of the flick simply seems pointless and self-indulgent - kind of a like a Grateful Dead show - whereas the second half actually appears to go somewhere.

It remains a vague and meandering movie, though. Apparently it didn't have much of a script and much of the film was improvised. That shows, and it made me impatient for something to happen. No, I don't need slam-bang action every second to keep me involved, but I'd like to see something take place. Easy Rider involves way too many dull shots of Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda tooling across America; it often looks more like a travelogue than a feature film.

Still, the second half seems decently compelling as our two "heroes" - Wyatt/Captain America (Fonda) and Billy (Hopper) - venture into the South and don't get a very welcome reception. Other than a tremendously silly and pretentious scene involving an acid trip, the second half of the picture kept me involved and interested in the story.

Well, what story there was. Easy Rider isn't what you call a narrative driven film, though it's not a character picture either. I don't know what the hell you'd call it, since it has virtually no plot and the characters are not very interesting or well drawn. Nonetheless, I believe it does offer a good look at that side of culture at that time. I can't base this impression on experience, obviously, but I think Rider provides a pretty accurate depiction of the counterculture at the end of the Sixties. Plus we get to see Toni "Mickey" Basil play a whore!

Anyway, Easy Rider is a film that I have to grudgingly admit is better than I used to think. I still won't count it as a great film, although I grant its status as a classic, but it definitely is more compelling and thought-provoking than I previously believed. Whether you like it or not, it is one of those movies that everyone should see at least once.

Easy Rider appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this single-sided, double-layered DVD; the widescreen image has been enhanced for 16X9 televisions. Overall, the picture looked good, especially considering the age of Easy Rider and its small (roughly $400,000) budget.

In general, it seemed quite sharp, though it became strangely out of focus at times. This problem only affected some shots that were wider than those that frame two people. Such images weren't always blurry, but it happened frequently enough to become a pattern. I noticed no shimmering or jaggies, though a mild to moderate amount of edge enhancement occasionally crept into the image. Print flaws manifested themselves sporadically, particularly during the film’s first act. Examples of specks, marks and other blemishes appeared at that time but showed up less frequently as the film progressed.

Except for the washed-out 16mm Mardi Gras/cemetery sequences, colors appeared strong and rich. The tones were nicely lively and dynamic for the most part. Blacks looked quite deep; check out Wyatt's leather outfit to see some good examples of that strength. Shadow detail seemed a bit weak at times, especially during some night shots. A few campfire shots were smooth, but others appeared somewhat dense. I'd guess this problem was a victim of the low budget, though. As a whole, these various concerns were not terribly prevalent, and the image was generally quite strong.

The sound also seemed good for 35-year-old movie. Easy Rider offered a remixed Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. While it remained monaural at heart, there was some use of effects in other channels. For example, at the start of the film, a plane entered from the rear channels and panned to the front, and later on, motorcycles popped up in other speakers. We also heard some gentle rear channel ambiance in scenes like nighttime forests. The film's famed musical track used stereo capabilities well, and the song also cropped up with some added punch in the rears.

For the most part, audio quality seemed acceptable though unspectacular. Except when intentionally muddled, dialogue appeared clear and intelligible, but the lines also came across as a bit thin and flat. Effects sounded about the same, with decent general clarity and that was about it. Some loose bass occasionally accompanied louder elements like the plane. The music sounded better. Those aspects of the track depended on the source material, but they usually were pretty dynamic and lively. Despite some faults, this remained a mostly positive sound mix for a film of this vintage.

When we head to the DVD’s extras, we open with an audio commentary from director/actor Dennis Hopper. He offers a running, screen-specific track. Hopper tells us about the project’s genesis, its locations, the actors, editing, and elements of the shoot like the many improvised bits. At times, Hopper presents good insight, but two problems befall the piece. For one, he often just tells us the names of locations and actors with little more detail than that. In addition, the commentary suffers from a ridiculous amount of dead air, as most of the movie passes without any information. Hopper presents just enough material to make this a sporadically useful but mostly frustrating track.

Next up is a nice 64-minute and 47-second documentary called Shaking the Cage. This features movie clips, archival materials, and modern interviews with Hopper, associate producer Bill Hayward, camera assistant Seymour Cassel, production manager Paul Lewis, cinematographer Laszlo Kovacs, and actors Peter Fonda, Karen Black, and Luke Askew. The show goes into the origins of Rider and its development, shooting at Mardi Gras, the general chaos of the production, casting, drugs in the movie and the atmosphere of the era, choosing the motorcycles, cinematography, improvisation, locations, music, the characters and various shooting notes, editing and the movie’s reception.

The program follows the shooting schedule for the most part, which means we don’t always hear about sequences in the order shown in the movie. For instance, the Mardi Gras info shows up first although those scenes come at the flick’s end. Much of the show is essentially anecdotal, which lends it a lot of energy. We learn a ton about the production and hear many amusing and interesting stories in this fine documentary. Indeed, it’s good enough that it essentially renders the commentary superfluous.

The Easy Rider DVD includes a couple of other minor features. Talent files for Fonda, Nicholson, Hopper and Black appear. They offer very little information and border on useless. Finally, the package's four-page booklet contains some decent production notes. The information can mostly be found elsewhere, but it offers a good little summary of the film's production and is worth a look.

I doubt I'll ever think of Easy Rider as a great film, but I now have a somewhat greater appreciation of it. The DVD offers erratic but mostly positive picture. A spotty audio commentary comes as a disappointment, but a very good documentary adds value. Whether you rent or buy it is up to you, but Easy Rider is definitely a DVD that you should screen.