Good news for cinephiles, bikers and fans of the classic film Easy Rider. According to a press release, Peter Fonda announced that the newly remastered 1969 Classic Easy Rider, will be screened at Radio City Music Hall on September 20, 2019 with its influential soundtrack performed live and in sync with the film. The unparalleled cinematic experience combined with a live rock band is a-first-of-its-kind performance at Radio City Music Hall that celebrates the 50th anniversary of the movie’s July 14, 1969 theatrical release.
The movie’s game changing soundtrack will be performed live featuring original contributors John Kay and Roger McGuinn, accompanied by musicians directed by celebrated producer T-Bone Burnett. Two-time Academy Award® nominee and the film’s star, co-writer and producer Peter Fonda will co-produce the event. The momentous soundtrack features unforgettable artists ranging from Steppenwolf to Jimi Hendrix and boasts timeless anthems including “Born To Be Wild,” “The Weight,” and “Ballad of Easy Rider,” which will be performed live onstage in tandem with the movie.
Written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern, directed by Hopper and produced by Fonda, Easy Rider is an American independent road drama that “captured the national imagination” and became the “touchstone for a generation.” The film follows characters Wyatt (Fonda) and Billy (Hopper) as they travel the South and Southwest after successfully completing a drug deal. The film’s success helped usher in the New Hollywood era of filmmaking in the early 1970s. Easy Rider explores societal issues of the 1960s such as communal living, the hippie movement, and drug use. Easy Rider is listed as one of A.F.I’s 100 greatest films, and in 1998 was added to the United States National Film Registry, having been deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
A landmark road film, Easy Rider chronicles the search for freedom by two motorcycle-riding drop-outs as they journey between California and New Orleans. Drifters Wyatt (Peter Fonda) and Billy (Dennis Hopper) meet up with alcoholic lawyer, George (Jack Nicholson) in a southern jail. George gets them out and then joins them on their liberating journey. The film features a stellar soundtrack, which includes Steppenwolf, The Byrds, The Band, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, and Little Eva and The Electric Prunes.
This one night only event—a first-of-a-kind blend of cinema and live music—is produced by Peter Fonda, Live Nation Entertainment the world’s leading concert company, and independent film and music impresario Peter Shapiro’s music and media company Dayglo Presents. Tickets are available on Ticketmaster.
