Easy Riders, Raging Bulls cover art

Easy Riders, Raging Bulls

How the Sex-Drugs-and-Rock 'N' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood

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Easy Riders, Raging Bulls

By: Peter Biskind
Narrated by: Dick Hill
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About this listen

 When the low-budget biker movie Easy Rider shocked Hollywood with its success in 1969, a new Hollywood era was born. This was an age when talented filmmakers such as Scorcese, Coppola, and Spielberg, along with a new breed of actors, including DeNiro, Pacino, and Nicholson, became the powerful figures who would make such modern classics as The Godfather, Chinatown, Taxi Driver, and Jaws.

Easy Rider, Raging Bulls follows the wild ride that was Hollywood in the 70s - an unabashed celebration of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll (both on screen and off) and a climate where innovation and experimentation reigned supreme.

©1999 Peter Biskind (P)2008 Brilliance Audio, Inc. Direction & Production Entertainment & Performing Arts Film & TV History & Criticism Screenwriting

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Critic reviews

"Peter Biskind's great, scathing, news-packed history...is one hell of an elixir - salty with flavorsome gossip, sour with the aftertaste of misspent careers, intoxicating with one revelation after another...an 'A.'" ( Entertainment Weekly)
All stars
Most relevant  
This is the story of the hell-raisers and wunderkinds of 1970s cinema. They hoped to do things differently by smashing the power of the studios, and for a whole they succeeded. But the strength of the economic forces arrayed against them was simply too strong to sustain any lasting change. By becoming hugely successful - in some cases - they merely boosted the studios’ coffers. They dreamed of being auteurs with something significant to say - but often failed to live up to their own high expectations. Some of their work, however, stands the test of time. They produced some of the best movies ever made. It’s an era of contradictions, defined by excess. Coppola, Scorsese, De Palma, Ashby… some of these big names are still around. Coppola has just made a new movie - Megalopolis. Scorsese is still making brilliant movies and for my money is the great survivor of this generation. Spielberg is another example. But he embraced the commercial opportunities far more willingly than his contemporaries, seeing nothing wrong with making massive blockbusters and reaping the benefits. And in many cases he has combined profit with artistic value. Yet for every survivor, there were more than a few casualties. This highly entertaining book is full of trivia about the sex lives of the protagonists - the moguls, writers, and directors. It’s gossipy, thoroughly researched, and superbly narrated. It was published in the late 1990s. Hollywood has changed a lot even since then, but this book throws the spotlight on a lost era which - seen up close - was full of genius, but also human tragedy and failure. Listen now.

Lost Hollywood

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Strongly recommend to any lover of film, brilliantly told, a completely immersive experience, the story of these films and directors would make compelling cinema

Incredible, an education

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If you love cinema and want to know more about the evolution of film and the people behind it in the 60’s and 70’s then this is a great read.

They seized the power from the studios then blew it all in a blaze of ego, Cocaine and overspending....

Great read if you love film!

Great film history of the era...

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Beautiful book beautifully written beautifully read beautiful memories beautiful times beautiful people beautiful schemes beautiful places beautiful hopes beautiful dreams.
Love always.

Beautiful

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Tremendous account of Hollywood and amazing filmmakers like Scorsese and Coppola and how they challenged the studio system

Great listen

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love all the classic old 70's movies. really great to hear how some of the firm's you know and love got made.

it jumps around in time and you get lost in the bobs and Roberts as names and nicknames and events blur into each other. if I didn't love movies so much I'm not sure I'd of got to the end.

interesting for lovers of classic cinema

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Enthralling account of one of the most imaginative periods in Hollywood. Great insight into the stories behind done of the best movies of all time; The Exorcist, Chinatown, The Godfather and many more. I couldn't stop listening.

As seductive as the decade it describes

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A great listen. Exhaustively researched movie geekdom interwoven with remarkable anecdotes that depict the characters involved.

An unflinching account of 1970s cinema

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This is a fascinating book, documenting the period from the early 70s when a new, young crowd of film-makers descended on Hollywood determined to break the established system where the studio was king, and everyone else did as they were told. But be warned, this is hard-edged and often difficult reading, as the young crowd tasted initial success, only to create an environment worse than the system they sought to overthrow. Much, much worse…

In telling the tale, the writer looks closely at a number of seminal films from the 70s, including Bonnie & Clyde, Easy Rider, French Connection, Jaws, Apocalypse Now and, of course, The Godfather. In every case, these were films made by directors looking to make their mark in the world, whilst at the same time refusing to give way to the studios when they questioned the director’s approach. The ‘inner circle’ of this group of mavericks include Scorsese, Spielberg, Lucas, Coppola, Bogdanovich and Freidkin, and the book looks at their careers during the 70s, from early struggles and failures, through to the breakthrough films that made them famous, and then to the long, painful fall from grace, as all but Spielberg struggle to recreate their early successes.

Nobody comes out of this book with any integrity. I suppose it’s a fact of life that reasonable people don’t become movie directors, but this bunch are nothing more than petulant, indulged children, who see no problem with throwing tantrums (and often other things) on the set or even in public.

Without doubt, the worst of the bunch is Scorsese, who’s temper tantrums are legendary. On one occasion, whilst staying at a plush Hollywood hotel, Scorsese’s wife is on the ‘phone with a business partner, and she is getting angry at him. Marty Scorsese snatches the ‘phone from her, screams abuse at the caller, and then rips the ‘phone out of the wall. Then, still vibrating with anger, he goes downstairs to the lobby to call the guy on a payphone, so he can continue to scream at him.

Lucas, frets over whether his idea for ‘Star Wars’ is actually any good. This mood is not helped by De Palma, Scorsese and Coppola telling him it’s a rubbish idea and he should make ‘Art Films’. Only Spielberg is supportive. When the original Star Wars becomes the biggest grossing film ever, Lucas becomes an overnight megalomaniac, and refuses to help, or even talk to, his former confederates.

And if you think they treated each other poorly, wait until you read how they treated those on the periphery of their universes. Writers, Editors, Backers, Actors and, especially, would-be actress/models are simply used and thrown away like Kleenex.

And one by one, they all follow the same path, as success instils in each an arrogance and ego of unbelievable proportions. Coppola sets the bar here; following the outstanding success of his Godfather films, he sets off to Manilla to shoot Apocalypse Now. He is told by locals that monsoon season is coming, and typhoons are a regular event where he aims to shoot. Does he listen? He does not, and instead builds enormous million-dollar sets in the middle of nowhere, and then throws a tantrum and starts firing people when, as predicted, the whole thing is destroyed by a typhoon.

This book leaves you with the impression that the film-makers of the 70s were simply making it up as they went. Most times they got it wrong, but every so often things fell into place, and a classic was born.

Narration by Dick Hill is excellent, and keeps you engaged throughout.

Recommended

Hard Hitting and often Difficult...

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It would probably be of more interest to a film studies student or buff. It made me think that the people it talks about are truly a bunch of self absorbed narcissists.

Not the most gripping

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