Wenders' "Paris, Texas" won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1984, giving Chinese audiences who had just opened their doors to experience the charm of road movies for the first time. Natasha Kinski was amazing The beauty of her is as deeply etched in the hearts of the audience as her sadness. And Dennis Hopper's greatest contribution to film art is to create a unique and charming road movie.
In the 1950s, starting with Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye", kindness and rebellion became synonymous with youth. In October 1955, Ginsburg denounced the mechanized and commercialized society with his long poem "Howl", which caused a sensation in the United States; at the same time, Dennis Hopper and James Dean starred in "Revolt without a Cause". , reproduces the mental confusion and pain of young people, and becomes a milestone for youth films. In 1957, Kerouac's novel "On the Road" was published, which attracted a large number of depressed young people and regarded it as the "Bible of Life". Norman Mailer theoretically demonstrated the meaning of "beat literature", Rex Ross published "Divorce: The Art of the Beat Generation", declaring that the younger generation was "characterized by a total denial of high culture", jazz, Swing dancing, marijuana, sexual liberation and the "backpacking revolution" of the world are all the rage.
It's always exciting to see who and what's going on along the way, and Dennis Hopper's always-on-the-road films certainly don't just simply show the scenery along the way. The highway is filled with the struggle, confusion and hope shared by human beings, the unpredictable journey, and the nobility and cruelty of human nature. As a symbol and a huge metaphor, the highway implies that human beings will never give up self-salvation: no matter how far the road is, there will be an end, no matter how crazy singing and dancing will stop, the heart that yearns for freedom is forever young.
Hopper, who was often intoxicated during his work, was a Hollywood genius who wrote, directed and acted well. In 1969, "Easy Rider", which he wrote, directed and starred in, won the Best Debut Award at the 22nd Cannes Film Festival and achieved a miraculous success at the box office. It was popular in Europe and America and established road films as a genre film. The special status in the world film industry has pushed the "cross-out party" culture to a peak in terms of images, forcing Hollywood to make a major change in management system and personnel to meet the aesthetic needs of new and new human beings.
The implication of Beat literature is quite similar to Gong Zizhen's "Miscellaneous Poems of Jihai": "Occasionally I compose Lingyun and I feel tired and fly, occasionally I am in a hurry to get my first clothes; I occasionally ask a beautiful woman in Jinse, and I say that Xunchun is your return. "In the 1960s, American youth advocated a simple, free, and easy-going lifestyle. They were anti-Vietnam War, anti-authority, and anti-tradition. They relied on marijuana and alcohol to find the meaning of themselves and life on the road. "Easy Rider" is a true record of this era. The confusion, pain and desire for freedom of the young generation have been fully reproduced, and it is worthy of being a classic among the classics of road movies.
The "tool" of Easy Rider is not a car, but a Harley-Davidson motorcycle that can better represent the American road culture. It can enhance the close contact between nature and people more than a car. Magnificent western scenery and rock music, long loose hair and maverick costumes, masculine and dynamic Harleys, marijuana and gut-piercing spirits, cynicism is all in the world wrapped in war and political scandal. issued a strong protest.
There is an intriguing long shot of two Easy Riders passing through an Indian camp. The faces of people of all skin tones and cultural backgrounds are naturally presented in the shot: contemplation, yearning, tranquility, sadness, joy, solemnity , holy, the sculptural feeling is very strong, as if history is concentrated in these noble and vivid faces. Such a superb director's approach is really admirable.
Jack Nicholson was 32 years old at the time, playing an alcoholic young lawyer with limited appearances, but his potential as a big actor was fully revealed, creating the most moving image of an alcoholic in film history, and his star has been prosperous since then. The Easy Riders are not welcome anywhere, Nicholson said: "They feel threatened. They are afraid of what you stand for: freedom."
Carnival sometimes, suffering and ugliness go hand in hand. The lawyer was killed by a wooden club in his sleep, and he was indifferent to the world, which made this vulgar society unacceptable. The bizarre death of the Easy Rider at the end of the film is an indictment of social grief: an American farmer shoots them just because they don't like their hairstyle. The hallucinatory nightmare finally becomes a bloody reality.
The Beats, once a fringe and alternative, are today the symbol and driving force of American freedom and cultural innovation. Dennis Hopper has been plagued and tortured by illness and narcotics dependence for many years, but he has never "broken down". He has made famous films such as "Apocalypse Now", "Blue Velvet", "Speed of Life" and so on. An unforgettable performance. I believe that this movie knight, who can only be destroyed but cannot be defeated, is in heaven at the moment. (Originally published in Financial Weekly Shanghai Magazine, with the original title "Dennis Hopper (1936.5.17—2010.5.29)")
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