Writing an unbiased review of Easy Rider is impossible. Either you love the film or you don't, either way your review will be biased. In this case, the bias will be positive as the reviewer, myself, hails the film as the greatest of all time.

What is it, then, that is so charming about this film? It is probably not the film itself, rarther the morals, freedom and life it is about and how that is conveyed through the American desertland, two Harley Davidsons, two hippies and a drukard lawyer. It is the feeling of watching a reality so different from our own, and hearing some of the greatest music ever made. It is the style, the fashion, the contrasts; from the black- leathered biker through the indian-inspired hippies to the metrosexual clubbing pushers. The Rolls Royce and the Harleys.

Technically, the film is great. The crude pictures from the 16mm cameras work very well where used and the rarther awkward transitions between some scenes (a flickering, disturbing switch between the images) wake you up when you are lost in your dreams. And you do get lost in your dreams, the imagery is all too beautiful. Especially the scene where Wyatt and Billy take LSD with two prostitues becomes a mighty demonstration of the unification of sounds, camera angles and pictures, and only further underlines the genius of the film.

The characters and story, however, are not too credible. Having sold drugs to a dealer in California, Wyatt and Billy buy two motorcycles and head for New Orleans. Mere stereotypes of the '68-experience generation, the two riders explore Southern USA and the film feels like a dream. When the movie incorporates moral questions and some themes other than freedom, that is through the drunkard lawyer George (Jack Nicholson).

Overall, this film is more of an emotional or perhaps even nostalgic portrayal of dreams ("a man went looking for America and couldn't find it anywhere!") than an epic tale. Roger McGuinn's music (although the lyrics of 'Ballad of Easy Rider' are written by Bob Dylan) is striking and is particularily suited by the ending. Jimi Hendrix, Steppenwolf and The Band (though 'The Weight' was featured with Smith on the soundtrack) will never be the same once you have experienced them through 'Easy Rider'. In fact, 'Easy Rider' adds another dimension to any understanding of the 1960's - a quite essential dimension.