‘Easy Rider’

Seven things worth remembering about “Easy Rider,” a remarkable piece of cinematic Americana that is getting a special one-week, 40th anniversary commemorative run at Landmark’s Nuart Theatre starting Friday: What spare beauty it had -- sweeping shots of deserts and fields, of highways and backroads that cut through the country from Los Angeles to New Orleans. How rich and complex a landscape of people -- unadorned, ordinary, exceptional, embracing, unforgiving, lost and found -- emotions and textures. How nostalgic it feels -- so much of a time and place, free-floating memories of hippies and communes and rebellion, when pot had absolutely no medicinal value but was a good thing nevertheless. How we failed to appreciate Dennis Hopper as a director, whose unhurried truth-telling style perfectly captured the spirit of the ‘60s counterculture and whose instincts with actors revealed the wickedly wonderful soul of Jack Nicholson. How scary a Southern jail can be. How easy Peter Fonda always looks in his own skin -- who wouldn’t want to ride along? How sad it would be if you missed a chance to rediscover “Easy Rider” for yourself.

-- Betsy Sharkey