Report abuse. It was, you could say, the first Sundance film. Ebert called Bobby Dupea “one of the most unforgettable characters in American movies.“[11] Ebert named the film the best of 1970, and later added it to his "Great Movies" series. Another Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2010. Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? 5.0 out of 5 stars Typical Nickolson. Five Easy Pieces For other uses, see, Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures, Best Drama Written Directly for the Screenplay, "Librarian of Congress Names 25 More Films to National Film Registry", "Complete National Film Registry Listing | Film Registry | National Film Preservation Board | Programs at the Library of Congress | Library of Congress", "Taking a bite out Nicholson's 'hold the chicken' legend", "Five Easy Pieces and the Loss of Sexual Innocence Come to DVD", "Leading repertory cinema Film Forum to showcase Digital Cinema Packages", "Auspicious Beginnings: Nicholson's Leitmotif in Five Easy Pieces", New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Five_Easy_Pieces&oldid=1019624400, Films featuring a Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe-winning performance, United States National Film Registry films, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia articles with WorldCat-VIAF identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 24 April 2021, at 12:34. 117 of 147 people found this review helpful. I agree with the other review comparing them to a cross between Kix and AC/DC. However, he is also a very compelling character who affects all around him. [5] The film's diner sequence, in which Robert pesters an obstinate waitress, was filmed at a Denny's along Interstate 5 near Eugene, Oregon.[6][7]. Five Easy Pieces is the best example of what BBS meant to do about that. Despite personality differences, Catherine and Bobby are immediately attracted to each other and later have sex in her room. April 1st to May 1st 2021. He spends most of his time with his girlfriend Rayette, a waitress who has dreams of singing country music, or with his friend, fellow oil worker Elton, with whom he bowls, gets drunk, and philanders. Search for "Five Easy Pieces" on Amazon.com, Title: At dinner, Bobby meets Catherine Van Oost, a young pianist engaged to his amiable brother Carl, a violinist. In an Academy Award (r)-nominated performance for Best Actor (1970), Jack Nicholson is outstanding in FIVE EASY PIECES, the acclaimed drama from director Bob Rafelson. He pretends to enjoy this simple way of living, but he treats Black like the trash he considers her to be and could care less about anyone.Why should anyone see this film? Leon Wolters . Use the HTML below. Also listed are four songs sung by Tammy Wynette: "Stand by Your Man", "D-I-V-O-R-C-E", "Don't Touch Me", and "When There's a Fire in Your Heart". Robert Eroica Dupea: I'd like a, uh, plain omelette, uh, no potatoes, tomatoes instead, a cup of coffee, and wheat toast. He lives together with Rayette, who's a waitress in a diner. (And not an adaptation.) There he gets confronted with his rich, cultured family that he had left behind. After they are in bed and she has a sheet covering her breasts. Five Easy Pieces soundtrack from 1970, composed by Various Artists. A dropout from upper-class America picks up work along the way on oil rigs when his life isn't spent in a squalid succession of bars, motels, and other points of interest. In many ways Five Easy Pieces marks the end of the 1960s, a decade captured best in Easy Rider, another film in which Jack Nicholson appeared. More than four decades have passed since 23-year-old Sally Struthers was coaxed into a topless scene with Jack Nicholson in "Five Easy Pieces." Five Easy Pieces was and is not only a fine achievement by all concerned, but a key film from a creative moment in American cinema. He hates his old life, which he left to become a construction worker and has taken up with a flighty waitress played brilliantly by Karen Black. I do like Cool From the Wire Better. Pearl Kaufman is credited as the pianist. Showing all 7 items Jump to: Summaries (6) Synopsis (1) Summaries. Read more. "Five Easy Pieces" was a fusion of the personal cinema of John Cassavetes and the new indie movement that was tentatively emerging. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. The four are thrown out of a restaurant after Bobby gets into a sarcastic argument with an obstinate waitress who refuses to accommodate his meal order. In terms of the performances in the film, Nicholson gets most of the attention, but it's … Communicator Carole Eastman. Favorite food-related movie quotes / dialogs ... Leon Wolters . A gambler and a prostitute become business partners in a remote Old West mining town, and their enterprise thrives until a large corporation arrives on the scene. At least two of the scenes in Five Easy Pieces have become iconic — one involving a piano on a truck stuck in a traffic jam, the other pitting Dupea against a recalcitrant waitress. Was this review helpful to you? Directed by Bob Rafelson. In a small, U.S. costal town, with many Spanish speakers, a motorcycle gang arrives on vacation. #TCMParty. Also in town to try to reconnect with his pregnant girlfriend, Karen, is businessman Paul ... See full summary », Robert Dupea has given up his promising career as a concert pianist and is now working in oil fields. Shortly into the trip, they stop for gas, and while Rayette goes into a diner for coffee, Bobby abandons her, hitching a ride on a truck headed north. Five Easy Pieces is a 1970 American drama film directed by Bob Rafelson, written by Carole Eastman (as Adrien Joyce) and Rafelson, and starring Jack Nicholson, Karen Black, Susan Anspach, Lois Smith, and Ralph Waite. Five Easy Pieces (2016) is a theatre production that the Swiss theatre and film director Milo Rau made with children for the Ghent arts centre CAMPO and that is based on the Dutroux affair. [13], On November 16, 1999, Columbia TriStar Home Video released the film on two-sided DVD-Video, featuring both fullscreen (4:3) and widescreen formats. After trying to talk to his unresponsive father, Bobby leaves with Rayette. The timing of Five Easy Pieces is uncanny, coming just after a decade spent by Nicholson in independent cinema – before he was truly ready to infiltrate Hollywood in the 70s. Jack decides to visit his family's estate to pay his last respects. Looking for more? A dropout from upper-class America picks up work along the way on oil rigs when his life isn't spent in a squalid succession of bars, motels, and other points of interest. Bobby, a former musical prodigy, affects a good ol' boy accent and drinks too much while living with Rayette (Karen Black), a waitress who vainly craves his love and approval. Two bikers head from L.A. to New Orleans through the open country and desert lands, and along the way they meet a man who bridges a counter-culture gap of which they had been unaware. A frustrated war correspondent, unable to find the war he's been asked to cover, takes the risky path of coopting the identity of a dead arms dealer acquaintance. de "Five Easy Pieces" ou "Cada um vive a vida como quer", 1970 Released by Epic in 1970 containing music from Five Easy Pieces (1970). Rayette runs out of money at the motel and comes to the Dupea estate unannounced. Do see it! It’s a profoundly American story, rooted in distinct personalities and locations, and though it has the gradually unfolding quality of a great novel, it’s still highly cinematic. See the fabulous presenters and gracious winners at this year's Oscars. Although a brilliant, classical pianist from an intellectual, well-to-do family, Robert Dupea (Nicholson), has made a career out of running from job to job and woman to woman. It holds an 88% "Certified Fresh" rating on online review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 52 reviews, with an average rating of 8.60/10. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 21, 2011. Karen Black. [9], The film opened to positive reviews. Bobby's full name is given as "Robert Eroica Dupea" in the credits. While Bobby acts the part of a blue-collar laborer, he is secretly a former classical pianist who comes from an upper-class family of musicians. Partita tells him that their father, from whom Bobby is estranged, has suffered two strokes, and urges him to return to the family home in Washington. Check out some of our favorite superhero stars from movies and television, before they suited up. The film tells the story of surly oil rig worker Bobby Dupea, whose rootless blue-collar existence belies his privileged youth as a piano prodigy. [14], Grover Crisp of Sony Pictures conducted a 4K restoration of the film, and it was screening theatrically in DCP by 2012. He finds Partita giving their father a haircut, and the old man seems completely oblivious to him. Five Easy Pieces A drop-out from upper-class America picks up work along the way on oil-rigs when his life isn't spent in a squalid succession of bars, motels, and other points of interest. He is lonely, he is scared, and he does not know what to do with himself.If you are looking for plot, this is not the picture for you. Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. It includes audio commentary featuring director Bob Rafelson and interior designer Toby Rafelson (originally recorded for a Criterion laserdisc); Soul Searching in "Five Easy Pieces", a 2009 video piece with Rafelson; BBStory, a 2009 documentary about the BBS era, with Rafelson, actors Jack Nicholson, Karen Black, and Ellen Burstyn, and directors Peter Bogdanovich and Henry Jaglom, among others; and audio excerpts from a 1976 AFI interview with Rafelson. With Jack Nicholson, Karen Black, Billy Green Bush, Fannie Flagg. A strange young woman lives in a fantasy world where she can never grow up. That is the same thought I had. Two Navy men are ordered to bring a young offender to prison, but decide to show him one last good time along the way. When Robert hears from his sister that his father isn't well, he drives up to Washington to see him, taking Rayette with him. The sensuous wife of a lunch wagon proprietor and a rootless drifter begin a sordidly steamy affair and conspire to murder her Greek husband. Eastman’s script is anything but formulaic, imbued with a literary sensibility comparable to that of the short stories of Ann Beattie and Raymond Carver. Five Easy Pieces (1970) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. When Bobby learns that his father is dying, he travels to his family home in Washington to visit him, taking along his uncouth girlfriend. Find album reviews, stream songs, credits and award information for Five Easy Pieces [Original Soundtrack] - Tammy Wynette on AllMusic - 1971 A daydreamer convinces his radio personality brother to help fund one of his get-rich-quick schemes. While the film's earlier scenes were shot in California, the majority was filmed in the Pacific Northwest. Nominated for four Academy Awards(r), including Best Picture 1970. Does "Eroica" stand for anything? This is what makes this character piece all the more powerful. Fabio Star. [4] Filming primarily occurred near Victoria, British Columbia, with additional photography occurring in Florence and Portland, Oregon. The film stars Jack Nicholson, with Karen Black, Susan Anspach, Ralph Waite, and Sally Struthers in supporting roles. Bob Rafelson's FIVE EASY PIECES is about inner pain and suffering that just so happens to consume people in all walks of life. 3.0 out of 5 stars "Dirty Looks - Five Easy Pieces" Cool From the Wire is better. When Bobby learns that his father is dying, he travels to his family home in Washington to visit him, taking along his uncouth girlfriend. When Robert hears from his sister that his father isn't well, he drives up to Washington to see him, taking Rayette with him. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards and five Golden Globe Awards, and in 2000, was included in the annual selection of 25 motion pictures added to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and recommended for preservation.[2][3]. The film earned $1.2 million in North America in 1970. A couple starts kissing and he takes her top off and they lay on the bed. The movie is littered with classic scenes, in particular, the chicken salad sandwich scene, one of the funniest I've ever seen. A dropout from upper-class America picks up work along the way on oil rigs when his life isn't spent in a squalid succession of bars, motels, and other points of interest. [18], This article is about the 1970 film. It is a perfect mixture of intensity, music, and sadness.The last scene, which ends so abruptly, makes perfect sense within this context. Certificate: GP 3 out of 5 stars. 20 people found this helpful. Chemainus, North Cowichan, British Columbia, Canada. This sets the forum of emotional indifference and misery. The latter launches into a monologue about the evils of consumerism. Robert Dupea has given up his promising career as a concert pianist and is now working in oil fields. An important touchstone of the New Hollywood era, Five Easy Pieces is a haunting portrait of alienation that features one of Jack Nicholson's greatest performances. "[10], Roger Ebert gave the film four stars out of four, describing it as “one of the best American films”, one that “becomes a masterpiece of heartbreaking intensity” as it develops its lead character’s arc. Nicholson was not the film's only discovery. The Dutroux affair as a starting point. Because Jack Nicholson is one of our greatest actors and he is able to transcend what was put on paper regarding the main character and project raw power and feelings in his own, unique way. The critics' consensus states: "An important touchstone of the New Hollywood era, Five Easy Pieces is a haunting portrait of alienation that features one of Jack Nicholson's greatest performances. Get a sneak peek of the new version of this page. Driving north, they pick up two stranded women headed for Alaska, Terry and Palm. FIVE EASY PIECES tracks Bobby Dupea (Jack Nicholson) and his growing discontent as he escapes his upper-middle class, educated background working on a California oil rig. Bobby Dupea works in an oil field in Kern County, California. [17], On June 30, 2015, Five Easy Pieces was released as a stand-alone DVD and Blu-ray by the Criterion Collection. He lives together with Rayette, who's a waitress in a diner. The one I feel that stands out and symbolizes the essence of the film is where Jack plays Chopin in the piano room while Rafelson's camera does a slow 360 around the room, glancing at pictures of his life before he fled from it. In latter days this film has become something of a Watch It for the Meme example, being best remembered for the iconic scene where Robert does battle with an unhelpful waitress (see Overcomplicated Menu Order below). It leaves us feeling empty and unfulfilled, exactly how Nicholson's character feels. [12], John Simon criticized Five Easy Pieces for its pretentiousness and oversimplification but said if anything saved the film from triviality, it was the performances, especially those of Karen Black, Lois Smith, and Billy Green Bush. The opening credits list the five classical piano pieces played in the film and referenced in the title. In 1951, a group of high schoolers come of age in a bleak, isolated, atrophied North Texas town that is slowly dying, both culturally and economically. It is sometimes hard to watch and Nicholson's character "Robert" is a miserable SOB. When Bobby gets Rayette pregnant and Elton is arrested, Bobby quits his job and goes to Los Angeles, where his sister Partita, also a pianist, is making a recording. The only remnants of a plot concern Nicholson's father, a distant memory of his previous prestigious lifestyle as a classical pianist, who has fallen sick. Chuck Fries Dies: Producers Guild Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient Was 92, Chuck Fries, Prolific TV and Film Producer, Dies at 92, Jack Nicholson’s 50 Major Roles Ranked, From ‘The Shining’ to ‘Anger Management’ (Photos), Trailers from Hell Presents: The Movies That Made Me - Ron Perlman, TCM 31 Days Of Oscar 2021. Embarrassed by Rayette's lack of polish, Bobby registers her in a motel before driving alone to the family home on an island in Puget Sound. (1970). View production, box office, & company info. The Monkees are tossed about in a psychedelic, surrealist, plotless, circular bit of fun fluff. Five Easy Pieces is a 1970 American drama film written by Carole Eastman (as Adrien Joyce) and Bob Rafelson, and directed by Rafelson. Five Easy Pieces is a 1970 American drama film directed by Bob Rafelson, written by Carole Eastman (as Adrien Joyce) and Rafelson, and starring Jack Nicholson, Karen Black, Susan Anspach, Lois Smith, and Ralph Waite. The title is a reference to a well-known introductory piano book, containing "five easy pieces" for beginners. Watch Five Easy Pieces Online Genre: Drama: Full production credits: Expand. There he gets confronted with his rich, cultured family that he had left behind. 10 wins & 17 nominations. He picks a fight with the very strong nurse, who easily subdues him. Rayette threatens to kill herself if Bobby leaves her, so he reluctantly asks her along. Five Easy Pieces Videos. [15][16], The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray by The Criterion Collection in November 2010 as part of the box set America Lost and Found: The BBS Story. Written by View All Videos (8) Five Easy Pieces Quotes. Bobby tries to persuade Catherine to go away with him, but she declines, telling him he cannot ask for love when he does not love himself, or anything at all. Storming from the room in search of Catherine, he discovers his father's male nurse giving Partita a massage. Sex is implied and there is little nudity. Following Jack Nicholson’s breakout supporting turn in Easy Rider, director Bob Rafelson devised a powerful leading role for the new star in the searing character study Five Easy Pieces. Drama. Five Easy Pieces (1970) Plot. Chronicling the lifelong sexual development of two men who meet and befriend one another in college. The film tells the story of surly oil rig worker Bobby Dupea, whose rootless blue-collar existence belies his privileged youth as a piano prodigy. The title of "Five Easy Pieces" refers not to the women its hero makes along the road, for there are only three, but to a book of piano exercises he owned as a child.