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Five Easy Pieces

R Released Sep 12, 1970 1h 36m Drama List
89% Tomatometer 55 Reviews 84% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
Rejecting his cultured upper-class background as a classical pianist, Robert Dupea (Jack Nicholson) opts for a blue-collar existence, working in a California oil field and spending time with his waitress girlfriend, Rayette (Karen Black). But when Robert discovers that his father is gravely ill, he wants to reunite with his estranged family in the state of Washington. He and Rayette take a road trip that brings the two paths of his life to an uncomfortable intersection.
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Five Easy Pieces

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Critics Consensus

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.

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Critics Reviews

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Edward Guthmann San Francisco Chronicle If the function of art is to help an audience feel less alone, then Five Easy Pieces succeeds beautifully. Rated: 4/4 Mar 4, 2019 Full Review Andrew Sarris Village Voice A very modern film. Elliptical, absurdist, harshly humorous, convulsively lyrical. Nov 18, 2017 Full Review Noel Murray The Dissolve Director Bob Rafelson attempts something unusual here, making a film that's subtle about its meaning without ever ranging into the pretentiously oblique or merely ambiguous. Rated: 5/5 Jul 1, 2015 Full Review Fico Cangiano CineXpress Podcast Jack Nicholson delivers one of this best performances in James Foley's simplistic, yet powerful and effective character study. A key example of the American New wave. [Full review in Spanish] Rated: 4/5 Aug 31, 2023 Full Review Sean Axmaker Stream on Demand If 'Easy Rider' is the epitaph for the sixties, 'Five Easy Pieces' ushers in the silver age of personal filmmaking in the seventies. It’s a silent scream of alienation and narcissism with a revelatory performance by Nicholson... Aug 19, 2023 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews A moody study on alienation, class status and dropping-out. Rated: B+ Jun 22, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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jimmy b This is one film that should have received a 100% fresh critics' rating. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/03/24 Full Review sf w asflknhoidsgoisdghpsdigphhsdgksgosiggodih Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 06/30/24 Full Review Leaburn O I just can't stand Jack Nicholson. He's my bete noir of actors. Just his face, his smirk, his voice, I can;t look or listen. I hate him. On top of that this is a meandering piece that I couldn't remotely engage with or care about. It sits on many best films lists but I have no idea why. I was counting down the minutes until it ended. Painful. Watched it on DVD. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 03/07/24 Full Review Georgan G This classic antihero drama is amazing for the acting alone. Leaves me sad & desolate as it ends. I was around in 1970 but had forgotten the impact of this film. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/25/24 Full Review jeanieforever I wanna hold it between my knees. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 12/05/23 Full Review Audience Member Over 50 years later this was Jack Nicholson’s entrance into the American consciousness of cinema with the counterculture Nicholson stars next to Karen Black and Susan Anspach as Robert, who started as a classical pianist but strives more for a blue collar position on an oil field Black is his girlfriend Rayette who’s a waitress egging him to open up about his feelings but he's a bit more verbally abusive towards her as well as emotionally He’s probably not satisfied with his working class lifestyle Finding his father sick Robert he decides to go back to his relatives to reconnect with him but he also runs into his other girlfriend Katherine played by Anspach With Rayette at his side during the drive life starts to change for him drastically The veil is then lifted to show what truly lies beneath all the macho behavior Robert has displayed, he definitely shows the association with the hippie movement with a hint of misogyny, rage, and care-free demeanor, that's actually pretty amazing in the first couple minutes we get a clear idea of what Robert is, he's a prick but a relatable one at that who's abandoned his past passions This movie gels well with our current obsessions with social class and constructs, with personal identity, along with a complete rejection of society norms that we’ve been taught to accept without question It even foretells the environmental crisis, one of the rare movies that undergoes new style and subject matter breaking taboos and conventions people are filthy it may be what's actually wrong with people, some of us don't live to tell one another how much better the other half lives, filth is bad that's what starts maggots and riots, if a person has no love for himself, no respect, no love of his friends, family, work, something – how can he ask for love in return?, who has the gall to say what anything about class, who has it or what society we belong to? Nicholson is a dime a dozen in his first big breakout role and it should be recognized more today than it ever was with its relevant levels of morality this is a stupendously acted work of art from a period of filmmaking that showed such massive change Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/13/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Five Easy Pieces

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Five Easy Pieces

Five Easy Pieces: Official Clip - Hold the Chicken Five Easy Pieces: Official Clip - Hold the Chicken 1:39 Five Easy Pieces: Official Clip - No Inner Feeling Five Easy Pieces: Official Clip - No Inner Feeling 1:55 Five Easy Pieces: Official Clip - You Pompous Celibate! Five Easy Pieces: Official Clip - You Pompous Celibate! 2:01 Five Easy Pieces: Official Clip - Betty & Twinky Five Easy Pieces: Official Clip - Betty & Twinky 1:26 Five Easy Pieces: Official Clip - I'm Fine Five Easy Pieces: Official Clip - I'm Fine 2:12 Five Easy Pieces: Official Clip - Half a Conversation Five Easy Pieces: Official Clip - Half a Conversation 2:11 Five Easy Pieces: Official Clip - The Easiest Piece Five Easy Pieces: Official Clip - The Easiest Piece 2:11 Five Easy Pieces: Official Clip - Freeway Performance Five Easy Pieces: Official Clip - Freeway Performance 2:10 View more videos
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Movie Info

Synopsis Rejecting his cultured upper-class background as a classical pianist, Robert Dupea (Jack Nicholson) opts for a blue-collar existence, working in a California oil field and spending time with his waitress girlfriend, Rayette (Karen Black). But when Robert discovers that his father is gravely ill, he wants to reunite with his estranged family in the state of Washington. He and Rayette take a road trip that brings the two paths of his life to an uncomfortable intersection.
Director
Bob Rafelson
Producer
Richard Wechsler, Bob Rafelson
Screenwriter
Carole Eastman, Bob Rafelson
Distributor
Columbia Pictures, Criterion Collection
Production Co
BBS Productions, Columbia Pictures Corporation
Rating
R
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 12, 1970, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 16, 2012
Runtime
1h 36m
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