The allure of motorcycles has always been their link to freedom. They indeed symbolize freedom from the constraints of everyday life. This association became cemented in our brains in the 1954 Marlon Brando movie The Wild One. It is considered by many as the first and foremost biker film to focus on leather, gangs and motorcycles. Since then, many have followed.
Steve McQueen plotted his bike escape in The Great Escape in 1963. Elvis Presley followed as biker Charlie Rogers in Roustabout in 1964. And Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda, and Jack Nicholson defined an era in their 1969 hit Easy Rider.
1974 introduced the Lords of Flatbush to us—a leather-clad street gang consisting of Sylvestor Stallone, Henry Winkler, Paul Mace and Perry King. Perry King was the man who tore up the turf on his cycle. The 1970s also spawned an Italo hit with Terence Hill and Bud Spencer suspended on their bikes giving a vicious leather clad biker gang a lesson in manners in Watch Out We’re Mad. And American tough man Clint Eastwood ran from the mob in his bike in the 1977 film Gauntlet.
In 1982 motorcycles in movies continued with Maxwell Caulfield playing the high school rider in Grease 2. Two years later, Aiden Quinn and Darryl Hannah rode off together in Reckless.
Even today’s hottest action stars have been lured to the leather. Arnold Schwarzeneggar donned a bike in Terminator 2: Judgment Day in 1991. Underground star Mickey Rourke starred in the cult biker film, Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man, also in 1991. Kung Fu headliner Jean Claude Van Damme escapes on a bike in Nowhere to Run, a 1993 flick. Most recently, Tom Cruise can be seen burning rubber in the 2000 action flick, Mission Impossible II.
Motorcycles also made their way to TV. Who can forget Henry Winkler as the Fonz with his motorcycle? And who was not intimidated by Erik Estrada on his motorcycle on Chips?
The above are the trends of the decades, but motorcycles in movies are so prevalent that there are databases that contain thousands of them. For the remainder of this article, I’d like to touch on a few of them:
Mask. A single biker Mom raises a son with a facial deformity. With Cher. Puts sensitivity into the biker image.
Running Cool. This movie shows how bikers stick together like family. Although the language is off color, the characters aren’t and they defy the bad biker roles. The film contains humor and a love story.
Mad Max. A sci fi look at psychotic bikers running loose when society breaks down. Every biker’s fantasy.
Quadrophenia. Two rival youth gangs fight for control of the streets. It’s about the mods and the rockers in Brighton, England and who can outdo each other in hedonistic confrontations.
The Wild Angels. Peter Fonda is the leader of a violent biker gang that ruins a hospital, takes over a church for a funeral that turns into a drunken orgy, and fights the annoyed townspeople. Members of the Hells Angels starred in this 1966 movie directed by Roger Corman.
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
