Series & Events
Five Easy Pieces
Co-presented by The Stranger
In his first starring role after Easy Rider, Jack Nicholson plays concert-level pianist Bobby Dupea, who’d rather work on an oil rig and disguise himself as an average Joe.
Bobby spends his nights bowling and listening to his girl (Karen Black) sing “Stand By Your Man” just like Tammy. But when Bobby finds out that his father’s dying, he travels back to Washington State to see the old man, a musical genius who moved his family to an island to raise them as Socrates might have.
Director Bob Rafaelson and Carole Eastman’s nuanced script portrays Bobby’s working class girlfriend and his cultured family with equal depth and complexity, while László Kovács stunning cinematography captures both the barren windscape of California’s Central Valley and the lush beauty of the San Juan Islands.
One of the seminal works of Hollywood’s second Golden Era, Five Easy Pieces received Oscar nominations for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay, as well as nominations for Nicholson and Black.
"My life, most of it doesn't add up to much that I could relate as a way of life that you would approve of. I move around a lot. Not because I'm looking for anything really, but 'cause I'm getting away from things that get bad if I stay." —Bobby Dupea
“A masterpiece of heartbreaking intensity.” —Roger Ebert
Cast & Crew
Director: Bob Rafaelson
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