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Five Easy Pieces

original movie poster
Directed by Bob Rafelson
Produced by Robert Daley
Written by Carole Eastman
Bob Rafelson
Starring Jack Nicholson
Karen Black
Cinematography László Kovács
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date(s) September 11, 1970 (USA)
Running time 96 min. Robert "Bob" Rafelson (born February 21, 1933) is an American Film director, writer and producer Robert Daley (born 1930 in New York City New York -) is an American novelist Carole Eastman ( February 19, 1934 - February 13, 2004) was an American Screenwriter. Robert "Bob" Rafelson (born February 21, 1933) is an American Film director, writer and producer John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson (born April 22 1937) is an American Actor, internationally renowned for his often dark-themed portrayals Karen Black (born July 1, 1939) is an American actress, Screenwriter, Singer and Songwriter. László Kovács, ASC ( May 14, 1933 &ndash July 22, 2007) was a Cinematographer, most famous for his award-winning work on }} Columbia Pictures Industries Inc is an American Film production and distribution company Events 9 - The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends 506 - The Bishops of Visigothic Gaul Year 1970 ( MCMLXX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the
Language English
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Five Easy Pieces is a 1970 film written by Carole Eastman (as Adrien Joyce) and Bob Rafelson, and directed by Rafelson. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States The year 1970 in film involved some significant events Events February 11 - The film The Magic Christian Carole Eastman ( February 19, 1934 - February 13, 2004) was an American Screenwriter. Robert "Bob" Rafelson (born February 21, 1933) is an American Film director, writer and producer It tells the story of Bobby Dupea (played by Jack Nicholson), a former piano prodigy who is estranged from his artistic upper class family. John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson (born April 22 1937) is an American Actor, internationally renowned for his often dark-themed portrayals In the opening of the film, the character is working as an oil rigger. For a detailed diagram of a Petroleum drilling rig, See Drilling rig (petroleum A drilling rig is a machine which creates holes (usually called When his father becomes ill, he goes home to visit his family, reluctantly taking his diner waitress girlfriend with him. It stars Jack Nicholson, Karen Black, Susan Anspach, Billy Green Bush, Fannie Flagg, Lois Smith, and Sally Struthers. John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson (born April 22 1937) is an American Actor, internationally renowned for his often dark-themed portrayals Karen Black (born July 1, 1939) is an American actress, Screenwriter, Singer and Songwriter. Susan Anspach (born November 23 1939) is an American stage and motion-picture Actress. William Warren Bush (born 1935 is an American Actor, sometimes credited as “Billy Greenbush” Fannie Flagg (born Patricia Neal September 21, 1944 in Birmingham Alabama) is an American author and actress Lois Smith (born November 3, 1930) is an American actress whose career in Theater, Film, and Television has spanned five Sally-Ann Struthers (born July 28, 1948) is a two-time Emmy-winning American actress and Spokesperson, known for her roles in Sitcoms

A title sequence as written in the screenplay showed earlier scenes in the Dupea family's life, including 10-year-old Bobby's recital program music: (the apparently fictitious) Grebner's "Five Easy Pieces". However, the sequence was not used, and the film titles open instead with the adult Bobby at the oil rigs.

The soundtrack employed five songs by Tammy Wynette, including "Stand By Your Man. Virginia Wynette Pugh, known professionally as Tammy Wynette ( May 5, 1942 - April 6, 1998) was an American country music singer-songwriter " Stand by Your Man " is a 1968 song cowritten by Tammy Wynette and Billy Sherrill and sung by Tammy Wynette "

The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Jack Nicholson), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Karen Black), Best Picture and Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Based on Factual Material or Material Not Previously Published or Produced. "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film. Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS to recognize Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS The Academy Award for Best Motion Picture is one of the Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS to artists working The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best script not based upon previously published material

In 2000, Five Easy Pieces was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The National Film Registry is the registry of Films selected by the United States National Film Preservation Board for preservation in the Library of The Library of Congress is the De facto National library of the United States and the research arm of the United States Congress

Also the notable filmmakers Lars Von Trier, Joel and Ethan Coen, Ingmar Bergman, and the award-winning novelists Cormac McCarthy and William Gaddis have expressed deep admiration for the movie. Lars von Trier (born Lars Trier, April 30, 1956) is a Danish Film director and Screenwriter. Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, known together professionally as the Coen brothers, are four-time Academy Award winning American filmmakers Ernst Ingmar Bergman ( pronounced) (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007 was a nine-time Academy Award -nominated Swedish film, stage Cormac McCarthy, born Charles McCarthy (born July 20, 1933 in Providence Rhode Island) is an American Novelist and William Gaddis ( December 29, 1922 – December 16, 1998) was an American novelist

Famous scene

The waitress, Bobby, Rayette, and two hitchhikers.
The waitress, Bobby, Rayette, and two hitchhikers.

The movie's most famous scene takes place in a roadside restaurant where Bobby tries to get a waitress (Lorna Thayer) to bring him toast with his breakfast, which is not on the menu. Lorna Thayer ( 10 March 1919 - June 4 2005) was an American character actress. Despite appeals to logic and common sense, the waitress adamantly sticks to the rules of the restaurant, so Bobby comes up with a plan of his own as Rayette and their two hitchhikers (played by Toni Basil and Helena Kallianiotes) look on:

Bobby: I'd like a plain omelet. Toni Basil (born Antonia Christina Basilotta; September 22 1943) is an American Musician, video Artist, No potatoes, tomatoes instead. A cup of coffee and wheat toast.
Waitress: No substitutions.
Bobby: What do you mean? You don't have any tomatoes?
Waitress: Only what's on the menu. You can have a number two — a plain omelet. It comes with cottage fries, and rolls.
Bobby: Yea, I know what it comes with, but it's not what I want.
Waitress: Well I'll come back when you make up your mind.
Bobby: Wait a minute, I have made up my mind. I'd like a plain omelet, no potatoes on the plate. A cup of coffee and a side order of wheat toast.
Waitress: I'm sorry, we don't have any side orders of toast. I'll give you an English muffin or a coffee roll.
Bobby: What do you mean "you don't make side orders of toast"? You make sandwiches, don't you?
Waitress: Would you like to talk to the manager?
Bobby: You've got bread. And a toaster of some kind?
Waitress: I don't make the rules.
Bobby: OK, I'll make it as easy for you as I can. I'd like an omelet, plain, and a chicken salad sandwich on wheat toast, no mayonnaise, no butter, no lettuce. And a cup of coffee.
Waitress: A number two, chicken sal san. Hold the butter, the lettuce, the mayonnaise, and a cup of coffee. Anything else?
Bobby: Yeah, now all you have to do is hold the chicken, bring me the toast, give me a check for the chicken salad sandwich, and you haven't broken any rules.
Waitress(sarcastically): You want me to hold the chicken, huh?
Bobby: I want you to hold it between your knees.

The waitress then indignantly orders them to leave, to which Nicholson knocks the drinks off the table with a sweep of his arm.

Back in the car:

Palm Apodaca: Fantastic that you could figure that all out and lie that down on her so you could come up with a way to get your toast. Fantastic.
Bobby: Yea, well I didn't get it, did I?
Palm Apodaca: No, but it was very clever. I would've just punched her out.

The scene is iconic as a metaphor for the rebellious, free spirit of the youth of the late 1960s and early 1970s, a strong theme in the film as a whole. Thirty years later Nicholson would perform a scene in the movie About Schmidt which directly drew from this scene (available as a "Deleted Scene" extra on the DVD release). About Schmidt is a 2002 American Film directed by Alexander Payne and starring Jack Nicholson as Warren Schmidt and Nicholson's character in About Schmidt, an emotionally downtrodden retiree, in contrast, humbly accepts the waitress' "no substitutions" rule.

Trivia

The five classical piano pieces--not necessarily "easy"--played in the movie are:

External links

Fantasia No 3 in D minor K 397 ( Fantasy in English Fantasie in German is a piece of music for solo piano composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Roger Joseph Ebert (iːbɝt born June 18, 1942) is an American film critic and Screenwriter.
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