Five Easy Pieces

"He rode the fast lane on the road to nowhere."

1970 1h 38m EN

👍

7.1

SOLID

★7.1TMDB · 624

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Robert Dupea spends his days doing various odd jobs, drinking and womanizing until an encounter with his sister makes him revisit his past.

“He rode the fast lane on the road to nowhere.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Jack Nicholson
Robert Eroica Dupea
Karen Black
Rayette Dipesto
Susan Anspach
Catherine Van Oost
Lois Smith
Partita Dupea
Ralph Waite
Carl Fidelio Dupea
Billy Green Bush
Elton
Irene Dailey
Samia Glavia
Toni Basil
Terry Grouse

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Bob Rafelson
Writers: Carole Eastman, Bob Rafelson, Carole Eastman
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.6M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $18M — a 11.3× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

56 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Bob Rafelson, shot by László Kovács. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Christopher Holmes shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Jack Nicholson and Karen Black and Susan Anspach carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "He rode the fast lane on the road to nowhere.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0065724 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Bob Rafelson directs. László Kovács behind the camera. Christopher Holmes cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.6M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Grossed $18M — a 11.3× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
356 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Directed by Bob Rafelson, shot by László Kovács. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Editor Christopher Holmes shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Jack Nicholson and Karen Black and Susan Anspach carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "He rode the fast lane on the road to nowhere.".
8IMDB entry: tt0065724 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 9 themes, including "musician", "diner", "road trip", "hitchhiker".

The technical file

Cinematography: László Kovács
Editing: Christopher Holmes
Production design: Toby Carr Rafelson
Sound: Bob Minkler
Runtime: 98 min · 1h 38m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $1,600,000
Box office: $18,099,091
Return: 1131% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Five Easy Pieces (1970)

Awards

New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress
National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Bob Rafelson

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-07-16
★ 7/10
“Bobby” (Jack Nicholson) is a talented pianist from a successful family of musicians who has spurned the easy life and adopted a grifting existence working construction where he can and when he needs to. That itinerant life suits him. He is a man who seeks casual fun and who shuns any sort of commitment to his gal, to other people, or even to himself. Gradually he begins to become a little disaffected with his choices in life and with the emptiness it has left him with, and so returns to the family home where he discovers his dad has suffered from a few seizures. This new state of affairs compels “Bobby” to finally start to put a few things into perspective. It’s been three years since his last visit home and so, naturally, he is not the only one with reconciling to do - and there are a few at home who don’t quite have forgiveness first upon their lips. The question for everyone here is whether or not there can be any catharsis or is it all just too dyed in the wool. This is, for my money, the best effort Nicholson ever presented on screen. Coupled with some really quite poignant writing and paced at times as if it were a fly-on-the-wall documentary, we see a man about whom we probably couldn’t have cared less at the start expose his flaws, demons and humanity - and even then, there’s still a distinct possibility we won’t care. It’s good to see Ralph Waite - forever “John Walton” - take on a much more substantial and nuanced role as “Carl” and on that front, plaudits also have to go for an emotionally charged effort from Karen Black’s “Rayette” - the long-suffering girlfriend whom you frequently wonder shouldn’t just drop him like an hot brick. The soundtrack also plays quite a powerful role in this film with a sensitive mix of predominately country music ballads paired with some of the finest pieces of classical piano works - supposedly emanating from “Bobby” and from his sister “Partita” (Lois Smith). Essentially, it is a coming of age story only this one isn’t so much about in the traditional vein of loved-up hormones, more about adulthood and growing up by a man who lives in an uncomfortably claustrophobic world largely of his own choosing.

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