- Five Easy Pieces
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Five Easy Pieces 
original movie posterDirected by Bob Rafelson Produced by Bob Rafelson
Richard WechslerWritten by Bob Rafelson
Adrien JoyceStarring Jack Nicholson
Karen BlackCinematography László Kovács Editing by Christopher Holmes
Gerald ShepardStudio BBS Productions Distributed by Columbia Pictures Release date(s) September 12, 1970 Running time 96 minutes Country United States Language English Budget $1.6 million Box office $18,099,091 Five Easy Pieces is a 1970 American drama film written by Carole Eastman (as Adrien Joyce) and Bob Rafelson, and directed by Rafelson. The film stars Jack Nicholson, Karen Black, and Susan Anspach. The cast also includes Billy 'Green' Bush, Fannie Flagg, Ralph Waite, Sally Struthers, Lois Smith, Toni Basil, and Helena Kallianiotes. The film tells the story of a surly oil rig worker, Bobby Dupea, whose blue-collar existence belies his privileged youth as a child prodigy. When word reaches Bobby that his father is dying, he goes home to see him, reluctantly bringing along his pregnant girlfriend, Rayette (Black), a dimwitted waitress. The film was selected to be preserved by The Library of Congress at The National Film Registry in 2000.
Contents
Plot
Classical pianist Robert Dupea (Nicholson), who comes from a family of musicians, works in a California oil field. Most of his time is spent in bowling alleys, drinking beer in the trailer of his friend, Elton (Bush), or with his waitress girlfriend, Rayette (Black). When he learns that she is pregnant, and his friend Elton gets arrested for having robbed a gas station a year earlier, he quits his job and leaves for Los Angeles where his sister, Partita (Smith), also a pianist, is making a recording. Partita informs him that their father has suffered two strokes and urges him to return to the family home on Puget Sound. He tells Rayette that he must go to see his father and reluctantly agrees to take her along. On the way, they pick up two lesbians headed for Alaska whose constant chatter about "filth" increasingly annoys Robert. The four of them are thrown out of a restaurant when he gets into an argument with a waitress who refuses to accommodate his special order. Eventually, Robert reaches his destination. Embarrassed by Rayette's lack of polish, he registers her in a motel and goes to his family home. At dinner that night, he meets Catherine Van Oost (Anspach), a young pianist engaged to his brother, Carl (Waite), a violinist.
Despite personality differences, Robert and Catherine become attracted to each other and make love in her room. Meanwhile, Rayette becomes bored at the motel and comes to the Dupea estate unannounced. Her presence creates an awkward situation, but when Samia, a pompous family friend, ridicules Rayette's background, Robert gives a fiery defense of her. Storming from the room in search of Catherine, he discovers his father's male nurse giving the half-naked Partita a massage. Even more angered, Robert picks a senseless fight with him and is quickly knocked to the floor. He tries to convince Catherine to go away with him, but she tells him she cannot do it because he does not love himself or anything at all and thus should not expect love in return. After trying to talk to his unresponsive father, Robert leaves with Rayette. At a gas station, when Rayette goes in for some coffee, he abandons her, hitching a ride on a truck to Alaska.
Cast
- Jack Nicholson as Robert Eroica Dupea
- Karen Black as Rayette Dipesto
- Susan Anspach as Catherine Van Oost
- Lois Smith as Partita Dupea
- Ralph Waite as Carl Fidelio Dupea
- Billy 'Green' Bush as Elton
- Irene Dailey as Samia Glavia
- Toni Basil as Terry Grouse
- Helena Kallianiotes as Palm Apodaca
- William Challee as Nicholas (Father) Dupea
- John Ryan as Spicer
- Fannie Flagg as Stoney
- Marlena Macguire as Twinky
- Sally Ann Struthers as Betty
- Lorna Thayer as Waitress
- Richard Stahl as Recording Engineer
Recital music
The five classical piano pieces played in the film and referenced in the title are:
- Frédéric Chopin: Fantasy in F Minor Op. 49, played by Bobby on the back of a moving truck.
- Johann Sebastian Bach: Chromatic fantasia and Fugue, played by Bobby's sister, Partita, in a recording studio.
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto no. 9 in E-flat major, K. 271, played by Bobby's brother, Carl, and Catherine upon Bobby's arrival at the house.
- Chopin: Prelude Op. 28, No. 4, in E minor, played by Bobby for Catherine.
- Mozart: Fantasy in D Minor, K. 397
Reception
The film has an 84% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 32 reviews.[1]
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.
References
External links
- Five Easy Pieces at the Internet Movie Database
- Five Easy Pieces at AllRovi
- Five Easy Pieces at Box Office Mojo
- Five Easy Pieces at Rotten Tomatoes
- Roger Ebert on Five Easy Pieces
- Bright Lights Film Journal essay
- Time magazine interview with screenwriter Carol Eastman
- Liner notes from the original Criterion Laserdisc
- "Five Easy Pieces turns 40" - Los Angeles Times
Films directed by Bob Rafelson 1960s Head (1968)1970s 1980s The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981) · Black Widow (1987)1990s 2000s No Good Deed (2002)Categories:- English-language films
- 1970 films
- 1970s drama films
- American drama films
- Films directed by Bob Rafelson
- Films set in Oregon
- Films shot in Oregon
- United States National Film Registry films
- Columbia Pictures films
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