In 1969, one of the earliest movies about the then-prominent hippie subculture,Alice’s Restaurant, was released. The film, directed and written by Arthur Penn and Venable Herndon, was a response to new American challenges such asthe Vietnam Wardraft and several other anxiety-inducing events of the 1950s. The film carried a similar message to the movement as a whole: a critique of western society and its contemporary practices, aiming to change the American mindset to one of peace and love. The hippie movement rebelled against these ideological and political systems in a show of wild drug use and sexual liberalism, two subjects that are visited in most movies that touch on this era.
In aUniversity Press of Mississippiinterview, Arthur Penn says thatAlice’s Restaurantwas a response to “the US’ silence” and a depiction of “the new generation that’s trying to save everything." Like the movement itself, movies about hippie subculture look at multiple perspectives like these, but mostly focus on pushing the boundaries of established society and feature youth “trying to save” a broken world.
Although the movement winded down in the 1970s, hippie culture continued to appear in motion pictures because of its permanent impression on society. Up until today, there have been a variety of interpretations of hippie subculture (both positive and critical) coming out of Hollywood. Flicks of that era, likeAlice’s Restaurant, fixated on the mindset of that time, while more recent films likeThe Big LebowskiandAcross the Universestudied the aftermath. Here are the best movies about hippie subculture, ranked.
9Across the Universe
Directed by Julie Taymor and inspired several songs byThe Beatles,Across the Universefollows the lives of four young characters in the 1960s who are impacted by the decade’s political movements. The story deals with radical political protests, sexuality,the civil rights movement, and the Vietnam War. Lucy, played by Evan Rachel Wood, becomes particularly involved in the anti-war movement and verges on obsessive. She comes to her senses, however, when she discovers her leader is crafting bombs. The movie also looks at addiction following experimental drugs in the 1960s.
8Wonderwall
This British psychedelic film came out in 1968 and completely taps into the feelings of the time. Directed by Joe Massot, the underratedWonderwallreally digs into the experimental drug use and liberal sexuality of the 1960s. Basically, the movie follows a man who spies on his neighbors’ photoshoots through a hole in the wall between their apartments, but asan experimental film,Wonderwalllacks any real story and should be taken more as a visual experience. According to Budd Wilkins ofSlant, the film should be viewed for its “eye-popping set designs and spaced out world music ambiance,” composed by the Beatle, George Harrison.
7Psych-Out
Psych-Outwas another psychedelic film released in 1968, with an excellent cast including Jack Nicholson, Susan Strasberg, Dean Stockwell, and Bruce Dern. In summary, a deaf girl runs away to San Francisco to search for her missing brother and falls into the Haight-Ashbury hippie district. The film’s producer, Dick Clark, said inhis memoirRock, Roll, and Remember, that he wanted the motion picture to be an anti-drug piece because he had seen young people in hippie communes living in “awful squalor.” Like many films in this list, it was an account of the boundaries being broken by the hippie movement.
6Easy Rider
This anti-establishment film was written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern. Fonda and Hopper star inEasy Rideras two bikers traveling on an epic road trip across America. They encounter many of the themes explored in other 60s films, really zeroing in on disgruntled youth, drugs, and communes, along with the sense of hopelessness regarding the future which compelled so many hippies to pursue both political action and indulgent hedonism.Easy Rideris known for including actual drug use and featuring arguably the first great Jack Nicholson performance; it also has one of the most haunting andbest final shots in movie history.
Related Link:These Are Jack Nicholson’s Best Performances, Ranked
5Helter Skelter
Made-for-TV and based on the 1974 book,Helter Skelterlooks at the murders committed by the Manson family. Charles Manson adopted the term “helter-skelter” from the Beatles song of the same name. Although Manson had a criminal history, he was partly influenced by the anti-establishment and hippie movements of the decade; his cult and similar ones were often tied up with hippie subculture (and its emphasis on drugs, illegal acts, and communal living), something perfectly depicted inOnce Upon a Time in Hollywood.
4Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Partly based around the same events asHelter Skelter, thisQuentin Tarantino moviefollows a famous actor and his stunt double navigating Hollywood in the late 1960s. Starring Leonardo Decaprio, Brad Pitt, and Margot Robbie, Tarantino wroteOnce Upon a Time in Hollywoodand decided his two main characters should be neighbors to Sharon Tate. While the movie mostly focuses on the dying popularity of Westerns and old Hollywood, the scenes on the Spahn Ranch, home of the Mansons, really digs into the activities of the time, and the explosive, simultaneously violent and comic ending is a revisionist (and somewhat conservative) take on the Manson crimes and hippie subculture in general.
Related Link:Most Iconic Roles Brad Pitt Has Ever Played, Ranked
3Eggshells
Directed by Tobe Hooper, a man known for his contributions to the horror genre withTexas Chain Saw Massacreand many others,Eggshellsrides the line between experimental and intentionally horrifying. The movie centers on a group of adolescent hippies who are residing in a commune, based in an old house in the woods; some mysterious activity in the basement leads them to believe there is a supernatural presence down below. Critic Louis Black of theAustin Chronicledescribes the film as “more cinematic than you’d expect” with “moments of classic psychedelic cutting and colors.” It’s one of the rare but powerful instances of hippies and horror merging together.
2Woodstock
This 1970 American documentary filmWoodstockcaptured the titular music festival in the summer of 1969 which, to many, was the most explicit manifestation of the hippie movement. Along with documenting the performances of various music artists, the film encapsulates the youth of that time and the gathering of nearly 400,000 people; it’s not only ariveting concert film, but a historically important chronicle of the hippie subculture itself. Two notable editors who worked on the film are Thelma Schooner and Martin Scorsese, and their brilliant use of split-screen and cross-cutting
This 1967 motion pictureThe Tripis one of the first and best, if notthebest, representations of the hippie subculture in the 1960s. Written by Jack Nicholson and directed by the legendarily prolific Roger Corman, the narrative follows a TV commercial director who takes LSD to distract himself from the heartbreak of his recent divorce. He experiences many trippy visions and ends up adventuring all over the Sunset Strip. The flick includes wild editing to replicate the hallucinations brought on by LSD, and not only emulates the feeling of an acid trip but the feeling of the late 60s, as well.
Although the hippie movement is over, its decade produced lots of material for great films, and will surely inspire other films in years to come. After all, new generations are coming which will “want to save everything,” as Arthur Penn said, and there’s a lot of things that need saving.
