The Trip

source: The Trip

The Trip (1935) *** out of **** Directed by Roger Corman With Peter Fonda, Susan Strasberg, Bruce Dern, Dennis Hopper Fonda found lost when he and his wife get divorced, then, to scape from reality, he take a pill of LSD. What we're going to see is his entire trip. Psychodelic surrealism at it's best. Jump on that inconsistent Warning at the begin of the film, this is not a propaganda is pure homage to the drug itself. Written by a young Jack Nicholson. Music by the American Flag (Named here as "An American Music Band"). In psychedelic color!

This is one of the strangest films I have ever seen. You would think that a film about what one man goes through when he takes L.S.D. would be more interesting than this. Instead all we get is a plotless film that looks like it was written in 15 minutes where Peter Fonda is running around for 90 minutes as he is going through his trip. If this is what L.S.D. does for you then you can have it.

Great cast, although Fonda wasn't cool yet (acting-wise) about LSD and "drugs & hippies & all that stuff", but Hopper is interesting and this trippy flicks rolls down the valley without too much effort (penned by Jack Nicholson). Nothing wrong with this one a budget wouldn't have cured in '67. Along the same lines as the WILD ANGELS (biker flick) "exploitation film" (Corman), but not insulting, or even pandering, but more trying to grab on without really reaching (film-wise), and a joy to see nowadays (and it's not pro-drugs or anything), even for the time. Best performance = Dennis Hopper. Don['t sell it short if you were born before Chuck Berry and Elvis started Rock 'N Roll or you will wonder!

This virtually plotless film is about an advertising executive, going through a divorce, who decides to experiment with LSD. Most of the film, and obviously the whole reason behind making it, are the psychedelic "trip" sequences. That is the main problem with this film. While the hallucinations initially look impressive and quite enjoyably surreal, they lose their impact quickly and soon become quite dull. However, the film can be quite enjoyable as a snapshot of late sixties Californian psychedelia (all the weird, colourful paintings on walls, and almost every second sentence ending in "man"). Peter Fonda is quiet bland as the executive, but Dennis Hopper is worth watching in his role as a drug dealer. It is worth watching if you're interested in late-sixties psychedelia, LSD, Peter Fonda or drug movies, others may want to pass.

This is a film where the conflicting intents of the creative agents behind it really jar the viewer's sensibilities. Fonda, Hopper, and Nicholson wanted to make an arty film favorably depicting an acid trip (they would explore this more fully - and more maturely - in "Easy Rider"). Roger Corman wanted to make a flat out exploitation film, pure and simple (the sex scenes are the best he ever did). Montage editor Dennis Jakob was given free reign and borrows heavily from the work of underground film maker Kenneth Anger (esp. the ruggedly nihilistic/narcissistic "Scorpio Rising"). You can't get three more opposed aesthetics at work. And this film is the result. Had any of these three intents been allowed to dominate a film of half the length, any one of them could have produced a work of genius. However, meld them all together for nearly 90 minutes and you have a "WTF IS THAT?!" Ridiculous, pretentious symbolism (it's all Christ or hell or television), ridiculous dialog ("Don't make demands on my head, man!"), ridiculous sense of self-importance (our hero in an electric chair - what is he guilty of? "the Bay of Pigs!" shouts the Victorian dwarf on the carousel). Information overload when young people still thought a lot of information mattered. And of course, as so many have noted - no discernible plot whatsoever. And all that "psychedelic" "art!" Save me, save me! Originally intended as opener for a double bill with an AIP Hell's Angels biker flick. Probably should have stayed there, but prudes took offense at the flashes of female nudity, so it gained some notoriety, and then a cult audience that allowed Fonda, Hopper, and Nicholson to go on to other projects. Corman did more biker flicks. Jacob would disappear for a while, then resurface as editorial consultant for "Apocalypse Now," "the Doors," and "Koyaanisqatsi." What a long, strange trip it's been. Well, good for a few laughs, but drags too often. Best scene - the laundromat. The woman doing her sheets makes more sense than the rest of the cast combined.

Unapologetic rendering of an acid trip, told without much melodrama and a great deal of nervy style. A square television director (Peter Fonda, trying his best to look like a nerd in a V-neck sweater that would do father Henry proud!) takes LSD and drops out. Screenplay (by Jack Nicholson!) certainly cuts right to the chase--no pussyfooting about here--but there's no story to tell. The film is less an essay on the drug culture than it is a chance for director Roger Corman to get "freaky". In a way, this is an early precursor to "Easy Rider", but it was made by a lot of talented people all with bigger fish to fry. ** from ****

I originally became interested in finding this film due to my introduction and interest in the soundtrack. The music is performed by the late 60's self-proclaimed "American Music Band" known most often as THE ELECTRIC FLAG... A life-long fan of the somewhat psychadelic (as heard in THE TRIP), but more over horn/blues/rock band, the recording of THE TRIP that I first heard on a roadtrip to California (how fitting) is what sparked my search for a copy of THE TRIP. I must say that the backwards line of hearing the music first and THEN seeing the film, caused me to have vague (but passionate!) expectations of what would be contained in the film. Yes, a "typical" portrayal of the late 60's acid/drug scene some might say, but I beg to differ. The film is about a man (Peter Fonda) who is distrought with life and looks for an answer through acid. The trippy, psychadelic scenes to follow make for a colorful kaleidescope of imagery and that, if nothing else, is a treat for the eyes! But later - dark, bleak scenes of medieval death contrast with a looming carnival funhouse feel. Through ecstatic highs and eerie lows, Fonda manages to come out of the trip with a new perspective - what he had hoped for in the first place. But here is where one may say there really was no plot and in the end there was no lesson either. But, once again, I beg to differ. I enjoy delving deep into what seems to be merely innocent and aesthetic on the outside, and searching for what seems hidden amongst clowns on the inside. In the end, I got more than one message from the film, but I will let you, the viewer, decide for yourself what (if anything) you got from it. There, of course, is no wrong answer. Having never (unfortunately) gotten the chance to live during that era, my curiosity is peaked and sometimes calmed by exposing myself to all that surrounded or grew from that era - be it music, poetry, film, literature or what have you. And though I can't proclaim to tell you that you will like or dislike the film, I can really only recommend for you to check it out. Because it is entertaining. Because it is superb filming. Because it is an early music video. Because it has a great American soundtrack. Because it is history. Because it it another time we can now only remember. Because it is one man's tribute to the often misunderstood era of peace, drugs, and a more innocent way of life. Because it is America... and because it made me come away with a new thought, and new ideas in my head, and if thats not something, I don't know what is. Thanks for reading.

Once again, like many films of the same time, The Trip is often misunderstood for a campy, cheap exploitation of a once vibrant time 'too often reduced to nostalgic simplicities.' The Plot goes as follows: Peter Fonda plays a film director that is bummed out by his wife (Susan Strasberg) and pending divorce. So to cool out, he takes LSD from a psychologist-type who is making records of 'controlled' LSD experiments (played by Bruce Dern). The film seems to hold it together during the first 30 minutes or so, but loses it's place when the weird acid trips happen (note the creepy scene where Fonda dies and goes to some kind of hell inhabited by horsemen, knights, and dwarfs). Overall, this is an entertaining little time capsule filled with twists and old film techniques. But I still cannot stress enough the arrogance of a man who tries to capture an LSD trip on camera for the silver screen. Even though the film did do moderately well at the box-office (for 1967, that is), mind expansion enthusiasts, like myself, might find the LSD depictions to be a bit funny at times, and the dialogue to be typical for a film of its kind. But for all personal shortcomings, I recommend this film because it is a true original.

Roger Corman, king of b-grade Science fiction, horror, juvenile delinquent and biker movies, tunes in, turns on, and helps create a classic piece of psychedelia. Scripted by Jack Nicholson, and co-starring his future 'Easy Rider' collaborators Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper, as well as the always great Bruce Dern ('The Wild Angels', 'Bloody Mama', 'Silent Running'), the late Susan Strasberg (with Dern and Nicholson in 'Psych-Out' the following year - another psych classic), Corman regular Dick Miller ('A Bucket Of Blood',etc.), Luana Anders (Coppola and Corman's 'Dementia 13'), and even blink and you'll miss them cameos from Peter Bogdanovich and cosmic cowboy Gram Parsons. Fonda plays a disillusioned director of TV commercials who decides to drop acid for the first time in the hope of finding some meaning in his life. Dern plays his guide. Fonda's trip includes stroboscopic lights, quasi-medieval scenes including dwarves and hooded horsemen, naked go-go dancers, fast cuts, and his own funeral. Apple juice and a visit to the laundromat also play quite significant roles. This is a must see for anyone interested in 60s pop culture, and is still one of the most entertaining psych movies. Take 'The Trip' or you'll regret it forever!