Jack Nicholson, after a decade of scuffling on the fringes of Hollywood, first broke through in 1969 with a memorable supporting role in Easy Rider, but his career-defining performance as Bobby Dupea in 1970’s Five Easy Pieces established him as a major star, earning him the first of his eight Oscar nominations as Best Actor. A roughneck working in the oil fields of Kern County, Calif., Bobby keeps his former life as a piano prodigy hidden, but a series of upheavals sends him on a road trip to his Pacific Northwest home, where his brother and sister, both classical musicians, reside with his ailing but still-intimidating father. Bobby has grudgingly brought pregnant girlfriend Rayette (Karen Black), a would-be country singer, along for the ride, but when he becomes involved with a musician (Susan Anspach) studying with his brother, long-simmering tensions are brought to a full boil. 

Note: the 7PM screening will be introduced by Cliff Froehlich. If you wish to attend the screening and lecture please select the 2PM ticket.

This presentation is part of the film & lectures series HOLLYWOOD FILMS OF THE 1970s in partnership with St. Louis Oasis. Every film will be followed by a discussion of 45-60 minutes led by Cliff Froehlich, retired executive director of Cinema St. Louis and former film critic for The Riverfront Times. 

During the period from 1967-80, a remarkable body of work was created in Hollywood. The chaotic state of the studios in the late 1960s opened up room for the film-school generation — young and unabashed movie enthusiasts equally in love with and influenced by the cinemas of classic Hollywood and Europe — and expanded the freedoms of older directors and an underappreciated middle group of filmmakers who began in theater, comedy, television, and criticism. This class will include key works of the period, with screenings held at the Hi-Pointe Theatre at 2 pm on a Wednesday each month.