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In 2024,The Bikeridersis an anomaly.
And so were titillating cautionary tales about these motorcycle-riding hellions and their hard-partying lifestyle.
That film was released in 1953, only five years after the establishment of the Hells Angels.
And biker flicks were made, here and there, in the meantime.
But it was Roger Corman andThe Wild Angelsthat made them their own subgenre.
In 1969,Easy Riderchanged the game again by bringing bikers into the cinematic mainstream.
With that in mind, the pervasiveness of sexual violence in these films should not be a surprise.
The worst is all the Nazi crap.
We used to kill guys who wore that kind of garbage, Miller says.
15.The Savage Seven(1968)
15.
(The weirdness of the white 60s counterculture toward Native people cannot be overstated.)
14.Satans Sadists(1969)
14.
(Told you.)
13.The Loveless(1981)
13.
Bigelow is still finding her feet as a filmmaker, andThe Lovelessbarely hangs together as a narrative.
Maybe she was driven to distraction by all the musky leathers and hot chrome.
12.Angels From Hell(1968)
12.
Compared to its contemporaries, the otherwise obscureAngels From Hellhas aged well thanks to its hardline anti-cop stance.
(Hollywood types always have weed on them.)
The action is cartoony, and the plot is thin, but the spirit is righteous.
11.Psychomania(1973)
11.
10.The Leather Boys(1964)
10.
The biker-gang equivalent ofBrokeback Mountainplays out like this: Horny teenage girl meets cool leather-clad boy.
Boy and girl rush to the altar.
9.Stray Cat Rock: Delinquent Girl Boss(1970)
9.
Still, the elements that make these movies so captivating are all there: Cross-cultural psychedelic pastiche.
Unexpectedly savage torture scenes.
Mei and the girls taking a stand against racism.
8.Bury Me an Angel(1971)
8.
(Its a surprisingly gory shot, given the films age and budget.)
7.The Wild Angels(1966)
7.
6.The Wild One(1953)
6.
That presages the cynical era to come, as does this iconic exchange:What are you rebelling against?
Whaddaya got?Its a line so good they use it twice.
5.She-Devils on Wheels(1968)
5.
Technically,She-Devils on Wheelsis not a good movie.
And yet, its also the greatest movie ever made.
4.Stone(1974)
4.
3.Hells Angels on Wheels(1967)
3.
The same quality that makesHells Angels on Wheelspalatable also makes it inauthentic.
2.Easy Rider(1969)
2.
Yeah, its pointless.
But, like, soslife,man.
1.Scorpio Rising(1963)
1.
