Jack nicholson gives a tour de force performance in this riveting masterpiece. Special features: full screen or widescreen version mono sound subtitles: english spanish portuguese chinese korean and thia talent files and bonus theatrical trailer. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 12/21/2004 Starring: Jack Nicholson Sally Struthers Run time: 96 minutes Rating: R Director: Bob Rafelson

This subtle, existential character study of an emotionally distant outcast (Nicholson) forced to confront his past failures remains an intimate cornerstone of American '70s cinema. Written and directed with remarkable restraint by Bob Rafelson, the film is the result of a short-lived partnership between the filmmaker and Nicholson--the first was the zany formalist exercise, Head, while the equally impressive King of Marvin Gardens followed Five Easy Pieces. Quiet and full of long, controlled takes, this film draws its strength from the acutely detailed, nonjudgmental observations of its complex protagonist, Robert Dupea--an extremely crass and frustrated oil worker, and failed child pianist hiding from his past in Texas. Dupea spends his life drinking beer and sleeping with (and cheating on) his annoying but adoring Tammy Wynette-wannabe girlfriend, but when he learns that his father is dying in Washington State, he leaves. After the film transforms into a spirited road movie, and arrives at the eccentric upper-class Dupea family mansion, it becomes apparent that leaving is what Dupea does best--from his problems, fears, and those who love him. Nicholson gives a difficult yet masterful performance in an unlikable role, one that's full of ambiguity and requires violent shifts in acting style. Several sequences--such as his stopping traffic to play piano, or his famous verbal duels with a cranky waitress over a chicken-salad sandwich--are Nicholson landmarks. Yet, it's the quieter moments, when Dupea tries miserably to communicate and reconcile with his dying father, where the actor shows his real talent--and by extension, shows us the wounded little boy that lurks in the shell of the man Dupea has become. --Dave McCoy

Jack Nicholson plays a concert pianist who works on oil rigs and has a beautifully singing girlfriend who is employed as a waitress. Both lead drifting, not too happy lives. Karen Black, his girlfriend, puts up with mistreatment and infidelity while Jack constantly mistreats her and longs for someone else. She even gets left in a motel room for two days while he visits his family! A good story of a man with talent who can't seem to get it together and take himself in a direction which would make his life meaningful. A visit to a father who is dying is in order but the son is lost and making more mistakes along the way. His cruelty alarms people and he doesn't seem to know where it is coming from. A very good character study without obvious answers.

I'm amazed that you don't hear much about this terrific film these days. Released in 1970, "Five Easy Pieces" heralded a renaissance of highly personal character driven films championed by not only since film's director, Bob Rafelson, but also Robert Altman and Hal Ashby, among others. This film focuses on people, their quirks and their interpersonal relationships. The film's central character, Robert Eroica Dupea, is not a particularly likable person but as written superbly by Carol Eastman and brilliantly assayed by Jack Nicholson he becomes sympathetic. Stifled by an austere artistic clan, Dupea escapes but leads a directionless existence going from one meaningless job after another and engages in a romance with a waitress(Karen Black) that he has little if anything in common with. Nicholson gives a carefully modulated performance, a departure from his more flamboyant work in "Easy Rider", suggesting both the anger, apathy, and sadness that seethes inside. The real revelation here is Black. A lesser actress would have portrayed Rayette as a dumb bunny. Black saw more complexity in her character. Rayette is certainly unlearned but Black brought out the sweetness and the sadness in her. It's unfathomable how Black lost the Oscar to Helen Hayes in "Airport"(?!). On a final note any film that puts Tammy Wynette and Chopin on equal footing has to be great.

For the record, the oil field section of this classic don't take place in Texas. Try California, as in the oilfields north of LA and west of Bakersfiled. You can even see CA roadsigns in the Highway 5 piano playing scene. This may seem to be a trivial point, but it matters in the understanding of Jack's character. All that aside, this flick is a subtle classic.

I saw this movie when it first came out, and upon viewing it recently (2008), it appears to be different. I remember it being in black and white, and I remember the confrontation with the character's father as being far more emotional and extended in time. Duprea said a great deal more to his father than - we never did talk much, did we? I think portions of the movie, which serve to give a much clearer picture of the relationship between father and son, have been edited out - to the detrement of artist and audience. I grew up in just such a family and had the exact same reactions of Duprea, to the sterile, narrow minded, judgemental environment in which the character was raised. I recognized the cold, life-less atmosphere of the house, peopled by those ignorant of real life, yet dangerous because of their imagined insight and superiority. I would have liked to see the original movie, uncut.

I saw "Five Easy Pieces" back in 1974-I was completely blown away by Jack Nicholson's performance-It turns out he was nominated for Best Actor in 1970-Unfortunately,he lost to George C.Scott,who ironically refused to accept his Oscar for "Patton"-Sharp eyed viewers will catch a then unknown actress named Sally Struthers,who went on to play Gloria in the hit TV series "All In The Family"-My favorite scene in "FEP" is when Nicholson gets testy with the waitress in the diner-That's a keeper!-This is Jack Nicholson at his best.