Easy Rider...

Easy Rider is a film that has had a huge influence over my life in the years since I first saw it. When I was younger going on holidays to Wales with my parents, my dad would leave his watch behind, just like Peter Fonda does at the beginning of the film. The idea of this always stuck with with me, although I'm not that great at doing it myself - I am a chronic watch-checker. The soundtrack is still one of my favourites, to the point that Andrea and I used I Wasn't Born to Follow by The Byrds to play us out at our wedding. But aside from the personal connection, I think it's an incredibly powerful and complex film that truly deserves its place in cinema history.

When I started to think about it, I realised that Dennis Hopper appeared in a lot of films that are on my favourites list, from Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and Rebel Without a Cause to Blue Velvet and Red Rock West. The last film I saw him in was Elegy in which he played the aging best friend to an aging Sir Ben. For me he was the best thing about the film. His was one of those names always made me smile if I saw it on the opening titles of any film, because it meant that even if the film was bad there would at least be a Dennis Hopper performance to look forward to.