Customer Reviews

Hell's Angel 69

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I saw Hells Angels 69 when it came out. I was 13 and it was the first biker movie I ever saw.I have seen many since that time and there is no doubt in my mind that this is the best one made.This is a true biker flick, not some stupid poser garbage like Easy Rider. Easy Rider is just the lame story of two punks .They aren't bikers, just hippies on two wheels. Sonny Barger,former President of the Oakland chapter of the Hells Angels who was in HA 69, described Peter Fonda best when he said Fonda was a graduate of Chicken Sh_t High School.Although the acting is not great you get a feeling for how the Club actually was in those days.As a side note, Terry the Tramp and Magoo, two members of the Oakland chapter that are featured in the film, died shortly after the film was made.The Hells Angel lifestyle demands a lot and these two paid the price.The bikes and the locations make the film all the more real. The club house shown at the start of the film was the actual one for the Daly City chapter.This is the real thing.The other film in this set is so bad that it isn't worth the effort to watch it.

Believe it or not, Hell's Angels 69, released at the tail end of the `biker' genre, was not the first film to feature the Angels (that credit goes to the 1967 film Hells Angels on Wheels), but, it was the first film where the boys actually got speaking parts. Co-written by Jeremy Slade (who also co-stars) and Tom Stern (who also co-stars and produced the movie), with the screenplay by Don Tait (Chrome and Hot Leather, The Apple Dumpling Gang, Herbie Goes Bananas), and directed by Lee Madden (Angel Unchained, The Manhandlers), the movie features Conny Van Dyke (W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings), who, along with appearing on numerous television game shows throughout the 70s was also Motown's first, white recording artist, G.D. Spradlin (The Godfather: Part II, Apocalypse Now, Ed Wood), along with a slew of real life Hell's Angels including Charles `Magoo' Tinsley, John `Terry the Tramp' Tracy, Tiny Walters, Clifford `Skip' Workman, and Ralph 'Sonny' Barger, also known as the Godfather of the Hells Angels and the most famous outlaw Biker in the world.

As the movie begins we're in Los Angeles, at a real swinging party, a happening shindig hosted by two seemingly well-to-do brothers Wes (Slate) and Chuck (Stern), in a groovy apartment complete with wall to wall pink shag carpeting...zowie! The boys talk briefly about some plan, and then cut out early arriving at a posh house in the hills. The next morning we see the two leaving, dressed as bikers, driving a pair of choppers (motorcycles). They ride out into the country and stake out the Hell's Angels (the Oakland chapter, to be specific), eventually weaseling their way into hanging out with the club. The pair participate in various club activities like drinking beer, riding around recklessly, drinking beer, terrorizing a small town, drinking beer, brawling with each other, drinking beer and so on...did I mention they drink beer? Also, Chuck buys Betsy (Van Dyke), a tag along bimbette of the club, for a pack of smokes (I wonder what he could've gotten for a carton). Anyway, after Wes and Chuck get a serious beat down from the bikers (I thought it was an initiation of sorts, but this wasn't the case), they hear the Angels are planning on a road trip, to which Wes and Chuck suggest Las Vegas as a destination, as that's where the action is...or, at least the action as far as their plans go. Turns out Wes and Chuck have designs on robbing one of the casinos, and are planning on using the Angels as part of a diversionary tactic. The group does go to Las Vegas, the brothers manage the heist and get subsequently get away, trading in their choppers for dirt bikes and fleeing across the desert. The Angels, learning of the ruse, are hot on the heels of the deceptive duo and it's not to congratulate them for their recent successes...

Okay, first off I want to mention that there is no huge Las Vegas riot scene in this film, despite the fact that on the front of the DVD case it states "This was the RUMBLE that ROCKED Las Vegas!". This was a little disappointing to me, I was really looking forward to some serious bone snapping, head cracking, blood spilling action as the cops and the bikers participated in an all out battle royale. There is a showdown of sorts, but it ends all rather amicably, and without much fuss. One of the most interesting aspects of the film for me was when the group was cruising the Las Vegas Strip, and seeing how relatively quaint the Las Vegas Strip was compared to today (Caesar's Palace was miniscule to its current form). As far as the acting goes, the `professional' performers did all right (none of them broke a sweat, but the material was very simplistic), while Sonny and his club members, while not professional actors, did well enough, and besides, these aren't the kind of guys I'd think would stand around while the director took take after take after take trying to get the shot right. As far as the story goes this wasn't the best biker movie I've ever saw, but it was far from the worst. At the very least it was kept relatively straightforward. Having real life Hell's Angels present certainly provided a sense of authenticity, and the film does feature a lot of what one expect in a flick like this in the four B's...bikes, boozing, brawling, broads (a bit skimpy on this last one, though). The whole subplot with Van Dyke's character realizing there's more to life than being the property of a biker club seemed awkward at times, and near the end it really dragged on the film as her newfound outlook on life leads to complications between Wes and Chuck, but other than that, the story moved along at a decent pace. The stunts were well done, and the fight scenes felt very real which made me wonder if any of it was staged, or if the guys were just cut loose to go at each other. The funniest scene in the film was when Chuck and Wes changed from their biker outfits into suits and really phony looking wigs, prior to robbing the casino. Had I been on the scene when this happened, and the police later questioned me as to if I saw anything strange or unusual, I would have responded, "What, besides the two guys with really bad crew cut wigs?" All in all an interesting film that plods along at times, and features an ending you might not expect, but one should keep in mind the Hell's Angels had a stipulation in that while they could be depicted as being fooled in the movie, they ultimately had to have the last word.

Media Blasters provides a good looking, fullscreen (1.33:1) picture on this DVD, and the Dolby Digital 2.0 audio comes through clean enough. There are a number of special features including a original trailer for the film, an intro by Joe Bob Briggs, a featurette titled `Conny Van Dyke: Message to Her Fans' (9:30), a Connie Van Dyke photo gallery, liner notes and movie info print on the DVD booklet insert, and a commentary track featuring Joe Bob Briggs. Also included are trailers for other Media Blaster DVD releases like Blood Shack (1971), Hell High (1989), Samurai Cop (1989), and The Hollywood Strangler (1979). The movie itself rates three stars, while Joe Bob Brigg's commentary track earns this release an extra star. That man sure knows his cinematic crud.

Cookieman108

If I learned anything from this film it's not to cross the Hell's Angels...they seem reluctant to forgive and forget...and a pack of cigarettes goes far in biker clubs.

The only true movie about the Angels in the sixties. Featuring Sonny Barger & Terry the Tramp. Subzero cool movie

This rather lame tale of two thrill seeking rich boys out to prove they can rob a Las Vegas Casino, and use Hells Angels to do it, would barely merit mention were it not for the fact that the real Oakland Angels are stars in the film.
Sonny Barger, President, Terry the Tramp, Magoo and Cisco, all of the Oakland chapter, and familiar to anyone who has read any of the books about the history of the Angels, are featured heavily here with dialogue and close ups and everything. Terry being the stand out.
The motorcycles range from rather stock late sixties Harleys to a custom built chopper reportedly built by Sonny specially for the film. But these bikes are only featured in the first two thirds of the picture- the final chase scene through the desert has almost the entire cast riding dirt bikes.
Overall an interesting if not great film, just to see the famous Angels, the basis for so many of the genres offerings, in the flesh so to speak.

Most people with common sense know they're not watching this for groundbreaking cinema before they watch it. But anyone with a remote interest in bikes or the counter-culture will find this an enjoyable movie. It does not build character depth for every member of the Angels because its not a movie based on an AA meeting, but does focus on two protagonists, two antagonists (Sonny Barger and Terry the Tramp), and the damsel in distress. It has a plot that builds and keeps suspense, along with giving a peep-show into what the Angels scene was back in '69 (keep in mind they used the original Oakland chapter of the Hells Angels to portray themselves in this film and i doubt they spent too much time in rehearsal and in the make-up chair). The ending is esoteric in nature as was every other movie in this genre in this era (i.e Easy Rider, Vanishing Point, Two-Lane Blacktop), but it does not end with a tickle-fight. So if you're remotely interested in the genre or a mototrcycle enthusiast, this movie will not dissapoint.

I first saw this cheesey B flick back in '69 or '70, back when movies like this were en vougue. Think about it. The CIA recruits a misfit group of Hells Angel types to rescue and return a US presidential advisor from behind enemy lines in Viet Nam. So, here come these booze drinking, pot smoking, verile heroes to the rescue. And what fun it is! Keep in mind, American GI's are not allowed to step foot where this hostage advisor is being held, but bikers are. They party hard before the battle, do lots of local women, retro-fit their choppers and off they go. What ensues is pure fictional hocum. Lots of slo-mo action with a cool 70's style score. A great nostalgic fix for fans of this genre.

Don't worry about the intricasies of the plot and story-line here. Just sit back and enjoy. I did.

Yes, part of this movie was filmed in old downtown Mountain View, California, as well as pre-updated Las Vegas Strip. It is a must-have for collectors of kitschy Hells Angels paraphanalia. Sonny's even in it!

According to Sonny Barger the only Hells Angels Endorsed movie and with actual members in them. This isn't hollywood's poseur duo going cross country posing as bikers when they are just smelly hippies.So perhaps it might not have the budget or the actors but it is a great movie with Realist notions not silly peace loving beatniks or druggies.bikers are the Real Counter-Culture,some are bad apples,racists etc. but they aren't liberal fascists. alot of them were veterans,retired cops,etc. who loathed hippies and the whole peace bs.want a real biker flick see this for yourself, wanna be a poser? see the imitations and hollywood's take on them.

I recently have gotten back into the old biker flicks I enjoyed as a kid in my small town theater. I had forgotten how good this movie is. It is a notch above the standard biker movie. The real angels are actually better actors than most of the real stars in these movies. The video image on this film is quite good and the sound isn't bad.I enjoyed the feature with Conny Van Dyke recalling her memories of the angels. It gave me a different insight to these guys. Recommended if you enjoy this type of film. Alot of fun to watch!

If you watch this movie and enjoy it. Youll have to read Sonny Barger's books. Its a great movie about some seedy underhanded clowns from my HOME TOWN Salem Massachusetts who cross the BIG RED MACHINE. And it will show you that IF YOU DONT F WITH THEM...THEY WONT F WITH YOU. The LOCAL 81 original crew guys did a great job in being themselves. And even the guys today are good guys. Buy this movie and read sonny's books.