Customer Reviews

Hells Angels on Wheels

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I've seen this one three or four times on Speedvision. Kind of ruthless toward the women but conveys the style of the Hell's Angels. Too bad about Adam Roarke. He was a good guy, a pretty good actor, stunt man and.... well he died a little before his time. I could call myself a biker but my Kawasaki Z1R although quick doesn't quite fit the image of a Harley Davidson. Some how Jack Nicholson just doesn't fit in either. Sonny "Ralph" Barger sure does!

Please don't listen to the people making clueless comments about this film. It was theatrically released in the 1960s and was seen as a departure from the standard AIP biker fare. Directed by Richard Rush, years before "Stunt Man," and featuring members of the Hells Angels, this film featured Jack Nicholson as a potential member of the Angels. There's little "action" and the fluid camera movement have led it to be known as "Hells Angels On Quaaludes." Not as bad as the other reviews have made it out to be.

This is One of Those TRUE GUILTY PLEASURES !!! This even Seems Better then Corman's The Wild Angels Which came out Earlier, This movie shows more of the True Brotherhood of what its like to be in a Real Outlaw Biker Gang !!! There are Even real Hells Angel Alums in this film Like Sonny Barger and Adam Roarke...The Ending seems a little Hurried though, thats my only Gripe...Over all a Great Ride of a Film !!! :)

This was just the flick I was looking for. A "bare bones" biker movie (It didn't win an Oscar, like it really matters). Absolutely entertaining and down to earth, I loved it!! If you like "B-movies" get it.

What's not to love? Real Hell's Angels. Nicholson as Poet, the Rebel without a Past. Roarke as Buddy, the king rat. Shill, one of the best bad-biker-babes of them all. And Lazlo setting up the shots, just like he'll do later in Easy Rider.

If you understand that, on the road, plot doesn't matter and friendships must end in fire, then this is your film.

If you are into vintage old school choppers, this film has them. Great shots of original, real-deal bikes, not RUB material from the Learning Channel.

Kinda dated, but it has some classic chops and non-stop action. Nicholson is cool as the disaffected hero, and Adam Roarke is, well, Adam Rourke, a greatly under-rated talent.

Hells Angels on Wheels is, by far, one of the best examples of a sixties biker movie.
Right from the opening credits where we see various California Angels getting on their bikes and heading off through the streets of San Francisco, to the big meeting up of Sonny Barger's Oakland crew and our own film gang, headed up by Adam Rourke.
Jack Nicholson, as Poet, is the movie's standout performance, and, by all accounts, Jack blended in with the real Angels on the set to the point of being mistaken for one.
The film does fall apart at the end, almost as if, after 90 minutes of action and continuity, the director just lost interest and wanted to wind it up as fast as possible.
The bikes in this one are heavily featured and there are many examples of mid sixties choppers lovingly photographed by the great Leslie (Laslo) Kovacs. You can see the seed of many Easy Rider (also photographed by Kovacs) shots in Kovacs work on this film.
This movie is probably the closest portrayal of the California Hells Angels ever made- even Sonny Barger doesn't completely hate it.

Hollywoods view of the outlaw biker culture in the sixties is displayed in this movie. It has a very brief look at the real Hells Angels in the begining of the film then moves on to the actors. It was fun to watch and brought back memories of a differant time in my life. I recomend this film to biker nostalgia fans.

Classical late 60's / early 70's flick with a heavy randomness to it, not really any storyline. The bikes are cool; The Hells partying and fighting seemed like forced action, but probably generally reflective of the types of things that took place.

Couple of points: the other review above says Sonny Barger is in the movie, but only for a couple of quick shots in the opening. The lead (playing Sonny/type) is WAY too sensitive a guy to be realistic (IMHO). The ending is comically abrupt and odd. Plus the factory version I bought was tapped in EP - THE WORST possible quality and horribly grainy - difficult to watch since the reproduction was so bad. It was still kinda fun as an era piece.