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Action » Biker Film
A type of film, especially popular in the '50s, which luridly depicted the lives of motorcycle gangsters. While much of the subgenre is cheap exploitation fare, a few films have transcended the form to become classics of cinema. The Wild One, starring Marlon Brando, was originally meant as a cautionary tale about the dangers of gangs, but because of Brando's incendiary iconic performance, it made the form all the more attractive. Another sort of biker film emerged in the '60s and '70s, with Easy Rider at the pinnacle. Inspired by the drug-laden motorcycle gangs of the '60s like the Hell's Angels, these films picture a much more rough-and-tumble culture than the cool kids of the '50s in their duck tails and leather jackets. Always associated with rebellion, however, the biker film died out in the rush to conformity of the '80s and has not recovered since.
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