Then Came Bronson was seminal and what I remember most about it (since I was 12 when I saw it for the first time) was the notion that you could lose yourself in America by simply getting on a motorcycle and disappearing. The imagery was perfect for young guys like myself who were watching people come back from Vietnam, utterly broken by the events of the period. The theme of "no ties" was utterly appealing to many people who felt that any connection to the "establishment" was empty and devoid of the satisfaction one could get from simply getting lost and "being free." The main character was far less hardened than other similar leading dropouts of the same genre (Fonda, Brando, Hopper) and far less psychodelic than guys pushing the "trippy" side of late 60's America. Bronson was more of a workin man's dropout and that's what I loved about him. And the mountain climb was unique. I think a whole generation of dirt-bikers caught the bug after seeing this movie for the first time.
Very cool, man.
Very cool, man.