Dirty Real: Exile on Hollywood and Vine with the Gin Mill Cowboys

The story of how the movies assumed a gritty facade in the name of authenticity, with working actors transforming into artists, poets, painters, troubadours, and filmmakers--both on- and off-screen.

This is the tale of how Hollywood, inspired by the success of Easy Rider, sold a cycle of films as the new dirty real. Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda, Monte Hellman, Jack Nicholson, Kris Kristofferson, and Sam Peckinpah, among others, parlayed a nostalgia for the gutter and donned bohemian personae, pulling on soiled shirts and scuffed boots to better counter the glamour and phoniness of Tinseltown. The result was a generation of movies, including The Hired Hand, Five Easy Pieces, Two-Lane Blacktop, The Last Picture Show, and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. With great care for the historical record and displaying a refined critical acuity, Peter Stanfield captures that pivotal moment when Hollywood tried to sell a begrimed vision of itself to the world.

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Reaktion Books
Published: 07/22/2024
ISBN: 9781789148626
Pages: 344

Review Citations: Publishers Weekly 04/22/2024
Library Journal 05/01/2024 pg. 99
Booklist 05/15/2024 pg. 6