Five Easy Pieces

A disaffected man seeks a sense of identity in one of the key films of Hollywood's 1970s New Wave. Once a promising pianist from a family of classical musicians, Bobby Eroica Dupea (Jack Nicholson, in his first major starring role) leads a blue-collar life as an oil rigger, living with needy ...more

The role that propelled Jack Nicholson to stardom was his turn as frustrated, disaffected musician-turned-oil-rig-worker Bobby Dupea in Bob Rafelson's moody character study Five Easy Pieces. Many viewers remember it for the classic scene at a diner in which Nicholson orders a chicken salad sandwich without the chicken salad, and it established Nicholson as an icon of angst. The supporting cast, especially Karen Black as Bobby's pregnant girlfriend, and Susan Anspach as his brother's high-class ...more