The Hired Hand

Meeting largely mixed reviews during its first run in 1971, counterculture icon Peter Fonda's directorial debut was restored and remastered for its 30-year anniversary. The film opens with three drifters greeting the morning by cavorting in a sun-dabbled mountain river. Harry Collings (Fonda) ...more

Following up on the spectacularly successful Easy Rider, Peter Fonda's languid Western is certainly a feast for the eyes. The film's opening, a lyrical five-minute montage of superimposition layered upon superimposition, a virtuosic display of optical printing prowess if there was one, is jaw-droppingly gorgeous. Much of the rest of the film, while never quite reaching the artistic heights of the opening, is filled with lush landscapes and abundant cinematic tricks. Performances are uniformly ...more