As I was about two years old when this movie was shot, I missed the whole psychedelic/hippie/Sixties era/attitude/thing, except maybe the very tail end of it. So I was always curious about it. While I realize this is just a movie, even a distorted glimpse of that truly odd and wonderful time and place in America makes watching this more than worthwhile. Nicholson is great as usual. Susan Strasberg is fascinating to watch. Dean Stockwell in a toga and head band is a riot with the line of the film: "It's all one big plastic hassle."
The music is awesome, BUT! I must make a note that this is not genuine San Francisco hippie music. The two groups that are heard and seen in the film, the Strawberry Alarm Clock and The Seeds, were both L.A. groups! While both had a distinct sound of their own, neither of them sounded exactly like the classic San Francisco groups such as Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, Moby Grape or The Charlatans. (Many L.A. bands would play in San Francisco, and still do, but groups like the SAC would probably be derided by Bay area hippies as too-slick, plastic L.A. bubblegum) A C.D. reissue of the soundtrack would be quite welcome though...
Although obviously there was some on-location shooting in San Francisco, many of the scenes were lensed in L.A., including the interiors at Jack's house (shot in a Victorian house in L.A.) and the coffee house/art gallery scenes (shot on a soundstage). Also look out for writer/producer/director Gary Marshall in the coffee house scene at the start of the film, as "The Man"! A lovable time capsule of an era that couldn't last and had to slip away too quickly.
The music is awesome, BUT! I must make a note that this is not genuine San Francisco hippie music. The two groups that are heard and seen in the film, the Strawberry Alarm Clock and The Seeds, were both L.A. groups! While both had a distinct sound of their own, neither of them sounded exactly like the classic San Francisco groups such as Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, Moby Grape or The Charlatans. (Many L.A. bands would play in San Francisco, and still do, but groups like the SAC would probably be derided by Bay area hippies as too-slick, plastic L.A. bubblegum) A C.D. reissue of the soundtrack would be quite welcome though...
Although obviously there was some on-location shooting in San Francisco, many of the scenes were lensed in L.A., including the interiors at Jack's house (shot in a Victorian house in L.A.) and the coffee house/art gallery scenes (shot on a soundstage). Also look out for writer/producer/director Gary Marshall in the coffee house scene at the start of the film, as "The Man"! A lovable time capsule of an era that couldn't last and had to slip away too quickly.