In the early '80's, Roger Corman gave a talk at the British Film Institute, where he was interviewed by 'Guardian' critic Derek Malcolm. He then fielded questions from the audience. One of these concerned his 1967 film 'The Trip'.
Although the then-unknown Jack Nicholson was credited as writer, Corman pointed out that he himself had had input into the script, particularly with regards to the drug scenes. He had used L.S.D., as had Dennis Hopper ( one of the cast ), and their various experiences were incorporated into the film.
Spotting the then-head of the British Board of Film Censors - the late James Ferman - in the audience, Malcolm asked him why the B.B.F.C. had twice refused 'The Trip' a certificate. Ferman said he felt the film was an incitement to drug use ( even though other movies featuring drugs were passed without any difficulty whatever ). In 2003 it was finally deemed fit for British audiences.
'The Trip' begins with a portentous disclaimer warning the audience about the risks involved in taking L.S.D. Then we see a bride and groom standing on water. No, the trip has not yet started. It is for a television commercial. Paul Groves ( Peter Fonda ), the director, is going through an unhappy time with his divorce to Sally ( Susan Strasberg ) almost complete. He approaches drug dealer John ( a bearded Bruce Dern ) and asks him for L.S.D. as he wants to find out about himself.
So Paul swallows the pill and the madness begins. Over the course of seventy-five minutes, he sees kaleidoscopic visions, is chased along a beach by masked figures on horseback, strolls naked through woods with some attractive ( equally naked ) women, is put on trial by Dennis Hopper, and generally has a pretty weird time of it.
John initially acts as a minder, stopping Paul from jumping out of the window ( the house is high up on a hill ), but then Paul escapes, and sees the world as a entirely different place. In one excellent scene, he wanders along a street at night and the neon shop signs take on a particularly menacing quality.
As he spends most of the movie in a drug-induced haze ( which is after all the point ) it is difficult to praise Fonda's acting. Susan Strasberg is woefully underused, while Salli Sachse is drop dead gorgeous as the drug dealer's girlfriend.
James H.Nicholson and Samuel Z.Arkoff apparently intended this as an anti-drug film, but a section of the audience saw it differently, and smoked certain substances during screenings, as they later did with Kubrick's '2001'. Anyone expecting another 'Reefer Madness' will be disappointed though, it is not bad enough to be that.
The film proved successful enough to spawn a sequel of sorts - 1968's 'Psych-Out', directed by Richard Rush, which also featured Susan Strasberg and Bruce Dern ( with Jack Nicholson as one of the cast ). I prefer the latter because, unlike 'The Trip', it has a plot.
I agree with the commentator who said that the hallucinatory sequences lose their impact or so after a while and the film becomes tough to sit through. Cynthia Lennon, in her book 'A Twist Of Lennon, said that taking L.S.D. was the most frightening experience of her life. I have not used the stuff ( the nearest I got was Barratt's Sherbert Fountain! ) so cannot comment, but if 'The Trip' is to be believed, I do not think I ever will either.
We are far from those times now, when people had abstract paintings on their walls, wore colourful clothes, and ended every sentence with 'man'. A modern audience might have difficulty trying to distinguish between the drug scenes and those set in the real world. Interesting then mainly as a curio.
Although the then-unknown Jack Nicholson was credited as writer, Corman pointed out that he himself had had input into the script, particularly with regards to the drug scenes. He had used L.S.D., as had Dennis Hopper ( one of the cast ), and their various experiences were incorporated into the film.
Spotting the then-head of the British Board of Film Censors - the late James Ferman - in the audience, Malcolm asked him why the B.B.F.C. had twice refused 'The Trip' a certificate. Ferman said he felt the film was an incitement to drug use ( even though other movies featuring drugs were passed without any difficulty whatever ). In 2003 it was finally deemed fit for British audiences.
'The Trip' begins with a portentous disclaimer warning the audience about the risks involved in taking L.S.D. Then we see a bride and groom standing on water. No, the trip has not yet started. It is for a television commercial. Paul Groves ( Peter Fonda ), the director, is going through an unhappy time with his divorce to Sally ( Susan Strasberg ) almost complete. He approaches drug dealer John ( a bearded Bruce Dern ) and asks him for L.S.D. as he wants to find out about himself.
So Paul swallows the pill and the madness begins. Over the course of seventy-five minutes, he sees kaleidoscopic visions, is chased along a beach by masked figures on horseback, strolls naked through woods with some attractive ( equally naked ) women, is put on trial by Dennis Hopper, and generally has a pretty weird time of it.
John initially acts as a minder, stopping Paul from jumping out of the window ( the house is high up on a hill ), but then Paul escapes, and sees the world as a entirely different place. In one excellent scene, he wanders along a street at night and the neon shop signs take on a particularly menacing quality.
As he spends most of the movie in a drug-induced haze ( which is after all the point ) it is difficult to praise Fonda's acting. Susan Strasberg is woefully underused, while Salli Sachse is drop dead gorgeous as the drug dealer's girlfriend.
James H.Nicholson and Samuel Z.Arkoff apparently intended this as an anti-drug film, but a section of the audience saw it differently, and smoked certain substances during screenings, as they later did with Kubrick's '2001'. Anyone expecting another 'Reefer Madness' will be disappointed though, it is not bad enough to be that.
The film proved successful enough to spawn a sequel of sorts - 1968's 'Psych-Out', directed by Richard Rush, which also featured Susan Strasberg and Bruce Dern ( with Jack Nicholson as one of the cast ). I prefer the latter because, unlike 'The Trip', it has a plot.
I agree with the commentator who said that the hallucinatory sequences lose their impact or so after a while and the film becomes tough to sit through. Cynthia Lennon, in her book 'A Twist Of Lennon, said that taking L.S.D. was the most frightening experience of her life. I have not used the stuff ( the nearest I got was Barratt's Sherbert Fountain! ) so cannot comment, but if 'The Trip' is to be believed, I do not think I ever will either.
We are far from those times now, when people had abstract paintings on their walls, wore colourful clothes, and ended every sentence with 'man'. A modern audience might have difficulty trying to distinguish between the drug scenes and those set in the real world. Interesting then mainly as a curio.