THE TRIP (1967)
Article 3474 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 1-12-2011
Posting Date: 2-27-2011
Directed by Roger Corman
Featuring Peter Fonda, Susan Strasberg, Bruce Dern
Country: USA
What it is: Sixties relic

A film director takes LSD to gain insight.

I’ve never taken LSD, so I can’t say whether this movie gives anything resembling an accurate portrayal of what a drug trip would be like. It is, however, interesting enough as a relic of the time, and if you’re into psychedelic imagery, the movie can be a bit of fun. There’s really no plot to speak of; the first half of the movie has the director tripping out while under the watchful eye of a drug guru, and the second half has him wandering around town while still tripping out. The movie is a borderline fantasy due to the surreal imagery; some of his visions have him encountering two black hooded horsemen and a dwarf, the latter played by Angelo Rossitto. The script was written by Jack Nicholson, who also helped with the script of HEAD, which I will no doubt see in the future. It’s not a great movie, but it’s an interesting one, especially for the use of rapid-fire editing.