Editing Five Easy Pieces

{{Short description|1970 US drama film by Bob Rafelson}}
{{About|the 1970 film}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2017}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Five Easy Pieces
| image          = Five_easy_pieces.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Bob Rafelson]]
| producer       = {{ubl|Bob Rafelson|Richard Wechsler}}
| screenplay     = [[Carole Eastman]]<br><small>(credited as Adrien Joyce)</small>
| story          = {{ubl|Bob Rafelson|Carole Eastman<br><small>(credited as Adrien Joyce)</small>}}
| starring       = {{ubl|[[Jack Nicholson]]|[[Karen Black]]|[[Susan Anspach]]<!-- per poster -->}}
| cinematography = [[László Kovács (cinematographer)|László Kovács]]
| editing        = {{ubl|Christopher Holmes|Gerald Shepard}}
| studio         = {{ubl|Five Easy Pieces Productions|[[BBS Productions]]}}
| distributor    = [[Columbia Pictures]]
| released       = {{film date|1970|09|11|[[New York Film Festival]]|1970|09|12|New York}}
| runtime        = 98 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $1.6 million
| gross          = $18.1 million<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/1970/05FIP.php|website=[[The Numbers (website)|The Numbers]]|title=''Five Easy Pieces'', Box Office Information|access-date=January 29, 2012}}</ref>
}}
[[File:Karen Black Five Easy Pieces 1970.jpg|thumb|Karen Black as Rayette]]
'''''Five Easy Pieces''''' is a 1970 American [[Road movie|road]] [[Drama (film and television)|drama]] film<ref>{{Cite news |last=Tobias |first=Scott |date=2020-09-12 |title=Five Easy Pieces at 50: a troubling yet thrilling arrival of a new leading man |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/sep/12/five-easy-pieces-at-50-jack-nicholson-american-film |access-date=2024-09-19 |work=[[The Guardian]] |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> directed by [[Bob Rafelson]], written by Rafelson and [[Carole Eastman]] (as Adrien Joyce), and starring [[Jack Nicholson]], [[Karen Black]], [[Susan Anspach]], [[Lois Smith]], and [[Ralph Waite]]. The film tells the story of surly [[oil rig]] worker Bobby Dupea (Nicholson), whose rootless [[working class in the United States|blue-collar]] existence belies his privileged youth as a piano [[child prodigy|prodigy]]. When Bobby learns that his father is dying, he travels to his family home in [[Washington (state)|Washington]] to visit him, taking along his uncouth girlfriend (Black).

The film was nominated for four [[Academy Awards]] and five [[Golden Globe Award]]s, and was inducted into the [[National Film Registry]] of the [[Library of Congress]] in 2000, being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Librarian of Congress Names 25 More Films to National Film Registry|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/prn-00-200/librarian-of-congress-names-25-more-films-to-national-film-registry/2000-12-27/|access-date=2020-10-02|website=Library of Congress}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Complete National Film Registry Listing |url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/|access-date=2020-10-02|website=Library of Congress}}</ref>

==Plot==
Bobby Dupea works in an oil field in [[Kern County, California]]. He spends most of his time with his girlfriend Rayette, a waitress who has dreams of singing country music, or with fellow oil worker Elton, with whom he bowls, gets drunk, and philanders.

When Bobby gets Rayette pregnant and Elton is arrested, Bobby quits his job and goes to Los Angeles, where his sister Partita is making a classical piano recording. She tells Bobby, who was once also a pianist, that their father has suffered two [[stroke]]s, and urges him to reconcile with the family at their home in [[Washington (state)|Washington]].

Rayette threatens to kill herself if Bobby leaves her, so he reluctantly asks her along. Driving north, they pick up Terry and Palm, two stranded women headed for Alaska. The latter launches into a monologue about the evils of [[consumerism]]. The four are thrown out of a diner after Bobby argues with an obstinate waitress over his order. Bobby drops off Terry and Palm when they get to Washington.

Ashamed to introduce Rayette to his upper-class family, Bobby registers her in a motel before driving alone to the family home on an island in [[Puget Sound]]. He finds Partita giving their father a haircut; the old man seems completely oblivious to him. At dinner, Bobby meets Catherine Van Oost, a young pianist studying under and engaged to his amiable brother Carl, a violinist. Despite personality differences, Catherine and Bobby are immediately attracted to each other. Learning that Bobby was once a pianist, she asks him to play for her. She is moved by his rendition of [[Frédéric Chopin]]'s [[Prelude, Op. 28, No. 4 (Chopin)|Prelude, Op. 28, No. 4]], but Bobby dismisses her, insisting that he played with "no inner feeling". Angered by Bobby's rejection, she leaves, but he follows after her and they have sex in her room.

Rayette runs out of money at the motel and comes to the Dupea estate unannounced. Her presence creates an awkward situation, but when intellectual family friend Samia Glavia ridicules her, Bobby comes to her defense. Storming out of the room in search of Catherine, he discovers his father's male nurse giving Partita a sensual massage. He picks a fight with the nurse, who easily subdues him.

Bobby tries to persuade Catherine to go away with him, but she declines, telling him he cannot ask for love when he does not love himself, or anything at all. After tearfully confessing his regrets to his unresponsive father, Bobby leaves for California with Rayette. Shortly into the trip, they stop for gas and coffee; while Rayette's view is obstructed, Bobby hitches a ride on a truck headed north.

==Cast==
{{Cast listing|
* [[Jack Nicholson]] as Robert "Bobby" Eroica Dupea
* [[Karen Black]] as Rayette Dipesto
* [[Susan Anspach]] as Catherine Van Oost
* [[Lois Smith]] as Partita Dupea
* [[Ralph Waite]] as Carl Fidelio Dupea
* [[Billy "Green" Bush]] as Elton
* [[Irene Dailey]] as Samia Glavia
* [[Toni Basil]] as Terry Grouse
* [[Helena Kallianiotes]] as Palm Apodaca
* [[William Challee]] as Nicholas Dupea
* [[John P. Ryan (actor)|John Ryan]] as Spicer
* [[Fannie Flagg]] as Stoney
* Marlena MacGuire as Twinky
* [[Sally Struthers|Sally Ann Struthers]] as Shirley "Betty"
* [[Lorna Thayer]] as Waitress
* [[Richard Stahl]] as Recording Engineer
}}

== Production ==
While the film's earlier scenes were shot in [[California]], the majority was filmed in the [[Pacific Northwest]].<ref name=afi>{{Cite web|work=[[AFI Catalog of Feature Films]]|publisher=[[American Film Institute]]|title=Five Easy Pieces|url=http://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/20634|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108182000/http://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/20634|archive-date=November 8, 2020}}</ref> Filming primarily occurred on [[Vancouver Island]] in [[British Columbia]], with additional photography occurring in [[Florence, Oregon|Florence]] and [[Portland, Oregon]].<ref>{{cite web|work=[[UWIRE]]|title=Film: Movies that make Oregon famous|url=https://www.uwire.com/2013/03/14/film-movies-that-make-oregon-famous/|date=March 14, 2013|url-status=live|archive-date=November 8, 2020|archive-url=https://archive.today/20201108181626/https://www.uwire.com/2013/03/14/film-movies-that-make-oregon-famous/}}</ref> The diner sequence, in which Robert pesters an obstinate waitress, was filmed at a [[Denny's]] along [[Interstate 5 in Oregon|Interstate 5]] near [[Eugene, Oregon]].<ref name="katu/nicholson-booth">{{cite news |last1=Adams |first1=Tom |date=20 September 2010 |title='Where's the Jack Nicholson booth?' |url=https://katu.com/news/local/wheres-the-jack-nicholson-booth-11-26-2015 |access-date=12 November 2023 |work=KATU KVAL News |language=en}}</ref><ref name="oregonconfluence/nicholson-80">{{cite web |last1=Wilson |first1=Katherine |date=21 April 2017 |title=Oregon Poetic Cinema Filmmaker Jack Nicholson Turns 80 |url=https://oregonconfluence.com/2017/04/21/oregon-poetic-cinema-filmmaker-jack-nicholson-turns-80/ |access-date=12 November 2023 |website=The Confluence}}</ref><ref name="tabite">{{cite news |last=Hawthorn |first=Tom |title=Taking a bite out Nicholson's 'hold the chicken' legend |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |location=Canada|date=February 22, 2011 |access-date=August 29, 2017 |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/taking-a-bite-out-nicholsons-hold-the-chicken-legend/article622617/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150302033258/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/taking-a-bite-out-nicholsons-hold-the-chicken-legend/article622617 |archive-date=2015-03-02 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="fephtch">{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdIXrF34Bz0 |website=YouTube |title=Hold the Chicken - ''Five Easy Pieces'' movie clip (1970) |date=October 7, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014024205/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdIXrF34Bz0 |archive-date=October 14, 2017 |url-status=live |access-date=August 29, 2017 }}</ref> Screenwriter [[Carole Eastman]] based the scene on a real incident she witnessed at Pupi's Bakery and Sidewalk Café in Los Angeles,<ref name="cigaraficionado/6022">{{cite news |last1=Marx |first1=Arthur |title=On His Own Terms |url=https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/on-his-own-terms-6022 |access-date=13 November 2023 |work=Cigar Aficionado |publisher=M. Shanken Communications Inc |date=Summer 1995}}</ref><ref name="malibutimes/3633ff30">{{cite news |title=Obituary: Daniel Forge |url=https://malibutimes.com/article_3633ff30-8db9-11eb-9d50-c3a458ad7b0c |access-date=13 November 2023 |work=The Malibu Times |date=28 March 2021}}</ref><ref name="wapo/1985/06/14/12635918">{{cite news |last1=Attanasio |first1=Paul |title=Movies: Jack Nicholson |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1985/06/14/movies/12635918-7dda-45c2-98c0-1def75e623b9/ |access-date=13 November 2023 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=14 June 1985}}</ref><ref name="waterandpower/Hollywood-1920+">{{cite web |title=Pupi's Bakery and Sidewalk Café > Early Views of West Hollywood |url=https://waterandpower.org/museum/Early_Views_of_West_Hollywood_(1920_+).html |website=waterandpower.org Water and Power Associates |access-date=13 November 2023}}</ref> where an aggrieved Jack Nicholson pushed all the plates and cups off of a table, and on Rafelson frequently asking for substitutions at restaurants.<ref name="youtube=6D5WrobIlFU">{{cite web |title=Jack Nicholson and Bob Rafelson on Five Easy Pieces' Diner Scene |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6D5WrobIlFU |access-date=13 November 2023 |website=Criterion Collection | date=June 25, 2015 |language=en |via=YouTube}}</ref>

To prepare for his role, Jack Nicholson undertook piano lessons from Polish concert pianist Josef Pacholczyk.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Cosgrove |first1=Ben |title=Jack Nicholson: Rare, Early Photos of an Actor on the Rise |url=https://www.life.com/people/jack-nicholson-early-photos/ |magazine=Life |access-date=12 June 2022}}</ref>

In 2022, [[Sally Struthers]] revealed that director [[Bob Rafelson]] coerced her into appearing nude on set against her stated wishes, and made a false promise that she would not appear nude in the final cut.<ref>{{cite podcast |url=https://soundcloud.com/gilbertgottfried/sally-struthers-part-1 |first1=Gilbert |last1=Gottfried |last2=Santopadre |first2=Frank |author1-link=Gilbert Gottfried |author2-link=Frank Santopadre |title=Sally Struthers Part 1 |website=Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast |publisher=[[SoundCloud]] |date=10 January 2022 |access-date=26 June 2022}}</ref>

==Music==
The opening credits list the five classical piano pieces played in the film and referenced in the title. Pearl Kaufman is credited as the pianist.

* [[Frédéric Chopin]], [[Fantaisie in F minor (Chopin)|Fantaisie in F minor]], Op. 49, played by Bobby on the back of a moving truck
* [[Johann Sebastian Bach]], ''[[Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue]]'', BWV 903, played by Partita in a recording studio
* [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart]], [[Piano Concerto No. 9 (Mozart)|Piano Concerto No. 9 in E-flat major]], K. 271, played by Carl and Catherine upon Bobby's arrival at the house
* Chopin, [[Prelude, Op. 28, No. 4 (Chopin)|Prelude in E minor, Op. 28, No. 4]], played by Bobby for Catherine
* Mozart, [[Fantasia No. 3 (Mozart)|Fantasy in D minor]], K. 397

Also included are four songs sung by [[Tammy Wynette]]: "[[Stand by Your Man]]", "[[D-I-V-O-R-C-E]]", "[[Don't Touch Me]]", and "When There's a Fire in Your Heart".

==Release==
The film was shown at the [[New York Film Festival]] on September 11, 1970. It opened commercially on September 12 at the Coronet Theatre in New York.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Nicholson In N.Y.: End Of 'Riot Fad' In U.S. Features|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=September 16, 1970 |page=7|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1970-09-16_260_5/page/6/mode/2up|access-date=April 7, 2024|via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref>
===Box office===
{{Quote box|width=30em|bgcolor=cornsilk|align=right|fontsize=101%|salign=right|quote="The last sequence is of the finest quality. Bobby decides to leave both girlfriend and family and abandon life entirely...a truck driver gives him a ride to a place where 'it is very cold': the country of death. Rafelson and his cameraman [[László Kovács (cinematographer)|László Kovács]] fix the scene in our minds forever: the filling station and its discreet restroom; the grey surrounding buildings; the dripping autumnal vegetation of the Pacific Northwest; the parked truck waiting to go to Alaska; the face of Nicholson, already aging and filled with premonitory shadows, fixed behind the windshield. Religion, love and family have all failed to work, leaving absolutely nothing at the end but a journey to nowhere."|source=—Biographer [[Charles Higham (biographer)|Charles Higham]] in ''The Art of the American Cinema: 1900-1971''.<ref>{{cite book|first=Charles |last=Higham |year=1973 |title=The Art of the American Film: 1900-1971 |publisher=Doubleday & Company, Inc. |location=New York |isbn=0-385-06935-9 |pages=307–308 |quote=Nicholson gives a performance of sustained brilliance as Bobby Dupea" in ''Five Easy Pieces''}}</ref>}}
In the film's opening weekend at the Coronet, it grossed $10,476.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=N.Y. Fest 'Moveovers' Start Well: 'Suppose A War' $17,000, Astor But Casualty At Embassy East|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=September 16, 1970 |page=9|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1970-09-16_260_5/page/8/mode/2up?view=theater|access-date=April 7, 2024|via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref> It grossed $36,710 in its first week.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title=50 Top-Grossing Films|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1970-09-30_260_7/page/11|date=September 30, 1970|page=11}}</ref> After ten weeks of release, it reached [[List of 1970 box office number-one films in the United States|number one at the US box office]].<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title=50 Top-Grossing Films|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1970-11-25_261_2/page/11|date=November 25, 1970|page=11}}</ref>

The film earned $1.2 million in the United States in 1970.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Big Rental Films of 1970 |magazine=Variety |date=January 6, 1971 |page=11|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1971-01-06_261_8/page/11/mode/1up}}</ref> By 1976, it had earned $8.9 million in the United States and Canada.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=All-time Film Rental Champs |magazine=Variety |date=January 7, 1976 |page=44}}</ref>

===Critical response===

''Five Easy Pieces'' opened to positive reviews. It currently holds an 89% positive rating on online review aggregator [[Rotten Tomatoes]], based on 55 reviews, with an average rating of 8.60/10. The site's consensus states: "An important touchstone of the [[New Hollywood]] era, ''Five Easy Pieces'' is a haunting portrait of alienation that features one of Jack Nicholson's greatest performances."<ref>{{cite web|title=''Five Easy Pieces''|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/five_easy_pieces/| website=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=September 12, 2023}}</ref>

[[Roger Ebert]] gave the film four out of four stars, describing it as "one of the best American films" and "a masterpiece of heartbreaking intensity" and deeming Bobby Dupea "one of the most unforgettable characters in American movies."<ref>{{cite web|title=Five Easy Pieces|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/five-easy-pieces-1970|date=January 1, 1970|last=Ebert|first=Roger|author-link=Roger Ebert|access-date=July 31, 2019|website=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |via=RogerEbert.com}}</ref> Ebert named it the best film of 1970, and later added it to his "[[The Great Movies|Great Movies]]" list.<ref>{{cite web|last=Ebert |first=Roger |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-five-easy-pieces-1970 |title=Five Easy Pieces |date=March 16, 2003 |website=RogerEbert.com}}</ref>

In a mixed review, critic [[John Simon (critic)|John Simon]] criticized ''Five Easy Pieces'' for its "pretentiousness" but praised the performances of Karen Black, Lois Smith, and Billy Green Bush.<ref>{{cite book |title=Reverse Angle |url=https://archive.org/details/reverseangledeca0000simo |url-access=registration |last1=Simon|first1=John |publisher=Crown Publishers Inc. |year=1982 |page=[https://archive.org/details/reverseangledeca0000simo/page/22 22]|isbn=9780517544716 }}</ref>

The February 2020 issue of ''[[New York Magazine]]'' lists ''Five Easy Pieces'' as among "The Best Movies That Lost Best Picture at the Oscars."<ref>{{cite news|title=The Best Movies That Lost Best Picture at the Oscars|url=https://www.vulture.com/article/best-oscar-best-picture-losers.html|magazine=[[New York Magazine]]|access-date=March 17, 2025}}</ref>

In 2022 retrospective review, Polish writer Jacek Szafranowicz called the film "flawless" and "one of the masterpieces of the New Hollywood era".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ponapisach.pl/2022/01/piec-latwych-utworow.html|title = Pięć łatwych utworów|date = January 28, 2022 |language=pl |website=ponapisach.pl |first=Jacek |last=Szafranowicz}}</ref>

===Accolades===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|-
! Award
! Category
! Nominee(s)
! Result
! Ref.
|-
| rowspan="4"| [[43rd Academy Awards|Academy Awards]]
| [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]]
| [[Bob Rafelson]] and Richard Wechsler
| {{nom}}
| align="center" rowspan="4"| <ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1971 |title=The 43rd Academy Awards (1971) Nominees and Winners |access-date=July 4, 2015 |work=oscars.org |date=October 4, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150702005544/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1971 |archive-date=July 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| [[Jack Nicholson]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]]
| [[Karen Black]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Original Screenplay]]
| [[Carole Eastman|Adrien Joyce]] and Bob Rafelson
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[23rd Directors Guild of America Awards|Directors Guild of America Awards]]
| [[Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film|Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures]]
| Bob Rafelson
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dga.org/Awards/History/1970s/1970.aspx?value=1970 |title=23rd DGA Awards |website=[[Directors Guild of America Awards]] |access-date=July 5, 2021}}</ref>
|-
| [[Fotogramas de Plata]]
| Best Foreign Movie Performer
| Jack Nicholson <small>(also for ''[[Chinatown (1974 film)|Chinatown]]'')</small>
| {{won}}
| align="center"| 
|-
| rowspan="5"| [[28th Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globe Awards]]
| colspan="2"| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama|Best Motion Picture – Drama]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center" rowspan="5"| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/film/five-easy-pieces |title=Five Easy Pieces – Golden Globes |website=[[HFPA]] |access-date=July 5, 2021 |ref={{harvid|HFPA|1971}}}}</ref>
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama|Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama]]
| Jack Nicholson
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture|Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture]]
| Karen Black
| {{won}}{{efn|Tied with [[Maureen Stapleton]] for ''[[Airport (1970 film)|Airport]]''.}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Director|Best Director – Motion Picture]]
| Bob Rafelson 
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay|Best Screenplay – Motion Picture]]
| Adrien Joyce and Bob Rafelson
| {{nom}}
|-
| Kansas City Film Circle Critics Awards
| colspan="2"| Best Film
| {{won}}{{efn|Tied with ''[[Patton (film)|Patton]]''.}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://kcfcc.org/kcfcc-award-winners-1970-79/ |title=KCFCC Award Winners – 1970-79 |date=December 14, 2013 |access-date=July 10, 2021}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="7"| [[Laurel Awards]]
| colspan="2"| Best Picture
| {{nom}}
| align="center" rowspan="7"| 
|-
| Top Male Dramatic Performance
| Jack Nicholson
| {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan="2"| Top Female Supporting Performance
| Karen Black
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Lois Smith]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| Top Cinematographer
| [[László Kovács (cinematographer)|László Kovács]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan="2"| Star of Tomorrow – Female
| [[Susan Anspach]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| Karen Black
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Nastro d'Argento]]
| Best Foreign Director
| Bob Rafelson
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| 
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[National Board of Review Awards 1970|National Board of Review Awards]]
| colspan="2"| [[National Board of Review: Top Ten Films|Top Ten Films]]
| {{draw|4th Place}}
| align="center" rowspan="2"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://nationalboardofreview.org/award-years/1970/ |title=1970 Award Winners |website=[[National Board of Review]] |access-date=July 5, 2021}}</ref>
|-
| [[National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]]
| Karen Black
| {{won}}
|-
| [[National Film Preservation Board]]
| colspan="2"| [[National Film Registry]]
| {{won|Inducted}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/ |title=Complete National Film Registry Listing |website=[[Library of Congress]] |access-date=December 16, 2015}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="6"| [[1970 New York Film Critics Circle Awards|New York Film Critics Circle Awards]]
| colspan="2"| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film|Best Film]]
| {{won}}
| align="center" rowspan="6"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nyfcc.com/awards/?awardyear=1970 |title=1970 New York Film Critics Circle Awards |website=[[New York Film Critics Circle]] |access-date=July 5, 2021}}</ref>
|-
| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
| Bob Rafelson 
| {{won}}
|-
| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| Jack Nicholson
| {{Runner-up}}
|-
| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| rowspan="2"| Karen Black
| {{Runner-up}}
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]]
| {{won}}
|-
| Lois Smith
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[23rd Writers Guild of America Awards|Writers Guild of America Awards]]
| [[Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Drama – Written Directly for the Screen]]
| Adrien Joyce and Bob Rafelson
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1551 |title=Awards Winners |work=wga.org |publisher=Writers Guild of America |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121205095022/http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1551 |archive-date=2012-12-05 |access-date=2010-06-06}}</ref>
|}

===Home media===
''Five Easy Pieces'' was released on [[VHS]] by [[RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video]] in 1988.

On November 16, 1999, [[Columbia TriStar Home Video]] released the film on two-sided [[DVD-Video]], featuring both fullscreen (4:3) and [[widescreen]] formats.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thecinemalaser.com/archives/1999/0999/news-tidbits.htm#09/27/99five|title=Five Easy Pieces and the Loss of Sexual Innocence Come to DVD|date=September 27, 1999|website=TheCinemaLaser.com|access-date=June 19, 2015}}</ref>

Grover Crisp of [[Sony Pictures]] conducted a [[4K resolution|4K]] restoration of the film, which was screened in [[Digital Cinema Package|DCP]] in 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parkcircus.com/films/5855-five-easy-pieces|website=Park Circus|title=Five Easy Pieces|access-date=July 19, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.filmjournal.com/content/leading-repertory-cinema-film-forum-showcase-digital-cinema-packages|website=Film Journal International|title=Leading repertory cinema Film Forum to showcase Digital Cinema Packages|date=February 10, 2012|access-date=July 19, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150727023113/http://www.filmjournal.com/content/leading-repertory-cinema-film-forum-showcase-digital-cinema-packages |archive-date=July 27, 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The film was released on DVD and [[Blu-ray]] by [[The Criterion Collection]] in November 2010 as part of the box set ''America Lost and Found: The BBS Story''. This release includes audio commentary by Rafelson and interior designer Toby Rafelson; ''Soul Searching in "Five Easy Pieces"'', a 2009 video piece with Rafelson; ''BBStory'', a 2009 documentary about [[Raybert Productions|Raybert/BBS Productions]], with Rafelson, Nicholson, Black, Burstyn, Peter Bogdanovich, and Henry Jaglom, among others; and audio excerpts from a 1976 AFI interview with Rafelson.<ref>{{cite web|title=Five Easy Pieces|url=http://www.criterion.com/films/27529-five-easy-pieces|website=The Criterion Collection}}</ref> On June 30, 2015, the film was released as a stand-alone DVD and Blu-ray by the Criterion Collection.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film5/blu-ray_reviews_67/five_easy_pieces_blu-ray.htm|website=DVDBeaver|first=Gary |last=Tooze|title=HD-Sensei: Five Easy Pieces [Blu-ray]}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of cult films]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{notelist}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
{{Commons category|Five Easy Pieces}}
* {{IMDb title|0065724|Five Easy Pieces}}
* {{TCMDb title|id=75046}}
* {{AFI film|20634}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes|five_easy_pieces|Five Easy Pieces}}
* {{cite web |url= https://brightlightsfilm.com/auspicious-beginnings-nicholsons-leitmotif-five-easy-pieces/#.X7gV2S9OmhA |date= Aug 1, 2007 |title= Auspicious Beginnings: Nicholson's Leitmotif in Five Easy Pieces |first= Andrew |last= Culbertson |publisher= Bright Lights Film Journal }}
* {{cite web |url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-apr-21-la-et-fiveeasy-20100421-story.html |title= ''Five Easy Pieces'' turns 40 |work= Los Angeles Times |first= Glenn |last= Kenny |date= Apr 21, 2010 }}
* {{cite web |url= https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/1668-five-easy-pieces-the-solitude |title= Five Easy Pieces: The Solitude |work= Essay |first= Kent |last= Jones |date= Nov 25, 2010 |publisher= [[Criterion Collection]] }}
* {{cite book |chapter= Five Easy Pieces <!-- |work= Essay --> |first= Daniel |last= Eagan |title= America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry |publisher= A&C Black |date= 2010 |isbn= 978-0826429773 |pages= 667–668 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=deq3xI8OmCkC }}

{{Bob Rafelson}}
{{New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1970 films]]
[[Category:1970 drama films]]
[[Category:1970s drama road movies]]
[[Category:American drama road movies]]
[[Category:Columbia Pictures films]]
[[Category:1970s English-language films]]
[[Category:Films about disability in the United States]]
[[Category:Films about dysfunctional families]]
[[Category:Films about petroleum]]
[[Category:Films about pianos and pianists]]
[[Category:Films about social class]]
[[Category:Films about the upper class]]
[[Category:Films directed by Bob Rafelson]]
[[Category:Films featuring a Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe–winning performance]]
[[Category:Films set in California]]
[[Category:Films set in Washington (state)]]
[[Category:Films shot in British Columbia]]
[[Category:Films shot in California]]
[[Category:Films shot in Eugene, Oregon]]
[[Category:Films shot in Portland, Oregon]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Carole Eastman]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Bob Rafelson]]
[[Category:United States National Film Registry films]]
[[Category:Films produced by Bob Rafelson]]
[[Category:1970s American films]]