PRAx and the Darkside Cinema Present: Free Film Fridays
Feb 7 Film: Drive, He Said
By the time Drive, He Said reached American theaters in 1971, the film’s writer-director Jack Nicholson had become a counterculture movie star, with Oscar nominated performances in Easy Rider and Five Easy Pieces. Produced by BBS (Bob Rafelson, Bert Schneider, and Steve Blauner), the team behind “The Monkees,” The Last Picture Show, and the Oscar winning documentary Hearts and Minds, and shot not so discreetly on the University of Oregon campus for a shoestring budget, Drive, He Said attends the collision between two competing university phenomena: NCAA basketball and anti-war student activism. Based on a best-selling novel by Jeremy Larner, Drive, He Said features terrific performances by two actors Nicholson admired at the time: Bruce Dern and Karen Black.
Special guest: Mike Oriard, emeritus Distinguished Professor of English at Oregon State University. Oriard was an NCAA athlete (captain of the Notre Dame football team) and later NFL player (Kansas City Chiefs) in the era depicted in the film.
Free Film Fridays is a series of free screenings hosted by Distinguished Professor of Film Jon Lewis, selected to spark discussions across disciplines. Professor Lewis will briefly introduce the film and lead a post-screening discussion with OSU faculty experts on the film's topic. Learn more.