There’s nothing like getting lost in a good historical drama. Whether it’s the costumes or the dialects, it’s oftentimes lovely to completely escape your surroundings and dig into another time and place entirely. The good news is that there are plenty of ways to scratch that itch these days with critically-acclaimed works like Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo’s Shōgun, Julian Fellowes’ Downton Abbey, Steven Knight’s Peaky Blinders, and Stephen Butchard’s The Last Kingdom. Essentially, even if you can’t be someone else, film and television allow you to, at the very least, walk a mile in their shoes.
In 2023, director Jeff Nichols (Midnight Special) returned to the craft after several years away from filmmaking when he debuted the crime drama feature The Bikeriders to audiences everywhere. While, on the surface, it might not be considered to be a historical drama in the same way that the above titles are, the slicked back hair, denim jeans, and white tees at the center of the story are storytelling cues that capture a moment in time. Literally grabbed from the past and thrown onto the big screen, the outfits, hairstyles, and attitudes worn by the characters were first caught on camera thanks to famed photographer Danny Lyon. For several years, Lyon spent time riding the roads with the Vandals Motorcycle Club, on which The Bikeriders’ Outlaws Motorcycle Club is based, snapping their images and putting their stories together in a photo book.
Starring Tom Hardy, Jodie Comer, Austin Butler, Michael Shannon, Norman Reedus and more, The Bikeriders, which is set in 1965, introduces audiences to Kathy (Comer), a woman who finds herself falling in love with Benny (Butler), a member of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club. As their relationship blossoms, Benny’s close friendship with Outlaws leader, Johnny (Hardy), begins to suffer, leading both men to make decisions that will forever change their lives. Now, according to FlixPatrol, despite a bumpy theatrical run during its initial release two years ago, The Bikeriders is speeding up Prime Video’s Top 10 list in countries including Australia, New Zealand, and Romania.
‘The Bikeriders’ Struggled to Start Its Engine at the Box Office
Despite an all-star cast and a captivating story of love, friendship, rejection, and a place to belong, The Bikeriders sputtered during its run in cinemas. Backed by Focus Features in the U.S., the studio was undoubtedly expecting the title to not only score a big pay day, but also land on the ballot during the awards circuit. Unfortunately, the motorcycle-heavy drama did neither. Against its $40 million production budget, the Hardy, Butler, and Comer-led film managed to rev up $36.3 million at the global box office.
The Bikeriders is now streaming in select countries on Prime Video.
- Release Date
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June 21, 2024
- Runtime
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116 minutes
- Director
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Jeff Nichols
- Writers
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Jeff Nichols
- Producers
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Arnon Milchan, Sarah Green, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones