Bob Rafelson
Biography
Robert "Bob" Rafelson (February 21, 1933-July 23, 2022) was an American film director, writer and producer. He was most famous for directing and co-writing the film Five Easy Pieces, starring Jack Nicholson, as well as being one of the creators of the pop group and TV series, The Monkees (with Raybert/BBS Productions partner Bert Schneider). Rafelson was born in New York City, the son of a hat manufacturer. His uncle was screenwriter and playwright Samson Raphaelson. Rafelson and Nicholson have been collaborators for over thirty years. Nicholson and Rafelson wrote and produced and Rafelson directed Head, starring the Monkees, in 1968, followed by Five Easy Pieces. In subsequent years, Rafelson directed Nicholson in four more films, including The King of Marvin Gardens (1972), The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981), Man Trouble (1992), and Blood and Wine (1996). Rafelson has adapted the works of legendary noir authors James M. Cain, Raymond Chandler, and Dashiell Hammett.
Known For & Full Filmography21 Titles
Drama Series - 1966, 16 episodes • as World's Oldest Flower Child (uncredited)
Micky, Mike, Peter, and Davy are four young men in mid-1960s LA, members of a struggling country-folk-rock band looking for their big break amid madcap encounters with a variety of people straight out of TV and movie central casting, with full knowledge that their existence is part of a weekly television series.
Movie - 1995, 2h 15m • as Man At Mall
Ben Sanderson, an alcoholic Hollywood screenwriter who lost everything because of his drinking, arrives in Las Vegas to drink himself to death. There, he meets and forms an uneasy friendship and non-interference pact with prostitute Sera.
Movie - 1970, 2h 15m • as Man in Elevator (uncredited)
Robert Dupea spends his days doing various odd jobs, drinking and womanizing until an encounter with his sister makes him revisit his past.
Movie - 1976, 2h 15m • as Man on a Sidewalk with Painting (uncredited)
A dishonest businessman asks rich layabout Craig Blake to help him buy a gym, which will be demolished for a development project in Alabama. But after spending time with weightlifter Joe Santo and gym worker Mary Tate Farnsworth, Craig wants out of the deal. The property negotiations turn ugly, causing a brawl at the gym and a spectacle at a big bodybuilding meet, as Craig learns that it's not easy to turn your back on fair-weather friends.
Movie - 2010, 2h 15m • as Self
This 2009 documentary features directors Bob Rafelson, Peter Bogdanovich, and Henry Jaglom, actor-director Jack Nicholson, and actresses Karen Black and Ellen Burstyn, among others, reminiscing about the making of the groundbreaking films of BBS Productions.
Movie - 1968, 2h 15m • as Self (uncredited)
In this surrealistic and free-form follow-up to the Monkees' television show, the band frolic their way through a series of musical set pieces and vignettes containing humor and anti-establishment social commentary.
Movie - 1994, 2h 15m • as Rejected Customer (uncredited)
The attractive Davida enters a shop shortly before off-time and wants to buy a bathtub. Just the manager is still there. As business is not well, he is willing to stay longer. Davida wants to try the bathtubs. Although this is not allowed in the shop the manager agrees. As if that is not enough, Davida says she wants the bathtub for two and needs to be sure it fits her needs. She wants the manager to take place in the bathtub too.
Movie - 2017, 2h 15m • as Self
How did America change from Easy Rider into Donald Trump? What became of the dreams and utopias of the 1960's and 1970's? What do the people who lived in that golden age think about it today? Did they really blow it? Shot in Cinemascope - from New Jersey to California - this melancholic and elegiac road-movie draws upon the portrait of a confused, complex and incandescent America one year after the start of the electoral campaign. That golden age has become its last romantic border and an inconsolable America is about to pull on a trigger called Trump.
Movie - 1997, 2h 15m • as Self
Hailed by some as a cinematic genius, a feminist voice and a true maverick of American cinema, dismissed by others as a voyeuristic fraud and the "world's worst director," Henry Jaglom obsessively confuses and abuses the line between life and art. Featuring scores of interviews (including Orson Welles, Dennis Hopper, Milos Forman and Peter Bogdanovich) and rare behind-the-scenes footage, this hilarious documentary explores the fascinating question of Who Is Henry Jaglom?
Movie - 2009, 2h 15m • as Self
The artistry, triumph and lifelong friendship of the great cinematographers Laszlo Kovacs and Vilmos Zsigmond. With film school equipment, they shoot the Soviet crackdown of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. As refugees they struggle in Hollywood, finally breaking into the mainstream with their pivotal contribution to the "American New Wave."
Movie - 2002, 2h 15m • as Self
A 2002 video piece featuring director Bob Rafelson, cinematographer László Kovács, and actor Bruce Dern discussing style and process of the film The King of Marvin Gardens (1972).
Movie - 1983, 2h 15m • as Self
A woman goes to Cannes and, lost in its chaos and unable to obtain tickets, ends up watching it on television from her hotel room.
Movie - 1996, 2h 15m • as Rejected Customer (segment 'Wet') (uncredited)
Four erotic short films, all with similar unexpected endings: 'The Dutch Master': a woman who enters a living painting; 'The Insatiable Mrs. Kirsch': a woman is lured by noises from a chamber; 'Vroom Vroom Vroooom': a motorcycle transforms into a woman; and 'Wet': a hot tub salesman seduced by a woman.
Movie - 1997, 2h 15m • as Self (archive footage)
Documentary focusing The Monkees, the 1960s pop group originally created for a TV sitcom. Interviews with the band members, the show's creators, and musical collaborators and peers are featured.
Movie - 2010, 2h 15m • as Self
A video piece featuring director Bob Rafelson and actor Jack Nicholson, discussing the production of the film "Five Easy Pieces" (1970).
Movie - 2010, 2h 15m • as Self
A short video piece featuring director Bob Rafelson and actress Ellen Burstyn discussing the evolution of the characters in The King of Marvin Gardens (1972) and how accidents on the set proved beneficial to the film.
Movie - 1981, 2h 15m • as Self
Bob Rafelson: Self-portrait
Movie - 1982, 2h 15m • as Gangster
A reporter travelling to Latin America witnesses a murder through the lens of his camera.
Movie - 1988, 2h 15m • as Bob Rafelson
An outstanding performance featuring brilliant storytelling, high stakes drama, and unforgettable character arcs.
Movie - 1985, 2h 15m • as Sam
A middle-aged couple, on the verge of proceeding with a divorce, find themselves questioning their decision to separate when fellow friends and neighbors, oblivious to their marital troubles, assemble at their house for a 4th of July Weekend party.
Movie - 2002, 2h 15m • as Matty Bonkers
Veteran film director Matty Bonkers, a Hollywood legend, arrives in Berlin for an honorary retrospective tribute. While introducing his film Mockery, he receives a phone call from his producer lying in intensive care at a hospital. Blau needs a favor for old times' sake. Could Matty finish a porn movie before his legs get broken by Tokyo Tony? Matty reluctantly agrees. On the set he meets movie star and ex-cello-player Inga - and the experience is bizarre spirited uplifting a comédie humaine.