Taglines: Let the sun shine in!
Hair is a musical focusing on the lives of two young men in the Vietnam era against the backdrop of the hippie culture. Set in the late 1960s, Claude Hooper Bukowski (John Savage) is a naive Oklahoman sent off to see the sites of New York before beginning his enlistment in the US Army.
On his arrival he observes a group of hippies lead by George Berger (Treat Williams) begging for change from a trio of horseback riders. Later, Claude catches the runaway horse the hippies have rented and uses it to show off his riding skills to one of the trio of strangers–an upper class débutante. While returning the horse to the hippies, Claude accepts their invitation to be shown around the city.
In the course of a single evening, Claude gets stoned smoking marijuana and then is introduced to the race and class issues of the 1960’s. The morning after, George finds a scrap of newspaper identifying the mysterious girl. The hippy group, including Hud (Dorsey Wright), Jeannie (Annie Golden) and Woof (Don Dacus), crash a private party where the girl, Sheila Franklin (Beverly D’Angelo), secretly enjoys the disruption of her rigid environment. After the group is arrested, Claude uses the only money he has to pay George’s fine so that George can find the funds to get the rest of them released. Meanwhile, at the prison, Woof’s refusal to have his hair cut leads into the title song.
Unsuccessful at convincing Sheila to get the funds from her father, George returns to his parents’ home and is able to convince his mother to give him enough money to have the others released from jail. For their next adventure, the group attends a peace rally in Central Park where Claude drops acid. When Jeannie proposes they get married to keep Claude out of the Army and Sheila shows up to apologize, Claude’s “trip” reflects his internal conflict over which world he belongs in–his own native Oklahoman farm culture, the upper class society of Sheila or the free-wheeling world of the hippies.
When his trip is over, Claude and the hippies have a falling out over both a mean trick they pull on Sheila (taking her clothes while she’s skinny-dipping, which then leads to Sheila being completely humiliated when she has no choice but to hail a taxi completely naked) and their philosophical differences over the war in Vietnam and personal versus community responsibility. In the end Claude goes through with his original plan and reports to the draft board. He begins his enlistment in the Army and makes it through basic training.
When Claude writes to Sheila from his training camp, she seeks out George and his group to share the news. George begins to cook up a scheme to visit Claude in Nevada at the military base. Enter Hud’s finance (Cheryl Barnes), who wants him to return to their life together with his son, LaFayette Jr. (Rahsaan Curry). Tricking Sheila’s brother Steve (Miles Chapin) out of the family car, the hippies, Sheila and Hud’s finance all head west and try to enter the training camp to visit Claude.
Hair is a 1979 American musical anti-war comedy-drama film based on the 1968 Broadway musical Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical about a Vietnam War draftee who meets and befriends a “tribe” of hippies on his way to the army induction center. The hippies introduce him to marijuana and LSD, and their environment of unorthodox relationships and draft evasion.
The film was directed by Miloš Forman (who was nominated for a César Award for his work on the film) and adapted for the screen by Michael Weller (who would collaborate with Forman on a second picture, Ragtime, two years later). Cast members include John Savage, Treat Williams, Beverly D’Angelo, Annie Golden, Dorsey Wright, Don Dacus, Cheryl Barnes, Melba Moore, and Ronnie Dyson. Dance scenes were choreographed by Twyla Tharp, and were performed by the Twyla Tharp Dance Foundation. The film was nominated for two Golden Globes: Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, and New Star of the Year in a Motion Picture (for Williams).
Hair (1979)
Directed by: Miloš Forman
Starring: John Savage, Treat Williams, Beverly D’Angelo, Annie Golden, Dorsey Wright, Don Dacus, Cheryl Barnes, Melba Moore, Ronnie Dyson, Charlotte Rae, Fern Tailer, Herman Meckler
Screenplay by: Michael Weller
Production Design by: Stuart Wurtzel
Cinematography by: Miroslav Ondříček
Film Editing by: Alan Heim, Stanley Warnow
Costume Design by: Ann Roth
Set Decoration by: George DeTitta Sr.
Music by: Galt MacDermot
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: United Artists
Release Date: March 14, 1979
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