The Outlaw Motorcyle Clubs or M.C.s depicted in movies and TV series seem outlandish but are truely grounded in the wild and violent crimes they commit. Nothing is stranger than true stories and the world of outlaw motorcycle clubs provide for rich story lines involving murder and mayhem.
Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs (OMGs) are organizations whose members use their motorcycle clubs as conduits for criminal enterprises.
OMGs are highly structured criminal organizations whose members engage in criminal activities such as violent crime, weapons trafficking, and drug trafficking.
In the United States, motorcycle clubs are considered “outlaw” if they are not sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) and do not follow its rules.
Instead, they have their own bylaws that reflect the outlaw biker culture.
According the U.S. Department of Justice, there are more than 300 active OMGs within the United States, ranging in size from single chapters with five or six members to hundreds of chapters with thousands of members worldwide.
Here are some movies and film series inspired by outlaw motocycle clubs or simply the idea that the motorcycle represents a certain sense of freedom from socialial norms.
A dark drama set in Charming, a sheltered community watched over by a renegade motorcycle club intent on protecting the town from the newcomers that threaten it. Jackson ‘Jax’ Teller is one member of the brotherhood, who finds his own loyalty to the group tested when he experiences its increasing lawlessness and notoriety, while at the same time adjusting to life as a father. But confusing matters are Jax’s mother and stepfather, two ruthless individuals who happen to be the masterminds behind the club.
Kurt Sutter’s much-anticipated spin-off/follow-up to “Sons of Anarchy” for FX puts it’s focus on SAMCRO’s bitterest rivals, the border-riding, cartel muscle-providing Mayans motorcycle club. While prospect ex-con Ezekiel “EZ” Reyes (J.D. Pardo) is vouched for by his full patch brother Angel (Clayton Cardenas), the gang and their cartel allies are leery of his true agenda. Sarah Bolger, Danny Pino, Michael Irby, Edward James Olmos also star.
When he loses his job, gas station attendant Poet (Academy Award-winner Jack Nicholson) falls in with a rough band of Hells Angels who terrorize Northern California in a hellraising frenzy of parties and gang fights. Choppers, drugs, sex, murder and mayhem ensue as Poet and gang leader Buddy (Adam Roarke) head down a dark road to danger.
From acclaimed cult director Richard Rush (The Stunt Man) with cinematography by the legendary László Kovács (Easy Rider, Paper Moon) and music by Stu Phillips (Battlestar Gallactica, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls).
Bikers. Babes. Revenge. Nothing could better sum up this Hells Angels auctioneer directed by Roger Corman (producer of many classic B movies including Death Race 2000, Little Shop of Horrors, Targets) and starring Bruce Dern (Nebraska, the Cowboys), Peter Fonda (Easy Rider, the Limey) and Nancy Sinatra (Get Yourself a College Girl, Speedway). The action is set in motion when a bike is stolen from the Hells Angels. An epic chase to retrieve the bike ensues as the bikers spread fear and trembling wherever they ride. The Wild Angels delivers wall-to-wall biker action at it’s best.
Dennis Hopper directs and stars in this American cult classic. Bikers Billy (Hopper) and Wyatt (Peter Fonda), having just smuggled a huge amount of cocaine across the border from Mexico to LA, sell their haul to the mysterious Connection (Phil Spector) and take off on their bikes in the hope of reaching New Orleans in time for the Mardi Gras festival. After being arrested in Texas for joining a street parade without having the required permit, they meet civil rights lawyer George Hanson (Jack Nicholson) who decides to join them on their journey.
An exiled band of Hell’s Angels strike a bargain with the Sheriff of a local town, let them stay and the town is safe. But a local girl strays into their lair and sparks off a full scale Angel war.
Johnny (Marlon Brando) and his motorcycle gang roll into Carbonville for a biker competition and raise enough hell to get kicked out of town. They repair to nearby Wrightsville and continue their reign of terror. The local sheriff (Robert Keith) is helpless to stop them, but when a rival gang arrives, he manages to arrest their leader, Chino (Lee Marvin). Meanwhile, Johnny finds himself attracted to the sheriff’s daughter, Kathie (Mary Murphy), and decides to stick around.
Hell Ride is a 2008 feature film from Larry Bishop being released under the “Quentin Tarantino Presents” banner. The film promises to be a blood and sex-soaked tale of motorcycle revenge and retribution.
The Born Losers is also significant for its social criticism and portrayal of the biker gang as a force of pure, unredeemable evil. Here, for the first time, a lone hero stands up to, and ultimately defeats, the gang. Prior to this, the majority of the films in this genre imitated The Wild One with a sympathetic gang member (the reluctant leader or a new member) who ultimately rejects the outlaw biker lifestyle.