Thrills, spills and a handful of pills. It all adds up to one of the most spectacular car chases in motion picture history! Barry Newman stars as Kowalski, the last American hero, who set out to prove that he can drive from Denver to San Francisco in just fifteen hours. Along the way, he meets an old prospector (Dean Jagger), a snake worshipper, a nude woman on a motorcycle, and a blind D.J. (Cleavon Little) who “sees” danger ahead in this super-charged, action-packed adventure!Art film and road movie collide for Vanishing Point, an existential car chase across the desert in a post Easy Rider America. Barry Newman stars as Kowalski, a taciturn driver who bets that he can drive a new Dodge Challenger from Denver to San Francisco in 15 hours. He loads up on amphetamines and begins his odyssey through the contemporary west while a funky black DJ (Cleavon Little) turns the driver into a folk hero and broadcasts advice on dodging the cops. It’s like a counterculture precursor to Smokey and the Bandit, with the road as the last bastion of freedom and the DJ as a combination commentator and mystical guide. The slim plot offers a network of society drop-outs that aid the “last free Man on Earth” (as the DJ describes him) on his obscure but obviously symbolic quest while flashbacks paint Kowalski as a world-weary hero. It doesn’t really make much sense, but the amazing car chases and excellent stunt work are stunningly set against the American west, beautifully captured by cinematographer John A. Alonzo. Vanishing Point is most assuredly a product of its time, the heady, anything-goes era of rebellion in the early 1970s. –Sean Axmaker
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March 5, 2010
#1
This is a poor excuse of a movie. The actors are less than right for these rolls. I will be selling this movie used if anyone wants to waste the cash….
March 5, 2010
#2
Well, where to begin? First of all, I’m close to 40 years old, and enjoy old musclecars as much as the next person. Like a Tiger, they (musclecars) should be admired for their beauty and strength, but not set loose at full boil on an unsuspecting public. WHAT was so romantic about this film????? A man high on dope, running from the police, on public highways, in a high performance Mopar? And all for what? A bet. Yep…..this movie ranks right up there with Smokey and the Bandit for sheer stupidity. Actually, this movie was before that time, but with one difference, Burt Reynolds was not high as a kite. Now, I love a good action flick, same as most anyone. In a good movie, you can forget about your troubles for awhile, and not worry about everyday troubles. But even in 1971, this movie sent out all the wrong messages. It’s Ok to flee from police just because you made a bet with someone. It’s Ok to speed on public highways to your heart’s content, as long as you’re “The Last Free Spirit.” As long as you have a cool, fast car, and you’re polite to people, it’s OK to do these things. My problem with this movie (and yes, I did see it at the drive-in theatre in 71) is the way the movie, and fans alike, glorify the character. Behavior of that type was just as stupid in 1971, AS IT IS TODAY. If a maniac ran you off the road while fleeing from the police, would you “understand,” simply because he or she was the last “free person?” People take this film waaaaaaaay to seriously. Freedom? Freedom from WHAT?????? Oh…..it must be the freedom we all desire from those ruthless American Gestapo agents. You know, not being able to own a fast car. Not being able to place a bet and go speeding at 160mph down the interstate. Not being allowed to get high, and then go speeding 160mph down the interstate.Grow UP people!!!
March 5, 2010
#3
The color and sound was alright but I was rather disappointed in the movie itself. It was a very short movie with no introduction starting with the movie and it was a race alright but the driver and car were a total disaster in the ending part of the movie. I would not class this movie as a 1st Class movie by a long ways. I guess I was expecting a much better auto race than was in the movie. Maybe others will enjoy it but I felt it was a waste of my money personnally!!!
March 5, 2010
#4
First, let me point out that this remake starring Viggo Mortensen is more appropriate for post 9/11 America than during the America of President Clinton. While it is true, that this remake was released not too long after the bombing of Oklahoma City, Ruby Ridge, and the Waco fiasco, I believe that the Government reaction was more in tune with the paranoia of terrorism now than what it would it would have been in 1996 or 1997. President Bush probably would have labeled Kowalski in league with Osama Bin Laden!
Anyway, both movies have their pros and cons: Both have shaky plots: A car chase across the western states? Excitement galore!!!
But there is something about the original that the remake cannot touch. It may be the free spirit that the original had. After all, the original was released in 1970.
However, the remake had a better back story (the wife in the hospital) and it gave the crash a bit more humanity. the remake erred when it suggested that Kowalski could have survived. Let the audience draw their own conclusion.
The crash in the original was the end of the movie. I liked the indifference of the spectators. After Newman’s Kowalski crashed, the people seemed to shrug and leave after the debacle. It was as if the people saw their excitement for the day then went back to their daily routine.
March 5, 2010
#5
Well, where to begin? First of all, I’m close to 40 years old, and enjoy old musclecars as much as the next person. Like a Tiger, they (musclecars) should be admired for their beauty and strength, but not set loose at full boil on an unsuspecting public. WHAT was so romantic about this film????? A man high on dope, running from the police, on public highways, in a high performance Mopar? And all for what? A bet. Yep…..this movie ranks right up there with Smokey and the Bandit for sheer stupidity. Actually, this movie was before that time, but with one difference, Burt Reynolds was not high as a kite. Now, I love a good action flick, same as most anyone. In a good movie, you can forget about your troubles for awhile, and not worry about everyday troubles. But even in 1971, this movie sent out all the wrong messages. It’s Ok to flee from police just because you made a bet with someone. It’s Ok to speed on public highways to your heart’s content, as long as you’re “The Last Free Spirit.” As long as you have a cool, fast car, and you’re polite to people, it’s OK to do these things. My problem with this movie (and yes, I did see it at the drive-in theatre in 71) is the way the movie, and fans alike, glorify the character. Behavior of that type was just as stupid in 1971, AS IT IS TODAY. If a maniac ran you off the road while fleeing from the police, would you “understand,” simply because he or she was the last “free person?” People take this film waaaaaaaay to seriously. Freedom? Freedom from WHAT?????? Oh…..it must be the freedom we all desire from those ruthless American Gestapo agents. You know, not being able to own a fast car. Not being able to place a bet and go speeding at 160mph down the interstate. Not being allowed to get high, and then go speeding 160mph down the interstate.Grow UP people!!!