Vanishing Point

[Roger]

Motor Trend has an article this month on the Dodge Challenger prototype and the article uses this movie as a reference point. I have never seen the film. Apparently it is about a guy named Kowalski who is supposed to drive the car from Denver to San Franciso in 15 hours, gets chased by several cops and drives the car into a road block of tractors. Has anyone ever seen this film? Is it any good?[huh] It's supposed to be a "cult" film, but I never heard of it until now. Stars Barry Newman, another unknown to me who starred in the 1970's t.v. show; Petrocelli, another unknown.

 

[Senator Jack]

Yeah, Vanishing Point was a Movie of the Week staple back in the 70s. Saw it a few times back then, but not since. There's a radio D.J. that comments on his plight throughout - an idea they pilfered for 'The Warriors' a few years later. I'd definitely like to see it again, along with the other MOFTW that we discussed in the 'Weird Movies' thread. (Gargoyles, Shirts and Skins, Killdozer, etc.)

Regards,

Senator Jack

 

[MK]

.

I am sure it aired on TV....but it was a theatrical release. I first saw it on the big screen. I remember it having amazing driving.

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

It's out on DVD now. I must have seen it a few dozen times at least. I even had a white Challenger for a while.

Dean Jagger and Severn Darden are in it, too.

 

[Alan Eardley]

Barry Newman, who played Kowalski, did his own stunt driving.

The film has some trite moments (it's heavy with nostalgic flashbacks) and could be accused of oversentimentality (death is a romantic theme) but the general effect is epic. If you can stand the lack of automotive realism in the script it's worth watching.

The film has been remade recently (with Viggo Mortensen) and is nowhere near as good. The director of the remake apparently claimed to have improved on the original, which he said did not have a strong storyline. Ah! That's the (vanishing) point, dude!!!

Alan

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

Barry did some of it, but the great Cary Loftin did the heavy stuff.

But the award for bravery must go to the girl on the motorcycle. No effective sunscreen back then, remember!

I met one of the fellows behind the 1997 remake, but didn't have the heart to tell him that the major strength of the 1971 original was that it didn't spell everything out for the viewer.

The DVD has the version, apparently released in England, that had a scene with Charlotte Rampling which was cut from the US version.

 

[Alan Eardley]

Charlotte Rampling

Tony,

Do you happen to know which of the scenes with Miss Rampling was edited out of the US version? If it was the sunset surfing scene, it must have made the rest of the film quite puzzling for some...

Alan

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

No, the actress in the surfing scene is Victoria Medlin, not Charlotte Rampling.

Rampling had only one scene and it was cut, so she doesn't appear at all in the US version.

 

[Alan Eardley]

Rampling

Tony,

Now I'm not sure whether to doubt my memory or my understanding of the film! I haven't seen it since it was shown in cinemas in the early 70s. I recall that the surfing scene was shot in soft focus and that the actress was wearing sunglasses and so was a little difficult to recognise. As she is credited (in the version we see in the UK) I had incorrectly assumed that was Miss Rampling. As it's not in the US version, would you know what character she plays?

Alan

 

[dr greg]

VP

Let's not forget the soundtrack! I haven't seen it since back then, but I wonder how Cleavon Little's jive talk sounds now.

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

I have the DVD which includes the UK version, so I saw Charlotte Rampling's scene for the first time just a few months ago. It's near the end. I'll have to check it again, but I think it's just before the final scene.

 

[tallyho]

I have the DVD and it is great. I would definitely avoid the remake, it sucked on so many levels ( the original, he's delivering a car from Colorado to San Francisco, in the remake he is trying to get there for the birth of his baby, Sappy!) If yo like this type of movie, I would also recomend Two Lane Blacktop with Warren Oats, James Taylor and one of the Beach Boys. Yes thats James Taylor the singer! I think he has maybe 5 lines in the whole movie even though he his one of the 3 central characters. Oats is great as a slimmy poser.

Also add to the list the original Gone in 60 Seconds and The Junkman

 

[The Wingnut]

I saw the world's last screenable copy of the original film in a movie theater in Petaluma in '99. There's nothing like seeing it on the big screen.

As a MoPar fanatic, this film is gospel. You watch it for the car itself, not the story. The jump over no-name creek is the apex of the film. Just about every vintage Chrysler product owner wants to drive down Interstate 80 through Nevada full tilt boogie because of Vanishing Point. My Furies are long gone, but my Datsun is chomping at the bit for a wild ride through the Nevada wastelands.

If you watch the film as more of a picture of the era in which it was made, it's more interesting. The story is less about the events it portrays and more about the life journey of Kowalski; seemingly destined for greatness but never really making it. It's a culture piece, a portrait of America in the early '70s, after the summer of love, trying to find a future.

...it's also an excellent argument against mixing driving and drugs.

 

[Twitch]

Yeah the original was not endearing to viewers as a stick-in-your-mind niche classic. It was good and I'd watch it if it was on tomorrow but wouldn't buy a DVD. The remake was decent. It kinda shows how being fairly true to the original script will produce something that is quite acceptable to view.