I saw this when it came out. I really never liked the original film. Muddled, drug-addict tripe, actually, is my honest assesment. Cool car chases and whatnot, interesting plot but bumblingly executed and flat characters I really didn't identify with However...20th Century Fox remade the film and (I think) it showed on Showtime It starred Viggo Mortensen (played Aragorn/Strider in the Lord of the Rings films) as Kowalski, who was, in this version, a guy you can like and empathise with- desert storm vet with some Law troubles, and a very sick wife This film has been unavailable on any medium, to my knowledge, until just recently. I called Showtime a while back (again, as I recall) and they said they had no intention of releasing the film Well, I bought the DVD today. A whopping 10 bucks. It's a good movie. It's not Ben Hur, but a good car movie, and this time with three dimesional characters. Kowalski has an actual reason to drive, and it's not a bagful of red pills, it's because of his wife. The last scene is one of the best final scenes I've ever seen in a film (I like Kurosawa and Scorcese films more than stuff like Missing In Action part 8, so I feel I'm a good critic. This ain't Taxi Driver, but it's much better than the original) So it features a Mopar. You love Hemi Challengers as much as anyone, admit it. Good car movie, pretty good film, some real good acting. 10 bucks, take a chance and buy it :3gears:
I've seen the old movie and think that was the best. There's some great scenes, especially when he is getting away from the police; powershifting with the pistol grip shifter, and you can hear the six pack howling in the background,and also shot of the car pulling away at a dizzying high rate of speed(filmed in real time and not fake dubbed). There is also a catchy tune towards the end of the movie(right before he stuffs the camaro into the bulldozers). You have to put up with the hippie type of atmosphere(remember this was in the seventies). And who can forget the beautiful woman in the movie riding the motorcycle(people who have seen this movie know what I mean). Very cool stuff! I will never forget people calling the main character and pronounciating his name- "Kuh-wall-ski" (Kowalski). Definately a classic in the automotive arena. :3gears: :TU:
Old movie is the best, we had special caf's here to watch this flick !! Nothing beats a good old pshycic film from the old days, I went down the old road several times, love the effects...... :TU:
Hey Guys.I have both on VHS.Taped the 1996 version off TV a few years back.I have to say both are good in their own right,they had to change the plot in the remake to fit the times.The remake is a bit of a "Gearhead Romance" if you will.Great car action in both films IMO.Later,Tony.
hey Chris were did you find the remake on DVD? have the original and saw the remake on TV but would like to add it to my collection. liked them both in there own way. :TU:
I always liked hearing the New Process A-833 in the Challenger especially in reverse :TU: Almost as much as hearing the M-22 in the 55 going thru the gears in Two Lane Blacktop. :3gears:
Get yourself the DVD Dolby Surround version, set up your home theater, the effects are really great !!!
Jason.That 55 Chevy in "Blacktop" and "American Graffitti" has always been my favourite movie car off all the ones to like.Just a Bad Ass,ratty,street machine!! :TU: Later,Tony.
Your opinion sucks! You missed the entire secondary plot of the movie. :spank: VP was an awesome 70's car flick. Period. :3gears:
The original movie was a great classic , perhaps the greatest car movie I also liked Dirty Larry Crazy Mary (something like that lol) . They're planning of doing another remake of Vanishing Point with the same Challenger of course but the action wil be in our time , just like the soon-to-be-release (aug 8)Duck Of Hazard using the same Orange Charger but action in our time as well . link to Vanishing Point (3) http://movieweb.com/news/news.php?id=4979
Hey Larry. Ouch!!! I can see where Chris`s opinion is coming from.The times dictated some of the style/theme of the movie IMO.Pushing that aside,the car action is great.The remake,some may not care for the romance aspect but once again the car action is great.As I have said before,I have both and to be honest I enjoy watching both :TU: Later,Tony.
Wasn't it that if you look good at the last second where the Challenger slams into the bulldozer, you can see it was changed for a Camaro ? :Smarty: Movie facts: At the beginning of the movie, when Kowalski is chased by cops on motorcycles on a dirt road, in the shots from behind the Challenger you can see two people in the car. There is a scene where he is driving through the desert and the negative of the film is reversed so that it appears that he is sitting and driving from the right hand side of the car. There are several versions of this film, in one when Kowolski stops at the desert house to get drugs he put the car into park with a column shift yet there are numerous scenes of him shifting the 4spd pistol grip throughout the film. In the final sequence we get a low shot of the bulldozers with the sun as a big ball low on the horizon behind them. But in the shots from there on we don't see any shadows, even those that are meant to portray the scene directly after this sun shot. At the end of the movie just before the Challenger hits the Bulldozers, the right rear wheel on the Challenger changes from a factory Dodge rally wheel to a Cragar S/S wheel. When the main character is driving around in the desert, he gets a flat tyre on the left front. The camera shows the tire with the rim down on the sidewall of the tyre. After the driver gets out of the car, the camera shows the tyre again, but this time the rim is down on the sand. When the two motorcycle cops start chasing Kowalski along the dirt track, one calls in a request for previous information on him, by name. But they've never asked for his name, and there's no indication that they've got hold of Kowalski's ID (if they have, then they never give the ID back, either). :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
Yes Erik,if you slow motion your VCR,you will see as soon as the Challenger is at the bulldozers,another camera shows the back end of the car,and you can see Camaro taillights!!!! I don't blame them for trading that Challenger for the Camaro;that car was definately cool! :TU:
No, my opinion is candid and un-biased. You obviously love the original and that's fine. As Cinema goes it is not a good film. The plot is muddled and you can't connect with the main character well. You like it, and that's OK with me. Not my fault you critique films with your heart and not your head. Have a nice day
Chris... you gota get in yer way-back machine to 68 and get an idea of what the times were about then. The original movie captures it ,in my opinion. I'm not from the times,but ya gotta listen to all the music from the 60s and watch some other movies to get the idea. It wasnt just hippie drug drivel,it was a guy from a war,the corrupt police force,and a hell bent for leather rider/driver.Not to mention seeing some great stunt driving,it wasnt sped up slow drivin,you knew it was haulin ass.One of yall brought up the transmission sounds,I thought I was the only one who was listenin.The 2 Lane 55 had a mean souning rock crusher,woulda probly drowned out the radio if it had one.Thats definitely another cult film you gotta put yerself in the times for.It just ends..no drama or anything...its just over,I havent really figured that one out.That 55 is the end all baddest movie car ever...ever.Plastic sliding windows,half a backseat,what looks like an L-88(someone correct me if ya know),a tranny thats as loud as the motor,slicks in the trunk,fuel fill in the trunk(love the look on the pump jockeys face when he asks where do I fill it?),no paint save for some streaked primer and a maniac driver and a manic mechanic...thats all ...fish
Carl, I will stop my DVD at that point and take a photo, or play it on my computer and do a "print screen" action, but first I have to find out who lend my DVD..... :rant: PS: Buy that DVD at Amazon, for only US$ 11.24 :TU: < Click image :Smarty:
No, see you don't understand at all. I look at this as a Motion Picture, a Movie There are things that make movies good or bad. being a good time capsule of it's era has nothing to do with being a good or bad movie. America's Funniest Home Videos is chock full of great time capsules that perfectly capture the era the video was shot in, but does that make any of them good movies? Just because it has touches of realism, reflected the times, and has cool stuff in it, that doesn't make it a good movie I'm not sure if you think I grew up in the '90s or what, but I was born in '71 and I've seen almost all the car movies, I know all about Two Lane Blacktop, I'm a big '60s music fan (not just Rock). And a big '60s and '50s film fan. the original has all these elements,a nd the leading actor can't tie it together, the director didn't make him, the editting was a joke, and the dialogue was pop bubblegum. The film looks like a work-print. The cinematography is lacking, plain and simple I don't rate movies on my personal preference when I say they are good or bad, I rate them on their qualities as a movie. I like quite a few movies that suck. They were fun movies, but Cinema is Art, and the movies I like that suck aren't good art- they are simply fun Compare VP with two other well known car flicks- American Grafitti and Two Lane Blacktop Of the two, American Grafitti was the far superior film. The acting, the use of the soundtrack, the style in which it was filmed (continous- the first scene was shot first, second scene second, etc), the acting, the story that splits and comes together and splits and comes together again is very good Cinema. the characters really seem human, they do dumb things, they say dumb things and look embarrassed for saying it, they say things the characters don't mean but the viewer knows it, and so on. Two Lane Blacktop is slightly better than VP. The plot is clear, unlike VP there is no secondary plot that isn't thought out, nor is there a weakly veiled attempt to tap into the "anti-establishment" theme VP did- that's one of the things that weaken VP, by the way- the film shows Authority in a bad light as a neccessity, but it never just does it, it always tip-toes around the issue. VP is like another film I like very much- Thunderbolt and Lightfoot. I love TandL but it's not a good film. Poor editting, plot twist dead-ends. Why'd Jeff Bridges die, again? I never could tell. But a fun film. Every Which Way but Loose? GREAT fun. But as a movie, it sucks. Now, I can debate the merits of the orignal VP at length, obviously, but it's hard to do that when the rebutalls are all things like "VP was cool, the cars sounded great". Well, sure...but that makes it a Great Film? Citizen Kane is a Great film. African Queen is a Great Film. Once Upon a Time in the West is a Great film. You can tell me that VP was a FUN film, but I'll never agree it was Great, it's just not so. Two Lane Blacktop was a much better film
Chris, its definately an age thing . Us older folks relate to the 60-70's , because thats when we grew up. When my teenage daughter heard the "guess who" singing "American woman" on my radio station, she said that Lenny's "original" version was better. I just shook my head, and smiled!
