Vanishing Point (1971)

Director:

Richard C. Sarafian

Writers:

Malcolm Hart (story)
Guillermo Cabrera Infante (screenplay)

Release Date:

13 March 1971 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama

Tagline:

It's the maximum trip... at maximum speed.

Plot:

Kowalski works for a car delivery service. He takes delivery of a 1970 Dodge Challenger to take from Colorado to San Fransisco...

Plot Keywords:

Cars | Colorado | Dodge | Naked Woman | Highway Patrol

Cast

Barry Newman	...	Kowalski
Cleavon Little	...	Super Soul
Dean Jagger	...	Prospector
Victoria Medlin	...	Vera Thornton
Paul Koslo	...	Charlie, Young Nevada Patrolman
Robert Donner	...	Collins, Older Nevada Patrolman (as Bob Donner)
Timothy Scott	...	Angel
Gilda Texter	...	Nude Motorcycle Rider
Anthony James	...	Male Hitchhiker #1, in Front Seat
Arthur Malet	...	Male Hitchhiker #2, in Back Seat
Karl Swenson	...	Sandy McKees, Argo's Attendant
Severn Darden	...	Rev. J. 'Jessie' Hovah
Delaney Bramlett	...	J. Hovah's Singer (as Delaney & Bonnie and Friends)
Bonnie Bramlett	...	J. Hovah's Singer (as Delaney & Bonnie and Friends)
Lee Weaver	...	Jake, Kowalski's Denver Connection

MPAA:

Rated R for sensuality/nudity and drug content. (1998 re-rating)

Runtime:

99 min | UK:106 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

France:U | Iceland:L | Germany:16 (re-rating) (2008) | Singapore:PG | USA:R (re-rating) (1998) | Australia:M | Canada:14A | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:GP (original rating) | West Germany:18 (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Austin, Nevada, USA

Company:

Cupid Productions

Trivia:

Cameo: [David Gates]The singer/songwriter (of Bread fame) played the piano during the rousing revival in the desert with the J. Hovah singers.

Goofs:

Continuity: Motorcycle chase by the Colorado River: Second motorcycle cop crashes through a wooden barrier while chasing Kowalski. The barrier has three yellow and black striped horizontal boards; the cop clearly breaks all three boards in the crash, but when the shot returns to the cop sitting in the dirt, the top board is intact.

Quotes:

Super Soul: This radio station was named Kowalski, in honour of the last American hero to whom speed means freedom of the soul. The question is not when's he gonna stop, but who is gonna stop him.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Wanderlust (2006) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Love Theme

Best carmovie ever

One thing I realised about carfilms, or whatever you might call them, is that a certain degree of monotony is always required (check out the wonderful Two Lane Blacktop too see what I mean). If you waste too much time with backgrounds, character development, story etc the really important stuff starts lacking (the car as an instrument of freedom, the road, the desert...). In this way Vanishing Point is the perfect carmovie: it's about the most monotonous, yet beautiful things i've ever seen! It's about:

1. The car

2. The road

3. The desert

4. The music

And nothing else! Some vague attempts are made to make a character out of Kowalski, but fortunely they're small in numbers. The car is the true main character of the film.

I recommend this film with all my heart.