Repo Man (1984)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Alex Cox

Writer:

Alex Cox (written by)

Release Date:

2 March 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

A repo man is always intense... but only a fool gets killed for a car.

Plot:

Young punk Otto becomes a repo man after helping to steal a car, and stumbles into a world of wackiness as a result.

Plot Keywords:

Repossession | Punk | UFO | Police | Televangelist

Awards:

2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Harry Dean Stanton	...	Bud
Emilio Estevez	...	Otto
Tracey Walter	...	Miller
Olivia Barash	...	Leila
Sy Richardson	...	Lite
Susan Barnes	...	Agent Rogersz
Fox Harris	...	J. Frank Parnell
Tom Finnegan	...	Oly
Del Zamora	...	Lagarto
Eddie Velez	...	Napo
Zander Schloss	...	Kevin
Jennifer Balgobin	...	Debbi
Dick Rude	...	Duke
Miguel Sandoval	...	Archie (as Michael Sandoval)
Vonetta McGee	...	Marlene

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

New Zealand:R | USA:R (Approved No. 27271) | Argentina:18 | Australia:M | Australia:R (video rating) | Finland:K-15 (re-rating) (2003) | Finland:K-18 (original rating) | UK:18 | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Edge City

Trivia:

When the entourage enters Bud's hospital room looking for him, the preacher on the television can be heard saying "He has risen!"

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: Otto's mouth when he asks Duke when he got out of the slammer.

Quotes:

Lagarto Rodriguez: ...yeah, well that's not the only thing, Marlene. This car is hot.
Marlene: What do you mean? Stolen?
Lagarto Rodriguez: No, I mean it's hot. Really hot.
Marlene: Hot?
Lagarto Rodriguez: Yeah! We're sweating like pigs, man.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Veronica Mars: Like a Virgin (#1.8)" (2004)

Soundtrack:

I Just Want To Satisfy

What an empty life we live!

Watching "Repo Man", one gets a sense of just how empty our modern world is. The movie has disaffected punk Otto Maddox (Emilio Estevez) becoming a repo man, meaning that he repossesses cars of people who missed payments. Through this, he gets to know the wacky punk world even further. But there's one car that may be harder to repossess: not only do various other people want this car, but there's something in the car...

"Repo Man" may be known as a cult movie, but it deserves more recognition than that. Aside from being a window into the early-'80s punk culture, it shows the disintegration of American society. Alex Cox created a real gem here. Estevez is perfect in his role, as are Harry Dean Stanton as a detective, and Tracey Walter as the strange car's driver.