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. From its predecessor easy rider it takes the bleak beauty of western america, a rollicking soundtrack and a structure whereby the continuum of life on the road is punctuated by emblematic, but vague, encounters. He takes delivery of a 1970 dodge challenger to take from colorado to san francisco, california. Vanishing point from my favorite car chase movie, period. Vanishing point has to be the most contemplative car chase movie ever made. But it has movie spoilers, likethe end, so if you wanna be suprised when watching the movie, dont watch this clip. Transporting a car from colorado to california, he enlivens the journey by making a wager with his drug dealer. Vanishing point was more than just a chase movie, although at the time of. Vanishing point is a 1971 american action film directed by richard c. Vanishing point 1970 dodge challenger and what happened. While the story line and parts of the movie deviate from the original, its a pleasant spin on a cult classic.
What you may not know about the vanishing point 1970. What makes the movie great is while the car chases and crashes were enthralling to watch as a teenager, as i got older and watched it again many times, you realize that the chases were really secondary to the plot and strong character development. During the 1970s, car delivery driver kowalski delivers hot rods in record time but always runs into trouble with. Art film and road movie collide for vanishing point, an existential car chase across the desert in a post easy rider america.
Vanishing point has one awesome car, a 1970 dodge challenger, which for me, anyways is the real star of the film. Steven spielberg named vanishing point as one of his favorite films. Along the way, kowalski is guided by supersoul a blind dj with a. Probably the most familiar film to car culture fanatics, vanishing point is known as that white dodge challenger movie. The car featured in the film is a 1970 dodge challenger rt, with a 440 cubic inch v8, and not a 426 hemi v8 as is often believed. What they find instead is an unfamiliar, threatening hell. Vanishing point 1971 during the 1970s, car delivery driver kowalski delivers hot rods in record time but always runs into trouble with the highway cops. During the 1970s, car delivery driver kowalski delivers hot rods in record time but always runs into trouble with the highway. Released in 1971, vanishing point tells the story of kowalski, a guy who makes a bet that he can deliver a.
Vanishing point barry newman, dodge challenger 1970 car chase. Top 10 greatest movie car chase scenes from the 70s donut media duration. Inspired designs on tshirts, posters, stickers, home decor, and more by independent artists and designers from around the world. The 1970s had its fair share of car chase films, but you cant make a top ten list without including the film vanishing point this 1970 cult classic follows a man named kowalski played by barry newman on a mission to deliver a car while evading police and meeting a. Even though the movie is famous for being one long car chase, the most telling moments come from the few slivers of. How can you go wrong with a movie about a high speed chase in a 1970 charger i would recommend this to a friend. This was not by chance, as i am a certified mopar nut, and it is by far my favorite car movie. Vanishing point 1971 cop chase compilation video dailymotion. With viggo mortensen, christine elise, steve railsback, rodney a. Vanishing point 1971 rotten tomatoes movie trailers. The muscle car history back in the and the american car manufacturers diversified their automobile lines with high performance vehicles which came to. Among muscle car fans there are a few hollywood car chase scenes that stand out in our minds, such as the one seen in the 1971 movie vanishing point. However, the question is what happened with the cars, that have been used in the movie. Sarafian and starring barry newman and cleavon little.
Vanishing point is a 1971 american action road movie directed by richard c. Bullitt 1968 san francisco car chase scene 410 movieclips duration. Death proof 2007, the quentin tarantino contribution to the fauxexploitation double feature grindhouse 2007, features a chase involving a dodge challenger resembling the one seen in vanishing point not being an rt model and having an automatic transmission. Vanishing point 1970 dodge challenger bryant motors. Arguably the trope makerurexample of the car chase movie, or in any case the trope codifier in a postwoodstock 70s us, kowalski newman is a car delivery man with a mysterious past, now working for argos car delivery service in denver, colorado.
After a few runins with motorcycle cops and highway patrol they start a. The 1970 dodge challenger vanishing point called like that because of the movie it starts in was one of the best cars. After numerous chases, he turns into a aboriginal american reservation and reflects on his. The challengers were prepared and maintained for the movie by max balchowsky, who also prepared the mustangs and. Forget fast furious movies theis is one of my favorite car chase movie of all time it has naked ladys muscle cars police chases. This cult hit from 1971 is about a guy in a supercharged dodge challenger on the run from the law. Before smokey and the bandit, there was vanishing point. He takes delivery of a 1970 dodge challenger to take from colorado to san fransisco, california. Vanishing point 1971 stream and watch online moviefone. The opening image of vanishing point is the front page picture from the newspaper report of my parents accident that day. After he blows a left front tire and becomes lost, kowalski. Vanishing point top 5 car chase movies unique cars and parts.
So they get rid of all the classic elements and turn it into a generic chase movie. Loftin, who designed car stunts for films including bullitt, the love bug, duel, vanishing point and dozens of others, is simply the greatest movie stunt driver of all time. During the police chase across nevada, kowalski finds himself surrounded and heads into the desert. Vanishing point was more than just a chase movie, although at the time of release the message it carried beneath the explosive photography and fast paced music wasnt fully appreciated. Scene from the movie vanishing point 1971 in one of the most iconic chase car scene driving a dodge challenger with cleavon little as a. The original ending left you in a state of your own imagination which made the title make sense. Sarafian on allmovie richard sarafian directed this minimalist chase. Vietnam war hero kowalski barry newman has become a pilladdicted driver for hire. They should have renamed this version challenger vs bulldozers, or anything besides vanishing point.
Unfortunately, none of the cars that have been used in the original 1971 movie, survived. But calling it a car chase film still isnt enough to describe this strange and beautiful masterpiece of a. It all adds up to one of the most spectacular car chases in motion picture history. Vanishing point is probably the most unusual and bold car chase film i have ever seen. My movie diary gets sidetracked this week by one of the lamest flicks ive seen in some time. I started this off as just another entry in my movie diary, but once i got going, it turned into a pretty lengthy takedown of one of the most iconic car chase flicks ever, 1971s vanishing point. Many have seen the movie but surprisingly, quite a few havent. High quality vanishing point gifts and merchandise.
After a few runins with motorcycle cops and highway patrol they start a chase to bring him into custody. The fact the film is about freedom, and the revolting spirit of the oppressed. Shortly after pickup, he takes a bet to get the car there in less than 15 hours. Vanishing point, a chase movie from the early 1970s, can be easily related to other films of the same or similar genres. Vanishing point dodge challenger vs charger youtube. One of the most famous hollywood muscle car chase scene is the vanishing point, where the main character is the white 1970 dodge challenger rt. Music by axe, steal another fantasy vanishing point is a 1997 television remake of the 1971 cult film. Vanishing point 1971 high octane chase video dailymotion. It makes no sense to begin the movie with the car vanishing then showing it crashing into dozers. This iconic 1971 film takes us on a multistate, high speed, police chase from. When his wife goes into a troubled labor while he is on the road over 1200 miles away james kowalski, a former racecar driver and army ranger, attempts to elude police while trying to get home.
The fact that is pretty much a 100 minute car chase. Honestly i have no memory of what the second movie was, only that vanishing point just blew us away. Vanishing point is perhaps one of the best car chase films to ever grace the big screen. Released 1971, vanishing point stars barry newman, cleavon little, charlotte rampling, dean jagger the r movie has a runtime of about 1 hr 47 min, and received a score of out of 100 on. This road movie is essentially one long car chase that concerns a man named. Scene from the movie vanishing point 1971 in one of the most iconic chase car scene driving a dodge challenger with cleavon little as a blind discjockey and barry newman kowaslky as the car. The premise was simple, kowalski decides to deliver a white dodge challenger from colorado to california under 15 hours and thus ensues a lengthy car chase. Official youtube channel for 20th century fox movies. A train approached at full speed, hitting the car on the driver side and drag what remains of the vehicle, and its passengers, for a long distance. Behind the scenes of the movie vanishing point angelfire. Vanishing point joins easy rider 1969 and twolane blacktop 1971 in a canon of films that attempt to find and reclaim the version of america that they were promised. Equally as popular today is the 1971 cult classic, vanishing point.