Fandango (1985)

Director:

Kevin Reynolds

Writer:

Kevin Reynolds (written by)

Release Date:

25 January 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

It's the privilege of youth.

Plot:

Five college buddies from the University of Texas circa 1971 embark on a final road trip odyssey across the Mexican border before facing up to uncertain futures, in Vietnam and otherwise.

Plot Keywords:

Texas | College | Trip | Road | Male Bonding

Cast

Kevin Costner	...	Gardner Barnes
Judd Nelson	...	Phil Hicks
Sam Robards	...	Kenneth Waggener
Chuck Bush	...	Dorman
Brian Cesak	...	Lester Griffin
Marvin J. McIntyre	...	Truman Sparks
Suzy Amis	...	The Girl
Glenne Headly	...	Trelis
Pepe Serna	...	Gas Station Mechanic
Elizabeth Daily	...	Judy
Robyn Rose	...	Lorna
Stanley Grover	...	Phil's Dad
Jane A. Johnston	...	Phil's Mom
Don Brunner	...	Heckler #1
Michael Conn	...	Heckler #2
Michael Maxwell Katz	...	Heckler #3
Dana Halsted	...	Co-Ed
Karl A. Wickman	...	Helicopter Pilot (as Karl Wickman)
Michael M. Vendrell	...	Helicopter Policeman
Bill Warren	...	Truman
Bill Evridge	...	Rancher
Margaret Nelson	...	Rancher's Wife
Manley Adams	...	Man on the Bench
Ken Fagen	...	Man on the Bench
Bill Silver	...	Man on the Bench
Ben Graham	...	Mayor
Jewel Watson	...	Salad Lady
Allan Keown	...	Butcher
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Marco Perella	...	Jester (scenes deleted)

Directed by
Kevin Reynolds

Writing credits
Kevin Reynolds		(written by)

Produced by
Pat Kehoe	....	associate producer
Kathleen Kennedy	....	executive producer
Frank Marshall	....	executive producer
Barrie M. Osborne	....	associate producer
Tim Zinnemann	....	producer
Steven Spielberg	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Alan Silvestri

Cinematography by
Thomas Del Ruth		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Arthur Schmidt
Stephen Semel

Casting by
Mary Goldberg

Art Direction by
Peter Landsdown Smith

Set Decoration by
Robert L. Zilliox		(as Bob Zilliox)

Costume Design by
Michele Neely

Makeup Department
Jean Austin	....	hair stylist
Michael Hancock	....	makeup artist (as Mike Hancock)

Production Management
Sheila Barnes	....	post-production supervisor
Barrie M. Osborne	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Pat Kehoe	....	first assistant director
Bob Roe	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Robert Scaife	....	construction coordinator (as Bob Scaife)
Tom Shaw Jr.	....	assistant propmaster
Rick Young	....	property master
B.J. Smith	....	construction medic (uncredited)

Sound Department
Vanessa Theme Ament	....	foley artist
Carl Fischer	....	boom operator
Walter A. Gest	....	re-recording recordist (as Walter Gest)
Richard Bryce Goodman	....	production sound mixer
Scott Hecker	....	sound effects editor (as Scott A. Hecker)
Rick Kline	....	sound re-recording mixer
John A. Larsen	....	sound effects editor
Robert J. Litt	....	sound re-recording mixer
Robert R. Rutledge	....	supervising sound editor
Elliot Tyson	....	sound re-recording mixer
Jay Wilkinson	....	sound effects editor
Jack Woods	....	dialogue editor

Special Effects by
Lawrence J. Cavanaugh	....	special effects (as Larry Cavanaugh)
Terry W. King	....	special effects assistant
David Domeyer	....	special effects (uncredited)

Stunts
Rande DeLuca	....	stuntman
Shane Dixon	....	stuntman
Larry Holt	....	stuntman
Fred Lerner	....	stuntman
Ross Reynolds	....	stuntman
Walter Robles	....	stuntman (as Walter P. Robles)
Reid Rondell	....	stuntman
Bill Warren	....	stunt pilot: Truman
Chuck Waters	....	stuntman
B.J. Worth	....	stuntman
Robin Choate	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Peter J. Breen	....	dolly grip (as Peter Breen)
Danny Buck	....	gaffer
James Etheridge	....	camera operator (as Jim Etheridge)
John London	....	key grip
Kyle T. MacDowell	....	electrician
Tom D. May	....	best boy grip
Benny McNulty	....	best boy electric
Mark Simon	....	second assistant camera
Don Smetzer	....	still photographer
Lito White	....	camera operator
Kenneth Zunder	....	first assistant camera (as Ken Zunder)
Glenn Dunn	....	electrician (uncredited)

Casting Department
Jo Doster	....	location casting
David Rubin	....	assistant: Mary Goldberg
Darilyn Stringer	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Art Brouillard	....	costumer
Michele Neely	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Donah Bassett	....	negative cutter
Kelly G. Crawford	....	assistant film editor (as Kelly Crawford)
David Handman	....	assistant film editor

Music Department
Tom Boyd	....	musician: oboe soloist
James B. Campbell	....	orchestrator (as Jim Campbell)
Kenneth Hall	....	music editor (as Ken Hall)

Transportation Department
John Reade	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Todd J. Adelman	....	production medic
Pamela Alch	....	script supervisor
Scott Clark	....	aerial team assistant
Rande DeLuca	....	aerial coordinator
Peter Donen	....	titles: Cinema Research
Michael Haley	....	choreographer (as Mike Haley)
Mark Illsley	....	assistant: Kevin Reynolds
David Israel	....	location manager
Melodee King	....	production assistant
Terri Larronde	....	title designer
Dan Hewitt Owens	....	adr loop artist (as Dan Owens)
Allen J. Schwalb	....	financier
Nanette Siegert	....	production secretary
Robert Werden	....	unit publicist (as Bob Werdeen)
David Hakim	....	publicity writer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures (presents)
• Amblin Entertainment

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1985) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1985) (Canada) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1988) (USA) (TV)
• Warner Home Video (198?) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1999) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Cinema Research  titles
• Confederate Airforce  special thanks to: for their assistance in making this motion picture (as The Confederate Air Force)
• Dolby Laboratories  sound post-production
• Donah Bassett and Associates  negative cutter
• Doster, Keigley & Rhodes  location casting
• For Stars Catering  catering
• Funky Entertainment  select memorabilia
• Modern Film Effects  optical effects
• Panavision  lenses and Panaflex camera (as Panavision®)
• State of Oklahoma, The  special thanks to: for their assistance in making this motion picture
• Texas, State of  special thanks to: for their assistance in making this motion picture (as The State of Texas)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:PG | Iceland:L | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Portugal:M/12 | USA:PG (certificate #27476)

Filming Locations:

Alpine, Texas, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The comic book that Dorman is reading is The Incredible Hulk #128, June 1970.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: During the helicopter/airplane chase in Dallas, the highway exit signs mention Stillwater, apparently indicating that the scene was shot somewhere in Oklahoma.

Quotes:

Phil Hicks, Groover:You are the most irresponsible person I have ever met.
Gardner:Well, somebody had to be.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Return to 'Giant' (2003) (V)

Soundtrack:

Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)

About to leave your 18th year and your friends behind you, riding an old 50ies beauty to nowhere and learning to fly...

It starts looking cool enough, I thought, although not overwhelmingly original: under a blue, blue sky, four young guys, as different as can be, drive to seemingly nowhere in a beautiful car from the roaring fifties. Singing, drinking, screaming. It looks like they're having a lot of fun, which of course will prove to be a doomed mood: their lives are suspended between youth and whatever comes next, just like them driving in the middle of Texas' desert landscapes with the unlikely goal of attending one of the mates' wedding... Everything is on the verge of changing for them; their friendship, the way they lead their lives, the way they consider the future.

What Kevin Reynolds achieves here masterfully is making the whole thing look, at first, like just another buddy-movie. Yet I think there is a lot more to it. Fun, slapstick, grotesque situations, and still, every time or so, we're given a hint that those people have no idea where they're going, that they try to ignore the (real) world that's waiting for them.

The one most representative of that borderline state and who remains, by default, the big brother telling the others where to go next, is Gardner Barnes, played by Kevin Costner. Very young-looking (to whoever, like me, hasn't seen him in a picture made 16 years ago), he radiates a kind of natural quality, telling us he may just be the most frightened and unsure one of those four mostly-losers. Anyone who has apreciated Costner in at least one movie should definitely have a look at this one.

There'll never be anything even remotely tragic in this story, nor any solid insight into any of those old kids. Not even into Gardner, the one with a haunting love on his mind, who claims he's never token a woman seriously. Some moments might strike you as either clichee, heavy or childish... Yet, after the finale, Reynolds has gotten us where we're supposed to be: feeling the dry cut apart from the time where our dreams where, to ourselves, a solid option for what our future might look like. The loss of what kept the world together until this very moment.

I should add that, having listened precisely in my beginning twenties to the Pat Metheny Group like mad, I was totally taken away when the whole wedding scene appeared to be choreographed around two of his magic compositions.

This movie has something fresh, universal, sincere. It's full of ideas and benefits from a truly inventive photography as well as a from a perfectly well-tuned rythm.

Anyone on a day where he feels up to re-live those cheers AND nostalgia, in the company of a bunch of excellent actors, would do himself a favor by taking a while to watch it. And, maybe, reconciliate with that little mix of sadness and joy we think we should have left behind us.