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    Vanishing Point

    • 19711971
    • RR
    • 1h 39min
    IMDb RATING
    7.2/10
    27K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    3,830
    405
    • Cast & crew
    • User reviews
    • Trivia
    • IMDbPro
    Vanishing Point (1971)
    Watch {VideoTitle}
    Trailer2:21
    1 Video
    99+ Photos
    ActionCrimeThriller

    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 cops.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 cops.During the 1970s, car delivery driver Kowalski delivers hot rods in record time but always runs into trouble with the highway cops.

    • Director
      • Richard C. Sarafian
    • Writers
      • Guillermo Cabrera Infante(screenplay)
      • Malcolm Hart(from a story outline by)
      • Barry Hall(uncredited)
    • Stars
      • Barry Newman
      • Cleavon Little
      • Charlotte Rampling(scenes deleted)
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Richard C. Sarafian
    • Writers
      • Guillermo Cabrera Infante(screenplay)
      • Malcolm Hart(from a story outline by)
      • Barry Hall(uncredited)
    • Stars
      • Barry Newman
      • Cleavon Little
      • Charlotte Rampling(scenes deleted)
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 187User reviews
    • 113Critic reviews
    • 61Metascore
  • See production, box office & company info
  • Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:21
    Official Trailer

    Photos131

    Dean Jagger and Barry Newman in Vanishing Point (1971)
    Victoria Medlin and Barry Newman in Vanishing Point (1971)
    Vanishing Point (1971)
    Barry Newman in Vanishing Point (1971)
    Vanishing Point (1971)
    Vanishing Point (1971)
    Vanishing Point (1971)
    Vanishing Point (1971)
    Vanishing Point (1971)
    Vanishing Point (1971)
    Charlotte Rampling in Vanishing Point (1971)
    Victoria Medlin in Vanishing Point (1971)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Barry Newman
    Barry Newman
    • Kowalskias Kowalski
    Cleavon Little
    Cleavon Little
    • Super Soulas Super Soul
    Charlotte Rampling
    Charlotte Rampling
    • Hitch-Hikeras Hitch-Hiker
    • (scenes deleted)
    Dean Jagger
    Dean Jagger
    • Prospectoras Prospector
    Victoria Medlin
    Victoria Medlin
    • Vera Thorntonas Vera Thornton
    Paul Koslo
    Paul Koslo
    • Deputy Charlie Scottas Deputy Charlie Scott
    Robert Donner
    Robert Donner
    • Deputy Collinsas Deputy Collins
    • (as Bob Donner)
    Timothy Scott
    Timothy Scott
    • Angelas Angel
    Gilda Texter
    • Nude Rideras Nude Rider
    Anthony James
    Anthony James
    • First Male Hitchhikeras First Male Hitchhiker
    Arthur Malet
    Arthur Malet
    • Second Male Hitchhikeras Second Male Hitchhiker
    Karl Swenson
    Karl Swenson
    • Sandy McKeese - Clerk at Delivery Agencyas Sandy McKeese - Clerk at Delivery Agency
    Severn Darden
    Severn Darden
    • J. Hovahas J. Hovah
    Delaney & Bonnie & Friends
    • J. Hovah's Singersas J. Hovah's Singers
    Lee Weaver
    Lee Weaver
    • Jakeas Jake
    Cherie Foster
    • First Girlas First Girl
    Valerie Kairys
    • Second Girlas Second Girl
    Tom Reese
    Tom Reese
    • Sheriffas Sheriff
    • Director
      • Richard C. Sarafian
    • Writers
      • Guillermo Cabrera Infante(screenplay)
      • Malcolm Hart(from a story outline by)
      • Barry Hall(uncredited)
    • All cast & crew
    See production, box office, & company info

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    Storyline

    Edit
    Kowalski works for a car delivery service. He takes delivery of a 1970 Dodge Challenger to take from Colorado to San Francisco, California. Shortly after pickup, he takes a bet to get the car there in less than 15 hours. After a few run-ins with motorcycle cops and highway patrol they start a chase to bring him into custody. Along the way, Kowalski is guided by Supersoul - a blind DJ with a police radio scanner. Throw in lots of chase scenes, gay hitchhikers, a naked woman riding a motorbike, lots of Mopar and you've got a great cult hit from the early 70's. —Matthew
    on the rundriverpursuitblind manexistentialism311 more
    • Plot summary
    • Plot synopsis
    • Taglines
      • It's the maximum trip... at maximum speed.
    • Genres
      • Action
      • Crime
      • Thriller
    • Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
      • Rated R for sensuality/nudity and drug content
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The car featured in the film is a 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T, with a 440 cubic-inch V-8, and not a 426 Hemi V-8 (as is often believed). Eight white Challengers loaned from the Chrysler Corporation were used during the filming.
    • Goofs
      The snake-hunting old desert rat (Dean Jagger) mangles the name of the saguaro cactus as a tourist might do, pronouncing it "sag-where-ah." In reality, the "g" is silent and correct pronunciation is "se-war-oh"- - something a person who made his living off the desert, as he did, would certainly know.
    • Quotes

      Super Soul: And there goes the Challenger, being chased by the blue, blue meanies on wheels. The vicious traffic squad cars are after our lone driver, the last American hero, the electric centaur, the, the demi-god, the super driver of the golden west! Two nasty Nazi cars are close behind the beautiful lone driver. The police numbers are gettin' closer, closer, closer to our soul hero, in his soul mobile, yeah baby! They about to strike. They gonna get him. Smash him. Rape... the last beautiful free soul on this planet.

    • Crazy credits
      The Fox logo is shown without the fanfare making it one of the first times this has happened.
    • Alternate versions
      When first released in Brazil, the movie had some scenes cut, reducing the running time to 99 minutes.
    • Connections
      Edited into Gone with the Wind: The Remarkable Rise and Tragic Fall of Lynyrd Skynyrd (2015)
    • Soundtracks
      You Got to Believe
      Composed by Delaney Bramlett

      Sung by Delaney & Bonnie & Friends

      (Courtesy of Atlantic Records)

    User reviews187

    Review
    Top review
    The road can work on your mind.
    Kowalski transports cars across the western US in 1970. He gets a gig transporting a 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T from Denver to San Francisco and sets out at maximum warp, stopping only for gas and strategy. He commits no crime outside of speeding, and fleeing the cops who are trying to stop him simply because he will not stop. He finds allies along the way, including an old prospector, a DJ named Super Soul, and a hippie who seems to me to be an alternate ending to the life of Peter Fonda's character Wyatt in "Easy Rider". He drives and drives and drives until he meets his destiny in a tiny town on the California-Nevada border at 10:04 AM on some unnamed Sunday.

    Why? Is it because of his past; ex-cop, ex-racer, tragically bereaved? Is it because of the truckload of speed he takes at the beginning of the movie (draw your own metaphors between Kowalski's internal use of the noun and external use of the verb)?

    Or is it the road, the infinite expanses of the Southwest, the silence, the freedom, the sound of the motor surging, the tires spinning, the wheels gobbling up and sitting out the black asphalt? Who knows? Kowalski seems indifferent as to why he drives, only that he must drive, must evade, must get to where he is going and will not - can not - be stopped.

    Do yourself a favor. Rent the original, don't see the '97 made for TV movie (it has some high points, but it's like watching the '99 "Psycho" before seeing the Alfred Hitchcock original). In fact, rent this and "Two Lane Blacktop" from Monte Hellman, and "Mad Max" and/or "The Road Warrior". Watch all of them in as close to one sitting as you can get.

    If after watching these movies, you don't understand how they're expressions of the same call to the open road, return them and give up. Not everyone was meant to hear it, just like not everyone has perfect pitch or the ability to wiggle their ears.

    This movie drove me (pun intended) to take the handle kowalski and buy a Challenger of my own (flame red, 1973, you see the 1970 R/Ts are very hard to get).

    It probably won't do the same for you, but if you've ever been driving down the open road and wondered what would happen if you _didn't_ get off at the next exchange, in fact if you never got off at all, then this film is for you.

    And I hope the next ignoramus who compares this masterful film to "The Dukes of Hazzard" loses his brakes and plows into a line of parked Harleys outside some bar with a name like Whiskey Junction or the Dew Drop Inn.
    helpful•136
    21
    • L_Miller
    • Jul 8, 1999

    FAQ1

    • What are the differences between the US-Version and the UK-Version of this movie?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 13, 1971 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Fluchtpunkt San Franzisko
    • Filming locations
      • Goldfield, Nevada, USA
    • Production company
      • Cupid Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $1,585,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $12,442,673
    • Gross worldwide
      • $12,442,673
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 39min
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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