Repo Man (1984)

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

Director:

Alex Cox

Writer:

Alex Cox

Stars:

Harry Dean Stanton, Emilio Estevez, Tracey Walter

2 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Frustrated punk rocker Otto quits his supermarket job after slugging a co-worker, and is later dumped by his girlfriend at a party. Wandering the streets in frustration, he is recruited in the repossession of a car by a repo agent. After discovering his parents have donated his college fund to a televangelist, he joins the repossession agency (Helping Hand Acceptance Corporation) as an apprentice "repo man". During his training, he is introduced into the mercenary and paranoid world of the drivers, befriended by a UFO conspiracy theorist, confronted by rival repo agents, discovers some of his one-time friends have turned to a life of crime, is lectured to near cosmic unconsciousness by the repo agency grounds worker, and finds himself entangled in a web of intrigue concerning a huge repossession bounty on a 1964 Chevy Malibu driven by a lunatic government scientist, with Top Secret cargo in the trunk.

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Plot Keywords:

car trunk | radioactivity | punk rocker | black comedy | los angeles california | 

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Taglines:

Meet Otto. He's a clean-cut kid in a dirty business. He's a Repo Man. He steals cars legally. Now, he's out to repossess a '64 Chevy Malibu...with an amazing reward of $20,000. But Otto is not alone. There are others who want the car and will do anything to get it. The risks are great, because hidden in the trunk is something so incredible it could destroy them all. We'll give you a hint... it glows in the dark.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Alex Cox

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

2 March 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

El reclamador

Filming Locations:

Los Alamos, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$95,300, 4 March 1984

Gross USA:

$129,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$129,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Edge City

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Alex Cox's friend Tod Davies convinced him to cast Harry Dean Stanton as Bud by describing Stanton as having the ideal "great remnant of the Old West/cadaver look." Cox, however, didn't need much convincing, having loved Stanton's work in Two-Lane Blacktop (1971) and Lanton Mills (1969).

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Goofs

When Oly pulls a can of beer from the six-pack holder and throws it to Otto, he leaves three cans in a row in the plastic rings. In the next shot from behind Oly, one can has been opened, leaving the cans in a different position.

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Quotes

J. Frank Parnell: You don't even know what's in your own trunk! And you know what? I think you're afraid to find out!

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Crazy Credits

Credits scroll down instead of up

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Alternate Versions

The UK video version (both Universal and CIC) misses out a section where 'Asimov' speaks to Kevin at the gas station. Instead it just cuts from him getting out of the car, to him making a rather odd sighing noise and wandering off.

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Connections

Referenced in Cop Car (2015)

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Soundtracks

I Just Want To Satisfy
Performed by The Juicy Bananas

User Reviews

The Chevy Malibu

"Repo Man" was one of the films that came out in 1984 that, in a way, revolutionized film story telling, as we knew it. We are given a hint about what's coming right on the opening sequence when the Chevy Malibu, driven by the spooky Frank Parnell, is stopped on a highway.

Alex Cox, the innovative director of "Repo Man", made a film that mixes a lot of movie genres with a satisfying result. That's why when it was discovered, it became a huge cult movie. It was one of the films that had midnight screenings for its many fans that flocked to have a great time and who identified themselves with the movie.

The best thing in the film is the interaction between Bud and Otto. Harry Dean Stanton has always play cool parts and this movie is no exception. Emilio Estevez gave, what might be, his best movie performance as the young punk that gets to meet a world he never knew existed. All the players gave their best to Mr. Cox and the result is a film that, in some ways, might baffle at first, but once the viewer gets into it, he will be hooked.

Iggy Pop's music is an excellent partner for the action. Alex Cox is an innovative director, as he proves with "Repo Man".