User reviews

Many people don't know where the radio d.j. was broadcasting from in the movie. He was broadcasting from the then closed Goldfield Hotel, in beautiful "downtown" Goldfield Nevada! I should know! I was a resident in this picturesque little town of 110 people (in 1971). The Goldfield Hotel has since found new life as a restored historical landmark. The town itself has surged in population due to new mining processes, and the re-opening of the long closed mines. During the movie, a scene picturing the front of the "Green Frog Market", you will see the faint glow of a freckle-faced, red headed little boy, gazing out of the window......yeah..it's me!! This movie was quite exciting in a town of 110 people!

This is the essential 1970s anti-hero movie. It is not supposed to make sense and I have often wondered if it were not meant to be someone's psychedelic dream. Nudity when nudity would not seem to fit; bad cops; beaten people out of sync with plot line. Sounds like a trip. The cast is excellent and this is one of Cleavon Little's last main roles as well as the last main role for the early love interest. John Amos is so underplayed he is almost unrecognizable, I'd love to see his commentary on the movie. And one guy is so ripping off James Dean (though as a racist) that it is unintentionally funny. I'd recommend it as an addition to any American tape library. A true cult classic.

"Vanishing Point" asks the question and, like other films of this kind before "Smokey & the Bandit" brought the genre to an end, lets us ponder the answer on our own. Other than that, there's no point to this film except to demonstrate that the Challenger is one of the best-looking muscle/sports cars ever made. Get too far into this movie & you'll want to sell your children to have one. Kowalski is a '70s knight-errant, or a Greek mythological hero, just as you please. He rides his Hemi-powered steed on a quest to San Francisco, not for a "what," or a "why," or even for a lady fair, but only for "how fast." Does he seek redemption? Escape? Self-forgiveness? To stick it to the Man? Who cares? Knavish cops close in on him, lotus-eaters like Hovah (Darden) shun him, sirens (especially the stark-naked Texter, who would've stopped Burt Reynolds's Bandit faster than Sally Field ever did) want him to dally. Sharp-featured, Western character actor Anthony James has a hilarious, uncharacteristic turn as a gay hitchhiker. Humble, noble souls come forth to guide Kowalski like angels, including a scruffy snake-hunter (Jagger), chopper jockey & drug dealer Angel (Scott), and the blind deejay Super Soul (Little, who should've been a contender for the part of Howard Beal in "Network"). The Man's attempts to explain Kowalski are annoying distractions, so hit the "mute" button when you see scenes of cops in offices. And stop wondering why Kowalski, on his quest for speed, is always being overtaken & passed by other vehicles. Just put your brain in neutral, put your popcorn where it's handy, and buckle up.

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.

Vanishing Point is a difficult film to assess in many ways. As a movie, it is quite flawed. The plot is obvious but ultimately quite shallow - centering around Kowalski trying to deliver a car across the country in record time. Kowalski's back story is hinted at, which makes the film a bit more interesting, but his back story takes up only a few minutes of the film.

The characters and performances are often vacuous, failing to leave an impression. Barry Newman is the chief culprit, turning in a most colourless, emotionless performance where he personally offers little insight into his character. The exception is Cleavon Little as the hyperactive DJ Super-Soul; his interplay with Newman is novel, some of his dialogue is memorable (indeed, his rambling about Kowalski and the 'police Nazis' was quoted by Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses twenty years later) and his input gives the film some badly needed impetus.

Luckily though, Vanishing Point works better on other levels. For instance, it has that early 1970's style that makes the film more compelling than it should be. Newman is chiefly responsible for this; he is certainly emotionless, but that allows him to develop an air of 'cool' that suits the film. The white Dodge Challenger is a very nice touch.

The early 70's style also allows it to work as a period piece; Kowalski encounters counter-culture hippies, religious fanatics in the desert and the police. The fractious state of race relations between blacks and whites at that time is also highlighted. On the downside, it does substantially date the film. It's a cult classic for a reason; as the failed 1997 remake demonstrated, a movie like Vanishing Point would not work nearly as well in another era.

It also works reasonably well as a straight driving film. The film is punctuated with enough car crashes and chases to move the film forward.

However, the film's real saving grace is in its many allegories. The largely empty plot does ironically enable this, because you can read whatever you want into the film. I therefore understand why the plot is so empty, because the many allegories punctuated within the film make it intriguing to watch. For instance, why did Kowalski's face shine towards the end? Why were there so many STOP signs? Was Super-Soul a spiritual guide to Kowalski? You can also have fun inventing allegories that weren't even intended - why was the Dodge Challenger white, for example?

Ultimately, Vanishing Point is not the easiest film to assess. In conventional terms, I would not rank the film particularly highly because the plot, characters, acting and dialogue are often unimpressive. As such, the casual movie viewer may not particularly identify with it. However, Vanishing Point is not a particularly conventional film; like most good films it moves itself forward well, but it is the film's style and allegorical nature that largely keeps the interest and pushes the film above the ruck of many other driving movies. I also admit that the film could not have been as effective as an allegory if the plot wasn't so insubstantial. With this in mind, I have decided to give it:

3.5/5 stars

Barry Newman is "Kowalski", an enigmatic figure who has tried everything in his life from stock car racing to the military, and failed at every one of his endeavors. Working as an auto delivery man, he gets an order to transport a 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T to San Francisco, and makes a bet with a few friends that it can be done in an impossibly short time. After loading up on "ups" and throttling the car westward, he is soon pursued vigorously by the police and embraced by the public as something of a hero. During a time when national speed limits were all controversy, this film provides a compelling argument against them: A fast car in the hands of a capable driver is not dangerous. Even the police, so caught up in their own system, don't realize that they are the only ones causing accidents and endangering the public while blindly trying to keep up with and capture Kowalski.

While the film sounds at first to be a simple action film, it's really much more than that. Kowalksi's past is revealed little by little through flashbacks, making the film something of a character study. Kowalski's trip becomes a road trip of existentialism as he runs across various strange characters: Solitary hippies, gay bandits, a boogie-woogie snake handling Christian cult, and the blind soul station DJ (brilliantly played by Cleavon Little) who is attempting to guide him on his journey from within the car's radio.

Topping it off is a great soundtrack, breathtaking cinematography and direction, and automotive action that has seen no equal. This film manages to be both compelling and exciting. Just watch it already.

10/10

Released in 1971, "Vanishing Point" stars Barry Newman as Kowalski, a pill-popping former racer and police officer, who bets that he can deliver a supercharged car from Denver to San Francisco in 15 hours. The police in four states try to apprehend him as a DJ (Cleavon Little) supports him on the airwaves. Dean Jagger plays a geezer Kowalski runs into in the desert.

This is a cult flick about the adventures of a rebel without a cause. While it has similarities to 1969's "Easy Rider," it's not as compelling and the subtext isn't as good (see my review of "Easy Rider").

The story is a big middle finger to what was called "the establishment" at a time when the Vietnam War was making a wreck of America's social cohesion. Kowalski was part of that establishment when he was a cop, but became disillusioned after he exposed corruption and was punished for it, but heralded by the counterculture. Kowalski had seen the underbelly of the "pig" and didn't want to be part of it. At the beginning he drives off the road and you see him looking at some derelict vehicles. He increasingly realizes HE is a derelict on the side of the road with nowhere to go. What better next stop than oblivion? The climax is his *beep* off moment to go out on HIS terms. Three years later "Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry" sorta ripped it off. While that movie lacks the interesting (and ambiguous) subtext of "Vanishing Point," it's a more compelling watch. Despite the many car chases, "Vanishing Point" is surreal and even languid, embellished by a listless score (e.g the opening) and acid rock tracks throughout; while I don't like the former, most of the latter tracks are good and fit the ambiance of the movie.

Then there's the naked blond on the motorcycle sequence. Someone incredulously asked: "How could he possibly turn down a sexy naked blonde? What's his problem?!" I guess sexiness is in the eye of the beholder because I didn't find her all that sexy. Sure, she has a pretty face, but her body is nearly as un-curvy as a 12 year-old girl. But some guys prefer thinner women and that's cool; to each his own. In addition, Kowalski was still grieving over his true love. Moreover, the naked blond didn't play the game of seduction, which takes time and imagination. Instead she prematurely throws her entire hand on the table and it simply doesn't turn Kowalski on. Lastly, despite it being the "free love" era (1970), Kowalski was much older (and arguably nobler) than the average hippie; as such, he didn't feel it proper to take advantage of the mate of the guy who was selflessly helping him (at least not without his clear permission).

The movie runs 99 minutes and was shot in Colorado, Utah, Nevada and Arizona.

GRADE: B-

COMMENTARY ON THE MEANING ***SPOILER ALERT*** (Don't read further unless you've seen the movie)

In an interview Barry Newman very seriously explained Kowalski's actions at the end: "He thought he could make it through; and that was the reason for the smile just prior to the impact." I don't question this since the actor himself would have more insights about the movie than the viewer, but even his answer is ambiguous. It could mean (and probably does) that Kowalski thought he could make it through to the other side, i.e. leave the physical plane for the spiritual one and the (possible) freedom thereof. After all, he sees "the light" between the blades of the bulldozers while approaching. Keep in mind that Kowalski was hopped up on a lot of drugs. As such, he doesn't commit suicide in the sense he wants to die, but rather kills himself in the accident because he BELIEVES he'll make it through; physically or spiritually, it doesn't matter. He believed.

Richard Sarafian's 1971 film "Vanishing Point" is, for starters, a fascinating study of those persons anthropologists sometimes term "marginal men"--individuals caught between two powerful and competing cultures, sharing some important aspects of both but not a true part of either, and, as such, remain tragically confined to an often-painful existential loneliness. Inhabiting a sort of twilight zone between "here" and "there," a sort of peculiar purgatory, these restless specters cannot find any peace or place, so they instead instinctively press madly on to some obscure and unknown destination, the relentless journey itself being the only reason and justification.

Disc jockey Super Soul (Cleavon Little) and delivery driver Kowalski (Barry Newman) are two of these specters, marginal but decent, intelligent men who can't or won't live in burgeoning competing cultures which in reality have offered them very little of worth or substance, despite their own personal sacrifices. Kowalski himself had tried to "fit in" with the Establishment as a soldier and police officer and later, attempted to do the same with the blossoming 1960s counterculture, but soon disappointingly found that they both were ridden with their own various forms of dishonesty and insincerity. Personal honor, self-reliance and genuine respect--Kowalski's stock in trade--were tragically valued very little by either, despite each one's shrill and haughty claims to the contrary.

Moreover, it's no accident Newman's character has a Polish surname; the Poles throughout their history have created a very rich and unique Slavic culture largely based upon just such a "marginality"--being geographically jammed between powerful historic enemies, Germany and Russia, and never being able to fully identify with either one, at often great cost to themselves. It's also no accident Little's character is blind and black, the only one of his kind in a small, all-Caucasian western desert town--his sightlessness enhancing his persuasiveness and his ability to read Kowalski's mind, the radio microphone his voice, his race being the focus of long simmering and later suddenly explosive disdain--all of the characteristics of a far-seeing prophet unjustly (but typically) dishonored in his own land.

The desert environment also plays a key role in cementing the personal relationship between and respective fates of these two men--to paraphrase British novelist J.G. Ballard, prophets throughout our history have emerged from deserts of some sort since deserts have, in a sense, exhausted their own futures (like Kowalski himself had already done) and thus are free of the concepts of time and existence as we have conventionally known them (as Super Soul instinctively knew, thus creating his own psychic link to the doomed driver.) Everything is somehow possible, and yet, somehow nothing is.

Finally, VP is also a "fin de siecle" story, a unique requiem for a quickly dying age- a now all-but-disappeared one of truly open roads, endless speed for the joy of speed's sake, of big, solid no-nonsense muscle cars, of taking radical chances, of living on the edge in a colorful world of endless possibility, seasoned with a large number and wide variety of all sorts of unusual characters, all of which had long made the USA a wonderful place--and sadly is no longer, having been supplanted by today's swarms of sadistic, military-weaponed cop-thugs, obsessive and intrusive safety freaks, soulless toll plazas, smug yuppie SUV drivers, tedious carbon-copy latte towns, and a childish craving for perfect, high-fuel-efficiency safety and security.

The just-issued DVD contains both the US and UK releases of the film; the UK release, I believe, is a much more satisfying film, as it has the original scenes deleted from the US version. As an aside, Super Soul's radio station call letters, KOW, are in fact the ones for a country & western station in San Diego.

The movie is about a guy in a white car chasing through the desert parts of America while being chased by the police for speeding (or better said, not stopping for patrol cars). That's it. The scenery and the background 70's music is all that fills the movie.

Of course, it is also more than that, a metaphor of a man's journey through life. The ending was at the same time as I had expected it, although I really wanted it to have more meaning. Charlotte Rampling, back then young and terribly beautiful, makes an episodic appearance as the hitchhiker that knows our hero by name and says she had been waiting for him for forever. That's his absolution, the forgiveness, the abandonment of the real world and the acceptance of self. Or at least this is how I saw it.

Bottom line: if you are in a pensive mood you might appreciate both the allegory and the beautiful scenery, maybe even the hippy open road feel. Otherwise, you might be sadly disappointed. Myself, while I can't say I regret seeing "a cult movie", I also can't say it is a movie I really wanted to see.

This 70's cult classic gets better with age. It's not only the greatest car chase film of all time, it's a glimpse into early 1970's counter culture. As Super Soul says, Kowalski is the 'Last American Hero' - the last free soul lost in a country he no longer can exist in. The film has themes much deeper than it's credited for and if you watch it on bluray, give the commentary by director Richard C. Sarafian a listen.

I can remember reading a review for "VP" when it was released that said something to the effect of "I wouldn't want to be driving down the street of a drive-in movie after this ends and the kids in their cars are leaving" Being 16 years old at the time-the reviewer was absolutely correct. VP packed them in at the drive-ins, this was still the era of big engines and cheap gas. In a few years the Arab oil embargo, sky rocketing insurance rates, and pollution regulations would cripple the Detroit's muscle car industry, but Hollywood in the early 70's still made car chase movies like "VP," "Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry" and "Smoky & the Bandit" in the tradition of Bob Mitchum's 1950's epic, "Thunder Road" that featured about 90 minutes of car chases weaved through a thin plot line.

VP has a minuscule plot that logic totally escapes any logic:

1) Kowalski is supposed to be driving this Dodge Challenger from Denver to SF for a car delivery service, presumably to someone who will take possession of a muscle car in mint condition. Kowalski completely drives the complete crap out of it, on and off road.

2) Kowalski leaves Denver around midnight, but we see him driving in daylight along the breathtaking stretch of I-70 adjacent to the Colorado River in Glenwood Springs, which is only 156 mi. from Denver. Where has Kowalski been all evening? (come to think of it, the only time we see him drive at night is leaving Denver)

3) We only see him stop once for gasoline. I would imagine that the 440 Magnum Dodge engine being driven at 120 mph might get 8mpg. So with a 20 gallon tank Kowalski is going to have to stop at least every hour & half. Speaking of which, why don't the police, instead of chasing him with cars, choppers and setting up roadblocks, just wait for him at the few gas stations that are few and far between in the remote sections of Ut & Nv?

4) the AM radio station, KOW that has the DJ "Supersoul" that aids Kowalski looks like it is in a tiny town in western Nv, I would guess 100 watts, yet Kowalski is able to pick this station up quite clearly all the way from Colorado.

Enough logic. great car chases. hot looking naked chick on a motorcycle shows up later for no reason. not a bad way to spend 90 minutes.

the plot summary covers the story and yes! there is a story wrapped around one long car chase. the speed is real, the NOISE is real, that Challenger leaves black lines on the road........ I saw it when it was first released (when I was young and silly) and then spent 15 years trying to track down a Video copy of the movie (made more difficult as it had to be a PAL copy). I got the video in the '90s and still watch this amazing film. People rave about the chase sequence in Bullitt or The French Connection. Vanishing Point takes that excitement and extends it. Simply a great car movie for those who like a great car movie.... watch it

Former stock car driver, heroic military vet, and ex-police officer Kowalski delivers cars across the country. He's driving a white Dodge Challenger to San Francisco on little rest and drugs to stay awake. He has a run-in with a couple of motorcycle cops which sets off a dragnet by Colorado State police. Blind radio DJ Super Soul (Cleavon Little) follows the chase listening to police radio.

This is only about the car chases. The characters aren't that engaging. Barry Newman needs something more. He doesn't have the darkness or the leading man charisma. The story needs tightening. Kowalski needs a consistent foil right from the start. As for the car stunts, they run off the road a lot and get plenty dusty. There is some interesting driving. They're not filmed quite at the excitement level of the iconic chase scene in its compatriot, The French Connection. One can see the evolution of the car chase but the filming style is a little static. There are a string of intriguing encounters from the snake man to the gay couple to the naked bike chick. They kept me interested despite not being that interested in the story. The chase never seems to be about anything deeper than a chase.

Gosh, I had forgotten how powerful this is.

Seeing it again is a real lesson on how certain cinematic language, if presented purely, transcends. And for a US-made movie, it is pretty pure.

If you do not know it, the primary narrative is essentially no narrative: a muscle car speeding across the desert chased by police, initially for speeding and ultimately just to exert power. This fellow is Kowalski, a name imported from a landmark film. He simply drives. It is his life now. We see flashbacks. Find he was a Medal of Honor winner in Vietnam, a star racer and then a cop. There's a backstory about his being a good cop and turning in some rotten apples, so by degrees we come to understand the moral landscape.

There is only one other character, a blind black disk jockey who is listened to by apparently everyone. Guided by his eavesdropping on police radio, and some psychic ability.

This was after "Easy Rider" and instead of bold men moving into a life, we have life chasing an honest man. Same ethic, could even have been the same man. But he knows himself. He knows he is a cinematic creature, someone to be observed and dreamed about. He knows he carries his world with him. Always borrowed.

You can see Malick here, the notion that the character sees us seeing him, that he knows he is fictional and knows we think him not. You can trace it to the female version in "Thelma and Louise," where they have their end only because they know someone will watch. Its not like "Cool Hand Luke," or "Bonnie and Clyde" at all where the man decides. That comes from the Hollywood western.

Its derived from the "Breathless" tradition.

A good third of this film is spent on the "audience," the rural townspeople. These parts are filmed in a documentary style, with — it seems — real people who have come to watch the filming, having heard on the radio from a borrowed soul. They look dumb and bored, clearly with nothing better to do than watch, just like us.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

VANISHING POINT is a mix of the classic car chase film and a more existential movie along the lines of EASY RIDER; the good news is that it's substantially better than EASY RIDER, and has a sheen of quality lacking in the more crowd-pleasing car flicks of the 1970s (like GONE IN 60 SECONDS and SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT).

Barry Newman, playing it understated, is the driver who's tasked with delivering a car cross country under a strict time limit. Before long, the cops are on his tail for speeding, and what follows is an intense pursuit flick with some great filming of high speed chases. VANISHING POINT is a film that's all about the visual, and it does look lovely, the director capturing the sleekness of the vehicles and by contrast the wildness of the desert locales very well.

And, of course, there's THAT ending, which is unforgettable once seen, and helps to add immeasurably to the experience. I think the story as a whole could have been a little more powerful - it's very slim, and there's barely any characterisation - but this is a classic production far above more recent Hollywood stabs at the genre (like DRIVE ANGRY).

As a fan of 70's movies I was really looking forward to this film. Unfortunately, I was let down by a few things.

The acting is reasonable, but with so little script, there's little characterisation to latch onto. I understand that the main character Kowalski is supposed to be a loner and doesn't say much, but if this is the case, the supporting characters need to bring something more to proceedings. As it stands, the only other character worthy of note is Super Soul and and although he does an adequate job of playing the stereotypical soulman, it's not enough.

I like films with a plot. I don't mind if it's drawn out or confusing as long as it's there and it makes me think. This movie so wants to be deep, and yet it fails. The idea that Kowalski is a symbol of freedom is all well and good, but since what he's doing is pointless and benefits nobody, how is he free? Because he decides to drive dangerously fast so he can get a better deal on some drugs when he gets home? I don't have a problem with the pro-drugs nature of the movie, but as for a statement of freedom, I don't see it. Lets say he runs over someone and kills them - how is he free?

In reading the reviews here, many people seem to have misinterpreted the meaning of this film. To me, it's more of a statement of a man's reaction against his despair at the downturn in his life. He feels so isolated and ruined - his previous jobs were ace racing driver and top cop and now he's a lowly car delivery man. He goes on one final pointless race, but this time it's against the world (hence his last self destructive act.)

It's one final act of defiance against a life with a rapidly vanishing point (hence the title in case you're not paying attention.) If it is to do with freedom, it's only in that he frees himself from his miserable life.

Even if this is the meaning behind it (if there is one at all) the film doesn't deal with it very well.

Likewise, the characters he meets along the way are woefully underused. The religious cult has little point (apart from perhaps symbolising the breakdown of traditional religious beliefs) and only just makes it onto the screen before its gone again. The two homosexuals he picks up on the road are disposed of before we know anything about them. The police officers are just stupid planks for him to run off the road a la Smokie and the Bandit. The traveling dude who collects snakes - he barely even had a chance to establish a character before he's gone again. The nude motorcycle rider - let's face it - she was just there for us guys to look at (not that I mind, but why not give her a reason to be there rather than some contrived idea that Kowalski rescued her when she was a kid?)

On the plus side, I did enjoy the car chases, although considering they're the main focus of the film, they weren't even as good as those in other movies (Bullitt, French Connection etc.) Likewise, the music was good, but not great. What I did like a lot was the fact that this is a period piece - it personifies a time when the hippy movement was breaking down and society was in a state of flux. It's stylised in a way that I really enjoyed and at times reminded me of Duel or more applicably Easy Rider.

To sum up, if you're a fan of 70's movies - this one could be for you. If you enjoyed Easy Rider, this isn't anywhere near as good but is well worth a look. Not a classic, but very interesting.

My impression going into Vanishing Point was that of a road-exploitation picture of the period. And thanks to movie-geek Tarantino Death Proof hyped up by having a kind of image-placement (ala yellow jump-suit in Kill Bill) that superimposed for those who hadn't seen it a sort of expectation. While I didn't quite get the mother of all car-crash pictures- there are a few, don't get it wrong- it is a pretty interesting work of its times. It doesn't get nearly deep enough with its main character as some symbolic point of a fall from grace from authority or of disillusionment with the period, but it's somehow still a cool little movie. There's a feeling that something is going on underneath, the subtext to the whole facet of speed that a person takes (uppers) going along with a kind of car ride that Dr. Gonzo would probably not attempt. At the same time Barry Newman fills in the role as enigmatically as possible; we're never totally sure what this guy's motive is to go for broke in delivering a car across states to a little s***-hole town at 100 miles an hour, which makes it part of the fun.

It's a high-stakes story of daring cop-chases, detour through a desert, help from strangers, and a fatalistic ending that seems more bizarre and shocking than that of an Easy Rider. Not to say much for plot, though the writers do inject a strange co-plot (not quite sub-plot exactly) with a blind disc jockey, played by a spot-on Cleavon Little, who keeps tabs with Kowalsky as if he were an angel on his shoulder. The director also fashions out with a superb DP (who also worked on Chinatown) a good way making things not ever go too lighting paced or frenetic, but giving some level of breathing room of the open spaces, the long stretches of road, the desert, the rural towns, even Kowalski's face. And the sort of straightforward-but-not attitude to Kowalski's mission, in light of his history, adds to the thrills.

If it's only a little disappointing it's that it hasn't aged as well as it should've. Maybe it's not exactly a fault- it's proud to be in the 70s, with moments of grass and that naked woman on the bicycle as indicators of a 'far-out' period- but, for example, should the rock and roll not always be a consistent point with the scenes? Some songs do stand out, and at times it's toe-tapping even, but not many. And the suddenness of the ending marks as almost a cop-out; it's just too easy a way to end the flick when it feels like a bigger climax awaits. Vanishing Point doesn't have dynamite storytelling, but it does have a dynamite attitude, positioning itself in the frame of a B-movie to make its mark with a terrific car and a bad-ass behind the wheel.

Barry Newman is perfect in an episodic movie about an ex-cop, now drifter/car ferryman, who takes a friend up on a timed race from Denver to San Francisco in somebody else's car. Once Newman is detected speeding, a lengthy car chase ensues that covers several states. Nice photography of the Open West; great, understated performance by Newman. Some of the movie is dated, and the blind-DJ subplot can be annoying, but the non-stop action makes up for it. Infrequent showings on TV for many years, so watch it or tape it on one of it's rare appearances.

Auto delivery driver in Denver--a war veteran and former police officer, motorcycle racer and racecar driver--is assigned to deliver a 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T 440 Magnum to San Francisco in three days. He buys some speed from a drug dealer to stay awake, casually betting the cost of the pills on his trip, claiming he can make it to his destination by 3 p.m. The next day--a total of 1200 miles. His buddy takes him up on it, laughing, probably thinking it can never be done. Almost immediately, two motorcycle cops try pulling the driver over. He outwits them with some very ballsy maneuvering behind the wheel and the chase is on! For auto aficionados, this one's a no-brainer; for the rest of us, a laconic, often brilliantly cinematic microcosm of America's Southwest in the '70s as seen from the front seat of a white Dodge Challenger. Barry Newman gets top billing, but the Dodge is the real star, as well as cinematographer John A. Alonzo (doing astoundingly fluid work). Dean Jagger is also impressive as a desert dweller and rattlesnake wrangler. Newman's driver is an unintentional rebel: he cares about the well-being of the guys he runs off the road, he doesn't smoke pot, he loves playing the radio. It's entirely plausible he would become a folk hero to the listeners of a broadcast wherein a blind disc jockey is engaged in reporting his progress on the highways. From a technical standpoint, the movie is an eyeful. **1/2 from ****

'Vanishing Point', a chase movie from the early 1970s, can be easily related to other films of the same (or similar) genres. 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. Like Spielberg's 'Duel', it is minimalistic in form. But it's outlaw philosophy has more in common with later, sillier films like 'Smokey and the Bandit' and 'The Cannonball Run' (in 'Easy Rider', the heroes simply want to mind their own business; but in 'Vanishing Point', beating the system is the end in itself). This might make the film seem more political, except for the complete vapidness of its central concept: that "freedom" can be defined as the right to burn enormous quantities of oil at life-endangering speeds (indeed, it appears that one of the ways in which the mainstream has persecuted our hero is to attempt to prevent him from driving when drunk). One could say that this film proceeds under the false cloak of counter culturalism, while selling us the same macho dreams as any mainstream Hollywood product. Yet without the pseudo-philosophical justification, this is a movie without point or purpose, whose central character acts without any rational motivation.

For all that, the chase itself is gripping, though it's strange (especially for a European) to see what qualified as a sports car in America 30 years ago: this one has huge front and rear overhangs and ridiculously soft suspension. But the worst thing about this movie are its bizarre diversions from the main plot, which include: the cheesiest love scene I can remember; a strange, homophobia-tinged encounter with a couple of gay would-be car-hijackers; a racist attack, apropos of nothing; and, most oddly of all, a meeting with a motorcycling, naked blonde in the middle of the desert. The surprise ending which follows all this might have had an impact if the film that had preceded it had anything to say.

The only real reason for watching this film today is as a period piece, a strange mix of reactionary and hippie values that clearly mark it a product of its time. But freedom does not mean irresponsibility; nor does irresponsibility in itself bring freedom, however oppressive we find may the life we are expected to live. Watch 'Five Easy Pieces', a timeless classic from the same era, for a real exploration of these themes.