Vanishing Point
starring: Barry Newman, Cleavon Little, Dean Jagger, Victoria Medlin, Paul Koslo
directed by: Richard C. Sarafian
directed by: Richard C. Sarafian
List Price: $9.98
Prices subject to change.
Price: $6.99
You Save: $2.99 (30%)Prices subject to change.
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Product Description:
An ex-race car driver gets high on Benzedrine and leads the police on a hectic chase.
Amazon.com:
Art film and road movie collide for Vanishing Point, an existential car chase across the desert in a post Easy Rider America. 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. He loads up on amphetamines and begins his odyssey through the contemporary west while a funky black DJ (Cleavon Little) turns the driver into a folk hero and broadcasts advice on dodging the cops. It's like a counterculture precursor to Smokey and the Bandit, with the road as the last bastion of freedom and the DJ as a combination commentator and mystical guide. The slim plot offers a network of society drop-outs that aid the "last free Man on Earth" (as the DJ describes him) on his obscure but obviously symbolic quest while flashbacks paint Kowalski as a world-weary hero. It doesn't really make much sense, but the amazing car chases and excellent stunt work are stunningly set against the American west, beautifully captured by cinematographer John A. Alonzo. Vanishing Point is most assuredly a product of its time, the heady, anything-goes era of rebellion in the early 1970s. --Sean Axmaker
An ex-race car driver gets high on Benzedrine and leads the police on a hectic chase.
Amazon.com:
Art film and road movie collide for Vanishing Point, an existential car chase across the desert in a post Easy Rider America. 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. He loads up on amphetamines and begins his odyssey through the contemporary west while a funky black DJ (Cleavon Little) turns the driver into a folk hero and broadcasts advice on dodging the cops. It's like a counterculture precursor to Smokey and the Bandit, with the road as the last bastion of freedom and the DJ as a combination commentator and mystical guide. The slim plot offers a network of society drop-outs that aid the "last free Man on Earth" (as the DJ describes him) on his obscure but obviously symbolic quest while flashbacks paint Kowalski as a world-weary hero. It doesn't really make much sense, but the amazing car chases and excellent stunt work are stunningly set against the American west, beautifully captured by cinematographer John A. Alonzo. Vanishing Point is most assuredly a product of its time, the heady, anything-goes era of rebellion in the early 1970s. --Sean Axmaker
Related Items:
Browse for similar items by category:
- VHS » DVD » Genres » Action & Adventure » General
- VHS » DVD » Genres » Action & Adventure » By Theme » Chase Movies
- VHS » DVD » Genres » Action & Adventure » By Theme » Psychological Thriller
- VHS » DVD » Genres » Action & Adventure » Thrillers
- VHS » DVD » Genres » Drama » General
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: 
- Counter (culture) point to the Amazon review of Vanishing Point
This movie reflects the times in which it was made. I doubt that Amazon reviewer, Sean Axmaker, whose LinkedIn profile states he attended OSU from 1983 to 1987, has the personal historical perspective to grasp this movie.His quote, "It doesn't really make much sense..." reinforces how inadequate his review is.Lots of things about that era make little sense:the struggle of the the Freedom Riders of the early '60s (Why isn't James Zwerg a hero in America?), the war in Vietnam in which 58,000 ... Read More
Rating: 
- A movie that glorifies stupidity!
I can't think of one redeeming part of this movie but then I never did dope. I never was a big fan of the flower children. Glorifying someone who is putting people's lives at risk and popping pills is just stupid. If I ever wondered, how do you make a boring car chase movie, this movie answers the question.
Rating: - And there goes the Challenger, being chased by the blue, blue meanies on wheels...
I finally got around to catching Vanishing Point, the 1971 road film that, like Dirty Mary Crazy Larry, is one long car chase.This flick above all else, is the film most mentioned in Death Proof, both by the characters and with the use of the white 1970 Dodge Challenger that the girls are test driving at the end of the flick.Like all the other car flicks I've seen lately, I tried to go into this with unspoiled and with an open mind.
Like Two-Lane Blacktop, this flick begins with ... Read More
Rating: 
- the BLU RAY is the way to go go go on this one!
I bought the DVD when it came out and then grabbed the BLU RAY recently....the BLU RAY looks much better and has many bonus features not on the DVD release. The 20 minute making of is really really fun and has Newman and the director and a couple of the stars (including the naked motorcycle gal!) as well as Chris Cornell (fanboy). Why this wasn't on the DVD I don't know but it certainly gives the nod to the BLu-ray as well as overall picture quality and other bonus features. The USA and UK options ... Read More
Rating: - Great video in blu-ray !
This film shooted in 1971 had an excellent video transcription to blu-ray. Greate scenes on the road, a simbolic story, and that is all. You must see to compare with films shooted today and sometimes has a bad video quality.
- Counter (culture) point to the Amazon review of Vanishing PointThis movie reflects the times in which it was made. I doubt that Amazon reviewer, Sean Axmaker, whose LinkedIn profile states he attended OSU from 1983 to 1987, has the personal historical perspective to grasp this movie.His quote, "It doesn't really make much sense..." reinforces how inadequate his review is.Lots of things about that era make little sense:the struggle of the the Freedom Riders of the early '60s (Why isn't James Zwerg a hero in America?), the war in Vietnam in which 58,000 ... Read More
- A movie that glorifies stupidity!I can't think of one redeeming part of this movie but then I never did dope. I never was a big fan of the flower children. Glorifying someone who is putting people's lives at risk and popping pills is just stupid. If I ever wondered, how do you make a boring car chase movie, this movie answers the question.
- And there goes the Challenger, being chased by the blue, blue meanies on wheels...I finally got around to catching Vanishing Point, the 1971 road film that, like Dirty Mary Crazy Larry, is one long car chase.This flick above all else, is the film most mentioned in Death Proof, both by the characters and with the use of the white 1970 Dodge Challenger that the girls are test driving at the end of the flick.Like all the other car flicks I've seen lately, I tried to go into this with unspoiled and with an open mind.
Like Two-Lane Blacktop, this flick begins with ... Read More
- the BLU RAY is the way to go go go on this one!I bought the DVD when it came out and then grabbed the BLU RAY recently....the BLU RAY looks much better and has many bonus features not on the DVD release. The 20 minute making of is really really fun and has Newman and the director and a couple of the stars (including the naked motorcycle gal!) as well as Chris Cornell (fanboy). Why this wasn't on the DVD I don't know but it certainly gives the nod to the BLu-ray as well as overall picture quality and other bonus features. The USA and UK options ... Read More
- Great video in blu-ray !This film shooted in 1971 had an excellent video transcription to blu-ray. Greate scenes on the road, a simbolic story, and that is all. You must see to compare with films shooted today and sometimes has a bad video quality.
