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Vanishing Point (Blu-ray)
- Starring: Delaney & Bonnie & Friends, Barry Newman, Cleavon Little
- Director: Richard Sarafian
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Description
Richard Sarafian directed this minimalist chase film, starring Barry Newman as ex-marine, ex-race car driver and cop named Kowalski. He drives into Denver to deliver a car and pick up another vehicle to drive to San Francisco. To make the fifteen-hour drive to San Francisco bearable he pops a load of pep pills and drives off. Almost immediately, he is told to pull over by the police, but Kowalski refuses to stop. Ignoring the cops, a police chase ensues. Egging Kowalski on is a blind black disc jockey, Super Soul (Cleavon Little), who announces his comings and goings on his local radio show, praising Kowalski to the skies as "the last American to whom speed means freedom of the soul." Super Soul's hype makes Kowalski a media sensation and Kowalski fans mount up -- as do the police cars chasing him -- as he races against time to deliver both the car and himself to his San Francisco destination. Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
Features
- Genre: Action/Adventure
- Category: Action Thriller, Chase Movie
- Theme: Fighting the System, Obsessive Quests
- Release Date: February 24, 2009
- Rating: R (Restricted)Rating Opens in New Window - Mild Violence, Nudity, Questionable for Children, Substance Abuse
- Studio: 20th Century Fox
- Lead Actors: Delaney & Bonnie & Friends, Barry Newman, Cleavon Little, Dean Jagger, Victoria Medlin
- Supporting Actors: Cherie Foster, Robert Donner, Timothy Scott, Severn Darden, Lee Weaver, Karl Swenson, John Amos, Gilda Texter, Owen Bush, Anthony James, Arthur Malet, Rita Coolidge, Tom Reese, Valerie Kairys, Paul Koslo, Charlotte Rampling
- Director: Richard Sarafian
- Run Time: 1 hr 39 min
- Language: English, French, Spanish
- Subtitle Language: Cantonese, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish
- Format: Blu-ray
Additional Information
- DPCI: 246-02-4140
- ASIN: B002ITXJYU
- Catalog #: 11372125
- Item can not be gift wrapped.
Shipping & Policies
- You may return this item to any Target store.Opens in New Window
- Shipping & Delivery InformationOpens in New Window
- Estimated Ship Dimensions : 6.6 inches length x 5.3 inches width x 0.5 inches height
- Estimated Ship Weight: 0.20 pound.
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Expert Reviews
The late 1960s and early '70s had no shortage of symbolically charged road movies, and if Vanishing Point isn't quite the same caliber as Two Lane Blacktop or as culturally significant as Easy Rider, in its best moments it comes close. A huge drive-in hit, the film turns its modest budget to its advantage, making a virtue out of its plot's simplicity, and in the process becoming a beautiful example of the now-vanished B-movie avant garde. As Barry Newman's benzedrine-powered drive from Denver to San Francisco progresses, it becomes less about getting a job done than an almost allegorical journey toward death, a sort of -Pilgrim's Progress for a time of post-Woodstock disillusionment. Director Richard Sarafian stages the near-constant chase scenes hypnotically, aided by the expert cinematography of John A. Alonzo, and he gracefully incorporates flashbacks to Newman's past life, explaining a bit more of what's brought him to his present state. Elsewhere, sequences featuring hipster D.J. "Super Soul" Cleavon Little makes the counter-cultural relevance of Newman's desperate journey clear. If anything, a little too clear: Vanishing Point's greatest flaw may be its tendency to overstate its case. Is it really necessary for Little to refer to Newman as the "last American hero" and "the last beautiful free soul on this planet"? Does Little really need to be nearly-killed by a racist mob to make clear what's at stake? Also puzzling is an archaic scene in which Newman battles a pair of stereotypically gay bandits. But even with such moments, Vanishing Point still works beautifully, aided by Newman's quiet, beautifully understated performance: his world-weary expression and grizzled visage make it nearly impossible to romanticize his trip, and equally difficult not to sympathize. Keith Phipps, All Movie Guide
