Vanishing Point -1971

Director: Richard C. Sarafian

Screenwriter: Guillermo Cain
Runtime: 1 hr 46 mins

    This is the best car chase movie of all time. Vanishing Point, Kowalski played by Barry Newman speeds across the Western U.S. in a badass white 1970 Dodge Challenger that he's trying to deliver from Denver to San Francisco in just one day. While he's driving, his mind flashes back to earlier times when he was a race car driver. As the film and story rolls on, we learn a bit more about Kowalski's history, and we encounter a few other characters that he meets along his way, as police in four states try to capture him  a disc jockey named "Super Soul" Cleavon Little spins the soundtrack, and feeds Kowalski coded advice on what the cops are doing, this intern elevates Kowalski to the level of a folk hero.
     Vanishing Point is an essential movie for the speed freaks, its a artsy film but done just right, director Richard Sarafian and cinematographer John Alonzo communicate the feelings of joy, freedom, and power of expression that come from driving a fast car, but they don't overdo it. As we look out Kowalski's window, the road is moving fast, but never quite so fast that we doubt his ability to control the car. Unlike the action filmmakers of a generation later, they favor a steady camera showing the road going by or a majestic cloud of dust to overstating the issue by shaking it. The photography does a nice job of setting the pace and scene, for example, even seen on this pretty terrible print, the punishingly hot vastness of the Nevada desert is just overwhelming.

 The characters portrayed in this movie seem real and human but Newman's Kowalski is sort of burnt out, but still pleasant enough to people who don't get in his way and impatient with the rest. He's fallen from grace, a broken spirit and isn't giving much thought to climbing back up. Super Soul is blind, and Little plays him to a tee, rocking back and forth to the music he plays as if in church and stringing together lots of emotional words for his audience. All the characters in this film are unique, even the Hippie's in the desert that help Kowalski sometimes the situations are odd but always interesting, adding plenty of color to what could otherwise be just a typical car chase movie. The car action is really good, and the soundtrack is pretty good soul music and keeps the film rolling along for the most part. This movie just rocks.

9/10 Stars