RIP Barry Newman. Passed away at the age of 92. Doesn't seem so long ago that this movie came out. A great film, never to be forgotten by those who saw it.
I think a lot of us of a “certain age” have similar stories. I’m almost 60 and bought a matching numbers, 68 Chevelle SS 396-30k original miles-for 3500 bucks in 1983. When I bought it the guy was running a 454 in it but I had the original motor in my garage. You make all sorts of promises to yourself when you 😂 19 (like “I’m only going to take this out on Sundays, when it’s perfect weather, and cruise it slowly.”) But when the two gorgeous twin sister blondes across the road say “Go Fast!!” you do. (Totaled it drag racing-while drunk-in 1985. Cops first words were not “Anyone Hurt!!” they were “What a shame. What year is this?” True story. (Last time I ever drove drunk and he let me go with just an assured clear distance ticket. He said he felt bad enough for me) I miss that car.
This was far more than a car chase movie. It was a statement of freedom, of space. Of loneliness. The story of man who had been too far and seen too much. A last look at the Southwestern U.S. as it once was. Sparse, spacious, mysterious.Of stores, gas stations and homes each with their own look and personality long before everything became corporate and cookie cutter. A car chase movie? yes. But also SO much more.
I think this is something the 1997 version didn't quite capture as well. Kowalski was a Driver ("Occupation: Driver"). _Driven_ to drive. That part in the desert where he's just driving around in circles? He just can't stop driving even when it's to nowhere. Isolation as the other side of freedom. Not stuck in one place only because he's forever on the move.
This was a film was off the scale. Barry Newman was absolutely awesome character, and the car was just jaw dropping to hear. A classic film that will never age.
Cleavon Little was good, too. Such a simple plot, with good acting, so the suspense builds through the entire movie. Most of my favorite movies are simple and had relatively small budgets, like this one.
my sister dated Barry after he made this movie--she was a waitress and met him at work--he never told her he was a star--she found out when they were out and some people made a big deal about him--she said he was a good guy,nice person
I live in AZ and travel to CO frequently to visit family/friends, so when I go through Moab I always take 128 east along the river and drive through Cisco Utah before getting on I-70 east. Always have to stop and take a photo of the collapsing building next to the road with the fuel pump concrete pad standing up. Someone spray painted "Kowalski Lives" on it.
Had the pleasure of meeting legendary stunt driver Carey Loftin at a gym in Santa Monica back in the early 1980s. We talked Vanishing Point, Duel, and Challengers. I had my own big block '70 Challenger that I'd bought new off the lot as a 19 year old. I told him, when the movie was released, I just had to see it. Having had the distinction of being clocked at 134 mph by a CHP helicopter on the eastbound I-10 just outside of Indio, CA myself, we talked and laughed about that. But, he told me he never exceeded 90 on any of the movie stunts. And, when the soundtrack to the movie came out, they had pretty much destroyed all the 70 white Challengers and the record company had to use a 1971 Challenger for the album cover. I checked and yup he wasn't kidding.
There was at least one that was in the wild. My Dad had it when I was a kid and sold it 6 months before I turned 16 and got my driver's license. I never got to drive it and probably never will get to drive one. Ironically a couple years later I built myself a 1979 Chevy Malibu 383 stroker small block with nitrous that by all accounts was much faster than his 440 shaker 6 pack pistol grip 4 speed and his reasoning behind selling it so the car and I didn't kill each other was a moot point. Since then I have been chasing the ghost of the memory of what car. I even daily drive a white 2008 Grand Prix GXP 5.3 LS4 V8 and have had several Z28 and SS Camaros and my current project toy is a 75 SS Chevy Nova that I am putting a LS7 with a large single Garrett/Air research ball-bearing turbo and a built power glide into. While I have no doubt that I have long since surpassed what the ghost of that white 1970 Challanger R/T in reality was, I will be chasing that ghost my entire life and never catch it.
I painted a car that Jon Chun, designer for the Shelby and suspension and drivetrain for the mustang scj '68. He had used the 94 Fleetwood for a storage unit and I found the original stencil in the trunk for the Cobra and a bunch of prints he made of 20's Era racers . I was honest so I made a copy by hand as I am a good artist in my own rite.
As a 16 year old boomer & car guy when that movie premiered... I can tell you that that movie embodied everything that was going on at that moment in time
I know of one master mechanic whose dream car is this Challenger. 4 years ago, he purchased a U Code in pieces and in dire need of a complete restoration. The matching number engine came with the basket case. 13 months later, it was complete - as if it just rolled out of the showroom in 1970. Its evolution, from derelict to rolling jewel can be viewed on the owner's YT channel named 'Nick's Garage'.
I bought a’74 Challenger in 1981 when I was 18. Bright yellow with a white vinyl top and interior. (It was originally brown metallic). It only had a 318 and auto, but man, the girls loved it.
It's a film that has captivated the minds of the GenX's and Z's long before they were on this Earth. If they had been in their late teens or early 20s during this time it was just another great muscle car chase. From 1964 to 1973 it was nine years of screaming cars that were drunk on Torque, cheap to buy and so much fun to drive. Gas was under a dollar. Girls loved the guys who had them, guys envied the guys who had them. I'm 71 now and so thankful I lived thru these times. It was the best of times to have American Muscle inside the V8.
That movie was about freedom as it was perceived in the 60s and 70s. To really understand the movie it helps to have been alive at that time. America was a much better place, we had real freedom and we cherished it.
Iust an excellent presentation. Full of actual facts and a pleasure to watch. As an impressionable 16 year old that saw the original film in the theater, I have never forgotten this film and why I own one of the newer model Challenger R/T's today. Thank you!!
This movie is a lot more layered than people realize, and a lot of spiritual undertones. The woman who represents death tells Kowalski that she has been waiting for him, when in reality he has been looking for her. He is offered a chance to rest and sleep at the beginning of the film, but turns it down, to which his friend warns him that he is going to end up killing himself. He's living with a lot of demons. He was in the military, and has a wound that he doesn't even want to talk about, a failed career as a racer, a career as a policeman that was cut short because he had witnessed too much corruption (assuming that the incident where he stops his partner from raping the girl was not the worst thing he saw, but just the last thing he could take seeing), and the girl who loved him dies, and he doesn't tell her that he loves her. Like the preacher who throws the snakes away because he says they no longer need them, Kowalski no longer needs his demons, and needs to be set free of them. I think by the time he encounters the couple in the desert he has already made up his mind that he will not be around much longer. He's offered a supply of speed, to which he says he won't be able to use that much. He's offered earthly pleasures by a beautiful young girl, but is not interested. Just before he end, we see a shot of the two bulldozers with an almost heavenly light shining between them. It's also interesting that even he never gives his first name. He's partially already checked out. It's meaningless because no one needs to remember it any longer. Some writers have derived meaning from the fact that it is a white car he's driving, giving him a ghost like presence as he drives through the landscape. Whether intentional or not, it does add another layer to the entire picture, as does the fact that it is often seen in a cloud, though the clouds are dust.
I saw this movie when I was a teenager at my friend's house one day after school. I was absolutely amazed by the stunts and I loved it ever since. The remake sucked as usual.
Well, one of his reasons for speeding to his destination is that he made a bet with his dealer he could deliver the car about a day earlier than planned. Great video, thanks!👍
I saw this movie for the first time in 1971 at a movie theater in San Vito Italy. My father was in the Air Force. I was 12 years old and the movie and music made me a muscle car guy forever. I own a 1970 cloned Challenger R/T with a cammed 340 and built torqueflite trans. I bought this car in 1979. It’s painted pw7 bright white. With 4:10 gears it is no highway cruiser. But I hit the cruise ins and back roads of NC.
Will never forget the "Why are you laughing scene." Then came the "stick up." Kowalski just had to laugh at the fact he was being chased by a whole states police force and those 2 he tried to help were trying to rob him. Cinema genius !
I suspect that scene was also added because someone brought up the fact that Kowalski was turning down the advances of all the women in the film - despite showing he had dated a girl who died - and they wanted to make it clear he wasn’t now gay.
@@CycolacFan But I always assumed that he was so desperate to get to SF because he had a girl there, and was probably going to marry her. I mean, why else would someone be in such a hurry. That could also explain him turning down advances of women. The movie is quite unintentionally genius as it doesn't give you all the answers, it makes you wonder and question the point of it and people are still trying to solve it 50 years later.
my sister dated Barry after he made this movie--she was a waitress and met him at work--he never told her he was a star--she found out when they were out and some people made a big deal about him--she said he was a good guy,nice person
What I remember is the photography & filming skills which were ahead of their time, great scenes, vistas, panning, zooming in, suspenseful story line, along with a hint of the great sadness of Kowalski at the loss of his girlfriend which drove him to suicide by cops. I think it was the first film I saw on a BIG screen, totally appropriate for the vast expanse of America. One of my all time favourite films.
I saw this in 1977 on a double bill with Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry at a beautifully rundown single screen theatre featuring mildly wrinkled white bedsheets! Blew me away! Though I've never seen the uncut version, I proudly own a pan scan laserdisc. Great soundtrack!
Excellent shake down on a legendary movie and one of the most beautiful cars ever designed. Can you imagine them bringing a 70 Challenger back to production? The line up to buy them would be insane.
I FOUND THIS SPECIAL “50 years Later” -THANK YOU!!! AFTER COMING ACROSS THE 1997 VIGGO MORTENSON version ( that I don’t think I saw, but still liked. (Was the 1997 legend of the name-what helped him play the Legenary Aragon in Lord of the Rings Trillogy? ITS HARD TO BELIEVE THE ORIGINAL WAS 50!! Years ago🤯!! And I did not know that Barry Newman passed at 92. This Legendary movie is like so many artist on Canvas! Not till Many Years Later Are they accepted or recognized by the masses as to being a LEGEND. THANK YOU U you Tube for posting both of these Vanishing Points!!👍
Barry Newman was perfect for the part, Vanishing Point was a drive in classic back in the day. I wonder how many Chargers and Challengers were sold because of this movie. Sad to hear of Barry's passing. Thanks for the documentary.
my sister dated Barry after he made this movie--she was a waitress and met him at work--he never told her he was a star--she found out when they were out and some people made a big deal about him--she said he was a good guy,nice person
Got the movie on DVD, me and the wife watch it every 6or7 weeks or so, we went to Goldfield Nevada twice ( that’s where the radio station is in the movie ) love the movie. Maybe one day I will be able to afford a 1970 challenger with a 440 engine and a four speed pistol grip. At least I hope so.
I stopped for pictures in Cisco last year. Serious fans who haven't been there I suggest making a point of it because the few surviving buildings from the movie have all but crumbled away and will likely just be a pile of rubble before too long.
@@mtsky-tc6uw I went in goldfield in 2016 and 2018, and that building, which was an hotel was still vacant. I read that someone had bought it, and started some renovations, but it all stopped in 2020.
@@pascaldeslongchampsmoncton1490 the radio station is across the street from the hotel--the old guy still has it--not sure but i think you can get it online--they are still fooling around with the hotel--they are building a truckstop south of town with a supermarket too--they have a huge mine on the north of town going in--goldfield will boom once again
Gotta throw in White Lightning and the original Gone in 60 Seconds. Bullitt just has once car chase in it. Same stunt guys made another similar move with a great car chase in it called The Seven-Ups. Don't sleep on Barry Newman's other epic car chase in Fear Is The Key.
Dodge missed out on a chance to produce a massive promotion opportunity to build a white "Vanishing Point" 50th Anniversary edition challenger. last year. Their advertisement people should be fired.
Yes without a doubt it is the Greatest Car chase movie, I saw it when I was a kid in the early 70s and that was it, hooked for life on Cars specially Mopar and the movie Vanishing Point
The ending with Charlotte Ramplin really is essential to figure it out. He came to grips with death. She was that dark figure. I have the version with that clip in the movie
I had never heard about the cut scene! The movie SHOULD be re-released including it. Maan! After seeing the movie along with Dirty Mary Crazy Larry in the early 1970s I left the theater in my 1970 Road Runner and burned rubber all over town haha.
@@mickangio16I bought the movie several years ago on Blu Ray and it does include both the U.S. and U.K. versions. The U.K. version is the one with the Charlotte Rampling scene. As far as I know the DVD has both versions as well.
i am in the uk and watched this last week for the first time in probably 40 years. i'd read a review beforehand about this cult movie and vaguely remembered it after the dj got a mention. the only mention charlotte rampling got was in the cast of actors starring. it was only when it ended i realised i hadn't seen charlotte rampling unless i just hadn't recognised her as being young, so checked the start and end credits where there was no mention of her. i thought this was a bit strange at the time, as was the drug induced suicide ending which came completely out of the blue. all a bit of an anticlimax and copout. i had no idea until now that there was a scene cut which at the least might've made a bit more sense.
my sister dated Barry after he made this movie--she was a waitress and met him at work--he never told her he was a star--she found out when they were out and some people made a big deal about him--she said he was a good guy,nice person
It's my opinion that H.B. Halicki, 1974 Gone in 60 seconds, was the King of car chase movies, but I'm biased, my uncle George lived nearby in Carson and he took me to watch filming, some of the best memories this kid has, db
my uncle was chp back in the 50ties--we were at his house when his buddy came by with a brand new '57 dodge black and white--he put my sis and i(we were 5 and 7 ) i the front seat one belt around both of us and ripped around the streets by redondo beach to LA harbor--scared my sis silly but i loved it--could not do that today..
I'm sure you are aware of this that 392 was the size of the Chrysler Hemi before the legendary 426 "elephant head" engine was born the choice of drag racers for 70 yrs
i bought a 2020 scatpack in white last year and texted a pic to my brother , he texted back " vanishing point " i had completly forgotten about the movie ,now ive watched it a couple times , i live in Nevada and were going to film it in a couple spots from the movie this summer
I saw this movie in the theater when I was a kid. I loved it then and I love it now. In 76, My senior year in high school, i bought and drove a 1973 challenger - partly due to this movie.
if you saw the movie TERMINAL VELOCITY (1994) with Charlie Sheen, he drives such a white 1970 Challanger R/T, as the movie was directed by Deran Sarafian the son of VP director
I am 65 we bought a 70 Challenger RT 383 back in 78 ... Still have it!!!! Still smoke the tires never gets old!!!😂It goes to car shows now. We are the 3rd owner. I have this movie on tape and cd. Best chase movie ever. Real cars real men!! I miss the old days. 😟🇺🇸🐻🇺🇸
This is an all-time classic car chase movie than cannot be topped! I grew up on 60s and 70s car chases movies. I wanted nothing more than to race cars and motorcycles because of these movies. I have lived my life building and racing cars and motorcycles inspired by these movies, This one has always been my favorite. Two lane black top. dirty Mary and crazy Larry. have nothing on this movie. Bullet nope, The seven ups nope. Even gone in sixty seconds, nope this is the one and best of all!
I've owned 3 1970 challengers . 2 of them 30 years ago. The latest one got a white 70. Building it into a vanishing point challenger. I'll keep this one. 👌
Sounds like a good idea. I only personally had ever one connection in my life with a 70s V8 and that was my dad's Aussie LTD. If I was still there, I would have loved to have gotten one to build in memory of him and his love for that car and just remembering sitting on his lap and driving it (steering) on old county back roads.
And an awesome car it is! Thanks again for bringing it to Carlisle to let your fans in the US see it and get to meet you! It is clearly a labour of love for you, and I hope you can bring it again! Cheers and Happy birthday! 🍻
@@nickpanaritis4122 Please do if you are able. I spoke to several members of my car club who saw it and loved it, and love your UA-cam channel as well! Always welcome in Pennsylvania anytime! Hope you are having a great vacation!
There must be an alternate version, because when I watched this in like 1974 or so, he vaniched, just blew right thru & then the credits rolled Im almost positive thats what I remember. Ive always remembered it that way, now that i watched THIS video, this is the first Ive heard iof him dying at the end.
i agree 100% thats the way i remember it to , i think it showed it blowing up in the opening scene but disapeering in the closing scene or vica versa , iam sure of it because the movie left a impression on me
I saw it when I was 15 when it first came out at the end while the credits were rolling they pulled the upper half of a Krispy torso out of burnt wreck
Amazing that I have never seen this video before. I have been a life long fan of original Mad Max and Vanishing Point has been one of the movies that shaped up my childhood, during early 80's. I even have the UK cut extended scene with the hitchiker (the "angel") on my YT channel. Still, YT has not recommended this video for me before LOL. Currently I even have an accurate replica license plate "OA-5599" on my living room/movie room wall, thanks to Celebrity Machines. Sadly, quite soon after I got it, Barry Newman passed away. R.I.P. Thanks for making this.
Glad you enjoyed it. If you look through the channel, you will find other similar in depth videos on the Mad Max franchise and other car movies. Enjoy.
my sister dated Barry after he made this movie--she was a waitress and met him at work--he never told her he was a star--she found out when they were out and some people made a big deal about him--she said he was a good guy,nice person
At 14 (in 1982), my dad bought me a 70 Challenger 440 V-8 R/T. At 14 I was allowed to drive this beast and she was magical. It was supposed to have been put in my name at 18 when I could legally put my own insurance on it. One day I'd came home and found that dad had sold my car for a dune buggy he could take off roading. I cried for weeks. I could never forgive him for that. Twice more he had done that to me with other cars but always allowed my brothers to keep theirs. He is dead now and no. I've still not forgiven him.
So sad to hear mate. I got two older brothers and my dad made one or two missteps with me as well, not as bad as what he did with you, but yeah, I know some of that sting.
One of my favourite movie cars, starring a great actor who never really got the recognition for his work. I'm sorry about this point I need to raise, most cinematic film reviewers say its between the og 'the Italian job' or bullit. But it's personal choice on what you prefer but I like all three as they all give their best and all have their best parts and some major flaws.
It's been a while (decades), did we ever find out the music that plays during the Jag race? It's not on the OST. Oh man, along the 67 Cougar XR7, the 70s Cuda/Challenger has such an iconic design. I feel it's underappreciated when compared to Camaros and Mustangs.
As far as stories about non-stop doom-ridden chases on the highway go, 'Duel' seems to be the benchmark for most of the petrolheads I know. It may not have the trendy 1970s hippie references that 'Vanishing Point' includes, but the stripped-down story, Steven Spielberg's remarkable direction, the marvellous cinematography and a manic performance by Dennis Weaver seem to tick all the boxes. 'Vanishing Point' and 'Duel' both made cinema audiences think, and deserve high praise for that achievement.
I always loved this movie. In the mid '80's, while stationed in SoCal,an Army buddy from Minnisota had a rotted to death '70 R/T 383 / 727 weirdo green pig that I loved driving. The car to this day is probally still in the post impound lot. God,I loved that car.
Great job" I was just thinking of this movie yesterday 😀 it has always been with me. So many parts of this movie make it great. I believe it inspired the mad max movie. Just the title vanishing point is evocative. i ride fast bikes and i keep my eyes on the vanishing point ready to brake when something appears, a true cult classic never to be surpassed.
The film cars didn't have em, but if memory serves correctly, the car in the movie was supposed to have a supercharged 426 hemi under the hood. I remember watching this movie on TV when I was a kid and it stirred my very soul! Been a muscle car feller ever since.
In the movie, when Kowalski makes the bet, I think the guy he male's the bet with says, "this must be a supercharged something" and Kowalski says "yes it is."
The movie was iconic.. it needed to be an unknown actor, playing a part of a man with unknown motivations and or destiny. I wish the complete, uncut version was available. I owned a 1970 Dodge Challenger, 318 motor, I wish I have kept it... that was in 2018...
This movie has always fascinated me 1 I have always loved the sound of a V8 engine I was not born yet my mother was running through the gears of a 1969 Roadrunner 383 4 speed pistol grip shifter breathing in the leaded fuel smell no wonder I'm an absolute car crazy mechanic I love carburators ignition points HEI distributors but I can still appreciate modern over head cams and no distributor and fuel injection what a great to be alive
I gave my grandson his first driving lesson on Highway 128, Utah in the ghost town of Cisco. His first time behind the wheel he drove through the same spot Kowalski met his demise.
The film was called Vanishing Point after a scene in the movie where Kowalski passes a car going the other direction on the highway. The frame freezes as the cars pass each other, and then progress one frame at a time. Kowalski's Challenger is going so fast that after a few frames pass the Challenger disappears off the screen as the other car has not moved at all. It wasn't a camera trick, it was real. It's one of my favorite movie scenes ever, but no one who's ever made one of these documentary videos has ever included it.
Coincidentally enough, my initials too are MP, but I remember this brilliant film clearly viewing it at Grafton drive in theatre in roughly 71 or 72 with my parents (as we did on a regular basis regardless of classification). Film releases here in Australia were far more delayed to get here back then than they are today. I'm surprised when car chases are brought up in conversation, and I stay quiet for a while and then say Vanishing Point. Usually I get nothing but blank stares. Go Kowalski you legend! 😎👍
Great movie....saw it at a matinee when I was 14 and had no idea what it meant....still don't know, does anyone? Challengers were pretty, but the most aggressive of this Mopar body style was the Barracuda!
I saw this on my first date. 4 years later I found a 70 rt challenger in a lot in monterrey CA! I made one of the worst mistakes of my life when I sold it in 83!
This movie literally changed my life ! Was 13 when I first saw it . Owned it on vhs and dvd , seen it over 100 times ! Borrowed a White 2011 R/T 5 sad. from a Dodge dealer and drove hard for 8 hours FANTASY realized ! @ 65 I can no longer watch the ending …. Kawolski LIVES
A friend of mine from AZ. that had been driving in the desert for years explained why he drove around in circles before he stopped. He said you watch your tire tracks until you find a spot where you don't sink in the sand, that's where you can stop and not get stuck!
I only managed to see Vanishing Point once many years ago, in the early days of home VCRs and rental videocassettes. Over the past decade I've looked for it, along with several other notable chase films (Two Lane Blacktop, for instance) on demand without success.
This remains my favorite move of all time. First time seeing this movie with several friends at my house watching it, an ironic and unbelievable thing happen. A news break broke into the movie about a car chase on the outskitts of our town, they also had a helicopter involved and gave a screen shot of another friend being chased in his 1969 white 340 Dart. We could not believe it. That timing could have not been more perfect. Eric didn't crash into bull dozers, but did crash into a concrete drain embankment tearing up his car pretty badly. Eric ended up serving 13 months in jail while we all pitched in to rebuild his badly damaged Dart. Later, another friend and I hitch hiked from Columbus Ohio to California. Along the way we ended up here and got a grand tour of the filming locations. The people in that town really thought that was a big thing. They had Vanishing Point memorbrilia in every store there. But way back then it wasn't in as bad of shape as it is today. Great video and thanks for your time and effort here!!!
One on my favorite movies. I seen it at a drive-in theater when it came out. I have owned 5 old school Challengers. 70 - 340 / automatic 70 - 383 / automatic 72 - 340 / automatic 73 - 340 / 4 speed pistol grip 74 - 360 / automatic Also had a 68 barracuda formula S - 340 / automatic 2012 Challenger - 3.6 / automatic 2017 Challenger - 5.7 / automatic
Primal Scream also did a whole album inspired by the film. Ive always been a fan of the film sadly I will never afford a challenger. A bets a bet you gotta win
Richard Sarafian mis-spoke on the narration to the movie. It was already well documented, by none other than Barry Newman(Kowalski) and stunt driver Carey Loftin that only 5 cars were used. Four 440 four speed cars and one 383 automatic.
Like so many the movie influenced me & when I landed in So Cal in 1988 I went looking for one. In the next three years I bought & sold 16 1970 challengers amongst a bunch of other Mopars. I still have the first one I bought that is a 70 Plumb crazy Deputy with white interior plus the last one that is a 70 Plumb Crazy R/T with power everything & not an SE.
If I had to guess why people who see the movie have a connection with it, I would say it's because people who see the movie wanted to drive that car across country.
I made a cassette copy of the soundtrack (w/dialogue). I listened to it many times in the car: Including after talking to my true love, Brenda, on the phone before driving back to Albion College.
saw this movie at the drive in, in Marshall Arkansas when it came out also saw 2 Lane Blacktop at that drive when it came out they are 2 of the best car movies ever
To a large amount of people this was the ultimate car chase movie. I have seen it around 20 times in 50+ years. The whole movie is car chase unlike Bullitt that featured one as the finale of the flick. Point,,, what has happened to Barry Newman? He did another car chase movie based on an Alastair McLean book. And with the hooha about one Bullitt Mustang Chrysler could have had a small fortune in their hands. No end of replicas
Made it just in time for it to still officially be the 50th. Hope you enjoy my last vid for 2021.
Happy New Year, buddy! Another brilliant mini doco from you. Thank you.
@@BradGryphonn Thank you very much. Happy New Year.
@@MFPMapFilmProductions You're welcome. I love your channel and share when I can.
@@BradGryphonn Much appreciated. Thank you.
You didn't mention Carey Loftin, the stunt driver who actually drove the Challenger in the original movie .
RIP Barry Newman. Passed away at the age of 92. Doesn't seem so long ago that this movie came out. A great film, never to be forgotten by those who saw it.
I've got the DVD.
Never forgot it, so right. I was about 13 that girl. I still rember it was hard to watch the 440, and the girl same time. Such a dilemma.
@@bartkay1ify The age of discovery. :) The struggle was real.
yep it was my favorite movie too
@@bartkay1ify I was only very slightly older in 1971, didn't actually get to see movie until a few years later when video cassettes came out
I have my 70 Dodge Challenger that I bought at the age of 15 ! I am 61 now and it’s not going to leave me anytime soon!
I’m 61 too and bought a 1970 Charger R/T in 1978 but I don’t have the car😢
@@powerwagon3731 sad ! I have turned down more than I ever thought it was worth , but just could not stand knowing how some people would treat it!
@@MrT5mustang That's awesome, hang on to it and enjoy it!
318 🐸
I think a lot of us of a “certain age” have similar stories. I’m almost 60 and bought a matching numbers, 68 Chevelle SS 396-30k original miles-for 3500 bucks in 1983. When I bought it the guy was running a 454 in it but I had the original motor in my garage. You make all sorts of promises to yourself when you 😂 19 (like “I’m only going to take this out on Sundays, when it’s perfect weather, and cruise it slowly.”) But when the two gorgeous twin sister blondes across the road say “Go Fast!!” you do. (Totaled it drag racing-while drunk-in 1985. Cops first words were not “Anyone Hurt!!” they were “What a shame. What year is this?” True story. (Last time I ever drove drunk and he let me go with just an assured clear distance ticket. He said he felt bad enough for me) I miss that car.
This was far more than a car chase movie. It was a statement of freedom, of space. Of loneliness. The story of man who had been too far and seen too much. A last look at the Southwestern U.S. as it once was. Sparse, spacious, mysterious.Of stores, gas stations and homes each with their own look and personality long before everything became corporate and cookie cutter. A car chase movie? yes. But also SO much more.
Exceptionally well said!
@@snowrocket Thank you. This is one of my favorite movies. It speaks on so many levels
You get it!
Well said! Totally agree. There's so much to this movie beyond the car and the car chases.
I think this is something the 1997 version didn't quite capture as well. Kowalski was a Driver ("Occupation: Driver"). _Driven_ to drive. That part in the desert where he's just driving around in circles? He just can't stop driving even when it's to nowhere. Isolation as the other side of freedom. Not stuck in one place only because he's forever on the move.
This was a film was off the scale. Barry Newman was absolutely awesome character, and the car was just jaw dropping to hear. A classic film that will never age.
Cleavon Little was good, too. Such a simple plot, with good acting, so the suspense builds through the entire movie. Most of my favorite movies are simple and had relatively small budgets, like this one.
my sister dated Barry after he made this movie--she was a waitress and met him at work--he never told her he was a star--she found out when they were out and some people made a big deal about him--she said he was a good guy,nice person
I live in AZ and travel to CO frequently to visit family/friends, so when I go through Moab I always take 128 east along the river and drive through Cisco Utah before getting on I-70 east. Always have to stop and take a photo of the collapsing building next to the road with the fuel pump concrete pad standing up. Someone spray painted "Kowalski Lives" on it.
The characters, the car, and the music all blend together and created something more than a car chase movie
I remember watching this movie so many times as a kid with my dad. Such a freaking great movie. Definitely gave me a love for cars.
Had the pleasure of meeting legendary stunt driver Carey Loftin at a gym in Santa Monica back in the early 1980s. We talked Vanishing Point, Duel, and Challengers. I had my own big block '70 Challenger that I'd bought new off the lot as a 19 year old. I told him, when the movie was released, I just had to see it. Having had the distinction of being clocked at 134 mph by a CHP helicopter on the eastbound I-10 just outside of Indio, CA myself, we talked and laughed about that. But, he told me he never exceeded 90 on any of the movie stunts. And, when the soundtrack to the movie came out, they had pretty much destroyed all the 70 white Challengers and the record company had to use a 1971 Challenger for the album cover. I checked and yup he wasn't kidding.
I had the album and it was a 71.
@@55Reever - Yep! Just as I said! Thanks for verifying!!
There was at least one that was in the wild. My Dad had it when I was a kid and sold it 6 months before I turned 16 and got my driver's license. I never got to drive it and probably never will get to drive one. Ironically a couple years later I built myself a 1979 Chevy Malibu 383 stroker small block with nitrous that by all accounts was much faster than his 440 shaker 6 pack pistol grip 4 speed and his reasoning behind selling it so the car and I didn't kill each other was a moot point. Since then I have been chasing the ghost of the memory of what car. I even daily drive a white 2008 Grand Prix GXP 5.3 LS4 V8 and have had several Z28 and SS Camaros and my current project toy is a 75 SS Chevy Nova that I am putting a LS7 with a large single Garrett/Air research ball-bearing turbo and a built power glide into. While I have no doubt that I have long since surpassed what the ghost of that white 1970 Challanger R/T in reality was, I will be chasing that ghost my entire life and never catch it.
All that only to destroy a Camaro at the end!
I painted a car that Jon Chun, designer for the Shelby and suspension and drivetrain for the mustang scj '68. He had used the 94 Fleetwood for a storage unit and I found the original stencil in the trunk for the Cobra and a bunch of prints he made of 20's Era racers . I was honest so I made a copy by hand as I am a good artist in my own rite.
As a 16 year old boomer & car guy when that movie premiered... I can tell you that that movie embodied everything that was going on at that moment in time
I know of one master mechanic whose dream car is this Challenger. 4 years ago, he purchased a U Code in pieces and in dire need of a complete restoration. The matching number engine came with the basket case. 13 months later, it was complete - as if it just rolled out of the showroom in 1970. Its evolution, from derelict to rolling jewel can be viewed on the owner's YT channel named 'Nick's Garage'.
Thank you Adriano.
👍👍🇨🇦
www.youtube.com/@NicksGarage
Very cool! Heading over there to watch now, thanks!
I saw the 1971 original in Hawaii at the theater. Unforgettable movie! I was only 18 then.
This movie is the reason I bought a 1973 Challenger when I was 18 in 1985. Loved that car. Wish I had never sold it.
I know how you feel. The first car i ever bought was a 73 Challenger. I also wish i never sold it
I bought a’74 Challenger in 1981 when I was 18. Bright yellow with a white vinyl top and interior. (It was originally brown metallic). It only had a 318 and auto, but man, the girls loved it.
It's a film that has captivated the minds of the GenX's and Z's long before they were on this Earth. If they had been in their late teens or early 20s during this time it was just another great muscle car chase. From 1964 to 1973 it was nine years of screaming cars that were drunk on Torque, cheap to buy and so much fun to drive. Gas was under a dollar. Girls loved the guys who had them, guys envied the guys who had them. I'm 71 now and so thankful I lived thru these times. It was the best of times to have American Muscle inside the V8.
In the purest sense of the word, it is the greatest car chase flick in history.
That movie was about freedom as it was perceived in the 60s and 70s. To really understand the movie it helps to have been alive at that time. America was a much better place, we had real freedom and we cherished it.
Saw it when I was18. I thought Kowalski killed himself because his license had expired. xD
Great show thank you very much I STILL WANT TO SEE THE FULL MOVIE. 1971
Cheers.
Iust an excellent presentation. Full of actual facts and a pleasure to watch. As an impressionable 16 year old that saw the original film in the theater, I have never forgotten this film and why I own one of the newer model Challenger R/T's today. Thank you!!
Thank you very much for your wonderful comment. Feel free to like, share and subscribe. Cheers.
This movie is a lot more layered than people realize, and a lot of spiritual undertones. The woman who represents death tells Kowalski that she has been waiting for him, when in reality he has been looking for her. He is offered a chance to rest and sleep at the beginning of the film, but turns it down, to which his friend warns him that he is going to end up killing himself.
He's living with a lot of demons. He was in the military, and has a wound that he doesn't even want to talk about, a failed career as a racer, a career as a policeman that was cut short because he had witnessed too much corruption (assuming that the incident where he stops his partner from raping the girl was not the worst thing he saw, but just the last thing he could take seeing), and the girl who loved him dies, and he doesn't tell her that he loves her. Like the preacher who throws the snakes away because he says they no longer need them, Kowalski no longer needs his demons, and needs to be set free of them.
I think by the time he encounters the couple in the desert he has already made up his mind that he will not be around much longer. He's offered a supply of speed, to which he says he won't be able to use that much. He's offered earthly pleasures by a beautiful young girl, but is not interested.
Just before he end, we see a shot of the two bulldozers with an almost heavenly light shining between them.
It's also interesting that even he never gives his first name. He's partially already checked out. It's meaningless because no one needs to remember it any longer.
Some writers have derived meaning from the fact that it is a white car he's driving, giving him a ghost like presence as he drives through the landscape. Whether intentional or not, it does add another layer to the entire picture, as does the fact that it is often seen in a cloud, though the clouds are dust.
Thanks for sharing, those for some great insights
I saw this movie when I was a teenager at my friend's house one day after school. I was absolutely amazed by the stunts and I loved it ever since. The remake sucked as usual.
Well, one of his reasons for speeding to his destination is that he made a bet with his dealer he could deliver the car about a day earlier than planned. Great video, thanks!👍
I saw this movie for the first time in 1971 at a movie theater in San Vito Italy. My father was in the Air Force. I was 12 years old and the movie and music made me a muscle car guy forever. I own a 1970 cloned Challenger R/T with a cammed 340 and built torqueflite trans. I bought this car in 1979. It’s painted pw7 bright white. With 4:10 gears it is no highway cruiser. But I hit the cruise ins and back roads of NC.
What's farther, Chicago or by train?
Will never forget the "Why are you laughing scene." Then came the "stick up." Kowalski just had to laugh at the fact he was being chased by a whole states police force and those 2 he tried to help were trying to rob him. Cinema genius !
I suspect that scene was also added because someone brought up the fact that Kowalski was turning down the advances of all the women in the film - despite showing he had dated a girl who died - and they wanted to make it clear he wasn’t now gay.
@@CycolacFan That woman who drowned in the movie committed suicide in real life not long after the movie was made. Sad.
@@Boyo1956 hadn’t heard that, what a shame.
@@CycolacFan Yes, that was very sad.
@@CycolacFan But I always assumed that he was so desperate to get to SF because he had a girl there, and was probably going to marry her. I mean, why else would someone be in such a hurry. That could also explain him turning down advances of women. The movie is quite unintentionally genius as it doesn't give you all the answers, it makes you wonder and question the point of it and people are still trying to solve it 50 years later.
Sad to hear Barry Newman passed away. Underrated actor, classic movie (Vanishing Point), legendary car (Dodge Challenger). Vale Barry.
my sister dated Barry after he made this movie--she was a waitress and met him at work--he never told her he was a star--she found out when they were out and some people made a big deal about him--she said he was a good guy,nice person
What I remember is the photography & filming skills which were ahead of their time, great scenes, vistas, panning, zooming in, suspenseful story line, along with a hint of the great sadness of Kowalski at the loss of his girlfriend which drove him to suicide by cops. I think it was the first film I saw on a BIG screen, totally appropriate for the vast expanse of America. One of my all time favourite films.
Vanishing Point and Bullet two best films. Cheers from New Zealand 🇳🇿
“Vanishing Point and Bullet two best films.”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
¿ Do you mean *Bullitt* ?
I saw this in 1977 on a double bill with Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry at a beautifully rundown single screen theatre featuring mildly wrinkled white bedsheets! Blew me away! Though I've never seen the uncut version, I proudly own a pan scan laserdisc. Great soundtrack!
Excellent shake down on a legendary movie and one of the most beautiful cars ever designed.
Can you imagine them bringing a 70 Challenger back to production? The line up to buy them would be insane.
I FOUND THIS SPECIAL
“50 years Later” -THANK YOU!!!
AFTER COMING ACROSS THE 1997 VIGGO MORTENSON version ( that I don’t think I saw, but still liked. (Was the 1997 legend of the name-what helped him play the Legenary Aragon in Lord of the Rings Trillogy?
ITS HARD TO BELIEVE THE ORIGINAL WAS 50!! Years ago🤯!!
And I did not know that Barry Newman passed at 92.
This Legendary movie is like so many artist on Canvas!
Not till Many Years Later Are they accepted or recognized by the masses as to being a LEGEND.
THANK YOU U you Tube for posting both of these Vanishing Points!!👍
One of my favourite 70s cars, and that influence came from this movie when I watched it in the late 70s.
Barry Newman was perfect for the part, Vanishing Point was a drive in classic back in the day. I wonder how many Chargers and Challengers were sold because of this movie. Sad to hear of Barry's passing. Thanks for the documentary.
I think Gene Hackman would have been ok as Kowalski but Barry Newman nailed the part, really a super actor!
Barry was great because to me and most of us at the time, Barry was an unknown and he fit that part to a "T" A lot of Drive-In memories with this one.
my sister dated Barry after he made this movie--she was a waitress and met him at work--he never told her he was a star--she found out when they were out and some people made a big deal about him--she said he was a good guy,nice person
Got the movie on DVD, me and the wife watch it every 6or7 weeks or so, we went to Goldfield Nevada twice ( that’s where the radio station is in the movie ) love the movie. Maybe one day I will be able to afford a 1970 challenger with a 440 engine and a four speed pistol grip. At least I hope so.
I stopped for pictures in Cisco last year. Serious fans who haven't been there I suggest making a point of it because the few surviving buildings from the movie have all but crumbled away and will likely just be a pile of rubble before too long.
that radio station is still there-- they have goldfield days in aug--come on by
@@mtsky-tc6uw I went in goldfield in 2016 and 2018, and that building, which was an hotel was still vacant. I read that someone had bought it, and started some renovations, but it all stopped in 2020.
@@pascaldeslongchampsmoncton1490 the radio station is across the street from the hotel--the old guy still has it--not sure but i think you can get it online--they are still fooling around with the hotel--they are building a truckstop south of town with a supermarket too--they have a huge mine on the north of town going in--goldfield will boom once again
This movie from back then is the reason why I have a 2015 challenger shaker Rt now.
You hit this one out of the pack again! Very entertaining
Thank you.
"Bullitt", "Vanishing Point", "Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry", "Smokey And The Bandit", "Mad Max" are the greatest car chase movies all time.
I'll agree with your list if you will add the French Connection.
@@01TA OH, yes. I forgot about that movie. Thanks.
Mad Max Road Warrior
Gotta throw in White Lightning and the original Gone in 60 Seconds. Bullitt just has once car chase in it. Same stunt guys made another similar move with a great car chase in it called The Seven-Ups.
Don't sleep on Barry Newman's other epic car chase in Fear Is The Key.
@@kowalski3769 They're also good car chase movies. Thanks for mentioning them.
Dodge missed out on a chance to produce a massive promotion opportunity to build a white "Vanishing Point" 50th Anniversary edition challenger. last year. Their advertisement people should be fired.
They did 2010(?) Kowalski Edition...
Yes without a doubt it is the Greatest Car chase movie, I saw it when I was a kid in the early 70s and that was it, hooked for life on Cars specially Mopar and the movie Vanishing Point
Watched in the theater when I was just about to start high school. Such a great movie, great cars, Barry Newman was perfectly cast for this movie.
The ending with Charlotte Ramplin really is essential to figure it out. He came to grips with death. She was that dark figure. I have the version with that clip in the movie
I had never heard about the cut scene! The movie SHOULD be re-released including it. Maan! After seeing the movie along with Dirty Mary Crazy Larry in the early 1970s I left the theater in my 1970 Road Runner and burned rubber all over town haha.
@@mickangio16I bought the movie several years ago on Blu Ray and it does include both the U.S. and U.K. versions. The U.K. version is the one with the Charlotte Rampling scene. As far as I know the DVD has both versions as well.
i am in the uk and watched this last week for the first time in probably 40 years. i'd read a review beforehand about this cult movie and vaguely remembered it after the dj got a mention. the only mention charlotte rampling got was in the cast of actors starring. it was only when it ended i realised i hadn't seen charlotte rampling unless i just hadn't recognised her as being young, so checked the start and end credits where there was no mention of her. i thought this was a bit strange at the time, as was the drug induced suicide ending which came completely out of the blue. all a bit of an anticlimax and copout. i had no idea until now that there was a scene cut which at the least might've made a bit more sense.
I've been watching this movie since I was 13 years old , ( I'm 58 now ) . All time cult classic 😊
Exactly same here" it has embodied my sole, I'm sure lol".
R.I.P BERRY NEWMANN !
One off the best Roadmovie ever !!!
my sister dated Barry after he made this movie--she was a waitress and met him at work--he never told her he was a star--she found out when they were out and some people made a big deal about him--she said he was a good guy,nice person
It's my opinion that H.B. Halicki, 1974 Gone in 60 seconds, was the King of car chase movies, but I'm biased, my uncle George lived nearby in Carson and he took me to watch filming, some of the best memories this kid has, db
that movie sucked...
my uncle was chp back in the 50ties--we were at his house when his buddy came by with a brand new '57 dodge black and white--he put my sis and i(we were 5 and 7 ) i the front seat one belt around both of us and ripped around the streets by redondo beach to LA harbor--scared my sis silly but i loved it--could not do that today..
As if we (us car guys) wouldn't notice that the car at the end wasn't a Challenger. LOL. Nice job. Fun movie. Great memories.
This movie is one of these reasons i got my Dodge 392 SRT CHALLENGER....I WATCH IT AT LEAST TWICE A YEAR.
You are not alone. 2020 Challenger R/T here as well.
Lol , I saw the movie on TV when I was about 12 . I finally bought a new 2014 White Challenger R/T because of it .
I'm sure you are aware of this that 392 was the size of the Chrysler Hemi before the legendary 426 "elephant head" engine was born the choice of drag racers for 70 yrs
i bought a 2020 scatpack in white last year and texted a pic to my brother , he texted back " vanishing point " i had completly forgotten about the movie ,now ive watched it a couple times , i live in Nevada and were going to film it in a couple spots from the movie this summer
I saw this movie in the theater when I was a kid. I loved it then and I love it now. In 76, My senior year in high school, i bought and drove a 1973 challenger - partly due to this movie.
if you saw the movie TERMINAL VELOCITY (1994) with Charlie Sheen, he drives such a white 1970 Challanger R/T, as the movie was directed by Deran Sarafian the son of VP director
Thanks for that information. I gotta keep an eye out for it.
@@mickangio16 it's a great movie, I found a VHS copy for .50© at a thrift store, I've seen afew copy's there since then, so it's out there
The Terminal Velocity Challenger was a 440 6-pack car, a shame what happened to it....
I am 65 we bought a 70 Challenger RT 383 back in 78 ... Still have it!!!! Still smoke the tires never gets old!!!😂It goes to car shows now. We are the 3rd owner. I have this movie on tape and cd. Best chase movie ever. Real cars real men!! I miss the old days. 😟🇺🇸🐻🇺🇸
This is an all-time classic car chase movie than cannot be topped! I grew up on 60s and 70s car chases movies. I wanted nothing more than to race cars and motorcycles because of these movies. I have lived my life building and racing cars and motorcycles inspired by these movies, This one has always been my favorite. Two lane black top. dirty Mary and crazy Larry. have nothing on this movie. Bullet nope, The seven ups nope. Even gone in sixty seconds, nope this is the one and best of all!
Legendary flick, Kawalski be the MAN😊
I've owned 3 1970 challengers . 2 of them 30 years ago. The latest one got a white 70. Building it into a vanishing point challenger. I'll keep this one. 👌
Sounds like a good idea. I only personally had ever one connection in my life with a 70s V8 and that was my dad's Aussie LTD. If I was still there, I would have loved to have gotten one to build in memory of him and his love for that car and just remembering sitting on his lap and driving it (steering) on old county back roads.
Great car, and a great movie. Loved it so much I built the same car.
And an awesome car it is! Thanks again for bringing it to Carlisle to let your fans in the US see it and get to meet you! It is clearly a labour of love for you, and I hope you can bring it again! Cheers and Happy birthday! 🍻
@@RS-syrinx ... I would love to bring my 70 Challenger RT back to Carlisle.
@@nickpanaritis4122 Please do if you are able. I spoke to several members of my car club who saw it and loved it, and love your UA-cam channel as well! Always welcome in Pennsylvania anytime! Hope you are having a great vacation!
There must be an alternate version, because when I watched this in like 1974 or so, he vaniched, just blew right thru & then the credits rolled Im almost positive thats what I remember. Ive always remembered it that way, now that i watched THIS video, this is the first Ive heard iof him dying at the end.
i agree 100% thats the way i remember it to , i think it showed it blowing up in the opening scene but disapeering in the closing scene or vica versa , iam sure of it because the movie left a impression on me
I saw it when I was 15 when it first came out at the end while the credits were rolling they pulled the upper half of a Krispy torso out of burnt wreck
Amazing that I have never seen this video before. I have been a life long fan of original Mad Max and Vanishing Point has been one of the movies that shaped up my childhood, during early 80's.
I even have the UK cut extended scene with the hitchiker (the "angel") on my YT channel. Still, YT has not recommended this video for me before LOL.
Currently I even have an accurate replica license plate "OA-5599" on my living room/movie room wall, thanks to Celebrity Machines. Sadly, quite soon after I got it, Barry Newman passed away. R.I.P.
Thanks for making this.
Glad you enjoyed it. If you look through the channel, you will find other similar in depth videos on the Mad Max franchise and other car movies. Enjoy.
This movie is my favorite by far, the car, the man, the end. Just the best, no other way to put it
God bless you BARRY NEWMAN. R.I.P. YOU MADE THE BEST CAR CHASE MOVIE OF ALL TIMES!
my sister dated Barry after he made this movie--she was a waitress and met him at work--he never told her he was a star--she found out when they were out and some people made a big deal about him--she said he was a good guy,nice person
At 14 (in 1982), my dad bought me a 70 Challenger 440 V-8 R/T. At 14 I was allowed to drive this beast and she was magical. It was supposed to have been put in my name at 18 when I could legally put my own insurance on it. One day I'd came home and found that dad had sold my car for a dune buggy he could take off roading. I cried for weeks. I could never forgive him for that. Twice more he had done that to me with other cars but always allowed my brothers to keep theirs. He is dead now and no. I've still not forgiven him.
So sad to hear mate. I got two older brothers and my dad made one or two missteps with me as well, not as bad as what he did with you, but yeah, I know some of that sting.
Whoever named those colours deserves a raise
One of my favourite movie cars, starring a great actor who never really got the recognition for his work.
I'm sorry about this point I need to raise, most cinematic film reviewers say its between the og 'the Italian job' or bullit.
But it's personal choice on what you prefer but I like all three as they all give their best and all have their best parts and some major flaws.
It's been a while (decades), did we ever find out the music that plays during the Jag race? It's not on the OST.
Oh man, along the 67 Cougar XR7, the 70s Cuda/Challenger has such an iconic design. I feel it's underappreciated when compared to Camaros and Mustangs.
my wife had one those in college in '73,a '67xr7--she was the 6 ft blond bombshell that everybody wanted,but they could never catch her!!
As far as stories about non-stop doom-ridden chases on the highway go, 'Duel' seems to be the benchmark for most of the petrolheads I know. It may not have the trendy 1970s hippie references that 'Vanishing Point' includes, but the stripped-down story, Steven Spielberg's remarkable direction, the marvellous cinematography and a manic performance by Dennis Weaver seem to tick all the boxes. 'Vanishing Point' and 'Duel' both made cinema audiences think, and deserve high praise for that achievement.
Duel is my absolute favourite car/truck chase movie .
No surprise that Carey Loftin, the best stunt driver ever, was the driver in both these gems!
But Kowalski wasn't driving a fart box that couldn't get away from an 18 wheeler haha.
@@mickangio16 Yeah I thought it ( duel) was suspenseful but rather boring.
I always loved this movie. In the mid '80's, while stationed in SoCal,an Army buddy from Minnisota had a rotted to death '70 R/T 383 / 727 weirdo green pig that I loved driving. The car to this day is probally still in the post impound lot. God,I loved that car.
Great job" I was just thinking of this movie yesterday 😀 it has always been with me. So many parts of this movie make it great. I believe it inspired the mad max movie. Just the title vanishing point is evocative. i ride fast bikes and i keep my eyes on the vanishing point ready to brake when something appears, a true cult classic never to be surpassed.
The film cars didn't have em, but if memory serves correctly, the car in the movie was supposed to have a supercharged 426 hemi under the hood. I remember watching this movie on TV when I was a kid and it stirred my very soul! Been a muscle car feller ever since.
The movie trailer DID say "supercharged engine". I remember wondering when the movie came out if it was supposed to be a 440 or Hemi.
In the movie, when Kowalski makes the bet, I think the guy he male's the bet with says, "this must be a supercharged something" and Kowalski says "yes it is."
The movie was iconic.. it needed to be an unknown actor, playing a part of a man with unknown motivations and or destiny. I wish the complete, uncut version was available. I owned a 1970 Dodge Challenger, 318 motor, I wish I have kept it... that was in 2018...
This movie has always fascinated me 1 I have always loved the sound of a V8 engine I was not born yet my mother was running through the gears of a 1969 Roadrunner 383 4 speed pistol grip shifter breathing in the leaded fuel smell no wonder I'm an absolute car crazy mechanic I love carburators ignition points HEI distributors but I can still appreciate modern over head cams and no distributor and fuel injection what a great to be alive
If you want to have a better understanding of the movie, you must get the complete movie with the Charlotte Rampling scene. It puts into context.
I gave my grandson his first driving lesson on Highway 128, Utah in the ghost town of Cisco.
His first time behind the wheel he drove through the same spot Kowalski met his demise.
The film was called Vanishing Point after a scene in the movie where Kowalski passes a car going the other direction on the highway. The frame freezes as the cars pass each other, and then progress one frame at a time. Kowalski's Challenger is going so fast that after a few frames pass the Challenger disappears off the screen as the other car has not moved at all. It wasn't a camera trick, it was real. It's one of my favorite movie scenes ever, but no one who's ever made one of these documentary videos has ever included it.
Great movie and a fantastic car. Good video.
Cheers.
Coincidentally enough, my initials too are MP, but I remember this brilliant film clearly viewing it at Grafton drive in theatre in roughly 71 or 72 with my parents (as we did on a regular basis regardless of classification). Film releases here in Australia were far more delayed to get here back then than they are today. I'm surprised when car chases are brought up in conversation, and I stay quiet for a while and then say Vanishing Point. Usually I get nothing but blank stares. Go Kowalski you legend! 😎👍
Great movie....saw it at a matinee when I was 14 and had no idea what it meant....still don't know, does anyone?
Challengers were pretty, but the most aggressive of this Mopar body style was the Barracuda!
as huge fan of this car and film i really appreciate the video man great job on all the info and details!
Cheers.
Great movie because it doesn’t overload you with constant crashes etc like modern movies do. You just get enough at the right moment 😊
I saw this on my first date. 4 years later I found a 70 rt challenger in a lot in monterrey CA! I made one of the worst mistakes of my life when I sold it in 83!
This movie literally changed my life ! Was 13 when I first saw it . Owned it on vhs and dvd , seen it over 100 times ! Borrowed a White 2011 R/T 5 sad. from a Dodge dealer and drove hard for 8 hours FANTASY realized ! @ 65 I can no longer watch the ending …. Kawolski LIVES
I just bought a Blu Ray DVD, but the movie does not play smoothly on my Blue Ray player. Do you have any playback issues?
One thing I really want to do on my bucket list is go to America, rent a white Challenger, and "cruise" from Denver to Frisco.
Thanks for the video, classic film, I'm thinking the car was green from the production line , changed to white just for the film , smart move 👌
love the channel, cool cars in great detail and information. Bonzer mate
Cheers mate. Much appreciated. New Mad Max video being uploaded tomorrow. Keep an eye out.
RIP Barry Neuman.
My favorite car cult movie is Two Lane Blacktop. As far as a car chase movie nothing will ever top Vanishing Point.
A friend of mine from AZ. that had been driving in the desert for years explained why he drove around in circles before he stopped. He said you watch your tire tracks until you find a spot where you don't sink in the sand, that's where you can stop and not get stuck!
I have been obsessed with this movie since 1971, I was 10 and in love with that naked girl.
This brilliant film featured music by Delany and Bonnie.
Perfect.
I only managed to see Vanishing Point once many years ago, in the early days of home VCRs and rental videocassettes. Over the past decade I've looked for it, along with several other notable chase films (Two Lane Blacktop, for instance) on demand without success.
Thanks for the video! I had no idea about the missing scene with the woman in black. Things make a little more sense now.
This remains my favorite move of all time. First time seeing this movie with several friends at my house watching it, an ironic and unbelievable thing happen. A news break broke into the movie about a car chase on the outskitts of our town, they also had a helicopter involved and gave a screen shot of another friend being chased in his 1969 white 340 Dart. We could not believe it. That timing could have not been more perfect. Eric didn't crash into bull dozers, but did crash into a concrete drain embankment tearing up his car pretty badly.
Eric ended up serving 13 months in jail while we all pitched in to rebuild his badly damaged Dart. Later, another friend and I hitch hiked from Columbus Ohio to California. Along the way we ended up here and got a grand tour of the filming locations. The people in that town really thought that was a big thing. They had Vanishing Point memorbrilia in every store there. But way back then it wasn't in as bad of shape as it is today. Great video and thanks for your time and effort here!!!
One on my favorite movies.
I seen it at a drive-in theater when it came out.
I have owned 5 old school Challengers.
70 - 340 / automatic
70 - 383 / automatic
72 - 340 / automatic
73 - 340 / 4 speed pistol grip
74 - 360 / automatic
Also had a 68 barracuda formula S - 340 / automatic
2012 Challenger - 3.6 / automatic
2017 Challenger - 5.7 / automatic
What was the car like to drive with the 340 auto vs the 383 auto? Was there a noticeable difference?
The 340 ran circles around the 383.
The 340 was known as the giant killer.
It's a pity Dodge didn't release a reissue of this car just like Ford did with the bullit
They did 2010 Kowalski Edition...
It was a 2011 model. Ten 392 SRT8 Kowalski Edition cars were built for New Wilmington Dodge in Pennsylvania.
Primal Scream also did a whole album inspired by the film. Ive always been a fan of the film sadly I will never afford a challenger. A bets a bet you gotta win
Primal Scream also got the film rereleased on VHS video bringing it to a wider audience and I thank them for it.
It’s one of the best car chase movies along with gone in 60 seconds
Nick's Garage found a U code white 4 speed R/T in Canada and restored it
Yes I did. Great car.
Richard Sarafian mis-spoke on the narration to the movie. It was already well documented, by none other than Barry Newman(Kowalski) and stunt driver Carey Loftin that only 5 cars were used. Four 440 four speed cars and one 383 automatic.
Like so many the movie influenced me & when I landed in So Cal in 1988 I went looking for one. In the next three years I bought & sold 16 1970 challengers amongst a bunch of other Mopars. I still have the first one I bought that is a 70 Plumb crazy Deputy with white interior plus the last one that is a 70 Plumb Crazy R/T with power everything & not an SE.
If I had to guess why people who see the movie have a connection with it, I would say it's because people who see the movie wanted to drive that car across country.
I might be wrong, but ive heard on some forums that one original challenger is still alive (sort of) it’s completely gutted with nothing but a body.
This is the reason I bought my 70 challenge RT with the 440 engine
Don’t forget Primal Scream’s great 1997 album Vanishing Point.
I made a cassette copy of the soundtrack (w/dialogue). I listened to it many times in the car: Including after talking to my true love, Brenda, on the phone before driving back to Albion College.
Amazing details!! Great watch
Thank you.
saw this movie at the drive in, in Marshall Arkansas when it came out also saw 2 Lane Blacktop at that drive when it came out they are 2 of the best car movies ever
To a large amount of people this was the ultimate car chase movie. I have seen it around 20 times in 50+ years. The whole movie is car chase unlike Bullitt that featured one as the finale of the flick.
Point,,, what has happened to Barry Newman? He did another car chase movie based on an Alastair McLean book.
And with the hooha about one Bullitt Mustang Chrysler could have had a small fortune in their hands. No end of replicas
This film story have all what I want to see! Kovalski 😎