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VANISHING POINT - Simply,the best car chase movie ever

posted 12 years ago by Nick7080
13 replies | jump to latest

I have been in love with this movie ever since i was kid. When i first saw trailer on TV with beautifull white Challenger speeding over the road,i knew that this is the movie that i will like.

From the opening scene with small desert town early in the morning,through car chases and great,bizarre characters that main hero meets on his jouney,i simply couldn't get enough of the movie. Barry Newman plays Kowalski with great attitude as silent,otherworldly-like guy who drives for one reason:because he can.

He doesn't really need a reason to get to San Francisco inside 15 hours,he just wants another challenge. Maybe he is adrenaline junkie,or somebody who wants to pay back to the sistem that took his life apart?

It doesn't really matter,cause entire time that he spends on lonely desert roads,being chased by cops he becomes hero for people like him. People who have been attacked by the law just because they wanted what he wants. They wanted to be free. Unfortunatly,at the time of the movie plot,things weren't so great for USA,and everyone were in fight with one another,and the part where Kowalski gets in road fight with Jaguar driver is perfect example of this.

Ending of the movie is very sad,but in a way,it is the perfect ending for Kowalski who has suffered so much throughout his life that death is not "only way to escape",he could surrender and spend some time behind bars,but his own decision to go someplace else.

What that place is,nobody knows,but he wanted to go there. Why? Maybe he was tired of the world in which he was living for so long that he wanted to move in some other world where he wouldn't need to be worry when will somebody stab him in the back,since already it happened to him too many times. Maybe,he truly was last free soul in the world which he was the part of,and he couldn't stand it anymore. Girl in black that he picked up night before his last day was,in a way,death coming to welcome him into the afterlife,so to speak. That's why he accepted her company,because he knew that next day,he will finally reach his destination,finish line for which he drove his entire life.

This is my own view of this fine movie. No matter how old VANISHING POINT is,it is still greatest car chase movie ever,not because of the some incredible chase scenes,but because of the way that story stays true to the way that world still turns,and there is always some lonely soul out there that fights hard to get to its own finish line.

Great movie!

10/10

[–] windycheryl 12 years ago

I agree it is an awesome movie. I serched for it at all the near by theaters for years. Back then that was the only way to re-watch it. Best memory of the movie was when it was showing at a local drive-in with "Dirty Mary and Crazy Larry". Both great movies with that twist at the end.

"Take a chance, flip a coin, everything in life is 50/50"

[–] spin73 12 years ago

Bullit and The French Connection had great car chase scenes also.

[–] windycheryl 12 years ago

spin73,
Loved Bullit...and Steve McQueen. Didn't see French Connection. Most anything with fast muscle cars, lots of speed, and hot guys is good with me. Liked the TA in Smoky and the Bandit, too.

"Take a chance, flip a coin, everything in life is 50/50"

[–] Nick7080 12 years ago

Yes,but i think that DIRTY MARY CRAZY LARRY has more shocking ending then VANISHING POINT.

I still remember first time when i saw the movie,and when that scene exploded out of *beep* nowhere,my jaw hit the floor.

I was like ... :O

[–] windycheryl 12 years ago

wtf3111992,
I know, right. I freaked out, too. It was a drive-in and summer. People were sitting outside their cars with jaws dropped. The movies were over, but we were to tranced to leave. It was an OMG moment.

Take a chance, flip a coin, everything is 50/50

[–] civicsi 12 years ago

There is another movie you would like. It's called To Live and Die In L.A.

[–] cthulhulurks 12 years ago

Yeah, it's better than Duel and Hitchhiker melted together. Simply the cream of the cream.

my vote history:
http://www.imdb.com/user/ur13767631/ratings

[–] Nick7080 12 years ago

"Yeah, it's better than Duel and Hitchhiker melted together. Simply the cream of the cream."

I couldn't agree more! :)

[–] cthulhulurks 12 years ago

Sarcasm it was.

my vote history:
http://www.imdb.com/user/ur13767631/ratings

[–] Nick7080 12 years ago

"Sarcasm it was."

Well,S-H-I-T. :D

[–] 12 years ago

[deleted]

[–] The_Devin_G 11 years ago

The original "Gone in 60 seconds" was pretty good too. The whole movie is similar to this, guy drives with no final destination point. Just lots of cop car carnage and chase scenes. Was made in '73 or '74 - I think . . ?
Actually, "Gone in 60 sec." has no plot at all, no character info, just a giant chase.
This is sooo much better than that remake of it in the 90's. The remake was just a cheap copy, almost felt like a mockery after watching this again.

[–] Packyman 11 years ago

The original "Gone in 60 Seconds" was horrible, EXCEPT for the EPIC chase scene. It's like 30-40 minutes long! Everything prior to that scene was painful to watch. BAD acting (obviously since he used non-actor friends and family). Yet, when considering the main actor made the movie all on his own, it's quite impressive. That "Eleanor" was the only 'Stang used, and even after it serendipitously hit the light pole it just kept going.

Anyone watch "Two-Lane Blacktop"? I just DL'ed it... hoping it has great moments like "Vanishing Point", "Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry" or "Gone in 60 Seconds".

"Deathproof" is AMAZING, especially the final chase with the white 'Vanishing Point' Challenger vs. the black Charger. Sometimes I just watch that final scene... and cry when the Challenger is pounded to hell.