Barry Newman

Cleavon Little

Dean Jagger

Victoria Medlin

Gilda Texter

Lee Weaver

Timothy Scott

Robert Donner

Paul Koslo

Cherie Foster

Charlotte Rampling

Tom Reese

Valerie Kairys

Severn Darden

Karl Swenson

Anthony James

Arthur Malet

John Amos

Owen Bush

Meg Wyllie

Elizabeth Harrower

Richard C. Sarafian

Stefan Arnsten

Guillermo Cabrera Infante

John A. Alonzo

Michael Pearson

Del Acevedo

Richard Glassman

Jerry Wunderlich

John D. Benson

Glen Daniels

Francisco Day

Norman Spencer

Ed Wynigear

Malcolm Hart

Action

Crime

Drama

Thriller

Vanishing Point

Cupid Productions

20th Century Fox

United States of America

The last American hero to whom speed means freedom of the soul.

Vanishing Point is directed by Richard Sarafian and written by Guillermo Cain. It stars Barry Newman, Cleavon Little and Dean. Jagger.

Car delivery driver Kowalski (Newman) tasks himself to get a Dodge Challenger from Denver to San Francisco in a seemingly impossible time. His journey will see him constantly pursued by the police and come into contact with a number of interesting characters.

By definition a cult film, Vanishing Point baffled many a critic upon its release but continues to gain fans as each decade passes. It operates out of the counterculture sphere of film making that surfaced in the late 60s and early 70s. On the surface it's a very simple picture, the speedster aspect of the car chases appear to render it as purely a car junkie thrill piece. Yet much conjecture and analysis has occurred over the years to give it mythical status, with some maintaining it's a masterpiece of a message movie. It certainly has an ethereal quality about it, to the point where those invested in more than just the brilliant car stunts et al will find themselves beguiled by Sarafian's tantalising piece.

Kowalski doesn't say much, even as he meets odd people and ends up in odd situations, this positions him as a true cinematic anti hero. His backstory is revealed to us in flashbacks, so we do get to know about him, understand where his skills came from and why his psychological make up is the way it is. His contact with the real world as it were, is via a blind radio DJ known as Super Soul (Cleavon Little excellent), who Sarafian has smartly put up as an almost physic companion during Kowalski's journey, with him crucially warning of policeman perils. It's one of a number of intriguing shards in a fascinating movie. The makers have remained vague as to exactly what everything in the film means, which is fine, for this is a picture that each individual viewer should decipher as they see fit.

More than just a thrilling car chase movie? You bet. 8/10

English

Vanishing Point | #TBT Trailer | 20th Century FOX

George Hickenlooper on VANISHING POINT