Vanishing Point

Twentieth Century Fox | minutes | | | Standard DVD reviewed by: Christopher Bligh

A few years ago, there was a surprise hit amongst DVD buyers and renters that came from director Steven Soderbergh. Not a box office hit at the time, The Limey boasted not only a great transfer with a great movie but poised two of the best commentaries ever recorded for a DVD. An interesting note of the film was casting older actors that were once icons to cinema in three of the main roles. Terence Stamp had the main role and Peter Fonda had the antagonist's role. The other role was that of Fonda's head of security and he's known from many older television shows and was mostly noted for starring in a well known movie of the early seventies. His name is Barry Newman and the film that was noted is a tale of a delivery, complications, and speed. These three things go from one point to another but all points manage to arrive at the Vanishing Point.

Kowalski (Barry Newman) is the best driver of his kind. He used to be a pro, and he used to be one in a long line of long arms of the law. These days he's an outsider in the delivery business. It's an interesting job considering his deliveries involve high performance vehicles. On this job one Friday night, he proposes to deliver a 1970 White Dodge Challenger from Denver to San Francisco. He even holds a side bet with a good friend of his that supply hin supplements that get him ready for the fast ride. Little does he know, one small run in with the law escalates into an all points bulletin out on him at his every turn and he encounters many odd characters along this journey. The only thing that guides him while he contemplates his past and drives to accomplish his mission, is a disc jockey named Super Soul (Cleavon Little) who can feel what he's going through and knows it even though he can't see.

This is one movie that starts in the latter part of our journey and works our way back to the start and shows everything leading up to that point, but what is encountered is something that has inspired many other road pictures that try to find the deep meaning of life while outrunning the law and the rest of the world. The viewer is hooked on the car, which is a thing of beauty and is encountered in a number of chases and wild car actions. The car may be the star but the focus of our journey is through it's driver, Kowalski.

Here's a man, with no first name, who's been through some grim things in the past along with yearning for the ultimate drive and the need for speed. The fun things in life doesn't matter to him but what matters most is that he accomplishes his mission no matter what obstacles come in his way. He does however come to a realization that only this film can explain which does succeed on many levels.

Barry Newman plays Kowalski as the regular joe driver that never goes over the top or wildly out of control. He's able to keep a sense of reserve along with a sense of a journey and experimentation. Cleavon Little, years before he whipped it out on those Blazing Saddles, plays Super Soul as Kowalski's guide from Point A to Point B acting as a sense of warning along with the encouragement against the establishment to fight them off and succeed in his delivery of the Challenger.

It does take some time to get off the ground but once it does, Vanishing Point arrives at the destination that is surreal, deep, fun and at times quite intriguing in the days when crashing was the thing and Evel Knievel was king.

**Note- listen to the soundtrack during the end credits to hear a young Kim Carnes ,of Bette Davis Eyes fame, singing the last song in the movie.

It took some years to release Vanishing Point as announced by Fox at a studio chat some years before. The results were well worth the wait. The picture quality of this anamorphic transfer in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio on both sides is pretty solid. The prints are very clean with little hints of speckley tracks or grain. The landscapes, beautifully shot by the late John Alonzo, retain it's deserty look near the mountains and the pressures of the open road showing the sweat and persperation on Newman's face. And the intended desaturation comes out in it's seventies glory unharmed. A very good transfer.

The print's quality is high and so is the audio retaining those car scenes with the wild sounds of the engine as well as the mix of some early seventies music (love the cue of Mississippi Queen) as well as the clarity of the dialogue which is crisp without a great deal of seventies muteness surrounded around the channels on this track. With all effects intact as well as the music and dialogue cues, this is a solid track for any seventies film and well preserved. This disc also has a Spanish and French mono track on side one as well as an English Mono track and English and Spanish subtitles on both sides.

Intriguing menus are a supplement in themselves and nothing is quite apparent than with this title with the menus showered in seventies fonts and multi-colors, looking like a sweet back cover of the old Dynamite magazine.

With that start, we also have the U.S. cut of the movie on side one as well as the UK cut that is seven minutes longer than the US cut thanks to a scene involving a hitchhiker played by British starlet Charlotte Rampling. Her part was cut from the US version presumably for the drug use. Both versions work well equally despite the extra scene.

We also get a full-length audio commentary from director Richard C. Sarafian. He's quite a chatty fellow taking up the majority of film time without getting too gappy. His comments are informative and it's evident that it has been a while since he has viewed Vanishing Point. Nonetheless, he gives a fresh look many years later and shares some great stories about casting, working with John Alonzo, as well as pointing out different things he had done in this movie that have been done in other movies many times. It's an entertaining track and well worth the listen on both sides, even during the extra scene of the film flowing in nicely and it was nice to see Sarafian's invite to the film's star to one day meet again and reminisce of the times spent on this film.

On top of that we get a theatrical trailer on both sides that is a bit beat up but viewable showing an interesting angle on selling the movie. Finally on side one, there are also two TV spots.

With starting at the point of not knowing what to expect, this viewer was pleased that Fox gives justice to many of it's fine, older even obscure titles in it's library most especially at the Vanishing Point.