Vanishing Point movie storyline. Kowalski (Barry Newman) works for a car delivery service. He takes delivery of a 1970 Dodge Challenger to take from Colorado to San Francisco, California. Shortly after pickup, he takes a bet to get the car there in less than 15 hours. After a few run-ins with motorcycle cops and highway patrol they start a chase to bring him into custody. Along the way, Kowalski is guided by Supersoul – a blind DJ with a police radio scanner. Throw in lots of chase scenes, gay hitchhikers, a naked woman riding a motorbike, lots of Mopar and you’ve got a great cult hit from the early 70’s.
Vanishing Point is a 1971 American action film directed by Richard C. Sarafian, starring Barry Newman, Cleavon Little, and Dean Jagger. Essentially the story of a disaffected ex-cop and race driver who is delivering a souped-up car cross country to California while high on speed (‘uppers’), being chased by police and meeting various characters along the way. The film has become a cult movie.[citation needed] Its rock score includes performances by Delaney and Bonnie and others.
Principal photography began in the summer of 1970 with a planned shooting schedule of 60 days. Financial troubles plaguing the studio at the time forced Zanuck to shorten Sarafian’s shooting schedule by 22 days. In response, the director decided not to film certain scenes rather than rush through the rest of the shoot. An average day of filming involved the actors and the crew of 19 men spending many hours traveling to the remote locations, shooting for an extended period of time and then looking for a motel to spend the night. The shoot had a few mishaps, including Newman driving a Challenger equipped with three cameras into the bushes in order to avoid a head-on collision when a “civilian” driver ignored the traffic blocks installed to ensure the safety of the crew. The film’s cinematographer John Alonzo used light-weight Arriflex II cameras, that offered more free movement. Close-up and medium shots were achieved by mounting cameras directly on the vehicles instead of the common practice of filming the drivers from a tow that drove ahead of the targeted vehicle. To convey the appearance of speed, the filmmakers slowed the film rate of the cameras. For example, in the scenes with the Challenger and the Jaguar, the camera’s film rate was slowed to half speed. The cars were traveling at approximately 50 miles per hour (80 km/h) so that when projected at normal frame rate, they appeared to be moving much faster. Vanishing Point was filmed on location in the American Southwest in the states of Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and California. Directed by: Richard C. Sarafian Views: 223
Vanishing Point (1971)
Starring: Barry Newman, Cleavon Little, Dean Jagger, Karl Swenson, Lee Weaver, John Amos, Tom Reese, Robert Donner, Owen Bush, Bill Drake, Severn Darden, Delaney Bramlett, Rita Coolidge
Screenplay by: Guillermo Cain, Barry Hall
Production Design by: Francisco Day
Cinematography by: John A. Alonzo
Film Editing by: Stefan Arnsten
Set Decoration by: Glen Daniels, Jerry Wunderlich
Makeup Department: Del Acevedo
Music by: Kim Carnes, Delaney, Bonnie & Friends, Pete Carpenter
MPAA Rating: R for sensuality/nudity and drug content.
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: March 13, 1971