Everyone is after the Orange Crush-colored ’64 Chevy Malibu in ‘Repo Man’, but one team is paid to track it down. Emilio Estevez plays Otto, a repo man in-training, as it were, by the quirky Bud (Harry Dean Stanton), a longtime repo man showing the rookie how to play the game. Car repossession is a dangerous gig. Most people don’t want to lose their vehicles, some of those people are 6’10” and aggressive. After the Feds put a bounty on the car, every other repo man in the LA area is after the vehicle too. It seems aliens may be involved with that Chevy, and the CIA is on a mad search to find it.
The film received rave reviews from critics. It’s a distinctly LA film that hits home with Bud’s running commentary. Filmed mostly on location, ‘Repo Man’ is an unconventional film that took spectacular risks that paid off spectacularly. The organic and original comedy hits spot on with a continuous string of hilarious surprises.
The Last American Hero
Jeff Bridges and Valerie Perrine star in this 1973 NASCAR movie based on the true story of Junior Johnson. 'The Last American Hero' is one tough dude. Junior Johnson (Bridges) is a Southern boy who drove moonshine runs through North Carolinian backroads. He trained as a ruthless demolition derby driver and dominated as a stock car racer. He and his Mustang raced to the top of the professional stock car circuit. Junior Johnson became one of NASCAR’s first celebrity drivers.
The story is based on two articles by Tom Wolfe. And, with Junior Johnson on board as a technical adviser for the film, the end product is an authentically told story brought to the big screen by director Lamont Johnson.
The Cannonball Run
In 1981, 'The Cannonball Run' was a wildly popular movie at the box office. And why not? It’s got a fantastic cast, and it was directed by Hal Needham, former stuntman and movie maker. 'The Cannonball Run' is a coast-to-coast street contest, racing from Connecticut to California. It’s known as America’s illegal Grand Prix, and anything goes. Dodging the law and sprinting to the finish line, plenty of fun is packed into this road adventure.
The American comedy starred Burt Reynolds, Roger Moore, Dom DeLuise, Farrah Fawcett, and featured appearances by Jackie Chan, Sammy Davis Jr., and Dean Martin. Some of the vehicles racing the Run are a 1964 Aston Martin DB5 manned by Seymour (Moore) and a Chevy Chevelle Laguna with Terry (Bradshaw) and Mel (Tillis) behind the wheel. The most implausible, a 1978 Dodge Sportsman ambulance, is driven by the film’s stars playing Victor and J.J.
Mad Max
Mad Max Rockatansky is legendary. He’s a badass cop who survives an apocalyptic disaster in the Australian outback. 'Mad Max' is a 1979 futuristic sci-fi taking place during the not-to-distant future after the collapse of society. It’s a ruthless world and he’s seen the worst of man. The worst of the worst is a bloody, murderous pack of motorcyclists who were furious after Mad Max gutted one of their guys. In retaliation, the biker gang slaughtered Max’s entire family. He has nothing left to do but go savage on them to avenge the murders.
Written by James McCausland with director George Miller, the film sparked a massive franchise with Mel Gibson as Mad Max. The modified black Ford Falcon, a ferocious V-8, is Max’s vehicle of choice that is a constant in the franchise. The car stunts are epic.
Taste of Cherry
Here’s a predicament. Suicide is illegal under Islamic law, and Mr. Badii, living in Tehran, is searching for someone to bury him after he commits suicide. Specifically, he wants to be buried under a cherry tree. This film by Abbas Kiarostami won the 1997 Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.
On Mr. Badii’s search to find someone to provide his wish, he runs into a Turkish taxidermist who drives him around the dusty roads of Iran while trying to convince the suicidal man of life’s beauty. Critics liked it. Time wrote, “The talk flows persuasively; the picture pulses with art and humanity.”