Cult Cinema Review: Vanishing Point (1971)

 Directed by:  Richard Sarafian.

Scripted by: Guillermo Cain.

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Starring: Barry Newman, Cleavon Little, Dean Jagger, Paul Koslo, Severn Darden and Timothy Scott.

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 YOU WAN’T PURE CRASH AND BURN ADRENALIN? YOU’VE GOT IT.

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Vanishing Point opens like a Wild West showdown between two HGV vehicles replacing gunslingers They block the highway as a white 1970 Dodge challenger burns towards them with no sign of stopping. Barry Newman plays ex-cop, racing driver Kowalski and has to deliver the Dodge from Denver to San Francisco in fifteen hours for a bet.The police are on his tail like flies as he speeds his way from state to state, flicking them off like lint from a velour tank top.Cleavon Little is outstanding as blind radio DJ Super Soul who becomes Kowalski’s eyes and ears, alerting him of police movements as he speeds along.

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The film comes full circle by it’s end as Kowalski crashes into the HGV road block.Vanishing Point is a cutting edge Cult classic with a scorching soundtrack and a very short fuse.