T-Bone:

Was excited to see this for the first time on dvd. A automobile classic from the 70's done in the spirit of Easy Rider - except in this movie, it is the hero going from good to bad instead of the bad men attempting to go good. The film portrays the American dream of the open road and finding one's freedom upon it. Make sure you watch the UK version on the flipside of the DVD - it is a few minutes longer!

JB Seriously 55:

Barry Newman could not or would not fit in to society no matter what. He took his rebellion on the road, literally. Great late 60's and early 70's Dodge muscle cars and some of the greatest car chase scenes ever. Chased throughout the film. Newman could not "find himself" in life so he ran and drove. A fast thrill ride along flat stretches of asphalt and the dustiest roads I have seen. (6/2/09)

Luscious Dick:

This is the car chase movie Nelson Algren would have written if hed ever written a car chase movie. Everyone is presented as exactly who they are. The disaffected, the troubled, the police. Nobody is made the good guy, nobody is made the bad guy. We see the police as people who are as much rivals with each other as they are with the criminals. We see the people who live on the wrong side of the tracks - if they lived somewhere good enough to have tracks - as exactly who they are. Some good, some bad, just going along in their lives, living their choices. And of course, the car chase! Colorado to California. The driver bent on delivering the car, but...we never know why. Kowalski lives for speed, both in the physics sense and the chemistry sense. We dont know what happened to him to make him the driver. We just know him as the driver, as the man with the killer sunglasses constantly driving to somewhere, from somewhere. Or someone.

Orian:

Vanishing Point is full of long shots of high speed cars in the distance, themes of rebellion, and a quick hit or two. In the vein of Easy Rider, the protagonist travels across the West to fulfill a fairly simple goal: deliver a car. However, Kowalskis journey quickly becomes much more to the audience. The expansive landscapes and cleaver use of radio narration set Kowalski as a cowboy riding across the desert in pursuit of freedom. Although much of the movie is spent watching the 1970 Dodge Challenge speeding off in a cloud of dust, the action is regularly broken by interactions with interesting characters along the road, many of which typify the feel-good abandon of the 60s. (I must pause to mention the most exciting portion of the movie, the naked blond girl on a motorcycle). Like any good movie about a rebel, the soundtrack is excellent, and although I cant say I recognized any of the songs, I thoroughly enjoyed them. This is definitely the most relaxing car chase movie I have seen. The action is often underwhelming and likely does not stand up to the expectations of modern action fans. Vanishing point is not so much a car chase movie, but a movie about a car and a man driving toward the sun. Although Vanishing Point falls short as an action movie, as a 60s-70s theme movie it shines. 3.5/5

5fa91ff5d6:

An imperfect but fascinating tale of a man dealing with demons, disallusionment, and personal disaster at very high speed and over a very long stretch of highway. Not unlike Easy Rider, it's a tragedy of ancient Greecian proportions - but, obviously, taking place a couple of millenia later within a late-60s, early 70s countercultural framework. It's not often that a car flick can break your heart.

isaac32767:

The Hollywood version of Easy Rider. All the same stuff -- the road trip, the disaffected anti-hero, the colorful locals encountered on the way, the half-assed social criticism, the tragic ending. And of course there are lots of long scenes where the camera follows the motorcycle -- excuse me, the supercharged Dodge Charger -- down the highway as contemporary music plays over. // But this is the Hollywood version. So the story is driven by corny flashbacks with syrupy love song music. Youthful rebellion amounts to a simple refusal to obey the speed limit. The colorful locals are mostly played by hacks better known for their TV work -- except for a few eye candy ladies apparently borrowed from the pages of Playboy. (One centerfold type has a magical resistance to sunburn highlighted by her habit of motorcyling across the desert nude.) And there are car chases. A *lot* of car chases.//And in the end, thats all there is to the movie, big car chase. The chase makes no sense, with cops in 4 states deploying all their resources just to cite one guy for speeding. Not to mention the guy in question, who, despite his extreme hurry, never seems to have heard of the Interstate Highway System! But hey, chase scenes have a logic all their own.

ColumboFan:

Now I really want a vintage Dodge Challenger. How much would one of those babies go for? This movie is pure adrenaline occasionally interrupted by late '60s/ early '70's "deepness". Speed freak driver Kowalski is an ex-cop, ex-veteran anti-hero, you see, ground down by the hypocrisy of the American Dream. He's fed up with the corrupt pigs, the racism, the Vietnam and the whatever else you got. Does he go to a shrink to help deal with these issues? Does he march on Washington? Take up Transcendental Meditation? Nope. He drives big gas guzzling muscle cars really, really fast. Right on, Kowalski, fight the power!"Smokey and the Bandit" is essentially a remake of this movie with redneckedness supplanting the hippy dippiness. "Vanishing Point" has the cooler car, though, no question. The super-charged white Challenger easily outacts Barry Newman and should have won an Oscar for best actor. Or is it best actress? Cars are called "she", right?

Claysthename:

This is a great movie. It speaks directly to much that was happening in America in 1971. Perfect for the time and perfect for remembering the time. A stealy-eyed hopped-up disenchanted ex-cop loner at the end of his rope unravels and leads the police on a crazy chase in the desert while the world follows his path on the radio, ocurtesy of a blind DJ called "Supersoul". In a supercharged 1970 Challenger, no less. To fully enjoy this movie you need to see it at a drive-in but any screen over 27" should work in a pinch. Enjoy.

Walter Dalton:

Classic for the times. I would call it the Bandit before the Bandit. Imagery and cinematograhpy to perfectly frame the piece. Fragmented at times, the flashbacks are understood, but add little to the story. The ending is an utter disappointment. I did not like Newmans portrayal, but perhaps it was the directors fault. I barely knew him! Awesome car, pretty good chase scenes for the times. Johnny Rebel vs. Authority....Authority always wins.

Moderns&Classics:

Vanishing Point is an all right picture. The car chase is pretty good, although Ive seen better. The flashbacks Barry Newmans charactor has are at times a bit cheesy. Also some of the points in the picture (ie. the naked biker chick) are completely rediculous. But its an all right fun flick. Overall 2.5/4 Stars Grade = C

Forrest (Gump):

If you are into car chases, this film ranks right up there with Bullit, maybe higher. Try this one if you are at least 50 years old and remember driving an early '70s car. That same feeling just may come back to you.

tebes:

Boring. Much of the movie was of a car speeding in the desert. A good soundtrack except it got sappy during the flashback scenes. Not much dialog, as with Easy Rider, which this is compared to. Minimal plot - just a guy driving a car fast down the road. Not much of a chase either.

WideStance:

"You can beat the police, you can beat the road, and you can even beat the clock, but you can't beat the desert. Nobody can. You just cannot."