Director: Richard C. Sarafian
Written by: Malcolm Hart, G. Cabrera Infante
Cast: Barry Newman, Cleavon Little, Dean Jagger, Victoria Medlin

Year / Country: 1971, USA
Running Time: 94 mins.

This classic carsploitation movie really has two main characters; Kowalski and a 1970 white Dodge Challenger. That’s right, the same Dodge Challenger used by Tarantino in Death Proof. Kowalski is a born driver who has no real purpose. Except to bring the Dodge from Denver to San Francisco. He drives across Colorado, Nevada and California with the police on his tail who want to bust them for some minor felonies.

Kowalski is assisted by the DJ of a radio station named Super Soul, who provides him with police frequency info. He also entertains his listeners with a groovy rock soundtrack. Through flashbacks we learn more about the cool Kowalski. How he is a Vietnam vet, a former cop, and a professional road racer. Over the years he has lost everything, including his girlfriend. The flashbacks also offer some sort of explanation for his unexpected action at the end, though it remains mysterious.

The excellent race scenes and car stunts alone make this film worth your while. But apart from that, it offers an interesting view on existentialism. It’s about a guy who just drives and only stops to tank, buy some speed or meet the occasional strange and colorful character like an old snake catcher, a pacifist biker and two weird hitchhikers’ who want to rob him. The beautiful landscapes also help in making this a very enjoyable road trip.

Rating:

Biography: Richard C. Sarafian (1930, New York – 2013, Santa Monica) was an American screenwriter, actor and director who started his long career by directing episodes for successful western and crime series. In 1981 he produced what is probably his greatest success; The Gangster Chronicles, an emmy-winning TV series about the rise of Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lanski. He also portrayed real-life gangsters Jack Dragna and Paul Castellano himself in the films Bugsy and Gotti.

Filmography (a selection): Maverick (1961, TV episode), Bronco (1961, TV episode), The Roaring 20’s (1961, TV episode), Cheyenne (1961/62, TV episodes), Terror at Black Falls (1962), Lawman (1961/62, TV episodes), The Gallant Men (1962/63, TV episodes), 77 Sunset Strip (1962/63, TV episodes), The Twilight Zone (1963, TV episode), Andy (1965)
Ben Casey (1963-65, TV episodes), The Wild Wild West (1965, TV episodes), Batman (1966, TV episodes), Jericho (1966, TV episodes), The Iron Horse (1967, TV episode), The Guns of Will Sonnett (1967, TV episodes), I Spy (1966-68, TV episodes), Gunsmoke (1965-68, TV episodes), Run Wild, Run Free (1969), Fragment of Fear (1970), Vanishing Point (1971), Man in the Wilderness (1971), Lolly-Madonna XXX (1973), The Next Man (1976), The African Queen (1977, TV), Sunburn (1979), The Gangster Chronicles (1981, TV series), The Bear (1984), Wildside (1985, TV episodes), Eye of the Tiger (1986), Street Justice (1989), Solar Crisis (1990)