A mythologized decade, a souped-up Challenger, and the man behind the wheel are running out of time in Richard C. Sarafian’s 1971 amphetamine-fueled road trip movie VANISHING POINT! 

With 15 hours to make it from Denver to San Francisco in a new white Dodge Challenger, the former cop/driver/motorcyclist/boyfriend actually takes up a bunch of stops. Each detour exposes him to another unique character or group: A snake-catcher selling vipers to desert Pentecostals; fellow drivers looking to prove their mettle; a dead-end hippie commune; gay hustlers hitching a ride. With the help of police and media attention, Kowalski becomes more than a desperate washed-up has-been on the run — for a public turning the page on the 60s, he becomes nothing less than an American hero.

We’re kicking off the Trylon’s big summer program by discussing this cult classic as a time capsule and as an action movie, and figure out how it fits among “end of an era” films.

Note: We recorded this episode before the Trylon started showing the standard cut of VANISHING POINT, so we watched the extended cut, which contains a particular scene we think is pretty important to the point of the movie. We’ve noted the difference in the discussion.

Give to these causes in need during ICE’s occupation of Minnesota:

• https://mn50501.org/donate
• Support Minnesotans defending their communities from ICE: https://www.standwithminnesota.com/
• @sanctuarysupplydepot: Mutual aid group in Mpls getting basic necessities to our houseless neighbors https://linktr.ee/sanctuarysupplydepot
• @mplsmutualaid: Clearinghouse of mutual aid for our neighbors: https://linktr.ee/mplsmutualaid
• ISAIAH, an interfaith group fighting for racial and economic justice in MN: https://secure.everyaction.com/G8TCnxFlE0qd9zlUEYjjeg2
• Show love to North Minneapolis families in crisis: https://www.gofundme.com/f/show-love-to-north-minneapolis-families-in-crisis

References:

• “I Dreamt I Killed the Jaguar” by Finn Odum for Perisphere, the Trylon blog
• “The Real Cannonball Run” at SB Nation (Spotify link: https://open.spotify.com/show/3aATkNVj7eAKbCCPODUPQ3?si=gaecx5aKRBW6NkgRZ51tpw )
• Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets
• Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog

#TakingTheScenicRoute #DCP

Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at trylovepodcast@gmail.com to get in touch!

Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: “Mississippi Queen” by Mountain from the VANISHING POINT soundtrack.

Timestamps

0:00 - Episode 390: VANISHING POINT (1971)

2:02 - Whadja Watch This Week?

27:19 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary (under exclusive license from AG Enterprises, Ltd.)

28:22 - The weird tension of VANISHING POINT as an ‘end of an era’ movie

46:06 - Reckoning with what the ‘60s didn’t end up being

50:43 - How Kowalski becomes a torchbearer for the American spirit

57:38 - The Cannonball Run and the arbitrary desire to race across the desert

1:05:33 - The distinctly American nature of the story

1:10:35 - The Charlotte Rampling scene and the ending

1:23:06 - The Junk Drawer

1:31:17 - To All the Loves We’ve Tried Before: 1971

1:35:51 - Cody’s Noteys: Vanishing Joint (trivia tangent to Minneapolis-area hangout spots that have closed)