Speed

We at OMR want to see a movie where the camera strays all over the place rather than locking slavishly onto the characters in each shot in every scene. Let us breathe the air and see a bit of the scenery, let us believe that the characters exist in a real world, full of OTHER people with THEIR own problems. For Otto, these are qualities that distinguish an interesting movie. It's nice when films present a space, a geography that one can sink into.


Check out the movie VANISHING POINT. In 1971 my dad took my brother and me to see this existential, white-trash masterpiece at the drive-in. Mother Mannix had probably told him, "you never do anything with the kids," so he took us to see an R-rated movie about a speed-freak gunning a Dodge Challenger across the desert. He sat in the front seat swilling beer and choking butts with a buddy while we sat in back eating candy and drinking pop (there's no such thing as 'soda' in Iowa). We loved that damned movie.

OMR recently bought the DVD, and were surprised how well it holds up. The throaty blast of the Dodge engine is worth it alone. We could attempt to describe the movie with all manner of literary flourish, but would fail, So we turn you over to Mark Burbey at THE OBSERVATION DECK. He tackles it pretty well.