What an awesome scene. I've never known of this segment having been filmed. What I love most, is the more close up sounds of the car running, idling, backing up, etc. Such a unique original sound. You never even hear 440's for the most part sound like this today. They rarely have the stock HP cam. Never have 2.250" exhaust which I believe was what was stock on these. Also don't think they had H pipes. Decent compression and good fuel. The Carter AVS 750 I think it may have been, breathing through an OE aircleaner. All contributing to such a correct, but rarely heard today.......beautiful sound. I miss that kind of sound. There was a similarity with almost anything with a V8 back then. I'm about to be building two different mild 440's, for a Van and a Powerwagon, and I'm going to shoot for a similar auditory experience. This clip is such a treat, thanks for uploading. One of a handful of bucketlist cars I'd still like to build is a Kowalski '70 Challenger R/T 440 4bbl 4spd. Just love the sounds in this clip!
@@jamesfarmer6039 Four cars; one 383 Torqueflight and the other three were 440-4 4 speed manuals. Of note, in those days you could order a car piecemeal; that is to say you could order a high end stereo with out having to pay for power windows etc. I noted that the interior of at least some of those movie cars did not have the center console like mine did. Pity, it was neat looking.
My friend and I certainly didn't need another fantasy girl in this movie back when we were teens. The Challenger and Gilda had our minds blown already. A movie that I still watch 50 tears later with an R/T in my garage.
To be honest this would have been one of the best parts of the movie really emphasises the mental issues kowalski is going through and adds a element of darkness to the movie ,such a shame but good movie anyhow
Thank you for posting. I've been watching this movie since about 1976 and i thought I knew everything about it.... what one of your commenters wrote about motorcycle girl being life and this one being death is spot on and brilliant
This complements nicely the earlier scene with the nude rider. If the hitch-hiker is Death, the nude rider is Life. Kowalski rejects her friendly appeals and says he won't stay for long. Instead he embraces Death.
He even takes a hit, even though he knows where it will lead. The Piano Theme reprise is what makes it so very fun. I usually treat this scene like it's something Mystery Science Theatre 3000 would have a hoot with; Tom Servo, alternative lyrics. Swimming in Autumn / Defying rip-tides ....
speeta perfectly said. Kind of how in The Doors movie Jim tells pam." Let's fuck death away!" This movie is a classic. The remake with Mortenson was not even close to this classic.
Miss Shallotte Rampling the most iconic under rated actresses ever... They don't make fabulous actresses like that no more...Very sad indeed... A very, very sensuous female ever... I miss her and her acting much. Hah
Your right about Charlotte Rampling. Ever since I saw her in my favorite episode of "The Avengers" in 1967, (S5.E12, The Superlative Seven), I was thrilled with her. She also did another Action movie with high speed cars in 1972 called "Corky", co-staring Robert Blake. She played a young southern wife complete with an authentic southern accent. And if that wasn't enough for me, the race car in that movie was a second generation Barracuda, similar to the 1969 barracuda that I once owned.
The choker & hood make her look like the head witch of a group of babes who live in the woods...and she is up by the road going to run an errand or something
Since 1976 when I first saw this movie on tv I have watched this movie hundreds of times with friends all who had several different opinions but I gain a new profound moral from it every time. And your lookin at a guy who knows a thing or two about women. I love this movie.
No wonder that Vanishing Point (the 1971 variant) became a cult movie in England first. Rampling, the sexiest woman ever, and just a fantassy bit part of five minutes, a mere mirage within a mirage. There is no such well-dressed, well-spoken attractive English girl hitch hiking alone in the Wild West at night, but Rampling makes the imposible dream come true and then turns it into a nightmare, just by vanishing.
This scene is a powerful allegory. In her role as a sexual fantasy, Charlotte Rampling personifies death, the beautiful death that Kowalsky secretly desires, and which is the counterpart of his love for absolute freedom (he ends up smiling as he crashes into the construction vehicles). That's why she fades like a dream when he wakes up.
Thanks for uploading this clip. I first saw this at a drive-in theater in 1972. I later owned 2 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T (both white) and one was a 440-six pack with a 4-speed. I drove it to the drive-in when this was playing a few years later (double bill with Dirty Mary and Crazy Larry) and got lots of looks. I bought the DVD many years ago on Amazon and this UK version was on side 2.
I've been waiting for you for a long time. I've been waiting. Everywhere.... Everywhere and since forever. Patiently....patiently.......thats the only way, to wait for someone. So cold. Its beautiful in a way. Definition of my life.
I know this scene was only supposedly shown in the UK. But when the movie was first released, my brother and I (Ages 15 and 17) went to see the movie twice on back to back week-ends in New Jersey. The first week-end was the supposed USA version and the second week-end was the UK version with this scene. We both commented to each other after the second movie that this movie had the extra scene with the hitch hiker.
I have loved this film since I was a kid and I never saw this scene. Thank you SO MUCH for uploading it. The comments about her representing death are hitting the nail dead centre, so to speak. I always associated the music with his deceased ex, Vera, but now that music, to me, represents death. It shows death is not bad. Okay, it’s not good either, but it’s one more road leading to the final destination. That’s what the Viggo Mortensen film never understood. I’ll guess this segment was erased due to it not fitting all the other scenes, which were what they were. There were no hidden meanings or potential elements indicating that Kowalski was dreaming/drugged, but this scene throws it into play. (Plus, a driver being pursued and meeting an attractive British woman reminds me of the video game “Driver: You Are The Wheelman”. Maybe this deleted scene influenced that element).
@Burrito Chesterton > Actually .... this taken-off sequence, it is in a very sensual and spiritual Polish nature part in this movie, and I love it very much !!!! Not because *I am Polish in my origin* , but because also *I am Kowalski* , too. I'm not kidding here anyone !!!!
Best scene in the whole movie, and they cut it for the American release, which is why the movie flopped. She is Death. "I've been waiting for you a long time."
Personification of death was popular in art. In Slavic culture death is perceived as female. Maybe due to grammar - the word "śmierć" is of feminine gender. The man with Polish name (Kowalski) met death.
@@piotrzagorski611 > My name is Kowalski ..... instead of death, personally and preferably, I would like to met somewhere this CHICK in a person "1~O~1" :o))
I gather the film company considered this was out of context for a road/ chase film, and "spoilt" the pacing of the film, and therefore had it cut. However, Kowalski, in the flashbacks, has reflected on his life, and has now reached "Vanishing Point" himself. She is Death; She likes him, and has waited for him for ever, and now the time has come. At the end, Kowalski acknowledges this with a smile and welcomes it...
Yup. Other scenes like the meeting with J Hovah and company definitely represent spiritual metaphors. That old man out in the desert. Was he a ghost? His truck had been there for years according to the helicopter pilot. There were a lot of these indications that seemed to go right over the heads of more literal-minded people.
Absolutely! This was a bit "too heavy" for American audiences. Ms. Rampling is the embodiment of Death. Notice that from this point on, Kowalski never speaks again? Depending on which mythology you subscribe to, this is analogous to Death taking his soul. His fate is sealed. His soul is saved and no matter what, he is free. This is why he smiles at the end. He's not thinking he's crashing through, he knows he's bound to die. He has made peace and no mortal man can stop him. He truly is free. It's a beautiful movie when you dig deeper into it's full meaning. Barry Newman has said there are other deleted scenes as well and many of the delve into the psychological state of Kowalski earlier in the movie. One scene Barry Newman has talked about is about 1/3 of the way through the movie after getting into Utah, Kowalski pulls over for a smoke. The scene originally went on much longer and it was to show that Kowalski was suffering PTSD. He would start to shake and have flashbacks and break into a cold sweat. It was to show us the audience that the little flashback parts that we see are actually taking their toll on Kowalski.
I have to absolutely agree with U Mr.Roo !!!! Whata beauty and sensuality is included in this particular "KISSING DEATH" sequence of the "Vanishing Point" piece of the film making ART !!!!
Well they were right. Total waste of film and time. We're supposed to believe that Kowalski is gonna GIT SOME with everybody closing in? Nice Sherman alert though.
@@gulfrelay2249 > Unfortunately, I can NOT agree with your personal opinion about cutting-OFF this beautiful and sensitive "KISSING DEATH" very much Slavic in its origin sequence, in the US/Canadian release of this particular GREAT movie !!!! One of the best titles in the North American film making history !!!! Amen.
Right on, I just noticed, power windows man. She say's what happened, and bam......you hear and see him run his doors window down, quick and smooth with a clearly audible PW motor. So atleast one of the cars Dodge provided had the ultra rare Power Window option. If option was on one of the 440 4spd cars that is bitchin! Bet that's ultra low numbers.
@@That_AMC_Guy I think you're right. If you listen Sarafian's commentary during this scene, he says this was the last car they had. Now, it's known that seven out of eight challengers they used had 440 Magnums, and how there was only one 383 Magnum automatic. From what i read in some official sources, this car was mostly used as camera car, and it was also used to pull the '67 Camaro in last scene. Every time i watch the movie i can tell that there are at least four different cars in various scenes, specially because each has different damage on it, but i don't think that 383 was used in much of other scenes. They probably end up using it in this one because it's the only Challenger they had left. Some say how since 383 was originally green, it might have been used in first desert scene because apparently you can see some green color on Challenger in that scene, but i'm not sure about that because it's hard to see. Wish i knew just why and how damaged the other seven got that they couldn't use them. Also, too bad that even this surviving 383 was crushed later with all the others. Reminds me on how all eleven damaged and one working Trans-Ams used in Smokey and the Bandit were crushed just because of some stupid orders.
YOU NOTICED THAT TOO!!!! Having been, like most here, a certified Challenger nut and having owned a 1970 (318 with the 727 :( ), I can think of ONLY one model of Challenger that had power windows, and that was the SE (Special Edition). You can identify those instantly from a distance because they had a smaller rear window. This is a curiosity for sure!
Still, the 70's in the UK were still stuffy with sex scenes and anything likely to be promoting drugs etc. So, the cuts that were canned and taken out were often left in the last reel can as an end stuck onto the credits and that way kept. Projectionists often found the outtakes archived this way and only knew of the true film. American produced films or any outside the UK were treated this way. When you had to do a reel to reel manual wind by hand to find a fault on the film you often came across the section cut. The distributors made a deal that these cuts would never be shown at the time. Shame that the whole basis of the film becomes clear. I guessed that Kowalski had settled that death was the only way out. Loved the Music. Sad at the end though.
Have to come back and watch this to get my fix on the mechanical music this clip offers. This clip just also show'd me that atleast this particular Challenger, in addition to the power windows, is also a manual steering car. I've had several different Duster's back in the day with manual steering. Would be the exact same steering box as the Challenger........and just look at him go.......all that hand over hand motion and waiting to turn more until the car starts rolling. All exactly what you do and experience with the little aluminum manual OE Mopar steering box from this era. Yet another great fact I'm stoked to have noticed. This car also has the Rim Blow steering wheel. I recall buying the A body version which had a different horn button from the E body's, and installed it into a '71 Duster 340 4spd car I had at the time. Was about 1990 or '91 or so. The car values were finally taking off and going nuts by that point. Almost like a frenzy on the E body stuff. I remember it took a while for the auto wrecking yards to catch up/notice and start raising their prices. I got that steering wheel, in near mint condition for 35 bucks, and felt I stole it at that price even then. I'd hate to know what that same wheel could go for now.
it's been taken down a few times then put backup, I really wasn't trying to infringe on anyone's copyright, just realised a lot of fans of the film had never seen the scene
@@paulmcgregor3590 > Thank you Paul. U R great. Keep doing it, because this "Kowalski's Kiss of the Death" is so beautiful, sensitive, spiritual and makes more sense to the whole piece of art !!!!
@Terence Smith > I just saw it for the first time in my whole life .... and I just LOVE it. Now the whole movie has particularly much more sense ..... WoW ))))))
@@williamboardman9476 > Only EUROPEAN release of this particular film contains this BEAUTIFUL sequence with the "Auto-Stop" girl ..... meaning kiss of death to Kowalski.
Thank you for posting this Paul. I'm a huge fan of V.P. and when I ask other people if they have seen this version they usually say no !! Now I can easily direct to your video. If you are based in the UK and would like a ride in my Tribute Challenger then you are more than welcome. I'm on Facebook : Dean McKevitt. Cheers.
Hi, yes I do own a VP replica in the UK. Only just saw your question. Sorry it took a year to reply. I'm on Facebook. Dean McKevitt and I have a VP page called Vanishing Point - 1971. Please check it out. 👍🏻
I Would love to have a Ride in you're Dodge Challenger Would be a Dream come true love the Film Vanishing Point brings back nice Memories my late dad also loved this film once again l Would love to have a Ride in a Dodge Challenger best Wishes
I never understood that I had heard about this scene but never saw it . For she was Beautiful. She was the beginning as well as the end . If the Grim Reaper looks like that ...
So this is why he lost the bet with his buddy in Denver. I bought the VCR tape a long time ago, then bought the DVD a couple of years back. Love this movie to this day.
I don't know that much about Dexter TV series but isn't she a character in that show? And with the lead actor having done narration on DODGE Challenger commercials several years ago, it is rather odd.
I was 16 on a date when I first saw this movie; as a double feature with Play Misty for Me as the other feature. So excuse me if the story line may have been a total loss for me! Nonetheless the story was so intriguing that I lost focus on my beautiful date and actually remembered some of it (not the hot nude cutey!) Seeing this trailer and the discussions here after 49 years was quite a pleasure and very thought provoking. Thank You!
This scene with that mysterious hitch-hiker is a powerful allegory. In her role as a sexual fantasy, Charlotte Rampling personifies death, the beautiful death that Kowalsky secretly desires, and which is the counterpart of his love for absolute freedom (he ends up smiling as he crashes into the construction vehicles). That's why she fades like a dream when he wakes up.
This scene isn't only artsy-fartsy -- it thematically ties it all up very nicely, *and* it explains the timing of the whole film much better than the 7 minutes shorter US cut. There's a whack of "missing time" between Nevada and California... what do I blame, aliens?
There is a director's cut. It pretty good. This scen is after the biker hippie helps Kowalski past the police road block and before final scene were he crashes
Just viewed this scene. Had the blu-ray for a year and never watched the UK version until yesterday. It tied the plot together and was superbly acted. It should have been included in the original US release.
Nobody could touch Mopar in the 60s and 70s.That car would move but the Gas Mileage you couldnt afford to Feed it.The New ones in all cars have alot of power but get great Mileage.A Friend of mine I met on my Chrysler Route.Ive stayed in touch with him for 22 years.Hes got alot of Shelby Mustangs and others.He said around 1973 is when they started gutting them.Plus Him and My Dad said they also started saying they had less Horsepower than they actually did for Insurance reasons.The Insurance Companies and Banks seem like they run this Country.
I like to turn it down and play “Country Girl”, “Lady Evil” and “Voodoo” by Black Sabbath over it. CR is such a manifestation of the villainess/seducer that Ronnie James Dio conveys in those songs.
Wow! 😯 I’ve never seen this scene before I wonder why it was cut? It was probably not cut when the film was first released in theaters and drive ins back in 1971 👍
It was cut because the director thought Americans would not understand the meaning of the scene. The girl in this is supposed to represent death. The scene was kept in the UK version though.
there's a commentary on the UK dvd from the director where he explains that the studio thought that the scene was badly timed, and that if she was supposed to represent death, they didn't want it in there
It might also be too on the nose. Is it really needed, if it slows down the momentum? The ending was shocking without this scene. I remember watching Donny Darko deleted scenes and thing they should've been in the movie but reassessed my opinion later... The scenes take away the mystery that the viewer solves for themselves.
@@MicahMicahel I don't think this scene would give much away, it's still mysterious. I very much like that it slowed down the pace at this point. The version without it always seems to rush to the end too quickly.
@@stickman1742 What I love about he movie is he doesn't stop driving. Did you see Run Lola run? The fun in Lola is that she keeps running. The game of the movie is that she doesn't stop. That's the fun in it for me. Car movies used to be a genre. This is one of the best.
She's not the Death. She is the desire. He just has a dream. C'est tout le sens du film, qui n'est qu'une quête à la poursuite de quelque chose qui s'est échappé, pour réparer (cannot translate in English, I'm French). Le type s'est pris l'enfer. Il faut garder cela à l'esprit tout le long du film.
I saw this film in the mid 70's and it included this scene. at the time I thought this was some sort of vision or dream, and the girl was his dead wife, who was waiting for him, which is why he looked so contented in the final scenes, as he was going to be with her again, and she was the bright light between the two bulldozers. Could be totally wrong, but thats how I saw it as a young lad. I watched the film again last week, and this scene was missing and the film didn't make sense as why was he so happy to die?
I must agree 100% with your personal feelings and opinion about LOOSING this particular beautiful and sensitive, spiritual piece ..... I just had the strange feelings really, that it was something a very important missing in this movie, when I watched it after so many years on the US/CDN DVD release !!!
I have a Question if someone can answer it.When he runs over that thing on the road and it goes to like a Police Station or Something? What was that he ran over? Im dating myself probably for not knowing but Ive never seen anything like it.The one with Viggo Mortenson is really good too.Id like to have a American Grafitti Yellow coupe before I die.Not gonna happen Im in very bad health and I dont have the money or place to put it.Oh well no regrets I did the best I could.Put my Daughter through College without any Student loan debt.I didnt want her to do what her Mother and I had to do to make a living
I've watched the original many times over the years. Never bothered watching the hollyweird remake. Never saw this scene in the US version. More's the pity. One of the best films ever made. In the same league with Two Lane Blacktop and Kelly's Heroes.
