Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #92442 in DVD
• Released on: 2000-06-20
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
• Formats: Black & White, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 91 minutes

Amazon.com
Cult director Jack Hill earned his reputation largely for his energetic exploitation classics: The Big Doll House, Coffy, Switchblade Sisters, and the mad black comedy Spider Baby. This edgy, tight racing drama, virtually unseen for years, is less flashy but more intense and assured than those quirky pictures, a well-written, solidly acted drama highlighted by dynamic racing scenes. Dick Davalos (James Dean's brother in East of Eden) is a curt, quiet street racer lured by conniving promoter Brian Donlevy to the dangerous, short-lived sport of figure 8 racing (a hair-raising collision of stock car and demolition derby). He just wants a grudge match with his quick-tempered, strutting champion (Hill favorite Sid Haig), but cool customer Davalos has bigger ambitions: He wants to use the crowd-pleasing track as a catapult to the pro circuit, and he'll run down anyone in his path.

It's a surprisingly handsome picture, considering--shot quickly and cheaply in black-and-white to make use of fast film stock for the high-energy nighttime racetrack scenes. Those wild amateur races are so vibrant that the pro rally is anticlimactic, but Hill makes that work for him in a chilly coda. Davalos is appropriately surly and Haig wild and boisterous, but the best turn belongs to the understated Ellen Burstyn (under the name McRae) in her first major role as the mechanically minded wife of a racing champ. -Sean Axmaker

Additional features
The accompanying featurette, "Crash-o-Rama!," is a slack, sloppy collection of videotaped interviews with Hill and costar Sid Haig, but the commentary (on DVD only) is relaxed, informative, and entertaining. Hill has an easy way with stories and observations, and film buff-promoter Johnny Legend periodically chimes in with a question or an insight. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews

A great racing movie!!! Classic Drive -In fare!!!
This is one awesome movie from director Jack Hill(Spider Baby,Coffy,Foxy Brown)!!! It's a about the wild and crazy world of figure 8 style racing!!! Plenty of footage of this wild sport is in this flim!!! This DVD revved to the max with oodles of extras and this cult classic deserves every on of them!!! The commentary with Jack Hill and Johnny Legend is ultra cool and very informative!!! The featurette is mega cool too!!! This disc also has many more extras including trailers and more!!! It's also enhanced for 16:9 TVs!!! In Classic Black and White!!! A true 60's classic!!!

"All About Eve" Burns Rubber
Greasy, cowlicked creep gets popped out of jail for street dragging by Brian Donlevy who promises him beer, women and song in demolition derby racing.
Once he gets a taste of the pennzoil and cocaine in his blood stream he stops at nothing to hustle his way to the top, leaving a trail of bloodied and broken racers and lot lizards behind him.
Sid Haig is coolest star in this film, and it's a kick to see a young Ellen Burstyn as a gear-jamming honey, too. One of Jack Hill's best.

cool car flick
If you like old american cars and auto racing this film is a must see.The film is a low budget picture with some cool old racing footage on figure 8 race tracks and stock car tracks.The film has some cool footage of Barris custom car shop and a bunch of his cars appear in the film,theres a cool scene where they show all types of old dune buggies racing in the desert.If you're obsessed with cars like I am, you'll get a kick out of the film its got a lot of cool cars and alot of action.