FAQ Search Memberlist Usergroups Profile Log in to check your private messages
 Forum Index      Log in  Register
Vanishing Point/American Graffiti/Two-lane Blacktop
Goto page 1, 2, 3, 4  Next
 
Post new topic   Reply to topic     Forum Index -> Non Blade Runner Props
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Gaff87
Community Member


Joined: 05 Oct 2008
Posts: 1727
Location: United Kingdom

PostPosted: Wed Jan 13, 2010 11:56 am    Post subject: Vanishing Point/American Graffiti/Two-lane Blacktop Reply with quote

Well, i love the movie Vanishing Point so thought I'd look into getting a license plate replica.

I found a site in the US that has made license plates for movies like Public Enemies & Angels and Demons.
But at $80 + shipping is out of my price range.

So, i thought I'd make one myself, out of cardboard Very Happy
It's about 80% size and still in the early stages...


(Excuse the poor picture quality)





At this point the letters aren't stuck down or anything.
Still waiting for some contact cement in the post.
Then i need to figure out what paint and things to use.

My next project is a key-pad from 2001.
The one's seen on the arm of the space suits.

Again, I'll be using cardboard.

A HUGE thank you to Joberg for all of his help & tips and for putting up with my questions Smile

Neil


Last edited by Gaff87 on Wed Feb 03, 2010 7:20 am; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Author Message
joberg
Community Member


Joined: 06 Oct 2008
Posts: 9447

PostPosted: Wed Jan 13, 2010 2:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You're welcome Neil...looking good so far; I'm eager to see pics of the finished item (btw, that Dodge Challenger was always my fav car)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Author Message
Gaff87
Community Member


Joined: 05 Oct 2008
Posts: 1727
Location: United Kingdom

PostPosted: Wed Jan 13, 2010 2:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

joberg wrote:
You're welcome Neil...looking good so far; I'm eager to see pics of the finished item (btw, that Dodge Challenger was always my fav car)


Really want to get it finished as well.
I'm thinking of doing the Fastback Mustang & Charger license plates from Bullitt as well.
Well, if this one turns out ok anyway.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Author Message
Nexus 7
Community Member


Joined: 20 Jan 2010
Posts: 45
Location: United Kingdom

PostPosted: Thu Jan 28, 2010 6:54 pm    Post subject: Vanishing Point/2001/Bullitt/Blade Runner... Reply with quote

You Sir, have the most impeccable taste in movies!!! Very Happy Every one an all time great!

By the way, did you ever have to endure the TV movie, so called, "remake" of Vanishing Point, with Viggo Mortensen as Kowalski??? I hope, for your sake, that you did not. Add it to the list of totally sh*te remakes of Classic Films, along with Get Carter, The Italian Job, The Wicker Man etc. etc.

Good luck with the Number Plates, and if you do happen to find yourself with a spare "Kowalski" plate, I would definitely be interested!!! Very Happy Now, all I need to do is to find a, mint condition, white 1970 Dodge Challanger R/T... Oh and a naked girl on a motorbike!!! Shocked

Have a better one,

Mike.
_________________
One more question. You're watching a stage play. A banquet is in progress. The guests are enjoying an appetizer of raw oysters. The entree consists of boiled dog....
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Author Message
Mr Webber
Community Member


Joined: 13 Apr 2008
Posts: 1824
Location: Terra Australis

PostPosted: Thu Jan 28, 2010 7:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Very nice Neil, that car is an icon Cool
_________________
Formerly offworld66
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Author Message
Bwood
Community Member


Joined: 20 Sep 2009
Posts: 843

PostPosted: Fri Jan 29, 2010 11:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm assuming you guys already know about all this .....
http://toys.shop.ebay.com/Toys-Hobbies-/220/i.html?_nkw=Vanishing+Point
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Author Message
Gaff87
Community Member


Joined: 05 Oct 2008
Posts: 1727
Location: United Kingdom

PostPosted: Fri Jan 29, 2010 11:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks guys Smile

Haven't gotten any further on the license plate yet. Planning on cementing the letters to the plate at the weekend and trying out some paint.

These are about 80% size.

I'd love a metal one, but like I say, out of my price range so think will have to do, maybe one day.

I have a huge list of license plates I wanna do.
Another one being the THX 138 plate from American Graffiti, another must.

Mike, I never did see the remake and don't plan on watching it either.
I think Vigo is a great actor but knowone can play Kowalski like Barry Newman, just my opinion Smile

I'd love a Challenger aswell Smile
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Author Message
Nexus 7
Community Member


Joined: 20 Jan 2010
Posts: 45
Location: United Kingdom

PostPosted: Fri Jan 29, 2010 1:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Totally agree with you Neil, Barry Newman IS Kowalski

The 1997 tv movie was, quite frankly, too awful for words! Kowalski becomes "Jimmy Kowalski" Sad a suspected "militia sympathizer" Shocked (USA, 1997 i.e. post Waco, pre 9/11) DJ Super Soul has somehow been turned into a white, right wing, oops... I mean... err... "Libertatian/anti-New World Order" type "Shock-Jock" Evil or Very Mad Worst of all, there is a scene at the very end, in which it implies that no body was recovered from Kowalski's burned out car wreck and then goes as far as actually re-showing us the crash, from a different camera angle, showing him jumping from the car, unnoticed by by everyone!? Confused just before impact!!! Rolling Eyes We are then treated to a fade out shot of Kowalski, now walking with a limp, reunited with his young son!!! Shocked walking off into the sunset.

Good luck with the plates, ClassicLicencePlates.com do the THX 138 plate in aluminium for $20 but they will only ship to US postal address! Perhaps some kind, empathic, human on this forum might like to help you out!!!

Have a better one,

Mike.
_________________
One more question. You're watching a stage play. A banquet is in progress. The guests are enjoying an appetizer of raw oysters. The entree consists of boiled dog....


Last edited by Nexus 7 on Sun Jan 31, 2010 9:05 pm; edited 2 times in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Author Message
Gaff87
Community Member


Joined: 05 Oct 2008
Posts: 1727
Location: United Kingdom

PostPosted: Fri Jan 29, 2010 3:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm glad I never saw the remake now, lol.

On a side note, did you notice that in the original the car that is destroyed is actually a Camero? If you pause it when you can see the bonnet on the ground you can see the badge:) lol

I stuck down the first letter on the license plate earlier.
I have a feeling that it may come un-stuck soon. Another project I was working on has just had this happen to it Sad

I think there is a place in the UK that has a THX 138 plate.
May have to get one in the future.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Author Message
Nexus 7
Community Member


Joined: 20 Jan 2010
Posts: 45
Location: United Kingdom

PostPosted: Sat Jan 30, 2010 1:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Neil,

Yep, you're spot on mate, they totaled a '67 Camaro for the climatic scene! Cheaper than a then brand new Challanger, besides, I bet that they just couldn't bring themselves to do that to such a uber-cool set of wheels, I know I couldn't!!! Very Happy You may also have noticed that, albeit briefly, in one shot Kowalski appears to be driving a right-hand drive Challanger!!! Shocked It was, of course, actually a reversed/mirrored image. Watching it again on my laptop, pausing it, panning, zooming in etc. It suddenly struck me... "ESPER" Very Happy Now, all I need to do is to get it to work with my voice recognition software... Confused Oh well, maybe I'll try again in 2019 Laughing

Have a better one,

Mike.
_________________
One more question. You're watching a stage play. A banquet is in progress. The guests are enjoying an appetizer of raw oysters. The entree consists of boiled dog....
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Author Message
Gaff87
Community Member


Joined: 05 Oct 2008
Posts: 1727
Location: United Kingdom

PostPosted: Sat Jan 30, 2010 5:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Totally missed that right hand side part, will definitely look out for it next time.

One thing I did notice, on a previous version I watched It shows Kowalski double clutch (a camera down by the pedals shows it) but when I bought it on DVD it isn't in there Sad I know it's a small thing, but I liked it.
Also, I heard they used the same audio recording from the Bullitt chase of the Mustang double clutching.

Soo many cool things about the movie. Love it.

Neil.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Author Message
Nexus 7
Community Member


Joined: 20 Jan 2010
Posts: 45
Location: United Kingdom

PostPosted: Sat Jan 30, 2010 9:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Neil,

Kowalski's right hand drive Challanger!!! It really is a case of blink and you will miss it!!! Very Happy Ok, so here is how to find it. Kowalski goes off road into the desert. At about 45:08 the caption "NEVADA-SATURDAY-1:36 P.M." appears on screen then, from about 45:13 through 45:17 you can clearly see Kowalski in a right hand drive!!! Laughing

By the way, have you ever seen the "UK Theatrical Cut" of the movie??? It is basically identical to the US release that we are all familiar with except that it includes an additional scene that was cut from the US version. The scene has Kowalski picking up an elegant and mysterious hitch hicker, played by Charlotte Rampling, who says that she has been "waiting for him, everywhere and since forever." They smoke some dope and when Kowalski wakes up she is gone. Who, or perhaps what, she is or represents is left for you to decide!!! Shocked I know Barry Newman's take on who/what her "character" is and I agree with him 100%.

Also did you notice how, in the opening scenes, Kowalski's Challanger passes a black Chrysler Imperial going in the opposite direction, i.e. San Francisco to Denver. The movie freezes, and the Challanger vanishes into thin air on Sunday at 10:02 am. The Imperial continues on and the film then flashes back to Denver, Colorado, two days earlier on Friday at 11:30 pm, where Kowalski's journey began. He has just arrived in Denver with a black Chrysler Imperial he is delivering from San Francisco!!! Shocked Make of that what you will!!!

Bizarrely, if you wish to see the UK release, (about 7 minutes longer than the US version), you have to actually purchase the US NTSC Region 1 DVD!!! Rolling Eyes

Have a better one,

Mike.

P.S. I heard the same thing about certain scenes in Vanishing Point using some of the same audio as Bullitt. Can't confirm it 100%, but I wouldn't be at all suprised. Back then most films, and especially location footage, had a new soundtrack overdubbed onto them during post production, it was, due the the limitations of the available recording technology of the time, the only way to produce a clean clear audio track. By the way, its still not exactly an uncommon process in the industry!!! Wink
_________________
One more question. You're watching a stage play. A banquet is in progress. The guests are enjoying an appetizer of raw oysters. The entree consists of boiled dog....
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Author Message
Gaff87
Community Member


Joined: 05 Oct 2008
Posts: 1727
Location: United Kingdom

PostPosted: Sun Jan 31, 2010 10:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for all the great info, Mike .

I dont think I've seen the UK release. I live in the UK and bought the DVD but it's not on it. Which doesn't make sense really, lol.
I'm gonna look and see if it's on Youtube.

I never noticed the Imperial was the same car Kowalski drives at the start. I'm definitely going to have to look on the net as to what Barry Newman's take is, I want to learn more Smile

Thanks again.
Neil.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Author Message
Nexus 7
Community Member


Joined: 20 Jan 2010
Posts: 45
Location: United Kingdom

PostPosted: Sun Jan 31, 2010 9:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Neil,

Yeah, it is just crazy that the 2002 UK DVD release of Vanishing Point is actually just a straight print of the old US Theatre Cut (99mins)!!! Confused Especially as it was, in fact, the UK Theatre Cut that saved the film from disappearing into cinematic obscurity!!! The "Top Brass" and bean-counters at Fox Studios neither liked nor understood the film, so they didn't exactly go to town when it came to promoting the movie. A poster was printed and a short promo/trailer was cut, that was it. The movie was then given a rather limited/half-hearted release! Unsuprisingly, given all this, it did not play well. The suits at Fox, no doubt congratulating themselves on how they had been right all along, pulled the film after only a short run.

When the movie came to be released in Europe, the "Mysterious Hitch Hiker scene" that had been cut from the US release was left in, thus restoring the film to its original "Director's Cut" (106min). Smile This was probably only given the green light by the Fox brass for commercial rather than artistic reasons i.e. that the hitch hiker is played by Charlotte Rampling, a British actress who was particularly popular in both Britain and France and was well liked in European cinema in general.

Unlike its US release, the film proved to be a big hit in Europe, especially in France, but in was in the UK, even more so than anywhere else, that Vanishing Point really seemed to find an audience that recognised its true greatness. It was the fact the the cinema receipts from the UK, France and the rest of Europe were so good that persuaded Fox to give the film another chance in the US, teaming it up with the much more mainstream and comercially successful "The French Connection" as a "Double Bill Car Chase Spectacular"!!! Smile

The easiest and cheapest way to get hold of the UK Theatre Cut is, bizarely enough, to get hold of a copy of the 2004 US Region 1 DVD. It is one of those double sided DVD's with the US release on one side and the UK release on the other. It also includes a Director's commentary by Richard C. Sarafian. You can pick one up on Amazon.co.uk for about £3.13+£1.24p&p. So for less than a fiver you can can own the definative Vanishing point experience! Cool

Have a better one,

Mike.
_________________
One more question. You're watching a stage play. A banquet is in progress. The guests are enjoying an appetizer of raw oysters. The entree consists of boiled dog....
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Author Message
Gaff87
Community Member


Joined: 05 Oct 2008
Posts: 1727
Location: United Kingdom

PostPosted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 6:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Once again great info Mike.

I think I'll have to pick up that version at some point in the future, I've just got the standard version at the moment.

I did a quick look on Youtube but couldn't find the deleted scene Sad
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Author Message
Nexus 7
Community Member


Joined: 20 Jan 2010
Posts: 45
Location: United Kingdom

PostPosted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 6:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Neil,

No luck on Youtube? Crying or Very sad Never mind, here are a few screen grabs for you. Smile Hope that the number plate is coming along ok, best of luck with it.

Have a better one,

Mike.










_________________
One more question. You're watching a stage play. A banquet is in progress. The guests are enjoying an appetizer of raw oysters. The entree consists of boiled dog....
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Author Message
Gaff87
Community Member


Joined: 05 Oct 2008
Posts: 1727
Location: United Kingdom

PostPosted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 7:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great caps Mike!
Thanks for sharing them.

It's taking me a while to do my license plate. Only stuck the O & A at the moment. Gonna stick the 55 down later today, with any luck.

Neil.

EDIT

On a side note, i was looking for some screencaps yesterday and came across this....Very Happy



http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDReviews44/vanishing_point_blu-ray.htm

It looks to be from a special feature about the movie. I think it's from the BR edition.

I know it's not the license plate. But still pretty cool.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Author Message
Nexus 7
Community Member


Joined: 20 Jan 2010
Posts: 45
Location: United Kingdom

PostPosted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 6:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yeah, it may not be the plate but it is seriously cool anyway!!! Very Happy It is, as you say, taken from the special features on the 2009 Blu Ray release, which also contains both the US and the longer UK cuts of the film, plus a plenty of nice extras!!! Smile Unfortunately, the "Brain Trust" (NOT!!!) that run Fox Studios have only released it as a Region A disc!!! Evil or Very Mad So for UK residents, like you and me, and anyone else in Region B, or Region C for that matter, unless you have access to a multi-region Blu Ray player, we can only hope that they will finally see sense and give us either a Region B or better still an all region release. We live in hope, but not expectation!

Hope that the numbers are sticking ok? I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

Have a better one,

Mike.
_________________
One more question. You're watching a stage play. A banquet is in progress. The guests are enjoying an appetizer of raw oysters. The entree consists of boiled dog....
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Author Message
Gaff87
Community Member


Joined: 05 Oct 2008
Posts: 1727
Location: United Kingdom

PostPosted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 6:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks Mike Smile

I've had something heavy on the plate since i stuck that last letter down, i think it's ok.
The last thing i cemented took a week or two to come unstuck so we shall see Smile

I'm gonna stick the 55 down tomorrow, weather pending, lol.
You know what the UK weather is like.

I think for my next plate i'm gonna do Bob Falfa's '55 Chevy One-Fifty from American Graffiti, if i can find out what it is anyway.

One site has it as "55 Graff" or something like that, not sure if it was that in the movie though.

EDIT
I think the original Falfa American Graffiti plate is GLD 204 Smile

Thanks again.
Neil.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Author Message
Nexus 7
Community Member


Joined: 20 Jan 2010
Posts: 45
Location: United Kingdom

PostPosted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 8:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bob Falfa's '55 Chevy One-Fifty, my favorite car from the whole movie! Smile and, of course, its previous cinema appearance in the iconic 1971 "Two Lane Blacktop" only serves to elevate it even further into the halls of all time cult movie car status!!! Very Happy

Here's the plate you're looking for.



Hope that this may be of some use to to you, let me know how you get on.

Have a better one,

Mike
_________________
One more question. You're watching a stage play. A banquet is in progress. The guests are enjoying an appetizer of raw oysters. The entree consists of boiled dog....
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic     Forum Index -> Non Blade Runner Props All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page 1, 2, 3, 4  Next
Page 1 of 4

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum

Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group
BBTech Template by © 2003-04 MDesign

Problems Registering Contact: help@propsummit.com