Corinna Mantlo
The Vintagent Trailers: Pozzis, Samarcanda
https://vimeo.com/524201744
The Vintagent Trailers: A preview of our favorite feature films out there.
POZZIS, SAMARCANDA (2021)
Run Time: 1:28:00
A Film By: Stefano Giacomuzzi
Key Cast: Alfeo Carnelutti, Stefano Giacomuzzi
FILM MAKERS
Documentary film by Stefano Giacomuzzi. The young Friulian director tells of the adventurous journey from Pozzis, a remote location in Val d’Arzino, to Samarkand, Uzbekistan, together with Coconut, alias Alfeo Carnelutti, the hermit of the fraction of Verzegnis. In August, the film won the Best Film Award at the Ivy Film Festival.
SUMMARY
A 73-year-old motorcyclist with a troubled past, a young director, a 1939 Harley Davidson, a quixotic journey towards the heart of Asia and their own dreams.
RELATED MEDIA
Buy the DVD from our friends at Rodaggio Films.
The Vintagent Selects: Ride
https://vimeo.com/572113578
The Vintagent Selects: A collection of our favorite films by artists around the world.
RIDE (2018)
Run Time: 5:46
A Film By: Paul Bush
Producer: Paul Bush, Abi Feijó
Executive Producer: Phil Davies
Key Cast: several hundred motorcycles
FILM MAKERS
'What is so extraordinary about this body of work is the passionate clarity of the ideas that fuel it and the formal precision of the narrative and cinematographic structures which allow the viewer in.’ - Leslie Dick
Paul Bush’s films challenge the boundaries that separate fiction, documentary and animation. His background in Fine Art is an influence on all his work and this is reflected in its inclusion in art collections and exhibitions as well as cinema distribution and television broadcast.
SUMMARY
A five minute animated film photographed at a private collection of motorcycles situated in North Portugal. ‘Ride’ is a homage to 1950s motorcycle design in which hundreds of real motorbikes are animated frame by frame, as a rider departs on an idealized journey into the countryside.
RELATED MEDIA
Watch THE MAKING OF 'Ride'.
The Vintagent Classics: The Hot Angel (1958)
The Vintagent Selects: A collection of our favorite films by artists around the world.
THE HOT ANGEL (1958)
Run Time: 1:13:00
Producer: Paramount Pictures
Director: Joe Parker
Writer: Stanley Kallis
Key Cast: Jackie Loughery, Ed Kemmer, Mason Alan Dinehart
FILM MAKERS
Hot rod hot-shots and their tailgate babes! Teenage gangs rip highways and skies with thrills and terror.
SUMMARY
Mandy Wilson runs a small air strip near the Grand Canyon. She and brother Joe are glad to see pilot Chuck Lawson, who hasn't been here in five years. Their brother Tom heroically saved Chuck's life during the Korean War.
Joe has fallen in with a motorcycle gang, so Chuck is asked by Mandy to help straighten him out. Chuck is hired by uranium miner Van Richards to maintain surveillance from the air and find out who's been stealing valuable mineral deposits. He meets the bikers in Joe's gang, particularly the leaders, Judd and Mick Pfeiffer, and demonstrates his own skill on a bike while also giving flying lessons to Joe.
When the thieves realize Chuck's on to them, his plane is rigged to crash. Chuck manages to land it in the Grand Canyon, but is in such a precarious place that he warns Joe not to attempt a rescue. Joe gets to him safely anyway, saving the day, and it's clear that Chuck and Mandy are now in love.
RELATED MEDIA
Rent the FULL MOVIE on Youtube
The Vintagent Classics: Blonde In Black Leather
https://vimeo.com/585913937
The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.
BLONDE IN BLACK LEATHER (1975)
Run Time:1:40:00
Director: Carlo Di Palma
Writer: Barbara Alberti, Carlo Di Palma, Amedeo Pagani
Key Cast: Monica Vitti, Claudia Cardinale, Ninetto Davoli
FILM MAKERS
Carlo Di Palma was born into a poor Roman family; his mother was a flower seller on the Spanish Steps, while his father was a camera operator for a number of Italian film studios. In an interview shortly before his death, Di Palma recounted his childhood memories of observing his father in action: "I'd run to the studio or the location, and watch my father work. I was fascinated by the whole experience. I would stand on a crate sometimes and watch. All of the people that were on the location were pleasant to me. I was very quiet and observant, so with that they let me stay on set. I would watch many different directors over and over."
SUMMARY
Two racy women decide to chuck their mundane lives and go on a wild adventure.
Sometimes it's not possible to defend or rationalize our fondness for mindless friends. It's the same with movies. This one has two beauties, Claudia Cardinele and Monica Vitti, and they ride around on a motorcycle. Never mind the rest, you will only sound ridiculous if you attempt to describe the plot. But the company is good, except neither actress does her own dubbing (Vitti's sexy throaty voice is sadly missing here). - IMDB
RELATED MEDIA
Watch the FULL FILM at Cine Meccanica
The Vintagent Selects: NYC Norton - Pulse
https://vimeo.com/579082337
The Vintagent Selects: A collection of our favorite films by artists around the world.
NYC NORTON - PULSE (2021)
Run Time: 1:39
Director: Alex Zyuzikov
Director Of Photography: Matthew Canada
Key Cast: Kenny Cummings
FILM MAKERS
Alex Zyuzikov is a Ukrainian-born film director and photographer based in New York City. He has worked on a variety of commercial advertising campaigns, films projects, and editorial assignments alike, telling stories of his subjects with warmth, sympathy, and authenticity. Alex’s passion is storytelling. His style of work is inspired by his curiosity for different cultures, professions, and ways of living. Alex captures the essence of his subjects and their environments in a way that is creative and imaginative. His work is atmospheric, tonally rich, and thoughtfully sophisticated with profound humanness.
SUMMARY
Build. Race. Repeat.
That’s what Kenny Cummings of NYC Norton does, and he knows his way around a racetrack and a vintage British Norton equally well. Having come from an art and music background, he takes the same approach to building his motorcycles as he did to programming synthesizers for Elvis Costello and Aretha Franklin back in the day. His creations are equal parts art, music, and old British iron, working in perfect harmony.
As a filmmaker, I’ve always loved people who are passionate about what they do. People who don’t draw the line between their professional life and life in general since it’s one and the same. I saw that in Kenny and was immediately drawn to his story. We met at his shop several times before anything was story boarded and talked about life, what drives him, and I began to understand his background, values, and how he got to where he is today. He is just as much of an artist today as he was back in his music days, except now he expresses himself through being a precision craftsman.
I assembled a team, and we pulled an all-nighter at Kenny’s shop, getting the shots we needed to tell his story. Tired but happy, I couldn’t wait to go through the footage since it looked even better than I imagined it in my head. We met once more and shot some incredible-looking stuff of Kenny riding a Norton Commando through NYC’s tunnels and over the Brooklyn Bridge. The last piece of the puzzle was getting some racing footage, which Kenny was able to do at an AHRMA race at Laguna Seca.
“Yes, this is my life,” said Kenny when I first showed him the finished video, which is the biggest compliment I could ever hope for. I’m glad I captured a bit of his captivating story in this short film; I hope you enjoy it as well."
- Alex Zyuzikov
RELATED MEDIA
The Vintagent Selects: The Ice Knights
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiUx1X3Gml0
The Vintagent Selects: A collection of our favorite films by artists around the world.
THE ICE KNIGHTS (2021)
Run Time: 9:34
Director: Sergey Roy
Photography: Michael Shegulin
Editor: Vito Rubtsov
Key Cast: Peter Tyushkevich, Egor Stepanizhov, Mikhail Kholodov
FILM MAKERS
“Life should be a journey to the grave, not with the intention of arriving safe and in a beautiful, well-preserved body, but rather to drive in with a skid, in clouds of smoke, completely exhausted and worn out, loudly proclaiming - This is a trip! ” Hunter S. Thompson
THE ICE KNIGHTS is a long-awaited video about a trip to Lake Baikal last spring. Three knights, three motorcycles, three last days of ice on a magical lake. Many thanks to everyone who supported the team!
SUMMARY
"We always had love for the motorcycles. Building bikes, traveling, doing MX, but flat track was a real game-changer for us. We built three flat trackers: a Soviet-era IZH Planet Sport, a Triumph T120R, and a KX450 DTX, and found an old speedway track 300kms away from Moscow. As the Summer season is only about three months in Russia, we also discovered Winter ice track racing, which is a great fun actually. So that’s how we got to Lake Baikal. The world's biggest and deepest fresh water lake, in East Siberia near Mongolia, with a perfect flat ice in Winter, where they hold a motorcycle mile festival (something like Bonnevile Salt Flats but ice!). Lake Baikal is one of the top 10 must-see destinations in Russia, we always wanted to get there but for various reasons it didn’t come to the point. This time everything worked out perfectly.
We had a flat track event in Moscow with Motul, “In Dust We Trust”. The only flat track in Russia. So we loaded all 3 bikes to our Sprinter and drove 800kms from Saint Petersburg to the capital. The fun thing that our mechanics Rodion and Alexander are brothers and were born in the small place - Tarasa, 2 hours drive from Irkutsk (big city two hours drive from the Baikal), and due to the Covid situation here they haven’t been home for a while. A 5100kms trip from Moscow to Baikal wasn’t a big deal for those two.
Got couple of first places and the next day after the event Rodion and Alex headed east. Peter, Mikhail and Me (Egor), Video and Photo guys decided to take a worst you can imagine (six hour flight with non-folding seats and no meal) to meet our mechanics on the spot. Just before the flight my buddy sent me a video of 2 heavy trucks drowned under the ice on Baikal but it didn’t change my attitude much as the trip to Baikal was postponed couple of times and we decided to go.
We landed in Irkutsk rented a car and drove down to the lake. It is a middle of a spring and the whole way down the road we were watching the fast, clean river on the right and we laughing that it would be a great swim and a long flight home) later locals told us that even when its -50 the river looks the same way) But there was sense in our joke when we got to the place Listvyanka (small village on the bank of the Lake) where we decided to stay. We passed the place where trucks drowned, that’s kind of a scary thing you don’t want to see when you are planning to have fun on the track. Ice wasn’t that crystal blue and wasn’t easy to slide. It was about +10C and it was melting. Still conditions were good, but the time was against us as the ice was already soft.
Locals were talking stories of people falling in thawed patches and seriously warned us not to ride out. In winter there Is a highway on ice and about 600 cars drown each year. But we had bikes locked and loaded and nothing could stop us. 2 days of sliding nonstop. The ice situation got worse every hour and after I almost got caught in the huge crack we decided to stop! It was scary like hell hearing all the breaking noises under the wheels but it was worth it.
We made some shooting, got really good images and definitely had some fun. Some breakdowns that we managed to fix right on the ice thanks to Rodion and Alex, but that’s what you always have when you deal with old bikes) The last day we decided to spent with guys parents’ house they were super kind to shelter our squad and we felt the full power of Russian hospitality and national dishes)
Baikal has its own energy. Don’t know how to describe it, but when you see it you can feel its mighty power. These expanses, snow-capped mountains in the horizon. I think that’s why this place is full of legends and spiritual things, it’s a real mecca of Shamans and Buddhists (official religions in this place). We plan to get back here next winter to slide its hard and cold ice."
- Egor Stepanizhov
RELATED MEDIA
The Vintagent Selects: The Poster Maker
https://vimeo.com/560195513
The Vintagent Selects: A collection of our favorite films by artists around the world.
THE POSTER MAKER (2021)
Run Time: 6:19
Director: John Christenson
Director Of Photography: Eric Schleicher
Editor: Joseph Mcmahon
Key Cast: Lorenzo Eroticolor
FILM MAKERS
John Christenson is a photographer and director who's exhibited his own work in both solo and group shows in the US and Europe. He is also the founder and curator of the traveling art show Oil&Ink which brings together some of the best artists working in 2D art with a focus on the motorcycle scene. John's passion for motorcycles, film and art has brought him all over the world meeting and making some lifelong friends.
SUMMARY
One of those friends is Lorenzo Eroticolor who is the artist featured in this short film titled 'The Poster Maker'. Lorenzo has been a part of the Oil&Ink show from the beginning and has become a great friend. I had the idea to shoot a short film based on the life of an artist and it only seemed natural to feature Lorenzo in the first film.
The film was shot in and around Paris documenting the life and art of Lorenzo. His life and art are completely intertwined which shows through in the posters he creates. Lorenzo prints his work with Nicolas Draeger, a 6th generation master printer in his shop Anthese Lithographie in Paris. The story I set out to tell in this film was to give a glimpse into Lorenzo's life and his passion for not only the artwork he creates but also his family, friends and of course motorcycles. - John Christenson
RELATED MEDIA
The The Vintagent Premier: Earned: The Story Of Keith Hale's Ducati 750SS
https://vimeo.com/559597864
The Vintagent Selects: A collection of our favorite films by artists around the world.
EARNED: THE STORY OF KEITH HALE'S DUCATI 750SS (2021)
Run Time: 27:32
Producer: Moto Borgotaro
A Film By: Roberto Serrini
Key Cast: Keith Hale, Peter Boggia, Tim Parker
FILM MAKERS
'Earned' is a collaboration between two long time friends. Serrini, a filmmaker "reinventing the genre of motorcycle films, with people who are truly lovely", and Boggia, a professional mechanic specializing in rare and European motorcycles, and owner of Moto Borgotaro. Read more about the duo HERE, watch their 2015 film Moto Borgotaro HERE, and keep an eye on Italy In Bocca... because there's always a motorcycle.
SUMMARY
Director Roberto Serrini’s documentary about Keith Hale and his singular, continuous ownership 1974 Ducati 750 Super Sport.
The Ducati 750 Super Sport was the first of it’s kind. A factory race bike that the public could buy. Only 401 examples were produced and every one built was personally supervised by Fabio Taglioni. When Keith Hale first heard the sound of the 750 SS in 1974, he knew he had to own one at all costs. Although only 22 years old at the time, even then he knew it was not just another motorcycle. After taking out a bank loan and begging the Fresno, CA dealership to sell him their only 750 SS in 1975, he went on to use this race bike like no other before him, or since.
The prices have skyrocketed in the last 15 years for these incredible motorcycles, and are often kept in garages never to be used again. Keith’s bike represents the unmatched excellence of a period in motoring history, unto itself. This was the era that gave birth to the modern sportbike — more robust high revving engine, open exhaust, better braking, and looks that rival any Lamborghini or Ferrari.
This is the story of the 100,000 mile race bike that has been in continuous ownership for 47 years.
RELATED MEDIA
The Vintagent Selects: All The Pretty Things
https://vimeo.com/547803591
The Vintagent Selects: A collection of our favorite films by artists around the world.
ALL THE PRETTY THINGS (2021)
Run Time: 6:23
A Film By: Roberto Serrini
Producer: Moto Borgotaro
Key Cast: Oliver Rassinoux, Scarlet Capella, Keith Hale's Ducati 750SS
FILM MAKERS
Consider this an experimental teaser for the documentary 'Earned: The Story Of Keith Hale And His Ducati 750SS'. Like two sides of a coin, these films are worlds apart, but joined as one. Enjoy!
SUMMARY
We must not forget one thing about Keith Hale’s 750ss… it’s a motorcycle. While his story is poignant, soulful and singular, we wanted to celebrate this bike for the very same reasons he dedicated his life to it; because it’s cool as hell.
While we had the philosophical origin story of this amazing machine we were missing the passionate fun it inspires when you are around it, so I wanted to capture that bon-vivant attitude in a little bright film filled with all our favorite things. Inside you’ll find handmade helmets, vintage drink caddies, and rare, whimsical watches. All objects like Keith’s bike that generate smiles and wonder. These objects are as much characters as the wonderful people in the film, all of which have dynamic, interesting stories, none of which acting is considered part of their repertoire. These are just all very pretty things, hence the title.
Ever story has two sides to it. For this bike there is rich and wonderful human connection along with a pure and simple joy of being around it. Sometimes you need two stories to tell such a gigantic, wonderful tale.
RELATED MEDIA
Earned: The Story Of Keith Hale And His Ducati 750SS
The Vintagent Classics: Angel Unchained
https://vimeo.com/557383905
The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.
ANGEL UNCHAINED AKA HELL'S ANGEL UNCHAINED (1970)
Run Time: 1:26:00
Director: Lee Madden
Key Cast: Don Stroud, Luke Askew, Larry Bishop, Bud Ekins
FILM MAKERS
Just remember man. Speed kills.
Catch motorcycle stunt man Bud Ekins himself, as 'Speed' in this oddball biker flick classic.
SUMMARY
I’d ask you what a good pacifist would do, but I don’t care
The film opens in an amusement park. Bikers riding teacups… classic. Until it of course spirals into a brawl. Angel, the VP is tired of gang life. He leaves his colors at the park, for Shotgun to take on, and hits the road. At a small town gas station, the local cop is hassling some hippies. Angel takes their side and the cop backs off. One of the girls, Merilee, offers him food at their commune nearby, in trade for a ride on his bike. He obliges. Angel likes the commune… and Merilee. He chops wood, works the crops, skinny dips, and even learns to pot. It seems like paradise. Until all of a sudden, the commune is overrun with rednecks on dune buggies! They give the group one week to get out of town. Angel tries to talk to the locals, but it doesn’t go so well, so he heads back to the one place he didn’t want to go… his old biker bar haunt, looking for backup.
He invites the boys up to the country. He tells them of the cowboys vs hippies dilemma. After a bit of friendly ribbing, the boys agree to help out and everyone hits the road to the commune. The bikers settle in and all seems groovy… until they get into the special stash of hallucinogens that is. They get greedy of course, and want the recipe for Whamo (special cookies) but the hippies refuse. Shotgun’s got Angels ex old lady as a mamma now, but that doesn’t stop him from making the moves on Angels new old lady Merilee. He doesn’t get far and the biker on biker feuding starts to build tensions. They want out but they’re not leaving without those ‘special cookies’.
But when the Dune buggy riding, lasso looping cow-pokes send a message to the commune by roughing up one of the girls, a plan is devised to give the bike gang the Whamo if and only if they stick around long enough to fight the cowboys. Cut to dune buggies vs scrambler dirt bikes in the desert… and the fight is on! In the end, the hippies wins the war against the rednecks. The bikers are paid in Whamo and Angel is free to stay on at the commune to learn the art of pacifism with his old lady. - Corinna Mantlo for Cine Meccanica
RELATED MEDIA
Read more at Cine Meccanica
Watch the FULL MOVIE
The Vintagent Selects: Stanley Woods The Movie
https://vimeo.com/423711758
The Vintagent Selects: A collection of our favorite films by artists around the world.
STANLEY WOODS THE MOVIE (1992)
Run Time: 49:12
A Film By: Alistair Spence for the BBC NI
Narrator: Robert Hardy
Cast: Stanley Woods
FILM MAKERS
Aired on the BBC in 1992.
SUMMARY
A look at the life of the legendary Isle Of Man TT, 10 time winnerStanley Woods.
RELATED MEDIA
The Vintagent Selects: Halcyon #110 "At close of day..."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUjNzhbxzuk
The Vintagent Selects: A collection of our favorite films by artists around the world.
HALCYON #110 "AT CLOSE OF DAY..." (2021)
Run Time: 2:34
Read By: Dan M. | Halcyon 250 #110
Creative Director: Grant Longenbaugh
Cinematography: Ryan Blaske, Jordan Swartzendruber
Editor: Ryan Blaske
FILM MAKERS
At Janus Motorcycles, we make simple, beautiful machines that are a joy to own and ride. We draw on the Northern Indiana spirit of manufacturing to create a personal, unique, and relatable product. We utilize our global marketplace to source reliable, tried-and-true components. We build to order and sell directly to our riders, cultivating a connection with each and every owner.
SUMMARY
Dan is a dear friend, Halcyon owner, Vietnam Vet, widower, and an all-around badass. In this Janus feature, listen to him read "Do Not Go Gentle" by Dylan Thomas.
Special thanks to the Dylan Thomas Trust
RELATED MEDIA
[/one_half]
The Vintagent Classics: Born Losers
https://vimeo.com/574410053
The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.
BORN LOSERS (1967)
Run Time: 1:53:00
Director: Tom Laughlin
Writer: Elizabeth James
Key Cast: Tom Laughlin, Elizabeth James, Jeremy Slate
FILM MAKERS
Born Losers introduced Tom Laughlin as the half-Indian Green Beret Vietnam veteran Billy Jack. Since 1954, Laughlin had been trying to produce his Billy Jack script about discrimination toward American Indians. In the 1960s he decided to introduce the character of Billy Jack in a quickly written script designed to capitalize on the then-popular trend in motorcycle gang movies. The story was based on a real incident from 1964 where members of the Hell's Angels were arrested for raping two teenage girls in Monterey, California.
SUMMARY
Billy Jack is introduced as an enigmatic, half-Indian Vietnam veteran who shuns society, taking refuge in the peaceful solitude of the California Central Coast mountains. His troubles begin when he descends from this unspoiled setting and drives into a small beach town named Big Rock (Morro Bay). A minor traffic accident in which a motorist hits a motorcyclist results in a savage beating by members of the Born Losers Motorcycle Club. The horrified bystanders (including Laughlin's wife, Delores Taylor, and their two children in cameo roles) are too afraid to help or be involved in any way. Billy Jack jumps into the fray and rescues the man by himself. At this point the police arrive and arrest Billy for using a rifle to stop the fight.
The police throw Billy in jail and the judge fines him heavily for discharging a rifle in public. He is treated with suspicion and hostility by the police. Meanwhile, the marauding bikers terrorize the town, rape four teenage girls (Jane Russell plays the mother of one of the girls), and threaten anyone slated to testify against them. One of the girls, played by Susan Foster, later recants, saying she willingly gave herself to the biker gang. (Foster would go on to play a larger supporting role in Billy Jack.)
Co-scriptwriter Elizabeth James plays Vicky Barrington, a bikini-clad damsel-in-distress who is twice abducted and abused by the gang. The second time, she and Billy are kidnapped together. After Billy is brutally beaten, Vicky agrees to become the gang's sexually compliant "biker mama" if they release Billy. At the police station, Billy is unable to get help from the police or the local residents and must return to the gang's lair to rescue Vicky by himself.
Billy, armed with a bolt-action rifle, captures the gang, shoots the leader (Jeremy Slate) between the eyes in cold blood, and forces some of the others to take Vicky, who's been badly beaten, to the hospital. As the police finally arrive, Billy abruptly rides away on one of the gang's motorcycles.
The anti-authority sentiment continues up to the end when a police deputy accidentally shoots Billy in the back, mistaking him for a fleeing gang member. He is later found, nearly dead, lying by the shore of a lake. He is placed on a stretcher and is flown to the hospital in a helicopter as Vicky and the sheriff give him a salute.
RELATED MEDIA
Read more at Cine Meccanica
The Vintagent Classics: No Limit
https://vimeo.com/542857697
The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.
NO LIMIT (1935)
Run Time: 1:20:00
Director: Monty Banks
Writer: Walter Greenwood
Key Cast: George Formby, Florence Desmond, Howard Douglas
FILM MAKERS
No Limit is a British musical comedy starring George Formby and Florence Desmond. The film, which was directed by Monty Banks, was made on location at the TT motorcycle race on the Isle of Man. It was the first of eleven films that Formby made with Associated Talking Pictures.
Although Formby had already made two moderately successful films (Boots! Boots! and Off the Dole), No Limit was the film that put him on the road to stardom. It is still regarded as one of his best and funniest, featuring good songs, humorous scenes and numerous stunts.
SUMMARY
George Shuttleworth is convinced that he has the talent to win the Isle of Man TT races, despite what his neighbours back home in Wigan may think. During the trials, the brakes go on George's bike, 'The Shuttleworth Snap', which he made himself. As a result, he breaks the TT lap record, becoming an instant motor-cycling star. As the big race approaches, George soon realises that other jealous riders will stop at nothing to make sure he does not take part in the race. An early George Formby film and probably his best.
Bikes: Real motorcycle manufacturers are not referenced in the film, and instead contemporary motorcycles were customized and given fictitious names. For example, Formby rode for the "Rainbow Motorcycle Company" on a 1928 AJS H5 that had been modified and 'streamlined' by his character to become the Shuttleworth Snap. Other bikes that were used include a 350cc Ariel that had been flown to the Isle of Man, partly dismantled, in a de Havilland Dragon Rapide.
Stunts: Many of the racing scenes in the film were performed by motorcycling riders from the Isle of Man such as brothers Bertie and Harold Rowell. They were paid £75 per day for their appearances. Members of the Peveril Motor Cycle Club also carried out some of the stunts, including Cyril Standen who crashed into the front-door of the Ballacraine Hotel and the crash into the river at Sulby. Jack Cannell also featured as a stunt rider wearing bib number 15.
Harold Rowell ended up performing more of the rider scenes than any other member of the Peveril Motorcycle and Light Car Club. At one stage members of the club, engaged in the stunts, staged a walkout in order to gain a better financial deal. They were originally offered £2 per day, but they subsequently discovered that the two professionals and a number of less experienced riders were being paid £20 per week, plus accommodation at the Majestic Hotel.
Formby did perform some stunts himself including the scene where his character weaves in and out of his rival's machines on the Cronk-y-Voddy Straight. At the climax of the film, Formby needs to win the race by pushing his bike the final 500 yards to the winning line. In the scene used in the film, Formby is seen collapsing. This was real; after doing 15 takes in hot weather, he fell down and a doctor was requested.
RELATED MEDIA
Watch the full film on The Vintagent VIMEO channel HERE
The Vintagent Classics: Spare A Copper
https://vimeo.com/540836233
The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.
SPARE A COPPER (1940)
Run Time: 1:17:00
Director: John Paddy Carstairs
Key Cast: George Formby, Dorothy Hyson, George Merritt
FILM MAKERS
“Lucrative... convoluted... unwieldy and overly complex... squandered”, says Vic Pratt of the British Film Institute. “Everything percolating as it should,” says ‘Alliwell.
This film was definitely lost to history as far as motorcycle movies goes...and we're thrilled to have finally tracked it down. While there is no trailer available, we've compiled the best of the motorcycle cop, Hell Rider, Wall of Death bits in the clip above. Sideways police chase in the Motordrome... yes please!
SUMMARY
A right bleedin’ berk in the War Reserve police force struggles along to make the grade, meets a girl, fails the flying squad motorcycle test spectacularly, gets utilized by saboteurs, goes on the run, saves the day (and the Wall Of Death), and gets the girl, as well as the motorcycle (with sidecar).
RELATED MEDIA
Watch the FULL FILM on The Vintagent Vimeo channel.
The Vintagent Trailers: Walter: The Missing Link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHHvOfoRrZc
The Vintagent Trailers: A preview of our favorite feature films out there.
WALTER: THE MISSING LINK (2021)
Run Time: TBD
Producer/Director/Screenwriter: James Cutting
Editor: Chris Frenthway
Motion Designers: Scott Powell & Mauricio Torres Alvarez
Key Cast: Micheal Schuster, Jean Davidson, & Jon Davidson-Öeflein
FILM MAKERS
From its inception, the Walter documentary has been fueled by the fascinating story of the 1913 Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Truck Forecar known as Walter. The Schuster family of southeastern Wisconsin owned Walter for nearly a century.
The project was kick-started with the meeting of Michael Schuster and James Cutting in 2013 on Walter’s own centennial. Over the years of their friendship, the project evolved as they strived to share this special machine with as many enthusiasts as possible. It eventually inspired the production of a feature-length documentary, supported by the enthusiasm of many friends of Walter.
The documentary is a production of The Edge Ltd., an independent production company founded in 1989 by James Cutting. A talented team of primarily Wisconsin-based production professionals has been committed to this exciting project. James is a forty-year award-winning producer/director/screenwriter veteran in film and video production. A passion for motorcycling has motivated his interest in producing motorcycle-related projects for decades. His last documentary, Hogslayer: The Unapproachable Legend, was released in 2011 to rave reviews.
Walter’s transfer to a new caretaker from the Schuster family became an integral part of the documentary storyline. Due to Walter’s rarity and unique attributes, an international effort was engaged to find a suitable home for this artifact of motorcycle culture. At times, this development dictated the production timeline but once the new caretaker took ownership of Walter, the documentary transitioned into its final phases of production.
Walter: The Missing Link will be released in 2021 with a premiere in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, followed by other theatrical showings.
SUMMARY
Walter: The Missing Link chronicles the life and times of a remarkable motorcycle affectionately known as Walter™
Walter is a feature-length narrative documentary featuring Walter, a 1913 Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Truck, and his former caretaker Michael W. Schuster. This is truly an extraordinary barn-find story that tracks Walter's service mission delivering on the streets of old Milwaukee, then through forty years of desolation while stored in a horse barn, and finally his rebirth many decades later through a meticulous restoration by Ally Schuster and his grandson Michael. Walter ultimately became an acknowledged motorcycle artifact recognized as the last-known Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Truck in existence. This remarkable motorcycle's story and the related experiences of those touched by him have delighted enthusiasts and inspired us all to embrace our past and forge relationships for our future.
RELATED MEDIA
The Vintagent Classics: Run, Angel, Run!
https://youtu.be/sTsc7yFe4mo
The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.
RUN, ANGEL, RUN! (1969)
Run Time: 1:35:00
Producer: Fanfare Films
Director: Jack Starrett
Editor: Richard Compton (story), Jerome Wish (screenplay - as Jerry Wish)
Key Cast: William Smith, Valerie Starrett, Dan Kemp
FILM MAKERS
Director Jack Starrett is known for his complex ‘B’ movies, including several other ‘biker flick’ classics The Losers (1970), and Race With The Devil (1975) that go above and beyond the genre standard. Run, Angel, Run! was shot in 13 days.
A bit of Biker Flick trivia, the gang that appears in the film, also appears in ‘The Losers’ (1970) and ‘Werewolves on Wheels' (1971).
SUMMARY
Angel, a member of a tough motorcycle gang roaming the Southwest, gets on offer from a major news magazine. In exchange for giving the magazine a big scoop by exposing the inner workings of his gang, the magazine will pay him $10,000. Angel takes the offer, although it means he and his girlfriend must now go on the run from cyclists looking for revenge. Along the way, they hide out with a sheep farmer, earning their keep by taking care of the farm and building a new life together.
RELATED MEDIA
Read more at Cine Meccanica
Check out the title track from the Tammy Wynette Soundtrack
The Vintagent Classics: The Losers
https://youtu.be/BCy4ZDiNFSg
The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.
THE LOSERS aka Nam's Angels (1970)
Run Time: 1:35:00
Director: Jack Starrett
Writer: Alan Caillou
Cast: William Smith, Bernie Hamilton, Adam Roarke
FILM MAKERS
It's The "Dirty Bunch" on Wheels!
Director Jack Starrett is known for his complex 'B' movies, including several other ‘biker flick’ classics Run, Angel, Run (1969), and Race With The Devil (1975) that go above and beyond the genre standard.
A bit of Biker Flick trivia, the gang that appears in the film, "The Devil's Advocates" also appears in 'Run, Angel, Run!' and 'Werewolves on Wheels (1971)'.Incidently, Director John Milius is quoted as saying that this film was a "big inspiration for Apocalypse Now".
ART IMITATING LIFE: On 19 November 1965, Sonny Barger the "Maximum Leader" of the Hells Angels motorcycle club sent a telegram to President Johnson offering the Angels as "gorilla fighters" (sic) in the Vietnam War. Though the President turned them down, the idea became 'Nam's Angels' (later renamed The Losers) made in the Philippines using sets and crew from 'Too Late the Hero'. Listen to Sonney reading that telegram to Pres. Johnson HERE.
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SUMMARY
RELATED MEDIA
Watch the Full Film
The Vintagent Classics: Race With The Devil
https://youtu.be/F1BcmecKUVk
The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.
RACE WITH THE DEVIL (1975)
Run Time: 1:28:00
Producer: Saber productions, 20th Century Fox
Director: Jack Starrett
Writer: Lee Frost, Wes Bishop
Key Cast: Peter Fonda, Warren Oates, Loretta Swit
FILM MAKERS
Director Jack Starrett specialized in hugely enjoyable down-'n'-dirty low-budget drive-in exploitation pictures. His first two were the 'biker flick' classics Run, Angel, Run (1969), and The Losers (1970). Both these films are worth a watch as they add a bit more depth to the genre than most.
SUMMARY
"Peter Fonda and Warren Oates are burning their bridges and a lot of rubber... on the deadliest stretch of road in the country!"
Peter Fonda and Warren Oates, star as a couple of dirt-track racers who pack up their bikes and their wives and set out on an RV vacation. Looking to get away from it all, they pass up cookie cutter camp sites in lieu of a secluded spot deep in the woods. Little do they know when they drop the landing gear however, that this grotto has already been booked by … a Satanic cult for a ritual of human sacrifice. They soon find out that “If you’re going to race with the devil, you’ve got to be as fast as Hell!”.
RELATED MEDIA
TUNE IN! Watch the FILM live on Sunday, March 14th, 2021 at 7pm
Rent/Buy on YOUTUBE
The Vintagent Trailers: 972 Breakdowns
https://vimeo.com/429279670
The Vintagent Trailers: A preview of our favorite feature films out there.
972 BREAKDOWNS (2020)
Run Time: 1:50:20
A Film By: Leavinghomefunktion & Daniel von Rüdiger
FILM MAKERS
Alongside director, Daniel von Rüdiger, we have spent the last year puzzling together 500 hours of raw footage: Canons, GoPros, drone shots, handmade animations, typography, narration, subtitles… the whole package! 972,000 decisions later, our production journey has reached its end. A total of 165,500 film frames have been chosen in an attempt to turn cinema seats into sidecars, taking visitors on a 43,000 kilometer journey across the world!
And as you may have noticed, we really love numbers… which is also fitting our choice in working with the band 0101 for our soundtrack! Imagine the rhythm of an old and lousy kickstarter, constantly hitting the exhaust pipe … Imagine the >>click click<< of the turn signals, and imagine some dusty wind blowing tumbleweed over the endless road … Daniel von Rüdiger and Stefan Carl set our film’s anti-western stage with their original motion picture soundtrack “972 BREAKDOWNS”. More info at www.0101.wtf
SUMMARY
On The Landway to New York
When plans collapse things start to get interesting…! Welcome aboard the Ural 650: A charming yet moody Russian motorcycle which will take us over land to New York city. For the next 40.000 kilometers we’ll keep pushing, pulling and fixing looking for the point where we can’t go on…
Through our Breakdown Theater we come in contact with the strangest mix of people around the globe. Pulled, pushed and towed – with their help we always get a bit further… until the next breakdown!
RELATED MEDIA
The Vintagent Trailers: The Wall
https://vimeo.com/514312834
The Vintagent Trailers: A preview of our favorite feature films out there.
THE WALL (2021)
Run Time: 1:15:00
A Film By: Stéphane Gautronneau
Key Cast: Capt Donald Ganslmeier, El Clemente, Peter Petersen, The Flying Dutchman
FILM MAKERS
"I'm not a factory of images, I prefer to bring back only one photo. My images speak of a disappearing world. "
Stéphane Gautronneau is a self-taught photographer, filmmaker, and an adventurer. He began his career assisting some of the most famous fashion photographers, and now regularly contributes to magazines and daily newspapers such as Vogue, Glamour US, Paris Match, Air France Magazine & Madame, The World, Liberation, The New York Times, Vanity Fair US, Harpers Bazaar UK, Stern, The Guardian, and The Independent.
As an Ambassador for the BMW Motorrad brand, he opened many routes like Perth-Sydney; Paris-Goa; Istanbul-Kathmandu; Buenos Aires-Atacama, Paris-Vladivostok-Lisbon.
If he travels in sometimes extreme conditions - under a tent, on a motorcycle, on a glacier - it is to capture intact landscapes. He gives time another dimension, that of being an important component of each shot.
SUMMARY
The Original Motodrom is the oldest traveling Wall Of Death in the world. Built in 1928, it will soon be a 100 year old circus. The four “Motorellos” Capt Donald Ganslmeier, El Clemente, Peter Petersen, and The Flying Dutchman are keeping the soul of these machines alive by riding The Wall Of Death to entertain hundreds of thousands of people. For them, the same passion still burns.
Shot over five years - June 2015 to August 2020 - 'The Wall' gives viewers a rare, in depth look into a disappearing profession and way of life. Beautiful and at times heartbreaking, we see through the expert eye of filmmaker Stéphane Gautronneau how the passion of these riders alone is what keeps the Wall Of Death alive today.
Updates on the release of this much anticipated feature length documentary at film festivals around the world will be announced later this year. Stay Tuned!
RELATED MEDIA
Website: Stéphane Gautronneau
Website: Original Motodrom
The Vintagent Classics: Roustabout
https://vimeo.com/513991987
The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.
ROUSTABOUT (1964)
Run Time: 1:41:00
Producer: Wallis-Hazan
Director: John Rich
Writer: Anthony Lawrence, Allan Weiss
Key Cast: Elvis Presley, Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Freeman, Charles Thomas - Stunt Rider
FILM MAKERS
Elvis Presley as a Roving, Restless, Reckless, ROUSTABOUT!
Charlie Rogers (Elvis Presley) is a leather-jacketed biker who's fired from a singing engagement after getting into a fight with a group of college toughs. While riding his cycle - a Honda 305 Superhawk - to the next gig, an irate dad runs him off the road when he flirts with his daughter. He's forced to take a job as a "Roustabout" with a traveling carnival until his bike can be fixed. The carnival is run by a tough old broad, a broken-down drunk, and his nubile daughter. Along the way, Charlie (who's got a chip on his shoulder about being an orphan) somehow learns about family values from this vaguely dysfunctional one. A scheming rival carny shows up, based on the legend of Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis Presley's real-life manager.
SUMMARY
Elvis quickly embraces the carnival life and even tries his hand at the Wall Of Death! It's long been rumored that Elvis did his own stunts including the lap on the wall that ends in a nasty crash, but in fact it was Charles E. Thomas who rode as his stunt double on a Harley Scat 175cc. In real life, Thomas owned and operated the Motordrome featured in the film, and his picture can be seen just above 'Elvis's' head (in the black and white lobby card). Thomas passed away a year later.
The Roustabout soundtrack album was number one on the Billboard Albums Chart, which was a great accomplishment in that it reached number one during the peak of Beatle Mania and the British Invasion.
The title song, Roustabout is the one everyone remembers. However Elvis also recorded another song for the film called "I'm a Roustabout". "Roustabout" was picked and "I'm a Roustabout" was never released. The song was recently discovered and was released as a bonus track on a CD in 2003. Listen to it here: I'm a Roustabout
RELATED MEDIA
Watch Roustabout on Amazon
The Vintagent Classics: Death Riders
https://vimeo.com/507636348
The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.
Death Riders (1976)
Run Time: 1:28:00
Director: Jim Wilson (as James Wilson)
Key Cast: Henry Trumblay, Bud Boerma, Joe Byars
FILM MAKERS
This film is respectfully dedicated to all whose daring feats cost them their lives.
Jim Wilson's only Directorial credit brings us a wonderful behind the scenes look at the life of a traveling daredevil troop as they criss-cross the country with a motorcycle rodeo clown named Squeeks, performing their “Death Riders Motorcycle Thrill Show” at local fairs. The film is absolutely endearing and brings to mind On Any Sunday (1971) meets Jackass, in the best possible of ways.
SUMMARY
The best part of the Death Riders thrill show…is to stay alive!
Flaming walls, long jumps over anything and everything, including fair going fans and even the inhabitants of a nudist colony. The suspense is surprisingly nerve wracking as these riders take their lives in their hands to pull off death defying, hilariously named stunts. The Death Riders work hard and play even harder. Downtime is spent taking cowboys up on challenges to ride the bull, carnival rides with pretty local girls, and taking the bikes out in the dirt of the vast American deserts. The film even documents Larry Man making a new world record jumping 45 people off a 2 foot ramp.
The director of photography for Death Riders, Vilmos Zsigmond also shot Sugarland Express and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and it’s the photography that really makes this film great. Long wistful shots of American landscape, close up shots of adoring fans on the edge of their seats in the bleachers, and pensive silent moments of the boys before they put their necks on the line. The soundtrack is also wonderful. If anyone compiles it before me, please let me know!
Soundtrack: Sunshine Baby – Terry Stafford / Broken Bones – Tommy Cash / The Glory Train – Pat Boone / Live for Now – T.G Sheppard / Death Rider – Dorsey Burnette / Junkyard Serenade – Porter Jordan / The Love of My man – Diane Jordan / Highway Country Blues – Kenny Seratt / I Hate to Drink Alone – Jerry Naylor / Sunny Side Up – Terry Stafford.
RELATED MEDIA
Read more at Cine Meccanica
Buy the DVD at The Video Beat
The Vintagent Trailers: Speed Is My Need
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUcGct6ZDQg
The Vintagent Trailers: A preview of our favorite feature films out there.
SPEED IS MY NEED (2019)
Run Time: 1:14:46
Producer: Alan Byron
Director: Mark Sloper
Key Cast: 'Fast' Freddie Spencer, Leon 'Pocket Rocket' Haslam, Colin 'Texas Tornado' Edwards
FILM MAKERS
Mark Sloper is a producer and director, known for I, Superbiker: Day of Reckoning (2013), Small Time Obsession (2000) and I Superbiker (2011).
SUMMARY
Speed is My Need strips bare the euphoria of speed on two wheels. Injury and death constantly lurk around the next corner when a misjudged twist of the throttle means that the next time you put your helmet on, could be your last. The Isle of Man TT is notorious for ending lives and careers. Race tracks were never built for the increased performance of today’s race bikes - so why do riders risk life and limb in their quest to go ever-faster?
Speed is My Need uncovers how sports psychologists and surgical experts across Europe are helping racers to rebuild their minds and bodies in order to race on the edge of oblivion. With access to heroic racing footage, Speed is My Need is a pulsating, edge of the seat ride into the strategic minds and courageous hearts of these two-wheeled gladiators.
RELATED MEDIA
Watch the full film on Amazon
The Vintagent Trailers: Wheels Of Soul
https://vimeo.com/498925502
The Vintagent Trailers: A preview of our favorite feature films out there.
WHEELS OF SOUL (2006)
Run Time: 56:00:00
Producer: Guerrilla Docs
A Film By: Randall Wilson
Key Cast: Bear, Super Chicken, Bear Claw
FILM MAKERS
Randall Wilson has directed several documentaries delving into the world of the outlaw biker, including Ride Free Or Die (2019), Sin City Deciples (2019), Choir Boys MC (2010), Hessians MC (2005), American Biker (2005), and Glory Road: The Legacy of the African-American Motorcyclist (2005).
SUMMARY
Wheels of Soul is the only racially mixed 1% outlaw motorcycle club in the world.
The predominantly black club must contend with not only the social stereotyping against bikers in the “civilian” world, but with the racial bias in the violent world of outlaw bikers.
The Wheels of Soul documentary allows the audience a voyeuristic peek into the lives of these private men and their families. The members speak frankly on racism, the history of the club, the biker lifestyle and day-to-day struggle on the mean streets of Philadelphia.
RELATED MEDIA
The Vintagent Selects: Bonneville - A Lowbrow Redemption Story
https://www.youtube.com/watch?fbclid=IwAR3q2hwt6MDk7IHQUvkHz64ZN2E84WALSoR1nrVFa5mPcFo-jwulK2V3Jro&v=s2kk3Oz2RdI&feature=youtu.be
The Vintagent Selects: A collection of our favorite films by artists around the world.
BONNEVILLE - A LOWBROW REDEMPTION STORY (2021)
Run Time: 49:15
Producer: Lowbrow Customs
Directed, Filmed, Edited: Mikey "Revolt" Arnold
Music Licensed by: Artlist.io
Key Cast: Tyler Malinky, Kyle Malinky, Andy Cox, Alp Sungurtekin
FILM MAKERS
Mikey “Revolt” Arnold is a Cleveland based photographer and videographer for Lowbrow Customs and Forever The Chaos Life. Not only known for his creation of beautiful motorcycle imagery, he is also a co-founder of an award-winning motorcycle show called Fuel Cleveland. Mikey prides himself by not only documenting the custom motorcycle community but also giving that community a platform to shine on a larger scale. He is a self-published author along with having multiple stories and photo features published in countless motorcycle publications all over the world. Traveling, cooking, hiking, hunting down records / mid-century modern antiques, and creating music are just a few other things he’s into. Riding motorcycles goes in hand with all of those things as he states, "Creativity in design, art, food, finding the adventure, and surrounding yourself with good people is what life is all about."
SUMMARY
This full length film covers the 2019 and 2020 land speed racing efforts from Team Lowbrow. The team consists of Tyler Malinky, Kyle Malinky, Andy Cox and Alp Sungurtekin. With the rollercoaster of emotions that left everyone in heart ache after Tyler crashed at Speed Week 2019. The 2020 race season was left questionable due to the state of the world and the concerns if racing would even be able to happen. A last minute decision was made by Tyler and his brother Kyle to return to the salt for World Finals 2020 with hopes of redemption and putting their names in the record books.
RELATED MEDIA
The Vintagent Selects: My Bike: 1971 Yamaha At1 125
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fX7_R70NC7o
The Vintagent Selects: A collection of our favorite films by artists around the world.
MY BIKE: 1971 YAMAHA AT1 125 (2013)
Run Time: 1:14
A Film By: James Jones
Music By: James Jones
Key Cast: Corinna Mantlo
FILM MAKERS
James Jones is a NYC based filmmaker. 1971 Yamaha AT1 125 is the first film in the six part 'My Bike' series. Followed by: 2014 Thruxton, 1973 Triumph Daytona T100R, Aaron, 1969 Triumph Tiger, 2013 Sportster Iron,
SUMMARY
Corinna Mantlo talks about her motorcycle: a 1971 yamaha at1 125. Corinna is Curator Of Film here at The Vintagent as well as the Founder of Via Meccanica, The Miss-Fires, Cine Meccanica, and The Motorcycle Film Festival.
RELATED MEDIA
The Vintagent Classics: The Pace That Thrills
https://vimeo.com/485718903
The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.
THE PACE THAT THRILLS (1952)
Run Time: 1:03:00
Producer: RKO
Director: Leon Barsha
Writer: Robert Lee Johnson, DeVallon Scott
Key Cast: Bill Williams, Carla Balenda, Robert Armstrong
FILM MAKERS
The Pace That Thrills is a 1952 American action film directed by Leon Barsha and written by Robert Lee Johnson and DeVallon Scott. The film stars Bill Williams, Carla Balenda, Robert Armstrong, Frank McHugh and Michael St. Angel.
SUMMARY
Los Angeles newspaper reporter Eve Drake is assigned to cover a motorcycle race. There she sees Dusty Weston win a race using questionable tactics. She is asked to present the winner's trophy afterward, but when Dusty plants a kiss on her, she slaps his face.
Eve's critical article irks Dusty and his employer, J.C. Barton, who owns a motorcycle factory. At a home belonging to his mechanic pal Rocket Anderson, they discuss Eve with rival cyclist Chris Rhodes, another friend. Chris suggests softening her up and invites Eve to pay another visit. She enjoys a cycle ride until Chris and Dusty try to elude two motorcycle police officers and crash into a ditch.
Chris then suffers a leg injury in a race after Dusty's dangerous maneuver. Dusty is fired, after which Chris is given a new hydraulic bike to race that Barton needs to be a success if he is going to be able to keep his factory up and running. Chris protests that Dusty is the better rider and could win the big race on the new bike. Barton refuses to budge, and while Dusty takes a job as a trick rider for a carnival (see link below to watch the daredevil scene).
Chris falls in love with Eve, but she's romantically attracted to Dusty and unsure what to do. Chris punches him when Dusty says they intend to marry. Dusty then surprisingly enters the big race, competing against Chris and the new Barton bike. At the last minute, when Chris takes a spill, Dusty deliberately does the same, giving Chris a chance to get back up and be victorious. A grateful Chris congratulates his friend and Eve on their engagement.
RELATED MEDIA
Watch the Wall of Death / Hell Driver carnival scene at Cine Meccanica
The Vintagent Selects: 1500
https://vimeo.com/492481412
The Vintagent Selects: A collection of our favorite films by artists around the world.
1500 (2020)
Run Time: 14:46
A film by: Will Carr
FILM MAKERS
Wolli Films is the creative friendship between Will Carr and Oliver Knoop. Brought together through a passion of motorbikes that quickly developed into an artistic collaboration. With a shared passion for the beauty in the details of life that often go unnoticed and an eye for the cinematic, they bring out the soul of each project no matter the scale or purpose.
SUMMARY
1500 - A Short Film About A Long Adventure
‘1500’ is a short documentary about the longest motorcycle rally in Europe - The Great Malle Rally. Shot and edited in 2020 by the filmmaker Will Carr, as he rode the 1500+ route from the southern to the northern tip of mainland Britain, capturing the adventure with the rally teams.
RELATED MEDIA
About the Rally: WWW.MALLELONDON.COM/RALLY
Wolli Films: WWW.WOLLIFILMS.COM
The Vintagent Selects: Stacie B. London: In A Straight Line
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KB6t4WkNygM&feature=youtu.be
The Vintagent Selects: A collection of our favorite films by artists around the world.
Stacie B. London: In A Straight Line (2020)
Run Time: 28:19
Producer: Nadia Fugazza
Director: Tiziano Niero
Key Cast: Stacie B. London
FILM MAKERS
Originally produced for Petrolicious, shared exclusively with The Vintagent.
SUMMARY
When it comes to riding motorcycles, Stacie London isn’t the type to shy away from a challenge. Her goals see her chasing and breaking speed records, but while it takes a lot of determination and focus to do so, there’s no tunnel vision in this story. For Stacie, being involved in the whole process is essential to why she rides at all.
In this film, we dive into that process, to all the months of preparation that manifest in more than just long hours spent in the shop, from setting up and tuning her vintage single-cylinder Harley-Davidson, to the less tangible, more philosophical elements that culminate in the act itself: getting out onto the salt flats and going as fast as possible.
Stacie’s mentor and helping hand throughout many of her years of land speed riding, Ralph Hudson, has been a source of inspiration and wisdom for her record attempts, and although he tragically passed away this year doing what he loved (Hudson, one of the most known and loved figures in the community, broke the land speed record for “sit-on” motorcycles at the age of 67 on his turbocharged Suzuki in 2017), the guidance he shared is as important as ever, and the memories eternally cherished.
Stacie continues to set new records, and subsequently new goals, because sometimes the end game is not to finally reach the proverbial carrot, but to keep going after it, faster and faster.
RELATED MEDIA
The Vintagent Selects: Ray Thauscher
https://vimeo.com/459080305
The Vintagent Selects: A collection of our favorite films by artists around the world.
RAY TAUSCHER (2020)
Run Time: 16:53
A film by: Ned & Mike Thanhouser
FILM MAKERS
Ned is an award winning documentary filmmaker. He is also an avid member of the local motorcycle community and has produced several short films about the Alley Sweeper and the Black Dog Dual Sport events, as well as the 2016 feature documentary film The Monkey & Her Driver, which follows America’s only all women sidecar road racing team for 2015.
SUMMARY
Raymond F. Tauscher (Tauser in international press), born in Portland in 1905, began riding motorcycles in 1920 inspired by racing at the Gresham Speed Bowl. His competitive racing career began in 1923 where he won the regional championship. His titleholder status took him around the globe five times where in 1931 he won international championship titles in the UK, Europe and Australia. Ray returned to America in 1934 where he was a leading proponent of motorcycle racing on the east and west coasts of the United States eventually retiring in Portland.
In 2020 Ned Thanhouser and son Michael Thanhouser researched Ray’s racing career, located surviving family members and collected Ray’s scrapbooks, photo albums, and racing memorabilia. This 17-minute documentary film tells the story of Ray’s racing career, his world-wide travels, and his loves.
This film premiered at the South Jersey Moto Film Festival on December 4, 2020.
RELATED MEDIA
The Vintagent Classics: Cycles South
https://vimeo.com/487792187
The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.
CYCLES SOUTH (1971)
Run Time: 1:28:00
Producer: DAL Arts
Director: Don Marshall
Writer: Bill Adkins, Don Marshall
Key Cast: Don Marshall, Vaughan Everly, Bobby Garcia
FILM MAKERS
Three young men decide to break the monotony in their lives by climbing on their BSA 441 Victor Specials, pointing them south and heading wherever fate takes them.
SUMMARY
Probably the most politically-incorrect road movie you will ever see. Tired of their everyday life of drinking and women-chasing, three guys jump on their BSAs with $300 apiece and ride from Colorado to Panama to indulge in some, er, drinking and women-chasing. This wild documentary shows our heroes living it up on the road, while exhorting the viewer to do likewise before becoming tied down with work and family.
These guys squeeze action and adventure out of every moment — diving for their dinner, surfing, dirt-biking, even a spot of bull-fighting! But to make it absolutely clear that this isn’t some kind of introspective soul-searching trip, they also spend a lot of time pursuing every bit of skirt going,including a stop-off at a very groovy commune, where they smoke a load of dope and get frisky with the hippie chicks before indulging in some impromptu nude motocross racing!
If you have ever dreamed of hitting the road with a bunch of mates and behaving extremely badly (and who hasn’t?) this film may finally kick you into action! - review courtesy of The Adventure Travel Film Festival
RELATED MEDIA
The Vintagent Classics: The Hard Ride
https://youtu.be/eq0xrQjRVdY
The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.
THE HARD RIDE (1971)
Run Time: 1:33:00
A Bilm By: Burt Topper
Key Cast: Robert Fuller, Sherry Bain, Tony Russel
FILM MAKERS
He came home for love and peace and found another kind of war.
The Hard Ride came out at the tail end of the Biker Flick deluge, and is unique in it's tone. A dark but sentimental tale of a fallen Vietnam soldier returned home to be laid to rest by his old biker gang. The film was written, directed, and produced by Burt Topper, a name well known in vehicular cult cinema for producing Fireball 500 (1966), Thunder Alley (1967), Devil’s Angels (1967), and The Devil’s 8 (1969). Burt (credited as Burton Topper) also wrote The Wild Ride (1960) a juvenile delinquent hot rod film starring a young Jack Nicholson.
SUMMARY
Maybe you’ll fall in love with Baby and take up with Big Red and the guys. That’d be Groovy.
A gang rides through the desert. Swing Low Sweet Chariot plays as they roll slow towards the titles. Lenny, riding two-up on his buddy’s chopper seems wistful and far away. A moment later, at an air force base, it seems that Lenny was indeed being transported by his buddy Phil (Robert Fuller), but not on a joy ride, as in the flashback, but instead in a coffin, back from Vietnam.
Phil’s post Vietnam mission is to find Lenny’s girl Sheryl (Sherry Bain), his old gang, and Baby. Big Tom, the preacher who raised Lenny at the orphanage tells him where to find Sheryl and takes him to Baby…a long rake, springer front, triple head light knucklehead chopper. Phil hasn’t been on the anything bigger than a dirt bike in years but luckily Rev. Big Tom who’d been taking Baby out for a spin every Sunday since Lenny’s been gone sets him up. “First gear is down, the rest are up” and sends him on his way.
Phil finds Sheryl working at a roadside dive. She sees a bit of Lenny in Phil and she did always love that bike, so they hit the road together to find Big Red & Co, Lenny’s old gang who he wanted at his funeral, but not before being hassled by a bunch of bikers who recognize Lenny’s old bike…and his old lady. Out in the desert, they find Grady and his gang, who want the chopper and don’t plan on taking no for an answer. Of course, they also didn’t plan on a tough as nails marine, and Phil and Sheryl escape.
Sheryl sees a bit of Lenny in Phil and takes him to all the places they used to go, and they start to fall for each other. Of course along the way, they get hassled by the coppers, kids looking for grass, and Lenny’s old gang who wants the chopper and the chick back. The gang is after them, but they track Red to his whorehouse first, where they fight. Vietnam sounds flash during the scuffle.
No broad on Earth is worth all this trouble.
Beat up bad, Red gives in and says he can keep Sheryl. Lenny didn’t know Sheryl had been turned out while he was away, but a promise is a promise and his last wishes were that Red and the gang be at the funeral, so Phil gives Red Baby’s pink slip as a bribe to get him to come to the funeral where he promises to deliver the bike and then split town for good. A few fights, sprawling highway rides and make out scenes later, the best friend, old lady, gang, preacher, and chopper are all convened in the graveyard for the funeral, just as Lenny asked. Swing Low Sweet Chariot plays over the credits.
RELATED MEDIA
Read more at Cine Meccanica
Listen to the Soundtrack on Juke Box Meccanica
The Vintagent Classics: The Wild One
https://vimeo.com/304260214
The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.
THE WILD ONE (1953)
Run Time: 1:19:00
Director: Laslo Benedek
Writer: Tom Paxton (script), Frank Rooney (based on a story by)
Key Cast: Marlon Brando, Mary Murphy, Lee Marvin,
FILM MAKERS
Marlon Brando! Driven Too Far By His Own Hot Blood!
Almost a decade after veterans returned from war with a new found passion for bikes (and specifically slimmed down, bob jobs like they’d grown used to riding in the field) and also just a few years after the riots at Hollister, Hollywood introduces the first film with motorcycles as a central character. Released in 1953, it was based on a short story, The Cyclists’ Raid, by Frank Rooney, published in the January 1951 issue of Harper’s Magazine.
SUMMARY
The Wild One featured the newest threat to society, the biker, replacing the Cagneys of the 30s gangster films, and instilled the allure of a new misunderstood anti-hero. The film’s plot revolves around a motorcycle club split in two over an unexplained riff, and it’s the motorcycles that most clearly illustrates the split of the gang. Marlon Brando epitomized a new cool in his perfectly rebellious uniform of black leather, cuffed jeans, t-shirt, engineer boots and riding a stock 1950 Triumph Thunderbird T6 as leader of the BRMC. But, it was Lee Marvin in his bold stripes, aviator goggles, chewing on stogie while draped over a ’49 flathead/’50 panhead? Bobber as the leader of The Beatles, who made us fall in love with the bad boy. The disenfranchised, yet relatively harmless youth ride stock and polished modern motorcycles as BRMC, while the more rough and tumble
bad boys of The Beatles ride post WWII minimalist bobbers. This is the first film where we see the customization of motorcycles and if the bobber is the origin of the chopper, this is the first celluloid step to the chopper film. - Paul d'Orleans, The Chopper: The Real Story
RELATED MEDIA
Watch the FULL FILM
The Vintagent Classics: Psychomania
https://youtu.be/KyuDS8J-g38
The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.
PSYCHOMANIA aka THE DEATH WHEELERS (1972)
Run Time: 1:30:36
Director: Don Sharp
Writer: Arnaud d'Usseau, Julian Zimet (as Julian Halevy)
Cast: Nicky Henson, Mary Larkin, Ann Michelle
FILM MAKERS
"The only teenage zombie biker frog voodoo hippy musical that Beryl Reed ever made."
During a BBC interview star Nicky Henson said that he has always thought the film was terrible and only decided to be in it because he thought no one would ever see the film. He was surprised to find himself being interviewed about Psychomania forty years later.
SUMMARY
"Everybody dies don’t they… But some come back."
A gang of young people call themselves the Living Dead. They terrorize the population from their small town. After an agreement with the devil, if they kill themselves firmly believing in it, they will survive and gain eternal life. Following their leader, they commit suicide one after the other, but things don't necessarily turn out as expected...
RELATED MEDIA
Rent the FULL FILM
Read more at Cine Meccanica
More spooky biker classics, curated for Jalopnik
The Vintagent Original: Silver Shotgun
https://vimeo.com/465913160
The Vintagent Original: Stories We Need to Tell.
SILVER SHOTGUN (2020)
Run Time: 4:54
A Film By: David Martinez
Edited By: Anais Bernard
Key Cast: Paul d'orleans
FILM MAKER
For David Martinez, photography is both a calculated science and a free verse art form. The controllable variables – the light, the shutter speed, the aperture – are all simply tools to allow the authenticity of a real moment to occur. David captures the beauty and sincerity of these scenes in the pictures he makes. Always at the forefront of technology (but still with a roll of medium format film in his camera bag), David has been shooting high definition video since DSLR technology made it more available. David is always ready for an adventure – with his surf bag packed and camera in hand.
SUMMARY
Silver Shotgun explores the sexy Seventies of Italian motorcycle design, when Italian motorcycles were the fastest, best-handling, and most beautiful in the world. Silver Shotgun explores the roots of this explosion of creativity and mechanical excellence that made the decade so special. Silver Shotgun is the third exhibition curated at the Petersen Automotive Museum by Paul d'Orléans, and produced by the Motorcycle Arts Foundation. Silver Shotgun was also produced by Sasha Tcherevkoff and the Stuart Parr Collection.
RELATED MEDIA
The Vintagent Original: Baja Scrambler
https://vimeo.com/468994952
The Vintagent Originals: Stories We Need to Tell.
BAJA SCRAMBLER (2020)
Run Time: 6:42
Producer: The Vintagent
Director: David Martinez
Editor: Anais Bernard
Key Cast: Paul d'Orleans
FILM MAKER
David Martinez is a professional photographer and filmmaker, for whom photography is both a calculated science and a free verse art form. The controllable variables – the light, the shutter speed, the aperture – are all simply tools to allow the authenticity of a real moment to occur. David captures the beauty and sincerity of these scenes in the pictures he makes. Always at the forefront of technology (but still with a roll of medium format film in his camera bag), David has been shooting high definition video since DSLR technology made it more available. David is always ready for an adventure – with his surf bag packed and camera in hand.
SUMMARY
The original Baja bike? Paul d'Orléans thinks it's the Honda CL72, the bike that set off a wave of Baja races after Dave Ekins set a record from Tijuana to La Paz in just shy of 40hours. After Dave, the deluge, and the Baja 1000 was created. Filmmaker David Martinez follows Paul around the desert roads of Los Cabos as he rides his 1964 CL72 Scrambler, and talks about the original Baja Scrambler.
RELATED MEDIA
https://thevintagent.com/2017/10/29/the-vintagent-original-wheel-and-waves/
https://thevintagent.com/2017/08/13/the-vintagent-original-model-x/
https://thevintagent.com/2017/06/10/the-vintagent-original-the-ended-summer/
https://thevintagent.com/2019/09/06/david-martinez-bonneville-2019/
The Vintagent Selects: Riders: The Illestrator
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxlf-yNT-JY&feature=youtu.be
The Vintagent Selects: A collection of our favorite films by artists around the world.
RIDERS: THE ILLESTRATOR (2020)
Run Time: 4:31
A film By: Cam Elkins & Erik Jutras
Photography & Interview: Ryan Handt
Cast: The Illestrator
FILM MAKERS
RIDERS is a short-form, experimental series which came about from a conversation between Cam Elkins from Stories of Bike (based in Sydney, Australia) and Erik Jutras aka Mr. Pixelhead (based in San Francisco, USA). We both really enjoyed each others' work and came up with the idea to combine Erik's iconic black and white photography with Stories of Bike-style story-telling.
The RIDERS series is aiming to be a little experimental. By combining a unique photographic style from a variety of photographers around the world, immersive sound design and minimalist synthesizer by Andrew Jones we hope to create a different kind of moto photo essay.
SUMMARY
This episode follows The Illustrator, a NYC based motovloger as he builds, rides, and works to change peoples perceptions.
Read an interview with The Illestrator on NYC Motorcyclist.
RELATED MEDIA
Motovlog: The Illestrator
Instagram: @StoriesOfBike
Instagram: @Ryan_Handt
The Vintagent Trailers: Ray Tauscher
https://vimeo.com/384797296
The Vintagent Trailers: A preview of our favorite feature films out there.
Run Time: 00:17:00 Ned is an award winning documentary filmmaker. He is also an avid member of the local motorcycle community and has produced several short films about the Alley Sweeper and the Black Dog Dual Sport events, as well as the 2016 feature documentary film The Monkey & Her Driver, which follows America’s only all women sidecar road racing team for 2015. Born in Portland in 1905, Raymond F. Tauscher (Tauser in international press) began riding motorcycles in 1920 inspired by racing at the Gresham Speed Bowl in Oregon. His competitive racing career began in 1923 when he won northwest regional championships on flat tracks and hill climbs. His US titleholder status took him around the globe five times where in 1931 he held four international championship titles in Australia, England, and France. Ray returned to America in 1934 where he was a leading proponent of motorcycle racing on the east and west coasts of the United States eventually retiring in Portland where he died in 1981 from a brain tumor. This 17-minute documentary tells Ray’s life story imagined as if he is recounting his life and racing career. Ray’s family provide his scrapbooks and photo albums making this film possible. This film will be released to general public in January 2021. Stay Tuned!RAY TAUSCHER (coming coon)
A film by: Ned & Mike ThanhouserFILM MAKERS
SUMMARY
RELATED MEDIA
The VIntagent Trailers: When The Road Ends
https://vimeo.com/459153208
The Vintagent Trailers: A preview of our favorite feature films out there.
WHEN THE ROAD ENDS: Lost In The Pacific (2020)
Run Time: 1:93:00
Producer: Dylan Wickrama
Director: Dylan Wickrama
Writor: Dylan Wickrama
Key Cast: Dylan Wickrama
FILM MAKERS
Based on the book 'When the road ends; the tale of an incredible journey' This story may be the most unusual and incredible motorcycle journey you will ever get to read about! It is Inspirational, funny and moving and has the quality to take you on an adventure.
As a young child, Dylan often daydreamed of adventure and yearned to travel the world. However, growing up in Sri Lanka, facing extreme poverty and many hardships, his dreams often seemed as impossible to reach as the stars in the night sky. Yet despite all the odds and many years later, Dylan literally rides around the world on a motorcycle which he affectionately names Bruce. After 130,000 miles, four continents and two and a half years later, Dylan finds himself in Panama where all roads suddenly end...
SUMMARY
Growing up in poverty as a child, Dylan dreamt of traveling the world on a motorcycle. Many years later he broke the shackles of a normal life and took to the road. After journeying 200,000 km across four continents, the road from Panama to Colombia comes to an end at the Darién Gap, swallowed up by an impenetrable jungle. Dylan has no choice but to take to the sea, building a raft powered by his motorcycle in the hope of reaching Colombia's road network 700 km away. He must brave strong ocean currents and storms in his journey from Central to South America.
RELATED MEDIA
The Vintagent Trailers: Somewhere Else Together
https://vimeo.com/459484223
The Vintagent Trailers: A preview of our favorite feature films out there.
SOMEWHERE ELSE TOGETHER (2019)
Run Time: 120:01:00
Director: Daniel Rintz
Writer: Daniel Rintz
Key Cast: Daniel Rintz, Josephine Flohr
FILM MAKERS
Filmmaker Daniel Rintz's 2019 sequel to Somewhere Else Tomorrow. The film was funded through an IndiGoGo campaign which The Vintagent was proud to support.
SUMMARY
Chased by wild elephants. Caught in the cross-fire of a police-smuggler gunfight. Stranded by engine trouble in a civil war zone. How much is this adventurous couple willing to go through for their quest of finding the perfect way of life? Traveling around the globe for three years they meet people from all walks of life, their attitude towards the world is challenged and their ultimate destination unexpected.
RELATED MEDIA
The Vintagent Classics: Darktown Strutters
https://vimeo.com/451142046
The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.
DARKTOWN STRUTTERS (1975)
Run Time: 1:23:53
Director: William Witney
Writor: George Armitage
Key Cast: Trina Parks, Edna Richardson, Bettye Sweet
FILM MAKERS
Singin' Dancin' Struttin'
Darktown Strutters is a 1975 blaxploitation musical comedy film from New World Pictures. Despite having mixed reviews at the time it has gained cult status over the years with praise from film director Quentin Tarantino. Tarantino called it "a ridiculous satire."
SUMMARY
This movie will fry your eggs!
"The very least you can say for "Darktown Strutters" is that it's the first black motorcycle gang rock scifi musical, which would seem to be saying a lot. But the movie bites off about two more genres than it can chew, and never quite works as anything. That's not to say it doesn't try: We get a bewildering mixture of characters, plots, actions, songs, dances and even a guest appearance by the Dramatics, who sing "What You See is What You Get" after they're rescued from the subterranean dungeons of a white chicken 'n' ribs tycoon..." - Roger Ebert (read the few 1975 review HERE)
RELATED MEDIA
Watch the full film on CINE MECCANICA
The Vintagent Classics: Burning Up
https://vimeo.com/445389331
The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.
BURNING UP (1930)
Run Time: 56:35
Producer: Paramount Pictures
Director: A. Edward Sutherland
Writer: Grover Jones, William Slavens McNutt
Key Cast: Richard Arlen, Mary Brian, Francis McDonald
FILM MAKERS
Burning Up is a 1930 American Pre-Code action film starring Richard Arlen as a racing driver and Mary Brian as his love interest, the daughter of a fellow driver. An early talkie, the film also features motorcycle stunts, and also stars Francis McDonald, Sam Hardy, Charles Sellon, and Tully Marshall. The film was released on February 1, 1930, by Paramount Pictures.
The film was made in an effort by Paramount's Jesse L. Lasky to emulate the success of earlier racing films made by the late Wallace Reid, "emulating Wally's films almost exactly", and with director Allen Sigler having "filmed the racing scenes exactly as Wally's had been done". One review described it as "the old racing-car scenario brought up to date with sound and talk".
SUMMARY
"Sweethearts again. The man you can't help loving. The girl you can't forget..in a hurry-up, merry-up, thrill romance that's a wow"
Racecar-driver Lou Larrigan gets mixed up with a crooked gang of racetrack promoters, and is in love with Ruth Morgan, whose father is marked as a victim by the gang.
Well worth the watch, especially for the opening Wall of Death Motordrome sequence where two riders compete for a date with the girl. Check the ladder and gangplank. Wild!
RELATED MEDIA
Watch the full film for FREE on Cine Meccanica Youtube channel
The Vintagent Classics: Motorcycle Gang
https://vimeo.com/446552892
The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.
MOTORCYCLE GANG (1957)
Run Time: 1:18:00
Producer: American International Pictures
Director: Edward L. Cahn
Writer: Lou Rusoff
Key Cast: Anne Neyland, Steven Terrell, John Ashley
FILM MAKERS
WILD AND WICKED...living with no tomorrow! Motorcycle Gang is a 1957 film which is a semi-remake of Dragstrip Girl. It was released by American International Pictures as a double feature with Sorority Girl.
The film was remade as part of the anthology series Rebel Highway. A short-lived revival of American International Pictures created and produced by Lou Arkoff, the son of Samuel Z. Arkoff and Debra Hill for the Showtime channel in 1994. The concept was 10-week series of 1950s “drive-in classic” B-movies remade “with a ’90s edge”. The impetus for the series, according to Arkoff was, “what it would be like if you made Rebel Without a Cause today?".
SUMMARY
"commendably free of unhealthy sensationalism... tells its unpretentious little moral simply enough." - The Los Angeles Times, 1957
A troublemaker returns to town only to find his old tearaway pals have joined a supervised motorcycle club. Friction erupts between him and the new leader about this goody-goody setup, and about the charms of gang moll Terry.
One overlooked aspect of this film is that the gang calls no particular attention to the fact that it's co-ed. It's often easy to forget that there was a time before the Biker flicks of the 1960's and this is what it looked like, on screen and off. From the hot rod racing ladies of the juvenile delinquent films created by the American Hot Rod Association as PSAs to get 1950's kids off the streets and onto the track...to the fully patched female members of the 1% clubs...there's a whole lot of history waiting to be told.
RELATED MEDIA
Read more at Cine Meccanica
Watch the Full film on Cine Meccanica Youtube channel
The Vintagent Classics: Duck, You Sucker!
https://youtu.be/ljOWgFW0rhg
The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.
DUCK, YOU SUCKER! (1971)
Run Time: 2:37:00
Director: Sergio Leone
Writer: Sergio Leone, Sergio Donati
Music: Ennio Morricone
Key Cast: Rod Steiger, James Coburn, Romolo Valli
FILM MAKERS
Duck, You Sucker! (Italian: Giù la testa, lit. "Duck Your Head"), also known as A Fistful of Dynamite and Once Upon a Time... The Revolution, is a 1971 epic Zapata Western film directed and co-written by Sergio Leone and starring Rod Steiger, James Coburn and Romolo Valli.
It is the second film of Leone's Once Upon a Time Trilogy, which includes the previous Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) and the subsequent Once Upon a Time in America (1984). The last western film directed by Leone, it is considered by some to be one of his most overlooked films.
The musical score was composed by Ennio Morricone, who collaborated with Leone in all his previous projects as a director with the exception of his debut, The Colossus of Rhodes. Elvis Mitchell, former film critic for The New York Times, considered it as one of Morricone's "most glorious and unforgettable scores". He also sees "Invention for John", which plays over the opening credits and is essentially the film's theme, "as epic and truly wondrous as anything Morricone ever did".
SUMMARY
The revolution is not a social dinner, a literary event, a drawing or an embroidery; it cannot be done with...elegance and courtesy. The revolution is an act of violence... - Mao Tse-Tung
Set during the Mexican Revolution of the 1910s, the film tells the story of Juan Miranda, an amoral Mexican outlaw, and John Mallory, a motorcycle riding ex-Irish Republican Army revolutionary. After they accidentally meet under less-than-friendly circumstances, Juan and John involuntarily become heroes of the Revolution despite being forced to make heavy sacrifices.
RELATED MEDIA
Watch the film online for FREE
RIP Ennio Morricone. Read his obituary HERE
Quarantine Cinema 7: Juneteenth Edition
The Black Biker Experience
At The Vintagent, we're interested in the stories we haven't seen or heard before, and film is an ideal medium for telling stories. Today, on Juneteenth (June 19th), we celebrate films about the experience of African-American motorcyclists, although we lament they are few. There are almost no films about the early experience and deep history of African-American riders, like the board track racers we featured in the 'Black Streaks' article, or Bessie Stringfield, the cross-country rider and founding figure in the Motor Maids, or the story of Cliff Vaughs, the Civil Rights activist and filmmaker who played a seminal role in the creation of 'Easy Rider.'
Via our parent organization the Motorcycle Arts Foundation we are actively laying the foundation to tell the Cliff Vaughs story on film: it's production will be our focus starting Autumn 2020. We would also like to encourage filmmakers with such a story to tell: if you've got an idea for a motorcycle-related film about black history or any other under-shared narrative with a social justice angle, we'd like to hear about it, because that's what our non-profit was created to do. Give us a shout.
Even when films are made about black motorcyclists, they are vexed with the problem of distribution. Websites like TheVintagent are one way to get the word out, but are limited in how we can compensate the producers for the high cost of creating a film. It's our hope that the current climate of support for social justice stories will reach the decision-making rooms at the major online media channels, the Netflix/Prime/AppleTV nexus that now dominate film distribution. It's a whole new scene today, so let's see some new stories.
1. Sugar & Spade
"When I got my name, there was nobody around riding these bikes." - 'Spade' George
2. Take None Give None (2015)
"It's an organization that might have some criminals. But it's the same with the police. It's the same with Google."
3. Outcast Forever
"They keep their tradition of being all black, wearing all black, and riding all black motorcycles."
4. 12 O’Clock Boys
"I've been on this earth for a decade and a coupla years. That makes me a grown-ass man."
The Vintagent Classics: The Black Six
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvE1uds-_VQ&feature=youtu.be
The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.
THE BLACK SIX (1974)
Run Time: 1:34:00
Director: Matt Cimber
Writer: Mikel Angel (as George Theakos), Matt Cimber
Cast: Robert Howard, Cindy Daly, Mikel Angel
FILM MAKERS
"See the 6 biggest, baddest and best waste 150 motorcycle dudes!"
The Black Six is a 1974 American blaxploitation and outlaw biker flick written by Mikel Angel and directed by Matt Cimber. The "Black Six" was played by six then-current National Football League stars, and was one of the first all-black biker films.
Filmed on location in Frazier Park, CA. Several of the football players were disappointed with elements in the original script, especially that the black motorcyclists would be killed in the end, despite the fact that they stood for truth, justice and the American way. As a result of their protests, an inconclusive ending was shot.
SUMMARY
"Six Times Tougher Than 'Shaft'! Six Times Rougher Than 'Superfly'!"
An African American veteran of the Vietnam War (played by Gene Washington) returns home to find that his brother (played by Robert Howard) has been killed. The killing was done by a white supremacist motorcycle gang, led by Ben "Thor" Davidson, who objected to the fact that Howard had been dating Thor's sister. Washington and his motorcycle gang, known as the Black Six, vow to avenge his brother's death.
Veterans of the Vietnam War, they have rejected putting themselves into situations where they might be forced to resort to violence. But as six black men riding around the country on motorcycles—not surprisingly—they find themselves in tense situations quite a bit more than most other people.
The Six encounter a number of obstacles, including hostile motorcycle gangs (particularly Thor's), and racist policemen. The movie climaxes with an inconclusive battle royal between the Six and Thor's Caucasian-supremacist biker gang, in which Thor (apparently) blows them and himself up by igniting the gas tank of his own motorcycle. The film concludes with the caption 'Honky, look out...Hassle a brother, and the Black 6 will return!'.
RELATED MEDIA
Watch the full film on CINE MECCANICA
12 O'Clock Boys
https://vimeo.com/426533140
The Vintagent Trailers: A preview of our favorite feature films out there.
12 O'CLOCK BOYS (2013)
Run Time: 1:16:00
Producer: Mission Films
Director: Lotfy Nathan
Writer: Eric Blair
Key Cast: Coco, Pug, Funmi Sodipo
FILM MAKERS
12 O'Clock Boys is a 2013 documentary film directed by Lotfy Nathan. The documentary focuses on urban dirt-bike riders in Baltimore, Maryland and one boy's fascination with the group, dirt bikes, and his desire to join the 12 O'Clock Boys.
The boy, Pug, was filmed over a three-year period starting when he was 13. The film also includes interviews with several members of the 12 O'Clock Boys as well as Pug's mother, Coco.
SUMMARY
The 12 O'Clock Boys are a notorious urban dirt bike pack in Baltimore -- popping wheelies and weaving at excessive speeds through traffic, the group impressively evades the hamstrung police. Their stunning antics are envisioned through the eyes of young adolescent Pug - a bright kid from the Westside obsessed with the riders and willing to do anything to join their ranks.
RELATED MEDIA
The Vintagent Trailers: One Crazy Ride
https://vimeo.com/426056225
The Vintagent Trailers : A preview of our favorite feature films out there.
ONE CRAZY RIDE (2009)
Run Time: 1:27:00
Producer: Dirt Track Productions
Director: Gaurav Jani
Editor: Kishore Jadhav
KEY Cast: Nicolitta Pereira, Vinod Panicker, Sanjeev Sharma, Gursaurabh Singh Toor, Gaurav Jani
FILM MAKERS
Mumbai-based filmmaker and adventure rider Gaurav Jani passed on May 24th 2020. Famous for his self-made films Riding To The Top Of The World Solo and One Crazy Ride about riding in remote areas of the Himalayas, Jani inspired a generation of adventure riders to self-document their own travels.
SUMMARY
A motorcycle expedition on uncharted roads across the Himalayan state
of Arunachal Pradesh, situated in North-east India. But more than an expedition, it's a film on friendship, camaraderie and the "never say die" attitude of five motorcyclists in the face of unforgiving terrain.
Shot in the same format as "Riding Solo To The Top Of The World" with no back-up vehicle or film crew, in parts of India hardly seen, filmed or explored, the documentary captures the interactions and experiences of the riders who are trying to chart a route, which according to everyone does not exist.
RELATED MEDIA
The Vintagent Trailers: Riding Solo To The Top Of The World
https://vimeo.com/426054194
The Vintagent Trailers : A preview of our favorite feature films out there.
RIDING SOLO TO THE TOP OF THE WORLD (2006)
Run Time: 1:34:00
Producer: Dirt Track Productions
Director: Gaurav Jani
Editor: Sankalp Meshram
Key Cast: Gaurav Jani
FILM MAKERS
Mumbai-based filmmaker and adventure rider Gaurav Jani passed on May 24th 2020. Famous for his self-made films Riding To The Top Of The World Solo and One Crazy Ride about riding in remote areas of the Himalayas, Jani inspired a generation of adventure riders to self-document their own travels.
SUMMARY
"A poem about the traveling life. For someone who feels that call to adventure, it's much more. In such a person this film could plant a deeper seed."
Riding Solo... is a film about filmmaker Gaurav Jani's solo motorcycle journey from Mumbai to one of the remotest places in the world, the Changthang Plateau in Ladakh, bordering China. As a one-man film unit, he astonishes you, filming the landscape he passes by and the people he interacts with, capturing moments of beauty, pain, love, hardship, self doubt and spiritual triumphs.
RELATED MEDIA
The Vintagent Selects: A Chat With Stanley
https://vimeo.com/423660103
The Vintagent Selects: A collection of our favorite films by artists around the world.
A CHAT WITH STANLEY (1990)
Run Time: 59:13
A Film By: Woods for the BBC
Key Cast: Stanley Woods
FILM MAKERS
Spend an unforgettable hour in the company of the legendary Stanley Woods.
BBC's Nick Harris asked Stanley Woods for a few anecdotes from his racing career. What followed has now become a piece of history itself.
SUMMARY
For an hour Stanley recalled the magic moments from a racing career starting in 1921 on a Harley Davidson and finishing in 1939 on Velocette. In between were ten TT victories; twenty nine Grand Prix wins; great battles with riders like Guthrie, Simpson, Bennett, Dodson, Daniels, Frith, Handley and many incidents recalled with much humour by the greatest storyteller in Motorcycling - Stanley Woods.
Stanley Woods (1903 – 28 July 1993) was an Irish motorcycle racer famous for 29 motorcycle Grand Prix wins in the 1920s and 1930s, winning the Isle of Man TT races ten times in his career, plus wins at Assen and elsewhere. He was also a skilled trials rider, competing in the 1940s.
RELATED MEDIA
The Vintagent Selects: Ducati Imola 750 Riding The Legend
https://vimeo.com/421893494
The Vintagent Selects: A collection of our favorite films by artists around the world.
DUCATI IMOLA 750 RIDING THE LEGEND (2020)
Run Time: 7:22
Producer: John L. Stein
Director: Seth DeDoes
Cinematographer: Seth DeDoes
Writer: John L. Stein
Key Cast: John L. Stein
FILM MAKERS
SUMMARY
RELATED MEDIA
Quarantine Cinema 6: The Dystopian Future
You might be feeling we've already arrived at a dystopian present, but take heart! Things could be worse - much worse - as the films of Quarantine Cinema 6 prove. We start with the original dystian biker films of the 1970s and 80s: Mad Max, Tron, The Bronx Warriors, and Akira, all magnificent. We follow up with a contemporary film from our own friend Eric Ristau, which is so present-day it hurts - 'The Last Motorcycle on Earth.' It's just come out, and oh dear the timing...
1. Mad Max (1979)
"You don't wanna make Max mad!"
George Miller's boisterous take on a dystopian future, inspired half by the injuries he witnessed as an emergency room doctor, and half by the effect of the '73 Oil Crisis on Australians. 'Mad Max', (Mel Gibson before his nutso transformation into an anti-Semitic ultra-Catholic) is a brutal highway patrolman cruising the outback, in a world full of particularly harsh criminal gangs. A motorcycle gang in particular comes in for Max's attention, and the sadistic tension between Max and his charismatic nemesis is a kinetic masterpiece, inspired, believe it or not, by the silent film antics of Buster Keaton! It helps to keep a sense of humor, well, in all things. Watch the trailer on The Vintagent here.
Watch 'Mad Max' on YouTube for $3.99.
2. TRON (1982)
The Electronic Gladiator
Ten years after his debut performance in 'The Last Picture Show', the Dude himself (Jeff Bridges) plays a computer/video game hacker and arcade owner, who is digitized and trapped inside a computer game by the evil Master Control. The gorgeous early '80s vision of the neon-dark world of computers is made so much better by the first iteration of the Light Cycle, the original electro-future motorcycle used in a gladiatorial combat game. Will Bridges' character Flynn outwit Master Control's computer program? Man fighting the Machine is an old trope, going all the way back to masterworks like Fritz Lang's 'Metropolis' and Jean-Luc Godard's 'Alphaville', but 'Tron' is the first to incorporate the specific appearance of computer games, and is a real classic. Watch the trailer on The Vintagent here.
Watch 'Tron' for $2.99 on Youtube here.
3. 1990: The Bronx Warriors (1982)
"City authorities declare the wasteland of the South Bronx a high-risk area."
It's the future - 1990! Let's face it, only a small stretch of imagination was required for this one in 1982, when NYC was bankrupt, and the Bronx was burning and half destroyed. The borough was a ready-made set for a Mad Max-style anarcho-brutalist dystopian film, with The Riders a dominant gang led by a dead ringer for a metal band singer. The Riders are constantly challenged by cops, clowns, and roller skating hockey players who kill. The film hired a few Hells Angels as riders, and the bikes include a fab selection of late '70s machines...but the sorriest examples. It's a scream! Watch the trailer on The Vintagent here.
Watch 'The Bronx Warriors' FREE on Cine Meccanica here.
4. Akira (1988)
"The end of the world was only the beginning."
OMG, it's 2019! We had such high expectations for The Future, but sadly, only disease has stepped up to the plate to fulfill our dark dreams of the nasty world we think we deserve. After all, nobody's making Utopian films: ask your therapist for confirmation. Set in 2019 (last year!), Akira is set in a world of flying cars, and tells the story of Shōtarō Kaneda, a leader of a biker gang whose childhood friend, Tetsuo Shima, acquires incredible telekinetic abilities after a motorcycle accident. Tokyo was destroyed in WW3, and Tetsuo's abilities threaten an entire military complex, setting off chaos and rebellion in Neo-Tokyo. In the best tradition of anime films, Akira is a classic, and worth adding to your list of faves. Watch the trailer on The Vintagent here.
5. The Last Motorcycle On Earth: Episode 1 (2020)
"Could motorcycles be outlawed?"
In a world of Self-Driving cars, motorcycles are outlawed: that premise seems so likely I'm already getting chills. In the very near future, gasoline is $20 per gallon, and self-driving cars are taking over. Silicon Valley and the United States Government have collaborated to push society toward a fully-autonomous transportation system. Motorcycles and riders are an easy first target in the drive to ban human-operated vehicles. Impossible, you say? Not so fast. Watch the trailer on The Vintagent here.
Watch 'The Last Motorcycle on Earth' for $1.99 on Amazon here.
Bonus Films: Sooooo many sequels - dig in!
Watch Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1982) $3.99 on YouTube.
Watch Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (1985) $2.99 on YouTube.
Watch Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) $3.99 on YouTube.
Watch TRON: Legacy (2010) $2.99 on YouTube.
Quarantine Cinema: Part 5
1: The Great Escape
"Steve could have done it himself."
So said Bob Hoy, a stuntman friend of Ekins: “He did the lead-up to it and rode the bike wherever he was running in that escape, but Bud did the jump. It was a tough jump. You only can do that kind of thing once; you either make it or you don’t make it.” It was a start of a great friendship: Steve McQueen was a bike nut, and a regular visitor to Bud Ekins' LA shop (remember when motorcycle shops were someplace to hang out?). When Steve was hired for 'The Great Escape', he asked Bud to join him in Germany as a stunt rider: Ekins remained in Germany more than four months working on the film. Towards the end of production, McQueen and Ekins came up with the now-famous jump scene where prisoner of war McQueen escapes by motorcycle and attempts an impossible jump over a barbed-wire fence. Ekins acted as stunt double for McQueen, as the risk of injury was high and the studio refused to allow their star to endanger himself. Ekins thus performed what is perhaps the most famous movie motorcycle stunt ever. That launched Ekins' career as a stunt man, and he continued doing stunt work until he was in his mid-60s, an incredible career of 30 years. Read more about the amazing Bud Ekins on the AMA Hall of Fame.
Watch 'The Great Escape' for $2.99 on YouTube.
2: Bullitt
"Bullshit."
In the 1968 crime drama “Bullitt,” Bud Ekins again did stunt work for McQueen when his character, detective Frank Bullitt in his green Mustang, catches up with murderous bad guys driving a black Dodge Charger, and a high-speed chase all over the hills of San Francisco (and Brisbane) ensues. Bud Ekins drove, did motorcycle stunts, and helped lay out the car stunts in the film: “One of the great things Bud did in the picture, he laid a motorcycle down on the blacktop during the chase. It was a hell of a shot. Anything mechanical -- cars, motorcycles -- Bud was a perfectionist doing stunts. He could blueprint an accident and make it look real.” For more info, read up on Cinemeccanica here.
Watch 'Bullitt' for $3.99 on YouTube here.
3: On Any Sunday
"Don't forget to catch the ride!"
OK, Bud Ekins did not appear in this film, but one could pose the question: would it have even happened without him? Bud taught Steve McQueen the tricks of desert racing, and while Mert Lawill and Malcolm Smith are the putative starts of the film (Steve isn't even credited in the this trailer!), it was McQueen's presence that ramped up the sex appeal and boosted the film into new territory. 'On Any Sunday' was an ad for California, for motocross, for flat track, and for motorcycling in general, and the masses followed, making the 1970s the most exciting period for motorcycling in the USA, with the largest rise in ridership that was never to be repeated. Read more about 'On Any Sunday' here.
Watch 'On Any Sunday for $2.99 on Youtube here.
4: The Cincinnati Kid
"I don't need marked cards to beat you, pal."
No motorcycles, but plenty of tension: Steve Mcqueen plays a Depression-era card shark in New Orleans, whose ambition is the beat The Man (Edmund G. Robinson), in a swirl of hot women (Anne-Margret!), shady dudes, second line brass bands, cockfights, gambling dens, and a chase scene where Ekins doubles for McQueen. Adapted from Richard Jessup's hard boiled novel, it's a classic bit of period Americana.
Watch 'The Cincinnati Kid' for $2.99 on Youtube.
5: Beach Blanket Bingo
After 'The Great Escape', it wasn't another macho war film that beckoned for Bud Ekins, it was a slapstick surf comedy that launched his professional Hollywood stunt riding carrier. The motorcycle gang 'The Ratz' are always lurking on the edges of the fun in the sun, and Bud did the riding and stunts for the gang. Yes, it's silly, but we can use some of that too.
The Vintagent Premier: BE
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/bethemovie/411077380
The Vintagent Premier: A new film shown here for the first time!
BE (2020)
Run Time: 1:09:00
NO BULLSHIT PROD presents BE
A film By: Brice Renoux.
FILM MAKERS
Brice Renoux is 50 years old, from Palavas les Flots - a popular seaside resort in the South Of France, along the Mediterranean coast. He's worked 20 years as creative in several famous advertising agencies in Paris.
Brice is the Founder and Creative Director of Voix Publique (Advertising Agency) and of No Bullshit Production (Films) located at Montpellier in the South of France.
He was born in the Rock and Roll and Psychobilly culture, and is a guitarist and author. He's been riding motorcycles for 14 years.
SUMMARY
This film is a malicious punk’s testimonial. Brice decided, one day in 2017, without being asked, to gather 'the best of the best' at the Wheels&Waves festival, hunting images and to offer them as a slightly crazy, blurry project.
Six days in Biarritz were spent in a huge house facing the ocean, with all the necessary gear. Brice used total improvisation, putting himself in the heart of a event, without a VIP pass or an appointment, to capture all the soul of a phenomenon: Ride Culture.
Without sponsors or patrons, Brice Renoux maintained full independence to provide a curious and inexperienced point of view. At the right distance, with kindness and without falling into cliché, he offers with BE a unique document of this universe of passion. With original music composed and performed live at a screening of BE in the recording studio by Son Of a Gun.
A must see on the big screen.
WATCH THE FILM FOR FREE UNTIL MAY 1ST
Just enter the promo code : befree
RELATED MEDIA
The Vintagent Selects: LOV(ED)
https://vimeo.com/249737487
The Vintagent Selects: A collection of our favorite films by artists around the world.
LOV(ED) (2018)
Run Time: 27:00
A Film By: Paolo Asuncion
Sound: Frank Pascual
FILM MAKERS
Vargas Films is Paolo Asuncion (director, editor) and Rattler Productions is Luis Baptista, Frank Pascual, and Erik Pascual (producers). They have been making moto-centric films and documentaries for almost 10 years. It started with their fascination with motorcycles and the motorcycle culture and the desire to capture the events around them as sort of a video diary – something to watch and look back at when they got older. In many ways, this is still the case as evidenced by their web series – The Handsome Asians Motorcycle Club – where they feature builds, rides, and individuals in the motorcycle community and their stories about life on two wheels.
On a more personal note, there is one reason that Paolo likes to present these films in public. At the beginning of the films, the audience sees a quick montage of a certain person that fades and becomes a logo that says “Vargas Films.” Paolo’s dad was an actor in the Philippines, and his screen name was “Vic Vargas.” Paolo grew up on movie sets but he never really caught the film bug until after his dad passed away. Getting their films screened in theaters is Paolo’s way of putting his dad’s image and his name up on a big screen again. It’s an homage and a thank you, and a way of making Vic Vargas live forever.
SUMMARY
In some cultures, one truly dies only when one is forgotten. If that's true, then Ed Cavanaugh has achieved immortality.
RELATED MEDIA
In These difficult times, the filmmakers would like to suggest making a donation to the SF Marin Foodbank. Stay Safe.
Quarantine Cinema: Part 4
The Independents
This week's films are all made (or restored) by small teams of very independent film enthusiasts who are crazy about motorcycles. These are the cutting edge of moto-culture in the 21st Century, exploring their unique place in the contemporary world, and common love for two wheels. These are not grand narratives with Hollywood trappings, but were made or restored as passion projects, and gifts to their motorcycling family.
All of the proceeds of these sales go directly to the filmmakers - except those who have made them available for the duration of the Pandemic! Many thanks!
1. Greasy Hands Preachers (2014)
“The bikes I produce should be a part of me. This is why I must improve my inner self, to make my bikes better.” - Shinya Kimura
Clement Beauvais & Arthur de Kersauson's alt-custom documentary film explores the passion for craft among motorcycle enthusiasts who have found their way to a happy life. Shot in 16mm in California, Utah, Indonesia, Spain, Scotland and France, the team spent time with mechanics and custom shop founders, trying to understand the difference between manual work and intellectual work. The film includes interviews with Shinya Kimura, Deus X Machina, Roland Sands, El Solitario, and Blitz Motorcycles, who discuss the unique satisfactions of doing something tangible, including a unique sense of time, the relation between the form and the function, the joy of riding in a beautiful landscape and the community and friendship that motorcycle creates. Watch 'Greasy Hands Preachers' FREE during The Pandemic.
2. I Fidanzeati Della Morte (Engaged To Death)
"I've had enough of slowing down during races - slowing down and letting others win!"
3. Fast & Left
"As soon as they got a motor on a set of bicycle wheels, racing was on!"
4. Dirtbag
“Can you build a chopper in under a month for under a thousand dollars?
5. Dirtbag II: The Return Of The Rattler
Come for the bikes, stay for the outrageous musical sequence!
Quarantine Cinema: Part 3
From Europe With Love
Filmmakers from 'other than America' have always had a different take on two wheels. They simply didn't experience the same vilification of motorcyclists as boogeymen as in the USA post-WW2. Many words have been written on why bikers (and teenagers) became the bete noir of American society during the Cold War: suffice it to say our cultural fascination with outlaw culture led to the 'threat' of biker gangs being blown all out of proportion to their numbers. How could a few hundred 1% club bikers threaten the capitalist behemoth in its heyday?
European filmmakers were thus free to focus on sex, adventure, and crazy dreams on two wheels, which is what most people want from bikes, right? Here are a few classics to keep you entertained for this week's Quarantine Cinema:
1. Girl On A Motorcycle (1968)
2. The Leather Boys (1964)
"Follow me, and wait and see!"
Watch 'The Leather Boys' free on YouTube!
3. La Strada (1954)
“Here he is – Zampano!”
Rent 'La Strada' for £3.49 on iTunes UK.
4. Eat The Peach (1986)
"Nothing was going to stop them: it was time to Eat the Peach"
'Eat the Peach' is a 1986 British-Irish comedy film, directed by Peter Ormrod. The title is derived from the T.S.Eliot poem ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’. The story takes place in an Irish village a few miles from the border with Northern Ireland. When the local Japanese-owned computer factory closes, the principal employer is a mob-rum smuggling operation. One day out-of-work Vinnie (Stephen Brennan), and his brother-in-law Arthur (Eamon Morissey), watch the 1964 Elvis Presley film Roustabout, in the village bar. Seeing a cyclist in the film ride a Wall of Death, Vinnie is inspired to make his own: he draws up plans and clears a patch of land near his house.
Watch 'Eat the Peach' free on YouTube!
The Vintagent Selects: The Greasy Hands Preachers
https://vimeo.com/404587233
The Vintagent Selects: A collection of our favorite films by artists around the world.
THE GREASY HANDS PREACHERS (2015)
Run Time: 1:27:00
Producer: Arthur de Kersauson
A Film By: Clement Beauvais & Arthur de kersauson
Writer: Clément Beauvais, Arthur de Kersauson
Key Cast: Shinya Kimura, Deus X Machina, Roland Sands, El Solitario, Blitz Motorcycles
FILM MAKERS
WATCH THE FILM FOR FREE DURING THE LOCKDOWN
We wanted to make the film available for free and share it with you during the lockdown. We hope it will inspire and entertain you while waiting for better days.
Stay home., Stay safe and stay home.
Arthur and Clement
SUMMARY
"The bikes I produce should be a part of me. This is why I must improve my inner self, to make my bikes better." - Shinya Kimura
This documentary film explores the revival of manual work through the passion of motorcycle enthusiasts who have found their way to a happy life. Shot in 16mm in California, Utah, Indonesia, Spain, Scotland and France, we have spent time with mechanics and custom shop founders trying to understand the difference between manual work and intellectual work. The unique satisfaction that result from doing something tangible, the sense of time, the relation between the form and the function, the joy of riding in a beautiful landscape and the community and friendship that motorcycle creates.
RELATED MEDIA
The Vintagent Classics: Mini-Skirt Mob
https://youtu.be/443rpBCrluo
The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.
MINI-SKIRT MOB (1968)
Run Time: 1:22:00
Director: Maury Dexter
Writer: James Gordon White
Key Cast: Jeremy Slate, Diane McBain, Sherry Jackson, Harry Dean Stanton |
FILM MAKERS
Driven by jealousy, the jilted leader of a female motorcycle gang instigates a sadistic reign of terror against her ex-lover and his new bride.
SUMMARY
Shayne, the leader of a Honda-riding biker gang known as the Mini-Skirt Mob, has been jilted by her lover, cowboy star Jeff Logan who has married straight-laced Connie. Shayne enlists the rest of her gang to help her break up the newlyweds and get Jeff back - even if that means killing him in the process. Her revenge escalates until her sister Edie is killed by a Molotov cocktail and Shayne finds herself hanging by one hand over a deadly chasm. Should Connie let go before Jeff returns with the police?
RELATED MEDIA
Quarantine Cinema: Part 2
The Vintagent Classics: Rebel Rousers
https://youtu.be/Z9Dbvtc_-JE
The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.
REBEL ROUSERS (1970)
Run Time: 1:18:00
Director: Martin B. Cohen
Writer: Martin B. Cohen, Michael Kars, Abe Polsky
Key Cast: Cameron Mitchell, Bruce Dern, Diane Ladd, Jack Nicholson, Harry Dean Stanton
FILM MAKERS
Shot in 1967, but shelved and not released until 1970 after Jack’s career took off with easy Rider.
SUMMARY
In a small, U.S. costal town, with many Spanish speakers, a motorcycle gang arrives on vacation. Also in town to try to reconnect with his pregnant girlfriend, Karen, is businessman Paul Collier. Paul and a leader of the bikers, J.J., knew each other years before, so when the gang comes upon the couple and, led by the menacing Bunny, beats up Paul and begins to sexually assault Karen. J.J. tries to intervene: he suggests they hold cycle-riding contests, with the winner claiming Karen (he promises, sotto voce, to set her free if he wins). After the contests commence, Paul crawls away to look for help. He meets with a shrug from a cowardly Sheriff's Deputy; where can he turn?
RELATED MEDIA
Quarantine Cinema: Part 2
Quarantine Cinema: Part 2
The Deluge of ‘60s Biker Flicks: Roger Corman Perfects the Biker Flick
“There’s nowhere to go” – Heavenly Blues, ‘The Wild Angels’ (1966)
From Paul d'Orléans' seminal 2015 book 'The Chopper: the Real Story': While Russ Myer, that worshipper of the mighty mammary, gave us ‘Motor Psycho’ (1965) featuring maniacal mods on mopeds as a follow up to ‘Faster Pussy Cat! Kill! Kill!’, there wasn’t a formula for a feature-length chopper film until Roger Corman solidified the Biker Flick in 1966 with ‘The Wild Angels’. Corman observed the emergence of the ‘outlaw biker’ as the new front-page threat to civil society, and the ‘problem’ being featured in LIFE magazine, countless newspapers, and Hunter S. Thompson’s book ‘Hell’s Angels’ (1967).
This Week's Quarantine Cinema Picks:
1. The Wild Angels (1966)
“The most terrifying film of your time!”
'The Wild Angels' trailer:
Watch the full film for $3.99 on Vudu.
2. Devil's Angels (1967)
"Get out of their way…if you can!"
The 'Devil's Angels' trailer:
Watch the full movie free on Cine Meccanica youtube:
Or, you can pay $5.99 on Amazon.
3. Rebel Rousers (1970)
“Their creed: "If it feels good, do it!"
Rebel Rousers is not the greatest film ever made [well, none of these films are! - ed]. It’s raunchy and silly and features a cast of gringos playing Mexicans sporting accents verging on offensive, but the thing that saves this film and makes it worth a look is the cast. Cameron Mitchell, Bruce Dern, Diane Ladd, Jack Nicholson, plus Harry Dean Stanton playing a gang member whose wacky getup screams used car salesman on acid. Read more on Cinemeccanica.
The 'Rebel Rousers' trailer:
Watch the full film for $3.99 on YouTube.
4. Mini-Skirt Mob (1968)
“They ride hard...no matter what they’re mounted on!”
The 'Mini-Skirt Mob' trailer:
Watch the full film for $3.99 on Amazon.
The Vintagent Classics: On Any Sunday
https://vimeo.com/411147199
The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.
ON ANY SUNDAY (1971)
Run Time: 1:30:00
Producer: Bruce Brown Films
Director: Bruce Brown
Key Cast: Mert Lawwill, Malcolm Smith, Steve McQueen
FILM MAKERS
Some men hunt the great white shark. Some men join roller derbies, while others go to the moon. Some men like to knit. Some are freefall parachutists. Some spend their lives searching for the perfect woman or the perfect movie or the perfect wave. With the possible exception of knitting, all of these endeavors involve an element of risk, either physical or psychological, to such an extent that the attainment of the end becomes less important than the excitation provided by the pursuit itself.Five years ago Bruce Brown recorded one, round-the-world search for the perfect wave in "The Endless Summer," which was a very beautiful movie to look at (especially from the relative safety of a cloudy smoking section) and—I've now come to think—much less simple-minded than it originally sounded. - The New York Times (1971)
SUMMARY
On the basis of his new film, "On Any Sunday," a feature-length documentary about motorcycles and the men who ride them in apparent pleasurable competition, Brown stands in way of becoming the unofficial poet of the sports world. He not only records and shares with us the often extraordinary physical sensations experienced by the cyclists, but he also manages to suggest, in the absolutely flat language of the nonverbal participants, that the joy of the sport may also be the mask that hides a curse.Like clean-cut, monosyllabic Flying Dutchmen, Mert Lawwill and Malcolm Smith, the professional cyclists whose exploits Brown follows through the film, lead lives of enchanted circularity: the winning of one event is not as much a goal as the preface to still another competition, and another after that. The monetary rewards are never great and, often enough, the prizes are simply trophies. At the end of one race in which death might not have been too far removed, Brown, as his own narrator, is likely to say with his unerring knack for the anticlimactic comment: "There stands Malcolm with a big grin."Malcolm himself is likely to say: "That was really neat:"It is not as silly as it sounds because the shape of the lives recorded by Brown are almost necessarily anticlimactic; that is, until someone gets hurt or (off-screen) killed.The movie itself is anything but anticlimactic. By putting his cameras on the cycles, Brown achieves audience-participation effects with speed that amount to marvelous delirium. The camera work is fancy, but it's a fanciness for a specific purpose, and "On Any Sunday" is the first film I can remember in months in which I thoroughly enjoyed the slow-motion, the zooms, the helicopter shots, the superimpositions and all those other techniques that are the tired rhetoric of the narrative cinema.There is, I suspect, no other way by which to communicate the sense of the intoxication that is the real goal of the cyclists, and that can only be realized through the intensification of all the perceptions.Brown records just about every kind of cycling competition there is, going from southern California to Spain and back again, catching drivers who insist on racing with broken legs, broken noses, and, in one instance, with a back broken six weeks before in an especially hazardous competition. "What kind of men are these?" Brown asks, and the answer comes not from what anyone says, but from the crazy, sensational motion of the film, which is, I feel, in its own way, a remarkable adventure, as simple and as unique to film as the picturization of movement."On Any Sunday" which opened yesterday at the Murray Hill, was, I understand, financed by Steve McQueen, who also shows up in the film from time to time as the very creditable cyclist he is.
The Cast ON ANY SUNDAY, a documentary directed, written, produced and narrated by Bruce Brown; photographed by Bob Bagley, Don Shoemaker, Bruce Brown, Allan Seymour, Gordon Brettelle, Bob Collins, Dan Wright, Richard Carrillo, Nelson Tyler, Mark Zavad, James Odom and Mark Brelsford; released by Cinema 5. At the Murray Hill Theater, 34th Street, east of Lexington Avenue. Running time: 90 minutes. (The Motion Picture Association of America's Production Code and Rating Administration classifies this film: "G — All ages admitted, general audiences.") With: Mert Lawwill, Malcolm Smith, Steve McQueen and others. - The New York Times (1971)
RELATED MEDIA
Quarantine Cinema: Part 1
The Vintagent Selects: The Space Between
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMv0ETbbYdk
The Vintagent Selects: A collection of our favorite films by artists around the world.
The Space Between (2019)
Run Time: 56:03:00
Producer: Religion of Sports & Dirty Robber Productions
Director: Mark Rinehart
Key Cast: James Hiller, Dominic Herbertson
FILM MAKERS
From executive producers Tom Brady, Michael Strahan and Gotham Chopra, the streaming launch of Religion of Sports shows you an inside look at one of the most dangerous motorcycle races in the world, the Isle of Man TT.
SUMMARY
Every year, thousands put their lives on the line to compete in the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy, in the hopes of earning the top spot. They reflect on what draws them to this race and why, despite the many deaths that have occurred at the hands of the race, why they continue to enter the race. This is Religion of Sports: It is the moment of truth. It is revelation. Believe.
RELATED MEDIA
The Vintagent Classics: La Strada
https://vimeo.com/397837270
The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.
La Strada (The Road) (1954)
Run Time: 1:48:00
Director: Federico Fellini
Writer: Federico Fellini, Tullio Pinelli, Ennio Flaiano
Key Cast: Anthony Quinn, Giulietta Masina, Richard Basehart
FILM MAKERS
Fellini called La Strada "a complete catalogue of my entire mythological world, a dangerous representation of my identity that was undertaken with no precedent whatsoever." As a result, the film demanded more time and effort than any of his other works, before or since. The development process was long and tortuous; there were various problems during production, including insecure financial backing, problematic casting, and numerous delays. Finally, just before the production completed shooting, Fellini suffered a nervous breakdown that required medical treatment so he could complete principal photography. Initial critical reaction was harsh, and the film's screening at the Venice Film Festival was the occasion of a bitter controversy that escalated into a public brawl between Fellini's supporters and detractors.
La Strada is now considered one of the most influential films ever made.
SUMMARY
There has never been a face quite like that of Giulietta Masina. Her husband, the legendary Federico Fellini, directs her as Gelsomina in La strada, the film that launched them both to international stardom. Gelsomina is sold by her mother into the employ of Zampanò (Anthony Quinn), a brutal strongman in a traveling circus. When Zampanò encounters an old rival in highwire artist the Fool (Richard Basehart), his fury is provoked to its breaking point. With La strada, Fellini left behind the familiar signposts of Italian neorealism for a poetic fable of love and cruelty, evoking brilliant performances and winning the hearts of audiences and critics worldwide. - Criterion
A note for Vintagent readers: Zampano & Gelsomina travel the Italian countryside in a Vardo built out of a 1945 Sertum 500 Motocarro.
RELATED MEDIA
Watch the film for free in Italian on Youtube
Buy the DVD collector edition: Criterion Collection
The Vintagent Selects: Marty Dickerson 1926-2020
https://vimeo.com/394639969
The Vintagent Selects: A collection of our favorite films by artists around the world.
Marty Dickerson: 1926-2020 (2020)
Run Time: 3:56
Producers: Gerry Jenkinson and James Salter
Director: David Lancaster
Camera: Steve Read
Soundtrack: SquirkyMusic
Key Cast: Marty Dickerson and Philip Vincent-Day
FILM MAKERS
SpeedisExpensive is the story Philip Vincent - a man who sacrificed nearly everything to build the world’s most famous motorcycle. Filmed in Europe, the UK, Australia and America it features interviews with Vincent racers, plus friends, family and colleagues of both Philip Vincent and Phil Irving. The crew were lucky to film three interviews with Marty: at Bonneville, at El Mirage – shown here – and just last month at Jay Leno’s garage. SpeedisExpensive is due for release this year.
SUMMARY
"Son, Speed is expensive."
Marty Dickerson left us on February 19. From his trips to the Southern States in the late 1940s burning off all-comers on a newly-minted Vincent HRD, to his record setting at Bonneville, he was an ambassador for Vincents all his life - and a great friend to Vincent owners across the globe.
An inductee to the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame, his best official speed on a Vincent was 177mph; unofficially it was over 190mph. In 2008 - at the age of 80 - he returned to the Salt on a borrowed Vincent and set a Vintage gas class record of 150.3013mph. In this short tribute Marty is re-united with his famous Blue Bike and talks about his dealings with Philip Vincent to grandson Philip Vincent-Day. RIP fast gentleman.
RELATED MEDIA
The Vintagent Classics: Orphée
https://vimeo.com/396433662
The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.
Orphée (Orpheus) (1950)
Run Time: 1:35:00
Director: Jean Cocteau
Writer: Jean Cocteau
Key Cast: Jean Marais, François Périer, María Casares
FILM MAKERS
In 1949 Jean Cocteau adapted the Greek myth of Orpheus to the cinema, in a contemporary setting of post-war Europe. His use of motorcycles in this dark, evocative tale set the pattern of associating Death with Motorcycles in film forever after, and established the Dark Rider phenomenon in the popular imagination. In short, Cocteau was the first to associate motorcycles with menace in the arts: previously, they had merely been interesting kinetic props, but Cocteau, already famous as a Surrealist poet and playwright/set designer before WW2 in France, was first to see something very different and dark on two wheels.
SUMMARY
In Cocteau’s film version of the myth, Orpheus is a poet whose fame is great, but who lacks respect from the new, young, existentialist/beatnik poets who hang out at the Café des Poétes. While visiting the café, Orpheus is disrespected by the very drunk but very hot new poet Cegeste, who is shortly killed by a dark pair of motorcyclists roaring past. A rich woman in a Rolls Royce (the Princess), who escorted Cegeste to the cafe, orders Orpheus to help carry the body of the young poet in her car. She reveals to Orpheus that she is Death, and the lethal motorcyclists are her henchmen. Orpheus and Death fall in love, and Death sends Cegeste’s poetry through the radio in her Rolls to Orpheus, who becomes obsessed with this poetry and with Death herself, and ignores his beautiful wife Eurydice.
- Paul d'Orleans
RELATED MEDIA
Read more on The Vintagent: Death By Cocteau
The Vintagent Classics: Devil's Angels
https://youtu.be/qfU2ZErrJfs
The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.
DEVIL'S ANGELS (1967)
Run Time: 1:24:00
Director: Daniel Haller
Writer: Charles B. Griffith
Key Cast: John Cassavetes, Beverly Adams, Mimsy Farmer |
FILM MAKERS
“Riot is their reason for living. Lust is the law they live by”
Daniel Haller was born in Glendale, California, and received his art training at the renowned Chouinard Institute. By chance, he happened to meet New World Pictures head Roger Corman in the mid-1950s when Corman was still an unknown, independent producer-director-jack-of-all-trades. Corman persuaded Haller to become an art director, a relationship that continued through some 30 Corman films.
SUMMARY
“They’re adult delinquents…They steal things…They smell bad Charlie!
An exiled band of Hell's Angels strike a bargain with the Sheriff of a local town, let them stay and the town is safe. But a local girl strays into their lair and sparks off a full scale Angel war.
RELATED MEDIA
Quarantine Cinema: Part 2
The Vintagent Selects: Riding The Wall Of Death
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5ZtnIi7W0g
The Vintagent Selects: A collection of our favorite films by artists around the world.
RIDING THE WALL OF DEATH (2016)
Run Time: 2:36
A Film By: Great Big Story
Cast: Kerri Cameron, Fox Family Wall Of Death
FILM MAKERS
Great Big Story is a video network dedicated to the untold, overlooked & flat-out amazing. Humans are capable of incredible things & we're here to tell their stories. When a rocket lands in your backyard, you get in.
SUMMARY
Kerri Cameron is a motorcycle stuntwoman from the United Kingdom who rides on Luke Fox's original "Wall of Death." What is the Wall of Death? It’s a nearly vertical, circle-shaped track that most riders would consider insane. Before she was a Wall of Death rider, Cameron rode horses for a living. Today, she performs dangerous stunts with grace and keeps an adrenalin-pumping tradition alive.
RELATED MEDIA
The Vintagent Selects: Meet The Most Infamous Dirt Bike Rider In NYC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzgfsZvbBmU
The Vintagent Selects: A collection of our favorite films by artists around the world.
Meet The Most Infamous Dirt Bike Rider In NYC (2020)
Run Time: 16:07
A Film By: Vice
Cast: Leeky Da Bikestar
FILM MAKERS
The Definitive Guide To Enlightening Information. From every corner of the planet, our immersive, caustic, ground-breaking and often bizarre stories have changed the way people think about culture, crime, art, parties, fashion, protest, the internet and other subjects that don't even have names yet. Browse the growing library and discover corners of the world you never knew existed. Welcome to VICE.
SUMMARY
"I see it being a sport. I see it being legal in the future. Them giving us a park where we can ride and not run from the cops all day."
VICE travels to Queens to meet Leeky Da Bikestar, one of the most infamous figures in New York City’s bike life movement to find out how a kid from the south side of Queens is leading a country wide movement to create a sport from nothing and legitimize the use of illegal dirtbikes and atvs on city streets. - Vice
RELATED MEDIA
The Vintagent Trailers: Ride Free Or Die
https://vimeo.com/499708903
The Vintagent Trailers: A preview of our favorite feature films out there.
RIDE FREE OR DIE (2019)
Run Time: 1:15:00
Director: Randall Wilson
Key Cast: Hessian Spike, David (Double D) Devereaux, Little Dave
FILM MAKERS
Randall Wilson has directed several documentaries delving into the world of the outlaw biker, including Sin City Deciples (2019), Choir Boys MC (2010), Wheels Of Soul (2006), Hessians MC (2005), American Biker (2005), and Glory Road: The Legacy of the African-American Motorcyclist (2005).
SUMMARY
Ride Free Or Die is an insider's look into the political world of motorcycle clubs. The clubs are fighting for their constitutional rights against what they perceive as law enforcement profiling and harassment. The documentary features Mongols MC, Outsiders MC, Devils Diciples MC, Sin City Deciples, and clubs from all over America.
RELATED MEDIA
Watch the full film on Amazon
The Vintagent Selects: Wot No bike
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBblA5jWkqI
The Vintagent Selects: A collection of our favorite films by artists around the world.
Paul Simonon: Wot No Bike (2015)
Run Time: 8:04
Producer: Nowness
A Film By: Baillie Walsh
Cast: Paul Simonen
FILM MAKERS
British filmmaker Baillie Walsh announced himself to the world as maestro of the music video. His prolific credits include the video for Massive Attack’s “Unfinished Sympathy”—famously filmed in one take in downtown LA—and the poolside promo for Kylie Minogue’s “Slow,” which won the CAD Award for Best Pop Video. Since then, he has directed his dramatic feature-film debut, 2008’s Flashbacks of a Fool, starring Daniel Craig and Felicity Jones, and has filmed the likes of Anne Hathaway for Lancome and a 3D portrait of Kate Moss. Walsh has helmed two music documentaries: a concert tour diary for Oasis, Lord Don’t Slow Me Down, and a crowd-sourced fan documentary on The Boss, titled Springsteen & I.
SUMMARY
Captured by Baillie Walsh, The Clash’s bassist, Paul Simonon meditates on painting and a two-wheeled obsession as his ICA show “Wot No Bike” gets underway. - Nowness
RELATED MEDIA
The Vintagent Trailers: Sin City Deciples
https://vimeo.com/499714688
The Vintagent Trailers: A preview of our favorite feature films out there.
SIN CITY DECIPLES (2019)
Run Time: 43:00
Director: Randall Wilson
Key Cast: Road King Annie, Queen Bee, Blondie
FILM MAKERS
Randall Wilson has directed several documentaries delving into the world of the outlaw biker, including Ride Free Or Die (2019), Choir Boys MC (2010), Wheels Of Soul (2006), Hessians MC (2005), American Biker (2005), and produced Glory Road: The Legacy of the African-American Motorcyclist (2005).
SUMMARY
A raw and candid look into the history of the club and the lives of the men who’ve created their own society, their own culture, and their own history.
RELATED MEDIA
Watch The full film on Amazon
The Vintagent Classics: The Italian Machine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC6KM_IZiCg
The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.
THE ITALIAN MACHINE (1976)
Run Time: 23:37
Writer & Director: David Cronenberg
Key Cast: Gary McKeehan, Frank Moore, Hardee T. Lineham
FILM MAKERS
“Everybody’s a mad scientist, and life is their lab. We’re all trying to experiment to find a way to live, to solve problems, to fend off madness and chaos,” - David Cronenberg
Canadian filmmaker, writer, and actor. Cronenberg is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror genre, with his films exploring visceral bodily transformation, infection, technology and the intertwining of the psychological with the physical.
SUMMARY
This TV play, written and directed by David Cronenberg for the Canadian series Teleplay, whose goal was to uncover new Canadian talents through independent stories and without common links, explores one of his enduring themes: obsessive relationships with technology. A group of bike fanatics determined to get their hands on a Ducati 900 Desmo SuperSport owned by a rich guy, by any means necessary.
RELATED FACTS
In Cronenberg's 1986 film, The Fly, the design of Brundle's Telepods was inspired by the engine cylinder of Cronenberg's own Ducati 450 Desmo.
The Vintagent Selects: Energica Build
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nXz9mznkms&t=19s
The Vintagent Selects: A collection of our favorite films by artists around the world.
ENERGICA BUILD (2019)
Run Time: 8:36
Producer: Lucy Selwood
Director: Gareth Maxwell Roberts
Editor: David Hartley
Key Cast: Auke Possel, Calum Pryce-Tidd, Giampiero Testoni
FILM MAKERS
‘Oil in the Blood’ is a documentary feature film on the contemporary custom motorcycle culture. The film is directed by life-long biker Gareth Maxwell Roberts and produced by Lucy Selwood.
SUMMARY
A short film documenting the build of the custom electric motorcycle to celebrate the launch of the documentary feature film 'Oil In The Blood'.
RELATED MEDIA
The Vintagent Selects: GH Rasta
https://vimeo.com/371161210
The Vintagent Selects: A collection of our favorite films by artists around the world.
GH RASTA (2019)
Run Time: 4:44
Director: Sam Gold
DP: Sam Gold
Producer: Kelsey Tyler
Local Producer: Dominic Esseh Tetteh
Editing: Madison Velding Van Dam & Richard Swanson
FILM MAKERS
Sam Gold is a photographer and filmmaker from Detroit. She now lives and works in Brooklyn NY.
SUMMARY
GH RASTA follows a garage of Ghanaian stunt bikers on the outskirts of Accra. The bikers are salesman during the day, buying and selling used motorbikes in Carprise, one of the largest bike markets in West Africa. However, their real passion is motocross stunt riding. As Ghana currently has no bike arena, they illegally take to the streets as their train- ing grounds. The majority of the stunt riders are Muslim, which works to their advantage
as majority of Ghana’s police force is Christian and therefore do not work on Sundays. The lack of law enforcement enables the bikers to orchestrate a big show on a quiet street in Jamestown, without permits, to massive crowds every Sunday.
RELATED MEDIA
The Vintagent Classics: Scorpio Rising
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDuu-m0-IjQ
The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.
SCORPIO RISING (1963)
Run Time: 28:20
Director: Kenneth Anger
Writer: Ernest D. Glucksman
Key Cast: Ernie Allo, Bruce Byron, Frank Carifi
FILM MAKERS
Unless you’re a serious film buff, you probably haven’t seen the work of Kenneth Anger, whose short films have profoundly impacted cinema, advertising, and pop culture. Since 1947, when he was 17, he has been experimenting with difficult and obscure subject matter, using his own milieu as his inspiration, and his cast.- Paul d'Orleans
SUMMARY
Scorpio Rising was completed in 1963, and its central character, Scorpio (Bruce Byron), is symbolic of the mythos of post-Wild One American Bikers. It’s hardly flattering, as he projects a homoerotic, sadomasochistic aura, snorting methamphetamines from a salt shaker, humiliating a man at a party, and defiling a church. Through jump shots to clips of other films (including The Wild One and a very bad black and white Jesus biopic), comic strips, and nazi imagery, Scorpio is alternately compared to Jesus, Hitler, and the Devil. Pop culture icons like James Dean and Lucky Strike cigarettes wallpaper the scenery. - Paul d'Orleans
RELATED MEDIA
The Vintagent Selects: Fast Eddie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FccXX-gA8jY&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR3Wh-nOwwKr_Km_ztTJhZAMAb0bgfUe_Y1jXka1faVtJGhmt2VQEuZk-kw
The Vintagent Selects: A collection of our favorite films by artists around the world.
FAST EDDIE (2019)
Run Time: 9:01
Presented by: HeyDay Union
A Film By: Brenna Eckerson & Kyle Pahlow
Producer & Direcor: Brenna Eckerson
Director Of Photography: Kyle Pahlow
Editor: Bryan Roberts
Key Cast: Ed Fisher
FILM MAKERS
Brenna Eckerson: A director/producer whose double helix consists of production experience and development know-how. With a foundation in nonfiction television, she's developed IP for brands, agencies and emerging digital networks and taken them to market. Brenna hails from North Carolina, is a lover of Dubble Bubble gum, American made denim, her dog (@cinnamonontheside) and the work of Brene Brown. She currently calls California home.
Kyle Pahlow: Life is about embracing constant change and striving to never stop growing. As it applies to my work, it’s important to appreciate the moments of beauty and success no matter how large or small.
SUMMARY
At the age of 94, WWII veteran and AMA Hall of Famer Ed Fisher still rides everyday, and even continues to race as an amateur. Ed has always had a throttle in hand, since he was 16 years old. He began his racing career as a factory rider for Indian Motorcycles, before representing Triumph as one of their first East Coast riders in 1952. Ed became one of the leading national road racers throughout the 1950s, his most notable win was the 1953 Laconia 100-mile National Championship. To this day it remains the closest race in the history of the event, Ed’s victory wasn’t determined until months later as the top four riders all finished within just three seconds of each other. The lore of his style and speed, in various racing disciplines, has without a doubt minted his status as a living racing legend. He’s seen as a hero to many, because of how he lives with an unwavering virtue that can be seen each time he throws his leg over a motorcycle. Ed continues to eat, sleep and breathe motorcycles in the rural hills of Sullivan County, Pa.
RELATED MEDIA
The Vintagent Selects: Crown Land
https://vimeo.com/368348023
The Vintagent Selects: A collection of our favorite films by artists around the world.
CROWN LAND (2019)
Run Time: 5:55
Director: The Fellas
Editor: Angela Young
Cast: Ryan Gilues, Viktor Radics, Justice Firdawsi, Kyle Topping
FILM MAKERS
Viktor Radics and Kyle Topping, collectively known as The Fellas are a director duo based in Toronto Canada. With common passions for creative film-making, photography, motorcycling & story telling, they formed “The Fellas” to blend their two worlds together.
The Vintagent Selects: Revisiting Montlhéry - with John Surtees
https://vimeo.com/371203274?activityReferer=1
The Vintagent Selects: A collection of our favorite films by artists around the world.
Revisiting Montlhéry - with John Surtees (2019)
Run Time: 2:32
Producer: Gerry Jenkinson, James Salter
Director: David Lancaster
Key Cast: John Surtees
FILM MAKERS
David Lancaster: A former director on BBC’s Top Gear, and one-time motoring editor of The Times (London), David took his first journey on a Vincent aged seven – on the back of his father’s Black Prince to the Lion Rally in Belgium. A year later, the pair rode from west London to the FIM Rally in Austria.
David, with co-producer Gerry Jenkinson, began work on SpeedisExpensive four years ago. Since then, they have tracked down the remaining 16 men and women who built the bikes at the Stevenage factory, have overseen the restoration of the Vincent family’s 16 mm film archive and interviewed Jay Leno, John Surtees, record-setter Mary Dickerson and filmed the Jack Ehret Black Lightning, back on its record-setting road.
David owns and rides the same 1947 Series B Rapide his father owned during the 1950s. His brother owns their father’s Black Prince.
SUMMARY
On a hot day in May 1952, multi-world champion John Surtees helped the Vincent factory set eight world endurance records at the banked Montlhéry circuit near Paris. In his last major interview, Surtees talks to us about the perils of riding on the banking at 130mph - with period film of the event from the camera of Philip Vincent himself.
RELATED MEDIA
The Vintagent Selects: Black Lightning or Grey Flash? An owner chooses
https://vimeo.com/368252631
The Vintagent Selects: A collection of our favorite films by artists around the world.
Black Lightning or Grey Flash? An owner chooses (2019)
Run Time: 2:03
Director: David Lancaster
Produced by: Gerry Jenkinson, James Salter
Filmed by: Steve Read
Executive Producers: JP Davidson and Peter Bender
Key cast: Nicolas Dourassoff
FILM MAKERS
David Lancaster: A former director on BBC’s Top Gear, and one-time motoring editor of The Times (London), David took his first journey on a Vincent aged seven – on the back of his father’s Black Prince to the Lion Rally in Belgium. A year later, the pair rode from west London to the FIM Rally in Austria.
David, with co-producer Gerry Jenkinson, began work on SpeedisExpensive four years ago. Since then, they have tracked down the remaining 16 men and women who built the bikes at the Stevenage factory, have overseen the restoration of the Vincent family’s 16 mm film archive and interviewed Jay Leno, John Surtees, record-setter Mary Dickerson and filmed the Jack Ehret Black Lightning, back on its record-setting road.
David owns and rides the same 1947 Series B Rapide his father owned during the 1950s. His brother owns their father’s Black Prince.
SUMMARY
Here’s a question: what’s rarer than a Vincent 1000cc Black Lightning? Answer: the factory’s racing 500cc Grey Flash.
It’s the model a young Vincent apprentice called John Surtees scored his first victories on - a light, fast, beautiful motorcycle whose early promise was cut short.
In the latest preview of the forthcoming documentary SpeedisExpensive, the production crew meet a guy who’s had both a Lightning and Flash in his garage. So, which is his favourite?
RELATED MEDIA
The Vintagent Selects: The Barn Job: The Fastest Bike In America
The Vintagent Selects: A collection of our favorite films by artists around the world.
The Barn Job: The Fastest Bike In America (2019)
Run Time: 2:21
Director: David Lancaster
Produced by: Gerry Jenkinson, David Lancaster and James Salter
Filmed by: Steve Read, Robbie Douglas and Gerry Jenkinson
Associate Producers: Philip Vincent-Day and Mike Nicks
Executive Producers: JP Davidson and Peter Bender
Key cast: Jim Leineweber
FILM MAKERS
David Lancaster: A former director on BBC’s Top Gear, and one-time motoring editor of The Times (London), David took his first journey on a Vincent aged seven - on the back of his father’s Black Prince to the Lion Rally in Belgium. A year later, the pair rode from west London to the FIM Rally in Austria.
David, with co-producer Gerry Jenkinson, began work on SpeedisExpensive four years ago. Since then, they have tracked down the remaining 16 men and women who built the bikes at the Stevenage factory, have overseen the restoration of the Vincent family’s 16 mm film archive and interviewed Jay Leno, John Surtees, record-setter Mary Dickerson and filmed the Jack Ehret Black Lightning, back on its record-setting road.
David owns and rides the same 1947 Series B Rapide his father owned during the 1950s. His brother owns their father’s Black Prince.
[/one_half]
SUMMARY
The Barn Job is a legend in US drag racing and the subject of the second preview of the forthcoming documentary, SpeedisExpensive: The Untold Story of the Vincent Motorcycle.
Based around a late 1940s Rapide engine, the Barn Job was developed by owner Clem Johnson to become a blistering missile which out-gunned the fastest Harley and Japanese-based dragsters 40 years after the engine left the Stevenage factory.
It was the first bike in Stateside drag racing to hit 140, 150 mph and beyond and after Clem retired from riding, Jim Leineweber took over. Jim and the bike retired in 1987: its best ever quarter mile run was 8.40 seconds, its highest top speed 187mph. The bike is now owned by historian John Stein (check out his excellent book Motorcycle Drag Racing: A History).
RELATED MEDIA
The Vintagent Selects: The Distinguished Gentleman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=L4L3vBspGzc
The Vintagent Selects: A collection of our favorite films by artists around the world.
THE DISTINGUISHED GENTLEMAN (2019)
Run Time: 16:45
Producer: johnnypuetz Production LLC
A Film By: Jean Pierre Kathoefer & Kirsten Midura
Editor: Tom Ragan
Sound Mixer: Anna Khromova
Key Cast: Vincent Nicolai
FILM MAKERS
Jean Pierre “JP” Kathoefer and Kirsten Midura became friends through the NYC motorcycling community. JP is a motorcycle filmmaker from Germany who now lives in New York; Kirsten, a Portland, OR native, is a natural producer and a motorcycle event coordinator. In 2019, the two teamed up to create their debut film, The Distinguished Gentleman. This film helped to launch johnnypuetz Production LLC, and it will provide a platform for future projects that are already in the works.
SUMMARY
In February 2019, Vincent Nicolai - a beloved motorcycle charity fundraiser - nearly lost his life in a garage explosion. In response, the motorcycle community came together to raise over $77,000 to help Vincent and his family in their time of need. This is Vincent's story.
RELATED MEDIA
The Vintagent Selects: SpeedisExpensive
The Vintagent Selects: A collection of our favorite films by artists around the world.
SpeedisExpensive: The Untold Story of the Vincent Motorcycle (2020)
Run Time: 1:53
Film by: David Lancaster (Director)
Produced by: Gerry Jenkinson, David Lancaster and James Salter
Filmed by: Steve Read, Robbie Douglas and Gerry Jenkinson
Associate Producers: Philip Vincent-Day and Mike Nicks
Executive Producers: JP Davidson and Peter Bender
Key cast: Philip Vincent-Day, Dee Vincent-Day, Jay Leno, John Surtees, Paul Simonon,
friends, family and co-workers of Philip Vincent and Phil Irving
Music: Vaughn Williams and John Fairhurst
FILM
SpeedisExpensive is the story of a man who sacrificed nearly everything to build the world’s most famous motorcycle - a machine Hunter S Thompson called ‘Pure hell on a straightaway.’ The 1000cc Vincent took on the world - and often won – gaining more speed records than any other manufacturer during its post-war production run. Yet at the age of just 47 in 1955 Philip Vincent had to watch his company crash out of the motorcycle market. His family fortune was exhausted in the pursuit of his dreams and his career never recovered. He passed away in West London in 1979 never to see another of his designs go in to production.
SUMMARY
SpeedisExpensive will bring this amazing story to the screen through the eyes of the
grandson Vincent never met - 26-year old Philip Vincent-Day. In his family’s storage, young Philip unearthed a treasure trove of 16 mm films showing his grandfather’s glamorous life of speed and international travel from the 1930s to the 1950s. To learn more about his grandfather, he talks to the racers who set records on the bikes, Vincent riders such as Jay Leno and the men and women who built them at the factory. Friends, family and his grandfather’s biographer help him discover whether Philip Vincent was, in the words of one who knew him, ‘an upper-class charlatan’ or ‘an engineering genius’ who re-wrote the rules of motorcycling.
RELATED MEDIA
The Vintagent Trailers: Blenio, Utah
https://vimeo.com/412996185
The Vintagent Trailers: A preview of our favorite feature films out there.
BLENIO, UTAH (2019)
Run Time: 57:00:00
Producer: Michael Beltrami
Director: Alberto Bernad, Patrick Botticchio
Key Cast: Tiziano Vescovi, Ralph Rucksthul, Hysni Jupa
FILM MAKERS
Alberto Bernad Vidal and Patrick Botticchio are both founders of Primitive Films, a professional audiovisual company.
SUMMARY
History repeats itself every summer since 100 years ago in the American state of Utah: the salt lake of Bonneville awaits patiently the burning wheels of motorcycles and cars ready for speed world records. But the 2017 edition was special, because among the hundreds of pilots present there was also a young butcher from Olivone (a switzerland's small town with a population of 800 people), Tiziano Vescovi, who on his motorbike made in Ticino and with the support of the Blenio Valley team, he launched himself to try to conquer the coveted title: will he have done it?
RELATED MEDIA
Watch the full FILM online
The Vintagent Selects: Dyno Tune Drop Out
https://vimeo.com/358456136
The Vintagent Selects: A collection of our favorite films by artists around the world.
Dyno Tune Drop Out (2019)
Run Time: 12:36
A Film By: Laurent Nivalle
With the help of: Deus Ex Machina, Hedon, Chatokhine Workshop
Key Cast: Richard Vincent
Music: Z Sessions (written by Zoe David)
FILM MAKERS
working full-time at DS Automobiles design department. Based in Paris 15, France.
SUMMARY
Old passions are the strongest ...
Around Santa Barbara in the 60s, Richard Vincent stockpiles the motorcycle races.
He runs, he wins, his fearsome Velocette, developed by himself. But sometimes, life goes sideways. It hurts the most vigorous and delicate passions, the taste of sport, the desire to live. We hang up the gloves, the helmet, it seems that time will bury everything.
Yet, there are rebounds and rebirths. Richard, Frank and Zoé. They're in Val-de-Loire, he's in California, they're young, he's 70. They put on the Wheels and Waves, a resurgence point where the custom spirit bubbles, open helmets and old leather.
In their French workshop, Frank and Zoé made a kind of art restoration, radical and moderate. There, the mechanics revive without losing what is priceless: the patina, the marks of age. Under their fingers, Richard's old Velocette, rusty, dusty, becalmed for decades, recovers its raison d'être. She rediscovers the pleasure of living and roaring, she gives again the pleasure of running. This film tells of a meeting. The rebirth of a motorcycle is only the pretext. How the old metal transmits electricity of passion from one generation to another. Action!
Robert Puyal
RELATED MEDIA
The Vintagent Classics: 1990 The Bronx Warriors
https://youtu.be/HHuDa3le0-g
The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.
1990: THE BRONX WARRIORS (1982)
Run Time: 1:32:00
Producer: Fabrizio De Angelis
Director: Enzo G. Castellari
Editor: Dardano Sacchetti, Enzo G. Castellari
Key Cast: Mark Gregory, Fred Williamson, Vic Morrow, and members of the Hells Angels
FILM MAKERS
Co-written and directed by Enzo G. Castellari (The Inglorious Bastards), this action-packed post-apocalyptic cult classic is a delirious mix of elements from The Warriors and Escape From New York. The idea for the film was first envisioned by producer Fabrizio De Angelis when he missed a subway stop for his Manhattan hotel and ended up in dangerous neighborhood in the Bronx. De Angelis imagined the idea of a futuristic city where young hoods would fight for their home.
One of three science fiction films Enzo G Castellari made with producer Fabrizio De Angelis. These films take influence from Mad Max 2 (1981), The Warriors (1979), and Escape From New York (1981). When discussing 1990: The Bronx Warriors, The New Barbarians and Escape from the Bronx, Castellari stated the three films were written prepared and filmed in six months.
Italian regulations required that 50% of a film had to be shot in Italy. To solve this situation, the film was shot on location in the Bronx with interiors shot in Rome.
SUMMARY
In the year 1990 the Bronx is officially declared No Man's Land. The authorities give up all attempts to restore law and order. From then on the area is ruled by The Riders.
When a beautiful young woman runs away from Manhattan into this wasteland of motorcycle gangs and marauding warriors, her corrupt father sends a ruthless mercenary to bring her back at all costs. But gang leader Trash has other plans, uniting the rival outlaws to wage an all-out guerilla war against their corporate oppressors.
RELATED MEDIA
Watch the full film at Cine Meccanica
The Vintagent Classics: Akira
https://vimeo.com/416958499
AKIRA (1988)
Run Time: 2:04:00
Director: Katsuhiro Ôtomo
Writer: Katsuhiro Ôtomo, Izô Hashimoto
Key Cast: Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki, Mami Koyama
FILM MAKERS
Signal Traced to Tokyo!
Akira (Japanese: アキラ Hepburn: Akira) is a 1988 Japanese animated post-apocalyptic cyberpunk film based on Otomo's 1982 manga of the same name. The film had a production budget of ¥1.1 billion ($9 million), making it the most expensive anime film of its time.
SUMMARY
The end of the world was only the beginning.
Set in a dystopian 2019, Akira tells the story of Shōtarō Kaneda, a leader of a biker gang whose childhood friend, Tetsuo Shima, acquires incredible telekinetic abilities after a motorcycle accident, eventually threatening an entire military complex amidst chaos and rebellion in the sprawling futuristic metropolis of Neo-Tokyo (31 years after being destroyed during World War 3). While most of the character designs and settings were adapted from the manga, the plot differs considerably and does not include much of the last half of the manga. The soundtrack, which draws heavily from traditional Indonesian gamelan as well as Japanese noh music, was composed by Shōji Yamashiro and performed by Geinoh Yamashirogumi.
RELATED MEDIA
Watch the full film FREE on Tubi
The Vintagent Trailers: Wayne
https://vimeo.com/333355038
The Vintagent Trailers: A preview of our favorite feature films out there.
Wayne (2018)
Run Time: 1:38:00
Producer: Fraser Brown, Matthew Metcalfe
Director: Jeremy Sims
Executive Producers: Simon Williams
Key Cast: Wayne Gardner, Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey, Mick Doohan, Kevin Schwantz
FILM
From Wollongong to Monte Carlo to Phillip Island, Wayne Gardner - The Wollongong Whiz - conquered the world of motorcycle racing and came home a hero.
SUMMARY
From the producers of McLaren comes Wayne, telling the exhilarating story of 1987 World Motorcycle Grand Prix Champion Wayne Gardner's triumphant, improbable journey from a 5-dollar dirt bike to the international summit of his sport.
Wayne Premieres 9/6/19
Vintagent Readers can Pre-Order it on iTunes Now.
RELATED MEDIA
Title page: https://showcase.gpsdistro.com/titles/wayne
iTunes Pre-Order available now!
The Vintagent Selects: Routeless 395
https://vimeo.com/352572303
The Vintagent Selects: A collection of our favorite films by artists around the world.
ROUTLESS 395 (2019)
Run Time: 9:36
A Film By: Ian Beaudoux
FILM MAKERS
Ever since 2014, Heath Pinter (X Games athlete and professional car/motorcycle builder) and Ian Beaudoux (filmmaker) have been documenting their travels together, creating a film project called ROUTELESS.
SUMMARY
Go left instead of right … always the long route. For years Pinter and Beaudoux have been riding motorcycles, vintage roadsters, drag racing, meeting up with friends and doing cool shit, always with a destination but taking the road less traveled. As they see it, the idea is very basic, “grab your buddy, ride your motorcycle and check shit out — it’s what people should do, and we’re just doing what we wanna do.” And what they want to do now is revisit the route that ties all of their history together: a well-known Highway 395.
To Ian and Heath, this project is a slightly different take on their past journeys. Instead of aiming toward an event or people to interview, this was an opportunity to revisit the road that links it all together for them, connecting Southern California to their roots in South Lake Tahoe, where they met snowboarding at the age of 18. Over the years, Ian and Heath have probably traveled Highway 395 more than a hundred times going from sea level to 10,000 feet, connecting the dots of the past to the present. Highway 395 is the lifeline to how it all began for these two, and for six days, I followed them riding up the backroads, revisiting a road that has a rich history for California, combining two of their favorite passions: motorcycles and snowboarding in the Sierra Nevadas.
As with most of their trips, this one begins in the garage. Two freshly built dual-sport Harley-Davidsons with side-mounted snowboards — one 2010 scrambler built out by the talented Aki Sakomoto from Hog Killers, and one 2003 street tracker customized by Heath, both rigged with snowboard racks built and designed by Heath — rolling out for their first rides from Long Beach to Mammoth Mountain via the most off-the-beaten-track dirt roads as possible and filming along the way. - Heidi Zumbrun (words and photos)
RELATED MEDIA
Watch the Routeless series on Amazon Prime
The Vintagent Trailers: Rockets and Titans
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obtG4f3-c8k&feature=youtu.be
The Vintagent Trailers: A preview of our favorite feature films out there.
ROCKETS & TITANS (2019)
Run Time: TBD
Producers: Andrew Lahmann, Colin Dalvit, Chad DeRosa, Eldad Efendi
Director: Chad DeRosa
Executive Producers: Dana Brown, Erin Sills, Robert Brim
Key Cast: Valerie Thompson, Denis Manning
FILM MAKERS
From the award-winning documentary filmmakers behind “Out of Nothing”, “Dust to Glory”, “Step Into Liquid” and “On Any Sunday: The Next Chapter” comes ROCKETS AND TITANS — the true story of an aging racing legend who recruits an untested female rider to race his self-designed motorcycle in a bid to shatter the 400mph barrier and become the fastest motorcycle of all time. Set against some of the most remote and breathtaking scenery on Earth, this is a portrait of two opposites, who must learn to trust each other as they chase a singular, dangerous dream.
SUMMARY
Bitter and bankrupt, an all-but-forgotten racing legend recruits an untested female rider to battle two big-budget teams in a race to become the first motorcycle to shatter the 400mph barrier.
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The Vintagent Trailers: Crash Brown "Without Restraint"
https://vimeo.com/10207148
The Vintagent Trailers: A preview of our favorite feature films out there.
CRASH BROWN: WITHOUT RESTRAINT (2010)
Run Time: 1:16
A Film By: Mike Silvio & Twin Path Productions
FILM MAKERS
Produced by Mike Silvio, the film highlights the life and daring-do of the late stuntman, John Tim “Crash” Brown. Silvio, the owner and curator of Cyclemos Motorcycle Museum in Red Boiling Spring, Tennessee, took an interest in Brown after being loaned some memorabilia by the Brown family, and in 2009 took his idea for a documentary to Twin Path Productions, based in Asheville, North Carolina. The result is a biographical human-interest story told by the voices of those closest to this unique daredevil, including his daughter Joan, who participated in many of his stunts. The film also features original footage and photographs of Brown in action.
Stay tuned later this year, as The Vintagent works with Silvio to bring the full film to audiences worldwide!
SUMMARY
CRASH BROWN: WITHOUT RESTRAINT Highlights the life and stunts of John Tim "Crash" Brown.
Experience the true story of an American original who's unique passion and larger than life persona took him across North America, performing to wide-eyed audiences of young and old alike. Through unseen footage and pictures of Crash in action as well as interviews with family and friends, meet the one and only "Crash" Brown and gain insight into some of his most dangerous and extraordinary stunts.
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The Vintagent Selects: American Dream
https://vimeo.com/53917349
The Vintagent Selects: A collection of our favorite films by artists around the world.
AMERICAN DREAM (201 )
Run Time: 11:07
Photographer: Ian Ruhter
Director: Lane Power & Ian Ruhter
Cinematographer: Lane Power, Dan Moses, Beau Lambert, Ian Beaudoux, Laura Austin
Editor: Lane Power
FILM MAKERS
"There is a point in every person's life when they must choose to follow their dreams or be stuck in the life they fear."
SUMMARY
The American Dream video is based on the fear of success, this thought is extremely powerful, fear has the ability to cripple us from pursuing our dreams. The moment I embraced my dreams it was as if the universe had drawn people to help us and share their stories. Our goal is to tell the stories of the people who live in America. Your support is the driving force behind our project. We could not have done this without you. We have made it this far because you shared and supported us through our social networking sites. We were able to connect with the people in this film because of the internet. Every time you share or like this project it brings us one step closer to photographing your town, people you know, possibly even you. Become a part of our journey;
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The Vintagent Selects: They Call Me Cheetah
https://vimeo.com/343755132
The Vintagent Selects: A collection of our favorite films by artists around the world.
THEY CALL ME CHEETAH (2018)
Run Time: 4:11
Producer & Visual Director: Larry Smith / MASA INOUE
Director: Wil Thomas III
Cinematographer: Joshua Makela
Drone Operator: Brian Anselmo
Music: Rocco Deluca
Sound Engineer: Ben Zales
Editor: Lauren Schneider
Still Photography: Michelle Bandach
Translator: Guillermo Yoshikawa
Cast: Toshiyuki Osawa / Cheetah Custom Cycles, Shinya Kimura / Chabott Engineering, Mitsuhiro Kiyonaga / Kiyo’s Garage
Special Thanks: Born-Free & The Stampede
FILM MAKERS
Produced by Japanese jewelry company, Larry Smith, and Directed by Wil Thomas III (Co-Producer of Sugar & Spade).
SUMMARY
THEY CALL ME CHEETAH is a visual poem about motorcycle builder Toshiyuki Osawa and the 1944 Indian Chief, named "Silver Arrow", he built for Larry Smith. Filmed in 2018 during his invitation to California's "Born Free 10", THEY CALL ME CHEETAH also features famed motorcycle builders Shinya Kimura and Mitsuhiro Kiyonaga as we explore the spirit of Japanese craftsmanship and the its place in the international motorcycle community.
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The Vintagent Selects: Elspeth Beard - One Of The Early Globetrotters
https://youtu.be/7O4Xp6Qndfw
The Vintagent Selects: A collection of our favorite films by artists around the world.
ELSPETH BEARD: ONE OF THE EARLY GLOBETROTTERS (2016)
Run Time: 3:46
A BMW Motorrad Film
FILM MAKERS
“When I set off to ride my motorcycle around the world in 1982 I never imagined that my story would ever be published,” says Elspeth. On her return in 1984 she put all her journals, tapes and photos in a cardboard box in the back of a cupboard where they remained for over 30 years. In 2008 freelance journalist Paul Blezard was commissioned by Andy Dukes to write an article about her round-the-world trip for BMW Motorrad, and over the next seven years her story gradually spread.
SUMMARY
Elspeth Beard is a motorcyclist and award-winning architect. In the early 1980s she completed a solo motorcycle trip around the world and became the first British woman to achieve this. She runs her own architectural practice, specializing in creating and remodeling interesting and unusual buildings. She lives in a converted Victorian water tower in the southeast of England and still enjoys riding her collection of motorcycles, which includes the trusty BMW R60/6 which carried her around the world.
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The Vintagent Trailers: Today Is A Good Day
https://vimeo.com/105236253
The Vintagent Trailers: A preview of our favorite feature films out there.
Today Is A Good Day (2016)
Run Time: 3:25
Producer: Big Company, The Jack's
Director: François Lapointe
Writer: Véronique Lhorme, François Lapointe
Cast: Roland Sands, Conrad Leach, Paul d'Orleans, Shinya Kimura, Olaf Stenegard, Derek Harris, Ornamental Conifer and many others
FILM MAKERS
This idea of a web-doc was born in 2012 by Director Francois Lapointe and Stéphane Dalbec, co-founder of Big Company, both in love of the cafe racer culture and motorcycles they wanted to share their passion through beautiful images and engaging stories. The Jack’s and Big Company are two French video production companies creating TV ads, documentaries, web-documentaries and 3D animation. Some guys in the production team are also Cafe Racer motorcycle and culture enthusiasts so there’s a lot of personal passion going into the project. Francois and Stéphane’s main inspiration for ‘Today is a Good Day’ came after attending Wheels and Waves in 2012 and 2013.
SUMMARY
Today Is A Good Day is a rich interactive road trip where you chose your destination from Los Angeles to Biarritz by way of London and so on. Town to town you will meet people felt in love with motorcycling and sharing the same spirit, driven by passion and involved in the 2 wheels landscape. We will offer you as well as possible the spirit and all things that fuel each of them, their inspirations, their authentic way of life influencing them daily in their jobs and relations. We’ll do our best to deliver a great painting of these motorcycle builders, painters, photographers, designers, bloggers etc…. … we dare it in any case and hope it will be.
This film is an adventure, more, it’s a quest fed by passions and fulfillments of dreams, supported by guys like Roland Sands, Conrad Leach, Paul d'Orleans, Shinya Kimura, Olaf Stenegard, Derek Harris, Ornamental Conifer and many others with no lucky charm but who promised to themselves to become and stay free, whatever happens.
The world motorcycle movement feeds itself due to the multiple inspiration sources it’s made of. We all face many choices, we all have are own views or desires, and one idea shared can lead towards many different results. That is the magical motorcycling spirit. Let’s go!
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The Vintagent Classics: TRON
https://vimeo.com/416425430
The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.
TRON (1982)
Run Time: 1:36:00
Producer: David Kushner
Director: Steven Lisberger
Writer: Steven Lisberger
Key Cast: Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner, David Warner
FILM MAKERS
The development of Tron began in 1976, when Lisberger became intrigued with the early video game Pong. He and producer Donald Kushner set up an animation studio to develop Tron with the intention of making it an animated film. Indeed, to promote the studio itself, Lisberger and his team created a 30-second animation featuring the first appearance of the title character. Eventually, Lisberger decided to include live-action elements with both backlit and computer animation for the actual feature-length film. Various film studios had rejected the storyboards for the film before Walt Disney Productions agreed to finance and distribute Tron. There, backlit animation was finally combined with the computer animation and live action.
SUMMARY
Hacker/arcade owner Kevin Flynn is digitally broken down into a data stream by a villainous software pirate known as Master Control and reconstituted into the internal, 3-D graphical world of computers. It is there, in the ultimate blazingly colorful, geometrically intense landscapes of cyberspace, that Flynn joins forces with Tron to outmaneuver the Master Control Program that holds them captive in the equivalent of a gigantic, infinitely challenging computer game.
The bikes were originally designed by Syd Mead, the same mind that created the vehicles for Blade Runner.
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Watch The Film ONLINE
The Vintagent Classics: Mad Max
https://vimeo.com/416520770
The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.
MAD MAX (1979)
Run Time: 1:35:00
Director: George Miller
Writer: James McCausland, George Miller
Key Cast: Mel Gibson, Joanne Samuel, Hugh Keays-Byrne
FILM MAKERS
George Miller was a medical doctor in Sydney, working in a hospital emergency room where he saw many injuries and deaths of the types depicted in the film. While in residency at a Sydney hospital, Miller met amateur filmmaker Byron Kennedy at a summer film school in 1971. The duo produced a short film, Violence in the Cinema, Part 1, which was screened at a number of film festivals and won several awards. Eight years later, the duo produced Mad Max, working with first-time screenwriter James McCausland (who appears in the film as the bearded man in an apron in front of the diner).
SUMMARY
The Film That Started It All.
According to Miller, his interest while writing Mad Max was "a silent movie with sound", employing highly kinetic images reminiscent of Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd while the narrative itself was basic and simple. Miller believed that audiences would find his violent story more believable if set in a bleak dystopian future. Screenwriter McCausland drew heavily from his observations of the 1973 oil crisis' effects on Australian motorists.
Taking place in a dystopian Australia in the near future, Mad Max tells the story of a highway patrolman cruising the squalid back roads that have become the breeding ground of criminals foraging for gasoline and scraps. After some grisly events at the hands of a motorcycle gang, Max sets out across the barren wastelands in search of revenge.
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The Vintagent Selects: Elspeth Beard - Riding into History
https://vimeo.com/256934157
The Vintagent Selects: A collection of our favorite films by artists around the world.
Elspeth Beard: Riding Into History (2018)
Run Time: 3:41
Producer: A film by Culture Trip
Director: Souleyman Messalti & Joe Brooks
Camera: Souleyman Messalti & Adu Lalouschek
Animation: Joe Brooks & Alex Mellon
Editor: Thomas Canton
Sound Design: Ross Henbest & Thomas Canton
Cast: Elspeth Beard
FILM MAKERS
Culture Trip filmmaker Souleyman Messalti and animator Joe Brooks caught up with Beard at her home in Godalming, Surrey: an award-winning, 130-foot, brick-built water tower that she painstakingly converted over a seven-year period after she returned from her travels and completed her architectural studies. (Just in case you hadn’t gathered by now, this is a woman who likes a challenge.)
She discusses the liberating power of anonymity, the painful trade-off between independence and isolation, the possibility of finding love in the mountains of Kashmir and the opportunity, fast disappearing from the world, of getting lost.
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SUMMARY
You’re 23, your heart’s been broken and there’s a long, hard slog of study stretching out in front of you. What do you do? For Elspeth Beard, a round-the-world trip on the back of her 1974 BMW R60/6 flat-twin motorbike proved the ultimate remedy for a wounded heart and weary head.
Thirty-two years after making history as the first British woman to ride solo around the globe, clocking 35,000 miles and crossing 20 countries along the way, she sat down to complete the equally epic task of penning a biking memoir to match the adventure. Lone Rider, published by Michael O’Mara in July 2017, retraces her two-year journey from a dockland warehouse in Brooklyn to her parents’ garage in central London, via outhouses in the Outback and hostile hotels in Middle Eastern war zones.
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