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
