The Vintagent Selects: Vesuvius 2 Etna
https://vimeo.com/669227948
The Vintagent Selects: A collection of our favorite films by artists around the world.
VESUVIUS 2 ETNA (2022)
Run Time: 3:26
A Film By: Fabio Affuso
Key Cast: Lesley Bray, Malaka, Adelio Lorenzin, Jose Sendra, with text/reading by Alan Watts
FILM MAKERS
My photography focuses on the daring and extrovert nature of men and women who live life to the fullest. My subjects are creatives, visionaries, sometimes impostors and very often self made professionals. They often have a taste for style, using fashion as a defining element of their personality and character. They reflect an attitude of self-confidence and freedom in a world where everything is possible. - Fabio Affuso
SUMMARY
Fabio Affuso and friends take CAKE electric motorcycles from Mt Vesuvius to Mt Etna in Italy, 'powered by solar'. It's a fun take on their journey, with a voice over by Alan Watts.
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The Vintagent Classics: Angels Die Hard
https://youtu.be/qKjRkZAEmEk
The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.
ANGELS DIE HARD (1970)
Run Time: 1:26:32
Producer: Angel Productions
Director: Richard Compton
Writer: Richard Compton
Key Cast: Tom Baker, William Smith, Carl Steppling
FILM MAKERS
Angels Die Hard was the first film distributed by Roger Corman's New World Pictures. Half its budget being provided by Roger Corman himself. Corman of course coined the phrase "Biker Flick" back in 1966 when directing Wild Angels, the film that opened the flood gates for the deluge of trashy Bike-Sploitation "B" films to follow between 1966-1972.
"Roger Corman's New World Pictures (1970-1983): The environment Roger Corman established at New World Pictures allowed young filmmakers like Jonathan Demme, Paul Bartel, Joe Dante, Jonathan Kaplan, Jack Hill, James Cameron, Ron Howard and me to gain invaluable experience making movies. Film scholars and general readers alike will find much to enjoy in this oral history. - Steve Carver (Director, Big Bad Mama, Capone, Lone Wolf McQuade)In 1970, Roger Corman launched his own film production-distribution company, New World Pictures. Over the next thirteen years, he would supervise the creation and release of more than one-hundred films, including such classics as Death Race 2000 (1975), I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977), Piranha (1978), and Rock 'N' Roll High School (1979). Filled with entertaining anecdotes and insiders' insights about the filmmaking process, Roger Corman's New World Pictures (1970-1983): An Oral History, Volume 1 features interviews with twenty individuals who worked on New World movies, among them Belinda Balaski, Jon Davison, Dick Miller, John Sayles, Lewis Teague and Jack Hill, as well a conversation with Corman himself.It's time for a collection like this about New World Pictures and the man that made it all happen, Roger Corman. Roger is the seed of more careers than you can imagine in Hollywood." - Belinda Balaski (Actor, Piranha, The Howling) - excerpt from the book: The Fantastic True Story of Roger Corman's New World Pictures (1970-1983)
SUMMARY
The film which was written in three months, revolves around a gang of bikers who try to save people from a mining accident. Compton shot the film on location in Kernville, California, on the shore of Lake Isabella, an old gold-mining town that was used for filming early Hollywood Westerns.
Review courtesy of The Video Beat: The local rednecks frequent a juke joint called the Arcade Club. They're a nasty bunch of hicks who don't like bikers. The film opens with townsfolk leaping from their pick-ups wielding two-by-fours, pipes and other bludgeoning devices to kick the you-know-what out of the Angels who merely stopped in for a drink. The Angels are doing a good job of whooping some hillbilly butt when the sheriff arrives and breaks up all the fun. The Angels drunkenly agree to leave town.
The next day the town is having an annual celebration of some sort that includes American flags, pig wrestling and other stuff. Next we see the Angels sitting in what looks like a junkyard, drinking beer and reading poetry, when they discover that the town rednecks have just murdered an Angel on the other side of the town line.
The Angles, with their fallen brother in a pine box, return to town and proceed to wreck a pool joint and rape a busty waitress while they smear spaghetti all over her—and themselves. But believe it or not, the bikers are the good guys in this film.
Lots of original rock music on the soundtrack including Dewey Martin of Buffalo Springfield who gives us "Indian Child," and psychedelic rock band, Fever Tree who play "Death Is A Stranger."
There are several fine fuzz guitar workouts among the bands on the soundtrack. A large portion of the score was laid down by East-West Pipeline, a fairly obscure group from Colorado who play on nine tracks including the heavy sludge riffing of "You Could Be" and "Taking a Bath," and the sweet psychedelia of "Questions." Tom Baker, William Smith, Carl Steppling, Frank Leo, Alan DeWitt, Gary Littlejohn, Beach Dickerson, Rita Murray, Dan Haggerty, Bambi Allen, Dirty Denny, Dixie Peabody. Angels Die Hard.
RELATED MEDIA
Watch The FULL FILM via Cine Meccanica
Buy The DVD at The Video Beat
Read The Fantastic True Story of Roger Corman's New World Pictures (1970-1983)
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The Vintagent Classics: Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown
https://vimeo.com/661235045
The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.
RACE FOR YOUR LIFE, CHARLIE BROWN (1977)
Run Time: 1:15:48
Producer: Paramount Pictures
Director: Bill Melendez, Phil Roman
Writer: Charles M. Schultz
Key Cast: Charlie Brown (Duncan Watson), Snoopy (Bill Melendez), Woodstock
FILM MAKERS
Here at The Vintagent Film Archive, we draw a hard line as to what encompasses a motorcycle movie, or "Biker Flick" (a phrase coined by Roger Corman while directing the first of it's kind, Wild Angels in 1966). Mainly, is the motorcycle integral to the film? But sometimes, there must be exceptions (left to the discretion of the Curator). In this case, a cartoon homage to the iconic Easy Rider (1969) chopper in the 1977 animated classic Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown.
As a kid born 11 years after Easy Rider came out, this was one of the first motorcycles I saw on film, long before I saw it's inspiration, and it never left me. I definitely count Snoopy's chopper as a reason I ride motorcycles today. I've built my career as an authority on motorcycle movies by collecting and curating the good, the bad, and the bizarre of motorized cinema, and during this quiet, Covid holiday season, I think Peanuts is just what the Dr. called for, for those of us who chose to go our own way, and adventure off into the sunset. So, stay safe folks, and enjoy the genius of Charles M. Schultz and the Peanuts gang!
SUMMARY
The Peanuts gang heads off to Camp Remote somewhere in the mountains. Accidentally left behind by the bus while at a desolate rest stop, Charlie Brown is forced to hitch a harrowing ride on Snoopy's motorcycle in order to make the rest of the journey to the camp, accompanied by rock guitar type riffs while protesting Snoopy's wild driving...
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The Vintagent Trailers: Why We Ride
https://vimeo.com/657490604
The Vintagent Trailers: A preview of our favorite feature films out there.
Why We Ride (2013)
Run Time: 1:29:00
Producer: Walking West Entertainment, Gnarlynow Entertainment
Director: Bryan H. Carroll
Writer: Bryan H. Carroll, Chris Hampel, James C. Walker
Key Cast: Jim Adams, Ernie Alexander, Kenny Alexander
FILM MAKERS
How a Documentary about Passion, started a Worldwide Movement and Inspired Audiences to Ride!
What started as a documentary about the legendary racer “Iron Man” Ed Kretz become a 15-month long production studying the “two-wheeled perspective” of the passion of life — told through anecdotes of those who live and breath it everyday. This was one of the most transformative filmmaking journeys our crew had ever embarked on.
SUMMARY
The passion of the riders and the soul of their machines.
In the brutally-violent and dangerous early days of motorcycle racing, one man rode harder and faster than anyone else. Ed Kretz was so tough and seemingly invincible, his jealous rivals dubbed him "Iron Man." None of them could beat him and nothing could stop him. Kretz lived to wrestle his metal war-horse around any track, from the mountains of Depression-stricken California, to the beaches of Daytona. He would later be an inspiration and friend to the likes of James Dean and Steve McQueen; and he won more national championships than anyone else in history.
We began this documentary journey the a singular mission, to tell the history of this legendary “Iron Man”. However, it quickly became evident that Kretz’s story of passion and persistence was shared among all motorcyclists, young and old, male and female, competitive racer and leisure rider alike. This film wasn’t going to be about the “who”, “what”, or “where”, it was going to be about the “WE” — and hence it was fitting the title of this evolving cinematic journey be WHY WE RIDE.
Why We Ride is a story about who we are. Individuals with a desire to dream, discover and explore. From a kid’s dream come true, to a retiree’s return to freedom. From a family riding together on the sand dunes, to hundreds of choppers carving through the canyons – the bond is the same. It’s about the passion of the riders and the soul of their machines.
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The Vintagent Selects: 1928 Brough Superior SS80 Deluxe: An Oily-Rag Survivor
https://youtu.be/P2-LMT4OYu8
The Vintagent Selects: A collection of our favorite films by artists around the world.
1928 Brough Superior SS80 Deluxe: An Oily-Rag Survivor (2021)
Run Time: 7:56
Producer: Baikudokan Productions, Van Loom Films
A Film By: Greg O'Keefe
Writer: Greg O'Keefe, Humphrey
Key Cast: Humphrey, 1928 Brough Superior SS80 Deluxe
FILM MAKERS
The video was produced, directed and edited by Greg O’Keefe of Baikudo™ (Japanese for The Way of the Motorcycle™) Productions and shot by Joel Van Loon of Van Loon Films. Greg is a university professor and a single dad to his 8 year old daughter since losing his beloved wife to cancer in early 2020. He hopes to further his passion for producing motorcycle-orientated videos when not riding. As well as making videos, Joel is a full-time dad and jewelry designer.
SUMMARY
A Brough Superior SS80 Deluxe - one of just 19 manufactured in 1928 - is the oily-rag star of this video. Three years in the making, the project ran into many difficulties that needed to be overcome before production could proceed to conclusion. One such "curve ball" was when the current custodian, Humphrey, experienced a major accident on the bike not long after we had started shooting in the spring of 2018! Getting the bike back on the road whilst maintaining the sacred originality proved to be a daunting task... Despite this featuring in the story, the goal of the video is to take a peek at a chapter in the life of a venerable old banger. Every Brough, that has survived thus far, has its own story and this is just one of them.
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The Vintagent Classics: The Thrill Is On
https://vimeo.com/652085935
The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.
THE THRILL IS ON (1971)
Run Time: 0:41:52 (plus extras)
A Film By: David Aldana & Don Daniel
Key Cast: David Aldana, Bart Markel, and a cast of thousands.
FILM MAKERS
A long overlooked indy, student film captures the love of a sport, and becomes an unearthed gem for flat track fanatics.
SUMMARY
Filmed the year after Bruce Brown Made On Any Sunday. It was set around David Aldana and the Summer Grand National races, but the cameras just happened to get Bart Markel's 28th and last national win at Columbus, Ohio. This seldom seen movie shot over 50 years ago includes great footage of Dick Mann, Gene Romero, Jim Rice, Don Castro, Eddie Mulder, Mark Brelsford, Cal Rayborn, Chuck Palmgren, Keith Mashburn, and many more great riders of the day. The Movie includes original Narration by Roxy Rockwood, and a special introduction by Dave Despain. The Film has been digitally remastered from the original 16mm format. American Flat Track at it's best!
RELATED MEDIA
Watch the FULL FILM (plus extras)
The Vintagent Classics: The Mouse And The Motorcycle
https://vimeo.com/649663153
The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.
THE MOUSE AND THE MOTORCYCLE (TV 1986)
Run Time: 41:04
Producer: Churchill Films
Director: Ron Underwood
Writer: Beverly Cleary (novel), Jim Carlson & Terrence McDonnell (screenplay)
Key Cast: Phillip Waller, Mimi Kennedy, Thom Sharp
FILM MAKERS
The Mouse and the Motorcycle is a children's novel written by Beverly Cleary and published in 1965. It is the first in a trilogy featuring Ralph S. Mouse, a house mouse who can speak to humans (though typically only children), goes on adventures riding his miniature motorcycle, and who longs for excitement and independence while living with his family in a run-down hotel.
The story and characters were inspired both by Cleary's son, who while recovering from a fever played with miniature cars and motorcycles, and by a neighbor who had shown Cleary a small mouse that had been trapped in a bucket.[2]
The book was released as a selection of the Weekly Reader Children's Book Club (Intermediate Division) and won the William Allen White Children's Book Award in 1968. Cleary went on to write two more books featuring the Ralph S. Mouse character in the following decade, and a film adaptation of The Mouse and The Motorcycle was produced in 1986.
SUMMARY
Ralph is a mouse who lives in the run-down Mountain View Inn, a battered resort hotel in the Sierra Nevada mountain range of California. Ralph longs for a life of danger and speed, wishing to get away from his relatives, who worry about the mice colony being discovered. One day a boy named Keith Gridley and his family visit the hotel on their way through California. Keith leaves a toy motorcycle on his bedside table. While Keith is away, Ralph attempts to ride it, but cannot figure out how to start it. Startled by a telephone ring, both Ralph and the motorcycle fall into a metal wastebasket.
Keith discovers his missing motorcycle in the wastebasket. Although Ralph's mother worries that he is in contact with humans, Keith shows Ralph how to start the motorcycle—make an engine-like noise—and lets Ralph ride it at night. While Keith and his family explore California, Ralph recklessly rides the motorcycle through the depths of the hotel. One night he is spotted by Keith's mother, who initially thinks she is imagining things, but later is sure that she saw a mouse riding a motorcycle. Ralph and the motorcycle are almost sucked up by a maid's vacuum cleaner, but Ralph escapes, riding into a pile of linen and dirty bed sheets. He escapes by chewing holes in the sheets, forced to leave the precious vehicle behind.
After Ralph loses the motorcycle, Keith loses trust in him, though he still brings the mice colony food. One night Keith becomes very sick, because his parents don't have any more aspirin and are unable to obtain one until morning. To regain Keith's trust, Ralph searches the hotel for an aspirin tablet, at risk to himself, for the medicine could prove fatal to a small mouse if ingested (in fact, Ralph's father was taken down with a bad cold and died in spite of all they could do). Ralph is able to find an aspirin tablet and borrows Keith's toy ambulance to retrieve it. When Ralph is successful, Keith's health is restored, one of the hotel's housekeepers had even found his motorcycle among the linens from which Ralph escaped. In gratitude, Keith gives Ralph the motorcycle to keep, Ralph uses the space under the TV set in the lobby as a garage.
RELATED MEDIA
Buy The book on EBAY
The Vintagent Trailers: Wheels Up In New York City
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KV-i5d59150
The Vintagent Trailers: A preview of our favorite feature films out there.
WHEELS UP IN NEW YORK CITY (2021)
Run Time: 31:24
Producer: johnnypuetz Productions
A Film By: Johnny Pierre Kathoefer & Melanie Sallier
Key Cast: @its_k3nny, @wheelie_wannabe, @benadon_benmore
FILM MAKERS
On any given day, drivers and pedestrians in New York City may encounter a wild group of motorcyclists popping wheelies as they tear through the streets of the Big Apple. The police are losing patience, and some citizens lodge complaints, but the movement can’t be stopped—who are the people behind the helmets, and what keeps them coming back to the streets for their notorious daily rides? This question is the central theme of WHEELS UP IN NEW YORK CITY, the latest documentary by Brooklyn-based production company johnnypuetz Productions. As a New York production company full of avid motorcyclists, founder Jean Pierre Kathoefer and his team had always been intrigued by these lawless one-wheeled renegades. For WHEELS UP, they go straight to the source—by interviewing various members of the New York stunt-riding community, johnnypuetz is able to dig into the raw, human stories behind why these bikers ride and what it means to them.“I don’t have therapy in my life that I can spend money on and talk to someone,” says one rider who goes by the name of X. “Motorcycling and stunt riding were the only way I could focus that madness, the only calm that told me to shut up and focus.” Officially, the movement is known as Bike Life. Independently or in groups, riders pop wheelies and perform other stunts on dirt bikes, motorized bikes, and even ATVs.
SUMMARY
Some do it for the thrill, some for the friendships, and some riders are even starting to do it for money—by documenting their stunts on social media, skilled stunt riders can score lucrative sponsorships and brand partnerships. Most of these bikers practice their stunts in vacant lots where they can hone their craft in peace, but the streets are where they put their moves to the test. However,this can lead to accidents, injuries, and even trouble with the law—some stunt riders get ticketed for blowing red lights, and many are pulled over for reckless or negligent driving. Those interviewed in WHEELS UP insist that most stunt riders follow traffic laws, wear the appropriate safety gear, and do their best to minimize any disruption or inconvenience for other people on the road.In fact, by and large the documentary paints an incredibly sympathetic portrait of these riders, depicting them as a tight-knit community of misfits and adventurers rather than a gang of reckless adrenaline junkies.This sense of camaraderie is never more present than at Bikelife Sports,a stunt-riding event where bikers can practice their craft in the safety of a private racetrack. “We don’t have to worry about being chased by cops, we don’t have to worry about other people hitting us,” said one rider. “It’s just safety.” Without the constant looming threat of law enforcement or traffic collisions, riders can focus on what matters most: their stunts and their community. johnnypuetz’s ties to the motorcycle community give them unique access to this otherwise insular group, allowing for honest, often heartwarming interviews with some of New York’s most notorious motorists.For many of these bikers, stunt riding introduced them to life long friends, partners, and a greater community of like-minded people who have their back through thick and thin. Combine that with a one-of-a-kind adrenaline rush, and it’s no wonder these bikers risk it all day after day to take to the streets on one wheel.
WHEELS UP IN NEW YORK will begin streaming exclusively on Youtube on December 1st, 2021. For more information on johnnypuetz Productions, and updates on the film's release, check out the website and follow on IG (links below).
RELATED MEDIA
Website https://johnnypuetz.com
IG @johnnypuetz
The Vintagent Classics: Hex
https://youtu.be/ng1Waj46RKo
The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.
HEX AKA THE SHRIEKING (1973)
Run Time: 1:32:00
Producer: Max L Raab Productions, Twentieth Century Fox
Director: Leo Garen
Writer: Doran William Cannon (Story), Leo Garen, Stephen Katz
Key Cast: Keith Carradine, Cristina Raines, Scott Glenn
FILM MAKERS
A group of friends who were World War I flyers ride their motorcycles across America in search of what they believe their generation lost during the war.
Hex is one of a very short list of films set in the early 20th century, a time when motorized vehicles (and their rebel riders) first appeared on the sleepy streets of the Wild West. Western Hot Rod Biker Flicks?! This sub genre of Motorized Cinema has yet to be named... Stay tuned for more!
SUMMARY
Set in 1919, a gang of bikers (including Gary Busey, and Keith Carradine in his first roll) on new fangled machines roll into the rural prairie town of Bingo, Nebraska. Instantly surrounded by curious locals, a snot nosed kid dares them to a drag race his brother’s oh so 70’s, flame job hot rod. Not willing to be called chicken, the gang gives the Jalopy a run for its money, but things get messy and they flee town.
The gang hides out on a remote farm run by two stoic, dope smoking sisters who welcome them in reluctantly. It doesn’t take long before their concerns are validated by one of the bikers getting a bit too feely, and the outraged sisters call upon the dark spirit of their shaman father to teach them a lesson…
The film, shot entirely on the desolate Cheyenne River Reservation, is plotless, hokey, and painfully dull at times. It does, however, pose an interesting question as to what it was like to live in this strange moment in time. A crossroads in history, when the future in the form of a combustion engine came barreling into sleepy Edwardian towns in a terrifyingly loud black cloud of angry smoke.
Released repeatedly over the years under multiple titles, Hex managed to remain in complete obscurity, making it unexpected biker horror flick gold. - Corinna Mantlo, for Jalopnik
RELATED MEDIA
Terror In High Gear: Ten Of The Spookiest Biker Movies!
Watch the FULL FILM
The Vintagent Classics: Werewolves On Wheels
https://youtu.be/yU0-oGaEGDo
The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.
WEREWOLVES ON WHEELS (1971)
Run Time: 1:19:49
Director:Michel Levesque
Writer: David M. Kaufman, Michel Levesque
Key Cast:Stephen Oliver, D.J. Anderson, and Deuce Barry
FILM MAKERS
"We know how we’ll die, we’re gonna crash and burn, baby!"
Werewolves on Wheels is a 1971 American exploitation film directed by Michel Levesque and starring Stephen Oliver, D.J. Anderson, and Deuce Barry. It blends two genres: the outlaw biker film and the traditional horror film.
SUMMARY
"Heavy, someone’s controlling the vibes."
A biker gang, The Devil’s Advocates, is off on a routine, hell raising romp when Taro suggests they visit a Satanic monastery, after an ominous reading of one of the girl friend’s (Helen) taro cards. On arriving, a bunch of robed monks give them bread and wine, and when the gang passes out on their front lawn, they sacrifice a cat, and nab Helen for a ritual.
Luckily the gang wakes in time to rescue poor Helen, and they split the scene. Unfortunately for them, it seems the cult’s ritual has left the mark of Satan on the gang, and Helen isn’t quite the same. Make out sessions turn to bikers becoming werewolves and killing other members. Movie (named for his voice impressions) gets it bad, and Taro leaves the gang because of the bad vibes.
"One foot in heaven and the other in hell. One eye on the bible, one eye on the gin."
All in all this film should be cheap, low budget fun, but The cinematography and original soundtrack make it great. The opening scenes reminds you of easy rider, and the score is by Don Gere, is obsession worthy. Thankfully, the soundtrack is available on Vinyl. Enjoy!
RELATED MEDIA
Watch the FULL FILM
Listen to the FULL SOUNDTRACK
The Vintagent Selects: Home Made Wall Of Death
https://vimeo.com/635594907
The Vintagent Selects: A collection of our favorite films by artists around the world.
Home Made Wall Of Death (TV 1979)
Run Time: 3:57
A Film By: P.M. Magazine, RTÉ ONE
Key Cast: Michael Donoghue, Connie Kiernan, Pat Kenny
FILM MAKERS
P.M. was a magazine series reporting on aspects of Irish life with interludes for music from Irish performers. P.M. first began on Tuesday, 20 September, 1977 and ran until Thursday, 12 April, 1979. This episode of P.M. was broadcast on 27 March 1979.
SUMMARY
Two motor cycle enthusiasts have built a wall of death in Granard, Co Longford.
Having your own personal wall of death may seem unusual, but not for these two men from Granard who became the inspiration for the film ‘Eat the Peach’.
Reporter Pat Kenny talks to Michael Donoghue and Connie Kiernan about how the wall of death came about, and what it’s like to live next to it. The ‘Wall of Death’ inspired the film ‘Eat the Peach’ (1986). The film tells the story of two young Irish men transfixed by an Elvis Presley film in which a carnival cyclist performs an act on the wall of death and decide to put together their own wall of death. Pat Kenny went on to star as a reporter in the film.
RELATED MEDIA
The Vintagent Classics: Chrome & Hot Leather
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tbB3aTEcbU
The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.
CHROME & HOT LEATHER (1971)
Run Time: 1:31:00
Producer: American International Pictures (AIP)
Director: Lee Frost
Key Cast: William Smith, Tony Young, Michael Haynes
FILM MAKERS
Lee Frost rates highly as one of the best, most talented and versatile filmmakers in the annals of exploitation cinema. Frost was born on August 14, 1935, in Globe, Arizona. He grew up in Glendale, California, and Oahu, Hawaii. He eventually wound up in Hollywood, where he started his career making TV commercials for the studio Telepics. Frost made his film debut with the early 1960s nudie cutie Surftide 77 (1962). He went on to make a slew of films in many different genres: tongue-in-cheek horror comedy (House on Bare Mountain (1962), mondo shock documentaries (Hollywood's World of Flesh (1963), Mondo Bizarro (1966), Mondo Freudo (1966), perverse softcore roughies (The Defilers (1965), The Animal (1968), crime drama (The Pick-Up (1968)), westerns (Hot Spur (1968), The Scavengers (1969) and even Nazisploitation (Love Camp 7 (1969), which has been widely cited as the prototype for the notorious Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS (1975).
A majority of Frost's 1960s features were made for legendary trash flick producer Bob Cresse. Moreover, Lee added sex inserts into such foreign films as London in the Raw (1964), Night Women (1964) and Witchcraft '70 (1969). Frost continued cranking out entertainingly sleazy drive-in items throughout the 1970s; they include the startling psycho sniper outing Zero in and Scream (1971), the passable biker opus Chrome and Hot Leather (1971), the gritty Chain Gang Women (1971), the hilariously campy The Thing with Two Heads (1972), the immensely enjoyable Policewomen (1974), the gnarly blaxploitation winner The Black Gestapo (1975), the rowdy redneck romp Dixie Dynamite (1976) and the jolting roughie porno shocker A Climax of Blue Power (1974). Frost frequently collaborated with producer/screenwriter Wes Bishop in addition to their own pictures, Frost and Bishop wrote the script for Jack Starrett's terrific Race with the Devil (1975), which Frost was originally supposed to direct as well. Both Frost and Bishop often appear as actors, usually in small parts, in Frost's films. Lee worked as an editor on industrial movies for a film laboratory throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. His last feature was the straight-to-video Shannon Whirry erotic thriller Private Obsession (1995). Lee Frost died at age 71 on May 25, 2007.
SUMMARY
Don’t muck around with a Green Beret’s Mama! He’ll take his chopper and ram it down your throat!
Chrome & Hot Leather is a 1971 American action revenge film about Green Berets vs. bikers with touches of comedy. It is one of two films to feature singer Marvin Gaye in an acting role, the other being the 1969 film The Ballad of Andy Crocker.
A Green Beret returns home from the Vietnam war to find that a gang of murderous bikers has killed his fiancee. He calls on several of his Green Beret buddies to come and help him take revenge on the gang.
RELATED MEDIA
Watch the FULL FILM
The Vintagent Classics: Ghost Squad 'High Wire'
https://vimeo.com/617316979
The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.
GHOST SQUAD: 'HIGH WIRE' (TV, EPISODE #5, 1961)
Run Time: 1:00:00
Producer: Associated Television (UK)
Director: Norman Harrison
Writer: John Gosling(book), Lewis Davidson (screenplay)
Key Cast: Donald Wolfit, Michael Quinn, Angela Browne
FILM MAKERS
Ghost Squad was a crime drama series that ran between 1961 and 1964, about an elite division of Scotland Yard. In each episode the Ghost Squad would investigate cases that fell outside the scope of normal police work. Despite the show and characters being fictional, an actual division did exist within the Metropolitan Police at the time.
Inspiration for the series was taken from a book of the same title written by John Gosling, a retired police officer and former member of the real-life squad it is based on. This squad operated only in London, but the members of the fictional team travel all over Europe, sometimes to fictitious countries.
SUMMARY
The adventures of the agents of Scotland Yard's secret undercover crime unit, dubbed "The Ghost Squad".
In Episode 5 'High Wire", Craig dons the disguise of a Wall of Death motorcycle rider to infiltrate a gang responsible for a series of audacious robberies. His ability to ride the machines leads to him being offered the role of lookout on the gang's next job.
RELATED MEDIA
Watch the FULL EPISODE, at Cine Meccanica
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)
https://vimeo.com/652911478
The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.
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.
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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
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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
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