The Good
Repo Man is a movie that should be rereleased every 10 years. Forever.
The Bad
I would really love an in-depth interview with Emilio Estevez about this movie.
It is very hard to not write a personal review about Repo Man so I am not even going to try.
I first saw this movie when I was 12 years old. My brother had sort of introduced me to Punk Rock, but this film which had a soundtrack by Black Flag, Circle Jerks and Suicidal Tendencies took everything a step further. (Later on, Suburbia would complete my indoctrination.) I started shaving my head, spiking my hair, pitting in the street with a friend and even smoking cigarettes and drinking. (All of this is documented in my soon to be completed animated movie 1985-1986.) During these times I was watching Repo Man every week. It is a testament to this movie’s power and interesting design that this low budget film continues to endure as it does. Looked at now as a B-movie/cult classic, I never saw it as anything but a good time.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
The story of this film is simple. A man has stolen a car with a trunk full of aliens. This car shows up on all the “repo” blotters, and from there everyone wants it for themselves because there is a large reward. However, this movie is replete with government scams, inside jokes, the Reagan era and Emilio Estevez as Otto Maddox, a young man just trying to get by. I could tell the story of the film in a linear fashion but that wouldn’t do anybody any good. Repo Man is the kind of film you’ve just got to experience for yourself.
Features
As far as I remember, this audio track featuring Writer/Director Alex Cox, Executive Producer Michael Nesmith, Casting Director Victoria Thomas, Actors Sy Richardson, Zander Schloss and Del Zamora is the same one that came on the DVD I already have. Filled with interesting stories, keen insights and a lot of laughs, this is the kind of commentary track that can be revisited much more than once. My favorite part is when Sy Richardson discusses his motivation as an actor. Nobody on this track lets anybody be too serious for very long.
Up Close With Harry Dean Stanton
This is a cool interview with one of the coolest working actor’s, Harry Dean Stanton. He talks about the movie, his character, the scenes and where the cool dialogue he gets to say in the movie came from. This is the kind of interview that has been a long time coming. While I get the sense that Stanton is above the usual “Hollywood stuff,” it’s nice that he sat down to talk here. Of all the actors who have ever graced the silver screen he is one of the most interesting.
The Missing Scenes
This was an interesting supplemental feature as we have some deleted scenes, but we also have Alex Cox along with Sam Cohen to examine them. Oh yeah, Cohen just also happens to be the inventor of that thing called the neutron bomb. It is nice to see that the supplemental materials on this Collector’s Edition DVD, have kept themselves within the parameters of this movie.
Repossessed
Featuring Writer/Director Alex Cox, producers Jonathan Wacks and Peter McCarthy, this looking back segment also gives us actors Dick Rude, Del Zamora and Sy Richardson. We get to see where the movie was shot and are also given a little insight into what went on behind the scenes. Time really has a way of changing perceptions. This movie wasn’t in the theater long when it came out, but now, it seems to be one of those films that one can’t help but be both nostalgic and respectful of.
Video
1.85:1 - Widescreen. Alex Cox is a very smart filmmaker. He puts so many interesting things in the frame, that for the actual movie he doesn’t really need to get caught up in camera tricks that get in the way of the story. Also, he doesn’t seem to try and explain things too much. Don’t get me wrong, this movie is very easy to follow but there is a lot of ambiguity especially as far as the government and the aliens are concerned.
Audio
Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. I think I have hit a MovieWeb first. Of all the films I have reviewed, I don’t think that I already owned the movie and the soundtrack when the review was written up. As I mentioned above, the bands on this soundtrack have had a profound effect on my life. However, I would love to own a Repo Man soundtrack that just had the score of the film. Embodying an almost futuristic, western feel the melodies of the instruments employed cannot help but stay with you once the credits role.
Package
Continuing to utilize the quote ” It’s 4AM, do you know where your car is?, this cover features a supped up version of both Emilio Estevez, Harry Dean Stanton and Jennifer Balgobin. I love that they still kept the image of Estevez with his arms folded. On the back is a description of the movie, a “Bonus Materials” listing and some technical specs. While I think it’s great that this movie merits multiple releases, I wonder if other fans are getting tired of them releasing this movie with only moderate changes? That said, this is the first version I have screened that really seems to have some special “Extra Features.”
Final Word
Does anybody really appreciate the fact that Emilio Estevez was essentially the mid-80s actor/writer/director for a lot of us mid-thirty year olds? He’s the only person to be in three out of the 4 groundbreaking S.E. Hinton books that were turned into movies. This isn’t even mentioning that movie about “breakfast” that he was in! What about St. Elmo’s Fire? Or those early HBO short films like Seventeen Going on Nowhere? Or, To Climb A Mountain? How about his first directorial effort, the still relevant Wisdom? And last but certainly not least (and there’s still a lot more I could say), who can forget his tour de force performance in Stakeout? If Emilio Estevez is not worthy of some sort of mid-lifetime achievement award than I don’t know who is.
Repo Man is just as ground breaking now as it was when it was first released. The beauty of this movie is the way director Alex Cox has made this story into one that you can see things differently every time you watch it.
Repo Man was released February 20, 1984.
