History Film / VanishingPoint

* RightWingMilitiaFanatic: "The Voice" in the remake. Part of the misunderstanding that escalates Kowalski's manhunt is that his personal history (disenfranchised war vet) makes the police ''think'' Kowalski is one of these.

* TheSeventies: In the original.

* TheUnreveal: When it seems we are about to learn Kowalski's first name through a telegram received by the police, one cop reads it:

* AdaptationalVillainy: The cops, in the remake. A few of the cops that are after him escalate quickly from doing it because it's their job to a full-on vendetta, and the feds that are brought in quickly theorize that he's a RightWingMilitiaFanatic and refuse to hear a word saying otherwise.

-->'''Officer:''' Surname, Kowalski, K-o-w-a-l-s-k-i. Christian name... Christian name, my foot. What is that?

* TheGrimReaper: According to Kowalski's actor and the movie's director, the female hitchhiker in the [=UK=] release is an allegory for Death. This is further supported by her saying that she's been waiting for Kowalski for a long time.

In a post-Woodstock [[TheSeventies '70s]] US, Kowalski (Newman) is a car delivery man with a mysterious past and [[NoNameGiven no first name given]], now working for Argo's Car Delivery Service in Denver, Colorado. The film opens on Sunday, 10:02 am, with him driving a white 1970 Dodge Challenger into a roadblock with the police in hot pursuit. Just before he hits it, however, the film flashes back to two days earlier. Kowalski has been assigned to deliver the Challenger to UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco, and makes a bet with his dealer Jake (Creator/LeeWeaver) that he can get there in just fifteen hours. Setting off, Kowalski ends up running afoul of the police when he runs a motorcycle cop off the road. A blind African-American DJ at KOW known as Super Soul (Little) listens to the police radio frequency and encourages Kowalski to evade the police. By doing so, he is turned into an overnight folk hero, revered by the counterculture scene across the west.

Was [[TheRemake remade]] in 1997 as a MadeForTVMovie starring Creator/ViggoMortensen, Creator/JasonPriestley, and Creator/KeithDavid. Many of the characters are heavily changed; in the remake, Kowalski (who now has a first name, Jimmy) is a [[UsefulNotes/TheGulfWar Gulf War]] vet trying to get to his pregnant wife in Idaho, while the DJ is now a right-wing shock jock named "The Voice" who views Kowalski's race home against the police as a battle against government oppression.

* BumperSticker: The cop's Dodge Charger in the remake reading "My wife? Yes. My gun? Maybe. My car? '''Never'''."

In a post-Woodstock [[TheSeventies '70s]] US, Kowalski (Newman) is a car delivery man with a mysterious past and [[NoNameGiven no first name given]], now working for Argo's Car Delivery Service in Denver, Colorado. The film opens on Sunday, 10:02 am, with him driving a white 1970 Dodge Challenger into a roadblock with the police in hot pursuit. Just before he hits it, however, the film flashes back to two days earlier. Kowalski has been assigned to deliver the Challenger to UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco, and makes a bet with his dealer Jake (Lee Weaver) that he can get there in just fifteen hours. Setting off, Kowalski ends up running afoul of the police when he runs a motorcycle cop off the road. A blind African-American DJ at KOW known as Super Soul (Little) listens to the police radio frequency and encourages Kowalski to evade the police. By doing so, he is turned into an overnight folk hero, revered by the counterculture scene across the west.

* CuttingTheKnot: In the remake. ''Immediately'' after eluding the two motorcycle cops, Kowalski ''does'' go to a nearby airport and attempts to charter a flight to Denver, which would tremendously cut down on travel time and avoid more trouble with the police. Unfortunately, the police spot the Challenger outside the terminal and Kowalski has to continue the trip by car.

** At the roadblock, the lead Agent's partner suggests just letting Kowalski go instead of using the roadblock to capture him. By this point, they already know who he is, the car he's driving, where he's going and why. All they have to do is let him drive to the hospital--''where they already have agents and police officers waiting''--and let him spend some time with his wife and newborn baby. He would be in a controlled situation; out of the car, surrounded by security and have absolutely nowhere to go. This would enable them to arrest him quietly at their leisure.

** At the roadblock, the lead Agent's partner suggests just letting Kowalski go instead of using the roadblock to capture him. By this point, they already know who he is, the car he's driving, where he's going and why. All they have to do is let him drive to the hospital--''where they already have Agents and police officers waiting''--and let him spend some time with his wife and newborn baby. He would be out of the car, surrounded by security and have absolutely nowhere to go enabling them to arrest him quickly and quietly at their leisure.

* RevengeBeforeReason: Not exactly revenge, but, in the remake, an FBI Agent and a Utah Highway patrol officer are hell-bent on taking Kowalski down and defy any reasonable solutions. Both their partners suggest backing off of Kowalski more than once because of the confusion, danger, use of expensive (and potentially classified) resources, collateral damage and media circus that has resulted from it. Things don't end well for either of them.

* CuttingTheKnot: ''Immediately'' after eluding the two motorcycle cops, Kowalski ''does'' go to a nearby airport and attempts to charter a flight to Denver, which would tremendously cut down on travel time and avoid more trouble with the police. Unfortunately, the police spot the Challenger outside the terminal and Kowalski has to continue the trip by car.

* StatingTheSimpleSolution: In the remake, we have three of them. Two of which are rejected for personal reasons and one for obvious reasons.
** Not verbally stated, but ''immediately'' after eluding the two motorcycle cops, Kowalski does go to a nearby airport and attempts to charter a flight to Denver, tremendously cutting down on travel time and avoiding more trouble with the police. Unfortunately, the Challenger is spotted parked outside the terminal and Kowalski is forced to continue the trip by car.

** Not verbally stated, but immediately after eluding the two motorcycle cops, Kowalski does go to an airport and attempts to charter a flight to Denver, tremendously cutting down on travel time and avoiding more trouble with the police. Unfortunately, the Challenger is spotted by police parked outside the terminal and Kowalski is forced to continue the trip by car.

** Not verbally stated, but after initially eluding the two motorcycle cops, Kowalski does go to an airport and attempts to charter a flight to Denver, tremendously cutting down on his travel time and avoiding more trouble with the police. Unfortunately, the Challenger is spotted by police parked outside the terminal and Kowalski is forced to continue the trip by car.

* StatingTheSimpleSolution: In the remake, we have three of them. Two of rejected for personal reasons and one for obvious reaons.

* StatingTheSimpleSolution: In the remake, we have two of them that are both rejected for personal reasons.