Red Line 7000 (1965)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Just like any "gear head" film, the humans are always supporting cast. The real stars are the cars. Within the first 21 minutes, you will see plenty of classic race tracks, cars, motorcycles, trucks, socket wrenches, loud pipes, race posters, cool sunglasses, beautiful girls, and everything else that excites the average auto buff. Yes, the acting isn't great, but do you really care about Caan's love life more than that beautiful split-window '63? Of course not. This movie was made in the heart of the 1960s, the genesis of true sports cars. There are other gear films out there that are better, but 7000 is worthwhile.

Clearly, Howard Hawks was not at the top of his game when he made "Redline 7000" (1965) with James Caan, John Robert Crawford, and Skip Ward. This tire-screecher ranks as one of the worst movies that the director ever helmed. This rubber-meets-the-road NASCAR saga pits racers against racers both on and off the asphalt, and racers against women. Although he has the leading role, James Caan hardly qualifies as the leading man. John Robert Crawford runs a close second as a rival NASCAR driver raised in poverty who refuses to follow in the footsteps of his humble father and grandfather to eke out a living off the land. Finally, Skip Ward is an internationally acclaimed driver making his transition from the European to the American racing circuit. Little about these three protagonists is charismatic, and they behave like louts. The women who fall in love with them love them unconditionally no matter what they have done. One driver loses a hand, but he recovers to drive another day, with two metal clasps on his left hand. Another driver comes close to killing a rival when he jams him up against the wall of the racetrack, and the car soars off the track to crash beyond the course with an explosion. Things might have been marginally better if Hawks had cast celebrity Hollywood actors rather than these unknowns. John Robert Crawford never made another movie after "Redline 7000." Morever, the racers aren't somebody that you'd want to share a drink with because they aren't that likable. The relationships that they share with the nubile dames are as melodramatic as a soap opera. "Spinout" scenarist George Kirgo spent most of his career toiling in television rather than the movies. He has penned dialogue that is neither quotable nor catchy. Interestingly, another scripter who worked on this movie was Steve McNeil whose sole cinematic credit is Hawks earlier effort "Man's Favorite Sport." According to Hawks, a movie was good if it had five strong scenes. Redline 7000" doesn't have a good scene. The pacing is off, too. Star wattage registers at the dim end, and the virtual anonymity of the cast serves to heighten this quality. They spent most of their time on interior sets reciting dialogue that is pretty dull. Most of the NASCAR racing footage looks like it was shot with a regular camera. The characters and most of the situations amount to clichés. It is still difficult for me to believe that Howard Hawks helmed this half-baked hokum.

...two more westerns and he would call it a day.Considering the classics he made during a long and fruitful career which encompasses such classics as "Scarface(shame of the nation)" or "only angels have wings "or "land of the pharaos","red line 7000" is a mediocre offering.Although praised by the French cahiers du cinema ,it's little more than a soap opera in the motor races.Characters ,be they male or female ,are uninteresting and the scenes with the cars pale next to John Frankenheimer's "grand prix" .A sequence featuring James Caan and Gabrielle the FRench girl would make a nice ad for Pepsi Cola.Only the unexpected ending brings some originality.But it's too little too late.

Although well intended, this is a real melodrama, a tale of the daring, reckless, untamed men of stock car racing and the women who love them... oh, please. The racing sequences are good, but these guys are pulling stunts that would have made even early NASCAR officials nail them to the wall. Caan's acting is good, but he's not yet the fantastic actor we know today. He does well with the often stilted dialogue, some of which has gaps you could drive a truck through. MST3k material. Gail Hire (Holly) has a voice that makes Lauren Bacall sound like Minnie Mouse...You haven't lived until you've heard her baritone song/rap "Wildcat Jones" and seen George "Mr. Sulu" Takei dancing the Pony. This film is funnier than it was ever meant to be... and in ways I doubt Howard Hawks ever intended.