Vanishing Point (DVD 2002)

Sarafian's 1971 cult road movie ,with an early opening credit to Malcolm Hart for the idea and first script,depicts the protagonist's(Kowalkski) race against time and space,in which speed is defined as a spiritual protest against the confines and limitations of an authoritarian state and its law enforcement agents..the 'blue meanies'.
Sarafian's later movies also pit the individual against overwhelming odds,Rocky III and Eye of the Tiger,but V.Point is not only about an individ.. it's also a spiritual landscape where speed in its literal forms and shapes is also a metaphor for the human spirit outpacing the confines and strictures of an unimaginative,repressive state.
Kowalski(Barry Newman)heads west thr/gh the big space from Denver to San Francisco and encounters a death defying spiritual and moral landscape, literally the desert,metaphorically the 'blue meanies'beating up the blind black DJ(Cleavon Little as Super Soul)with his visionary communicative powers to see into the thoughts and feelings of the central protagonist as he battles his way thr/gh the incomprehensible blight of the american state.A movie not to be missed and not even in the top 400 recommended American thrillers.. though you'd suspect that the likes of Quentzin Tarantztino et al have seen it frequently...it's ending(finale?) echoed,in homage(?)on a number of occasions.Highly recommended.