A down and out young punk gets a job working with a seasoned repo man, but what awaits him in his new career is a series of outlandish adventures revolving around aliens, the CIA, and a most wanted '64 Chevy.
Harry Dean Stanton Emilio Estevez Tracey Walter Olivia Barash Sy Richardson Susan Barnes Fox Harris Tom Finnegan Del Zamora Eddie Velez Zander Schloss Jennifer Balgobin Dick Rude Miguel Sandoval Vonetta McGee Richard Foronjy Bruce White Sue Kiel Helen Martin Angelique Pettyjohn Con Covert Biff Yeager Ed Pansullo Jon St. Elwood David Chung Cynthia Szigeti Jonathon Hugger Dale Reynolds Dolores DeLuce Show All…
El reclamador, Paizontas me ton kindyno, Handlarz, Segítő kezek, La mort en prime, Repo Man - Il recuperatore, Repo Man - A Onda Punk, O Clandestino, I lampsi pou skotonei, Zaplenjivač, Zorlu Yaris, Конфискатор
Ordinary fuckin' people.
Repo Man is a strange little slice of brilliance in cult cinema. Some would be quick to write it off as bad or just plain ridiculous. But films like Repo Man are the ones that I relate to the best. Those strange dreamlike nocturnal trips into odd lands are always intriguing and interesting but their unorthodox nature unfortunately does not give them a proper home in mainstream cinema.
But that's a good thing. Repo Man will reward those who dare to venture into is realm and gives people a great experience to accompany the amazing Criterion release. Simultaneously viewing the film and quickly leafing through its booklet and soaking up the artwork really absorbs you into its…
98
"There's fuckin' room to move as a fry cook, man."
Cosmic corporates, sci-fi nihilism, and a shining death-beam in the trunk. Evacuate one system just to enter another. Unpaid sushi.
"You ever feel like your mind is eroding?"
If there was ever a punk rock science fiction movie, this is it. Repo Man is without a doubt the shoddiest film I've ever seen from the Criterion Collection, but somehow its poor workmanship seems to add to the film's unique anti-establishment aesthetic. It's a very different kind of "so bad it's good". It's definitely a bad movie—there are countless continuity errors, some as glaring as cutting from day to night and back again, and scenes pop in and out without any attempt at transitioning—but this low quality feels right at home in the film's universe. It's a movie which seems like it was created by the same social delinquents it features;…
"do you think it's too late for us to get romantically involved?"
KISS ME DEADLY with a mohawk and a malibu (if we're going to be reductive about it). a world in which people brag about their lobotomies. thank god alex cox never sold out, because as enduringly relevant as this is (aided, surprisingly, by the kitsch of its time), it's one of the rare films that could be retroactively invalidated.
will explore further upon Criterion Collection release in April.
A nihilistic, cynical but entertaining piece that could only exist during Reagan/Cold War era America. Rooted by a great central performance by Harry Dean, it is born of the politics of its' time yet not at all a political film. Killer soundtrack for any era. Best God damn car in the yard.
When you get the Criterion Collection Blu-ray, I want you watch the Iggy Pop interview and try not to stare at Iggy's chest. Good luck.
Repo Man is everything I wanted and more from a cult film; Biting and pitch-perfect social commentary, a witty and amazingly quotable script, and actors all at the top of their game, which is wrapped up in the trappings of a 50s paranoia Alien picture.
Sure, It's completely bonkers, but you can't help but feel utter euphoria as the final frames of this insane piece of cinema flash before your eyes, leaving you in a state of bewilderment and confused chaos.
It also has Harry Dean Stanton saying the F-Word constantly. If that doesn't sell it, I don't know what will.
76/100
[Originally written on my blog.]
Iggy Pop's title tune sets the tone for a movie that truly just does not give a fuck. Returns inevitably diminish a bit by the end as a result, but its unique brand of punk drollery still cracks me up, and many of its ideas, like the generic labels, seem way ahead of their time. (I'm drawing a blank on any recent indie films that put significant thought into their art direction.) Startling to watch Estevez in this now, as he really seems largely unformed; as I noted on Twitter, it's kind of a shame that he went on to have a notable acting career, as this performance would probably be legendary had it been a one-off. "What about our relationship?" "Fuck that."
I mean, what more is there to say about Alex Cox' much beloved cult classic? The movie is the perfect marriage of science-fiction elements and punk-rock mentality. Nicolas Winding Refn is a fan and so are the people over at Criterion.
Repo Man stars the late, great Harry Dean Stanton and Emilio Estevez and it has all the car-trunk-death-rays you could ever need. The movie's satirical moments elevate it above other B-movie fare. It also has the greatest soundtrack of any movie, EVER, with songs by Circle Jerks, Black Flag, Suicidal Tendencies, Fear and The Plugz.
Plus, it's just a lot of fun, you know..
"Ordinary people, I fucking hate them".
Oh, to be normal. To accept a creepy, bland, corporate world. To be entranced by TV and embrace the sterility of life. Repo Man is a bold, punchy 80s comedy that shows us detached youth in a time without identity beyond the corporate. From the white suburban punk blaming society for crimes to the nods to Reagan's policies, Repo Man is full of meaningless actions in a desolate, nihilist LA. The strange plot is beautifully off-kilter in the slightest of ways and this is a consistently funny, cool film. Really it's all the small creative touches that make Repo Man such a success, from the labels to the props to the pop culture references. Everything is fascinating in one way or another. And then the ending just slaps.
