Vanishing Point Forever

Richard C. Sarafians Vanishing Point (20th Century Fox, 1971) is the ultimate analog car chase movie with that hard-to-pin-down something extra. Written by renowned Cuban novelist Guillermo Cabrera Infante under a pseudonym (Guillermo Cain), its nominally the saga of a speedaddled Vietnam vet existentially on the lam in a Dodge Challenger. Its also a modern Western, a dystopian allegory of our surveillance society, and a love letter to the muscle car, all rolled into one. No surprise its become a cult classic, adored and paid homage to by Quentin Tarantino, Steven Spielberg, Bruce Springsteen, Richard Prince, Alberto Moravia, Guns n Roses, Primal Scream, Audioslave, and countless others. In the fifty-plus years since the films release, the lore and legends around it have grown like Topsy. Now, Robert M. Rubins Vanishing Point Forever brings together everything there is to know in one lavishly illustrated volume. A monumental treat for anyone who loves film culture, Vanishing Point Forever explores the movies profound impact across popular media, the arts, and the car world in obsessive detail. Nearly 600 pages include a complete reproduction of the films final shooting script, pages from Cabrera Infantes early drafts, his own location scouting photos (never seen before), and a gold mine of production and publicity stills, ephemera, excerpts, reflections and essays. Rubin details how the movie came to life from stars Barry Newman, Cleavon Little, and Charlotte Rampling (so enigmatic she was cut from the main release); to the groundbreaking stunts coordinated by Hollywood legend Carey Loftin; to its unique, remarkable half-life. In the words of Sarafian, the film just wouldnt die. Rubins tribute also includes assembled insights, interviews and quotes from a broad range of essential voices, including Cabrera Infante, Prince, Moravia, J. Hoberman, cinematographer and director Janusz Kaminski, Raymond Chandler, Jean Baudrillard, Jack Kerouac, Cormac McCarthy, Thomas Pynchon, Lucy Sante, race driver Sam Posey, and many more. Designed by COMA Amsterdam | New York, this is the latest graphic treat in a long collaboration with Rubin, including their most recent, the award-winning Richard Prince: Cowboy (Prestel, 2020).