Repoman
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Repoman |
| Original title | Repo Man |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1984 |
| length | 92 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Alex Cox |
| script | Alex Cox |
| production |
Peter McCarthy Michael Nesmith Jonathan Wacks |
| music |
Iggy Pop The Plugz |
| camera | Robby Muller |
| cut | Dennis Dolan |
| occupation | |
| |
| chronology | |
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Successor → |
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Repoman (Original title: Repo Man ) is an American science fiction - comedy film of Alex Cox from the year 1984 .
action
Otto Maddox, a young punk in Los Angeles , loses his supermarket job. His parents, who donated their savings to a television preacher , can no longer support him. He finds a new job with the “Helping Hands Acceptance Company”, an agency that procures vehicles whose installments have not been paid by the owners. Under the guidance of his mentor Bud, Otto becomes a "Repossession Man" ("Repo Man" for short). Otto's company not only has to take the vehicles from the owners under sometimes adventurous circumstances (Otto is beaten up, sprayed with tear gas and gets into firefights), but also competes with another "repossession" company, the "Rodriguez Brothers".
At the same time, a radioactively contaminated scientist was traveling in Los Angeles, whose car contained dangerous cargo: in the trunk there were the corpses of aliens that emit such a high dose of radiation that anyone who opens the trunk lid burns up on the spot. Several secret organizations are after the bodies. When the car is stolen by punks and a high reward is offered, Otto's company and the Rodriguez brothers also track it down. As a result, the car changed hands several times, there were shootings between the competitors, and finally the vehicle, which had meanwhile been glowing green due to the radiation, appeared in the parking lot of Otto's company. Otto and his colleague Miller board the car, which rises into the air, chases across the Los Angeles night sky and disappears between the stars.
background
Repoman was produced by the film company Universal Studios . When Robert Rehme , Universal's chief executive officer , left the studio, some of the projects he had chaired, including Repoman and Rumble Fish , were put aside. Repoman was slowly building its reputation through Cox-sponsored ads in Variety , with support from Universal Classics' Kelly Neal, and word of mouth .
Repoman premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in 1984 (in the “Panorama” series) and opened in American cinemas in spring 1984 and in German cinemas on August 31 of the same year .
In addition to various pieces by punk bands such as Black Flag , Circle Jerks and Suicidal Tendencies , the film also contains music composed exclusively for the film by Iggy Pop and The Plugz .
Reviews
Repoman received positive criticism in the USA. “This is the kind of film that leaves Hollywood speechless, because it is not shot according to a known knitting pattern and it does not follow any rules,” praised Roger Ebert . “It doesn't have any big stars, it didn't cost a lot, it's daring, dares to be unconventional, it's weird, and it works. There is still something to be learned here. " Vincent Canby respectfully stated:" As a filmmaker, Mr. Cox [...] has a shrewdness and imagination. Repoman is full of jokes thrown at lightning speed [...] He's not the kind of large-scale production like Ghostbusters , but he's extremely entertaining, and even if he's rude according to his R-rated age rating, he has at least enough good taste that he never makes more promises than he can hold. "
In Germany, Der Spiegel discovered in Repoman “a perfect camera with new wave and surrealism effects” in an “often witty, other genres ironic kaleidoscope”, Norbert Stresau discovered a “grandiose, nihilistic New Wave SF that a little too flirted with their bizarre ". Norbert Grob said at the time that the film was both incoherent and meaningless. The short episodes with genre allusions, rock music, subculture radicalism and slogan knocking on bright, gaudy effects. The lexicon of international films described the film as a "cheeky punk comedy" that "plays with the" New Wave "aesthetic and pop myths of the 80s in an original way, while developing some entertainment qualities".
Awards
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films:
Boston Society of Film Critics Award:
Web links
- Repoman in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Repoman at rotten tomatoes (English)
- Repoman on Turner Classic Movies
- Interview with Alex Cox on Metroactive.com
Individual evidence
- ↑ Repoman on Alex Cox's website, accessed June 29, 2012.
- ^ Directory of the films shown at the 1984 Berlinale, accessed on June 28, 2012.
- ↑ a b Repoman in the Lexicon of International Films .
- ↑ "This is the kind of movie that baffles Hollywood, because it isn't made from any known formula and doesn't follow the rules. [...] "Repo Man" comes out of left field, has no big stars, didn't cost much, takes chances, dares to be unconventional, is funny, and works. There is a lesson here. ”- Review by Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times, accessed June 28, 2012.
- ↑ "Mr. Cox […] is a movie maker of wit and vision. Repo Man is full of throwaway sight gags […] It's not a big budget, Ghostbusters of a movie, but it's very entertaining, and though it's rude in an R-rated way, it has the good taste never to promise more than it can deliver. ”- Review by Vincent Canby in the New York Times, July 6, 1984.
- ↑ Autojäger Repo Man in Der Spiegel 37/1984 of September 10, 1984, accessed on June 28, 2012.
- ^ Norbert Stresau in the Science Fiction Times , quoted from Ronald M. Hahn, Volker Jansen: Lexikon des Science Fiction Films, 5th edition, Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, Munich 1992, ISBN 3-453-00731-X , p. 643.
- ↑ Norbert Grob: Crazy . In: The time . No. 40/1984 , September 28, 1984, Im Kino, p. 54 .
Remarks
- ↑ On May 4th in Los Angeles according to the entry ( Memento of the original from December 16, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. in the Directory of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , July 6, New York, as reviewed by Vincent Canby in the New York Times July 6, 1984, both retrieved June 28, 2012.
