To us, few things better embody Throwback Thursday than movies involving illegal coast-to-coast races and a motley bunch of knuckleheaded competitors. Of course, the ne plus ultra entry in this genre is The Cannonball Run, starring Burt Reynolds, Farrah Fawcett, Roger Moore, and Dom Deluise, and directed by Hal Needham.
Released in the summer of 1981, The Cannonball Run is inextricably linked to Car and Driver history: The screenplay was written by longtime C/D editor Brock Yates, an icon in his own right who staged the real-life Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dashes in the '70s. Run as a protest against the national 55-mph speed limit, the Memorial Trophy Dash was nearly as outrageous as the movie it inspired. For the few who aren't aware of the film's premise, it follows several ridiculously attired teams as they blast across the U.S. in hot rods, supercars, a souped-up ambulance, and more in the quest to be the quickest to complete a Connecticut-to-California run. Hilarity and shenanigans naturally ensue.
The flick wasn't highly regarded by critics, but car movies rarely tickle their fancy. (And what, we ask as automotive journalists, do critics know anyway?) The Cannonball Run nevertheless became a cult classic—because, obviously—and every card-carrying enthusiast should have a copy on their shelf or hard drive. All this is to say that we have DVDs to sell! Pick up your copy of The Cannonball Run from our store (shopcaranddriver.com) today, and you can celebrate any Throwback Thursday in filmic—and gearhead—bliss.
from Car and Driver Blog http://ift.tt/nSHy27
Put the internet to work for you.
No comments:
Post a Comment