Dirty Mary Crazy Larry (VHS)

Years ago, I saw this film on TV and was floored by the chase sequences. Later, prior to the digital age, when the only consumer formats to record were VHS tape (Beta had already phased out), I stayed up late one night to tape a copy for myself. Half asleep and hoping that there wouldn't be any editing, I managed to get the entire film without any commercial interruptions. I still have that tape somewhere... .

For those of you who like car chases, pure and simple, packed with real action; then this is movie for you.

There are no special effects, trick photography or "sped-up" film sequences. All the sequences were shot in real time, at speed. What you see is how it actually happened, sometimes at speeds exceeding 100 MPH.

The chemistry between Larry (Peter Fonda), Mary (Susan George) and Deke (Adam Roarke) changes as the film progresses and as the characters evolve within their own relationships with one another. Franklin's (Vic Morrow) obsession to apprehend Larry only increases the tension as the chase continues to what some people say (myself included) is one of the greatest climaxes ever filmed.

Released in 1974, this film has stood the test of time and ranks with such greats as Vanishing Point, Gone In Sixty Seconds (the original) and definitely could be viewed as the raw influence to films that came later, including Cannonball Run, Smokey and The Bandit and The Blues Brothers (the last two having their own fair share of vehicular destruction).

So if you want pure chase, buy this film.

Welcome to the digital age. The DVD version includes additional special features, I don't know if the VHS version has them as well.

Hope you enjoy it!

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The Snowstorm.