The New And Improved Unofficial R65 Forum V2
General Category => Chit-Chat => Topic started by: nhmaf on September 09, 2013, 01:46:37 PM
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I don't know - I think that I might have to buy this one - it has a classic BMW airhead WITH a sidecar and involves going to bars and traveling across the Western US - what is not to like? (No big name actors, but what the heck..)
http://www.bestbarinamerica.com/
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Here is a trailer for the movie.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qf3hWk9pzI
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Alright - I've gone and ordered a DVD - I'll post up a movie review here afterward.
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Mike, The ordering spot had a box to enter a "discount code". Did you find it?
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Nope. I did not - so I payed the full $20. But, I try to support the independent films/bands/artists when I can, so I'm not worried I paid full price.
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Ordered the DVD @ $20.00 plus $4.02 shipping. Done deal.
My small motorcycle movie collection includes these classics: The Wild One, Easy Rider, On Any Sunday, The World's Fastest Indian and now waiting on Best Bar in America. I also have The Great Escape -primarily for the McQueen/Ekins Triumph scenes.
Do have a couple IoM TT vids but I don't count 'em as "movies".
Who has what else? Recommendations?
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I try not to leave big spoilers in my review below - but you may/may not want to read it
I watched the movie last night - we had a string of thunderstorms and had no satellite TV reception anyway.
The movie is pretty good. It was obviously made on a small budget and with donated props and largely amateur actors, but in spite of that the end product is pretty good. Not hollywood level by any means, though I have certainly seen some Hollywood movies that were far, far worse. Running time is about 87 minutes, which isn't hard to sit through, and I personally think that if the spent a bit more time on some of the supporting character's development it would have really helped. The plot line I think could have been made thicker and more interesting, but the character interactions were still pretty good! The "philosophical angle" of the movie - which this movie purports to be a deeply philosophically oriented one - is a bit vague and underdeveloped at times, but it is still one that we can relate to - Bars can be a community, and where there is often much more than just a simple exchange of cash and booze. The film makers did achieve some goals in that respect, but I felt that they could have done even more with it. The DVD also contains a section of deleted scenes/outtakes which in some cases could have helped if left in the finished product, and in other cases they really didn't seem to fit at all. All the bars and towns seen in the movie are real places in Montana, Idaho, and Utah. Some of the shots of scenes in the mountains are very beautiful.
The motorcycle in the movie is a modified/bastardized R60/2, with a rather odd looking front fork, wheel and headlight assembly that appears to have been lifted from a period H-D sportster. It has an Velorex/Jawa type sidecar attached. It seems weird looking, but they do drive it around alot in the film. The film makers use the sound of the bike in the film's soundtrack and not dub in some H-D Vtwin or 2-stroke bike sound, thank goodness! Unfortunately, we don't get to relate to the bike as a character in the story so much - it is either running steadfastly across the desert or through the Rockies, or it is breaking down with puffs of white smoke at inopportune times. Hmmm.
Still, if you like BMW airheads, bars, and small budget films, this is pretty good. There are some sequences that remind me of some hallucinogenic scenes in Easy Rider, and I suspect that the film makers may have been trying to channel a bit of that ethos, even though most of them are a bit young to have seen the movie within 10 years of its release. These scenes in this movie were mostly superfluous, I think.
Watching it did give me a bit of an urge to finish up my sidecar project though, toss in a sleeping bag, tent and a Dobro, and hit the backroads for a spell, looking for mermaids (you'll get the reference if you see the movie). I'm headed to a small local club BMW rally this weekend, so the timing there was great.
I'd give the movie 3 out of 5 stars - which may not sound very good, but it does have a certain appeal.
You can buy the DVD direct from the source on the website for $20 - there is some sort of discount code entry but at the moment I didn't find the code to use.
The movie doesn't show any MPA rating, but it would certainly get an "R" here in the United States - there is certainly foul language, some nudity, and brief violence, and some sex scenes... But whadda ya expect from a bar & bike movie? It is NOT however, anything like watching a "Sturgis" movie..
Happy riding!
Mike
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Who has what else? Recommendations?
One Crazy Ride
http://dirttrackproductions.com/buy.html
I have not seen their other film Riding Solo To The Top Of The World
I recently got my copy of Girl Meets Bike.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/479898995/girl-meets-bike-fiction-feature-film
It is O.K., but be prepared for low-budget actors. Once you get past that, it is an enjoyable film.
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"I recently got my copy of Girl Meets Bike."
Now I may have to get that one too - not so much the girl but the fact that she appears to choose a MotoGuzzi !
Somewhere around here I had "The Great Escape" and "On Any Sunday", but they seem to be AWOL... I also have a rather violent, but funny (in a weird way) a Chinese movie called "The Good, The Bad, The Weird" that involves some old URAL/CJ riding scenes and ALOT of shooting and martial arts. Of course, my treasured copy of "The worlds Fastest Indian" is required watching for any motorcyclist, IMO.
I've also got "Electraglide in Blue" which is a good, but gripping/sad one, and apaprently Mad Max is considered a "motorcycle movie" by many. I had "Easy Rider" on videotape, but that is dead - gotta look for a DVD...another one to look for that actually has a bunch of hollywood actors in it from mid 1960s is "The Wild Angels", not to be confused with the Brando's "The Wild One".
I'll probably drop by WhiteHorse Press this weekend during our local GSBMWR rally and see if they have any good zombie biker flicks...
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Another "Chick Flick" is an Australian film Shame.
It is a bit of a cult film featuring a woman riding an original Suzuki Katana.
It is due for a re-watch, but as I recall, it is more drama and not-so-much motorcycle. I bought a copy because I love the Katana.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093952/
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No wild explosions, falling off motorcycles semi naked and then getting up, unmarked to continue the chase? And downing 747s with a lighter and a fuel leak......Ejector seats in Transport aircraft, or shooting down Helicopters with flying cars........Disappointed [smiley=wink.gif]
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On another related subject;
I recently whiled away a good couple of hours by going onto the 'pipeburn' website and using the search function to look for 'video'.
All the video shorts came up and I watched them all almost back to back. Some of them are very good.
Something else to do when its raining.
Another thing to do is get on the Vimeo site and look for motorcycle related films. but they are a bit more difficult to track down, as you either have to know the film maker or the title.
Cheers
Rev. Light
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Great suggestion Steve. I didn't get any work done this morning. :)
There are definitely some good videos in the bunch.
I just finished watching a 10 part documentary on Netflix called "Long Way Down" about Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman's trip from John O'Groats, Scotland to Capetown South Africa on 1200GS's. Very enjoyable to watch.
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Hi Mont
See if you can find 'Stone', its a 70's Australian bikie movie but the gangs ride Kwaka 9's and Honda 4's with a smattering of british bikes. It's a classic with some great old school stunts, no CGMI back then and set with Sydney Harbour as a backdrop.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_(1974_film)
Cheers Bruce
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I *almost* bought "Stone" while I was at Whitehorse Warehouse this past weekend, along with some truly terrible-looking biker flicks, including "Biker Zombies From Detroit", but I had already collected an armful of other things and didn't want to overdo it... so I chickened out and just left with a DVD of "On Any Sunday", plus a DVD of "Then Came Bronson" (the pilot movie that spawned the TV series), and an educational DVD called "The New Ride Like a Pro"...
now, which to start first....
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sidecars are the next big thing with ewan mcgregor and all driving them