repo man c/d

Ok, watched this with the kids tonight — ages 13 and 16 — and they LOVED it. They thought it was weird and hilarious. The older one said “This is like a punk rock album as a movie,” which is obviously correct. And not having seen it in years myself, I was happy with how well it held up. It has great pacing and so many perfect little scenes.

They thought it was weird and hilarious. The older one said “This is like a punk rock album as a movie,” which is obviously correct.

Pretty much sums up my reaction upon getting it from the video store for the first time at 14.

omg tipsy that fills my heart with joy <3

Mine too!

Nez's follow-up production TAPEHEADS is on YouTube!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4kdKdibTMQ

tapeheads is awesome, required viewing

I know, right? I scrubbed through the video to check the quality, and every time I stopped = laughs.

this promo vid for Tapeheads is fun

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xlkrd5XXgz0

watched the censored version the other night on the criterion blu-ray, bc our son wanted to watch it. he liked it, though obv had to explain a couple things that were very '80s. the tv version isn't nearly as good as the theatrical; i think the film has such a delicate balance in its original version, and everything feels right, and some of the cut scenes don't work as well in terms of the overall story. it's just an extremely well-edited film, they made the right cuts. but it's still good obv. now the kid knows where, "put it on a plate son..." comes from, after having said it to him many times when he's snacking straight outta the bag. his favorite line to quote now though is "i ain't gonna be no repo man, no way."

awww

are you going to have shrimp for dinner tonight?

Censored version has the awesome substitute profanity tho ("melon-farmer!," etc.)

The television cut has the remarkable scene of Harry Dean Stanton destroying a telephone booth that I adore

This thread reminded me to rewatch Death & the Compass, which is still my favourite film of Cox’s.

Went to a plastic model swap meet this weekend, looking for a ‘64 Chevy Chevelle just so I could paint it bright glowing green.

I was not successful.

are you going to have shrimp for dinner tonight?

― sarahell

we had shrimp the night after, we briefly discussed the latticework of coincidence! oh his other favorite quote is "find one in every car. *you'll* see."

i always enjoy the substitute profanity in this one of course but i think the pacing is just a bit off and a couple scenes run too long, like the ones w/j frank parnell i'm thinking. phone booth destruction is a good one.

IIRC the scene at the party with the "Repo Wives" is also longer, and there's an exchange w/HDS on the porch that sort of clarifies later action... but yeah I agree the pacing feels off, especially with the longer Parnell monologue.

actually think the biggest laugh for my kid came from:

Otto: You're going to be all right man.
Duke: (gurgles up some blood, sputters, dies)
Otto: Maybe not.

beamish13, yeah, Death & The Compass rules! Last watch I noticed it homages a scene from For A Few Dollars More almost shot by shot, Alex Cox vmic

Cox’s work as a western films historian is just incredible. His University of Colorado students are very fortunate to have him as a professor

Best god-damn car on the lot...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MGmugjxBjg

speaking of Cox, westerns, and food

also if I made a "comp for kids" -- this would be on it lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lzi0gjzXCzg

https://variety.com/2024/film/markets-festivals/alex-cox-directing-kiowa-gordon-repo-man-sequel-1235911445/

The “Repo Man” director is revisiting the off-kilter world of extraterrestrials and car repossession that he mined so memorably in the 1984 cult classic in a new sequel that is being introduced to buyers at the Berlin Film Festival and European Film Market. Entitled “Repo Man 2: The Wages of Beer,” the film is being backed by Buffalo 8 Productions, a film and media company best known for the critically acclaimed work on Netflix series “The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes.” Cox wrote the script along with directing the film.

Kiowa Gordon, best known for his role as Embry Call in “The Twilight Saga” and for his work in the AMC series “Dark Winds,” is set to lead the cast as Otto. Emilio Estevez played Otto in the 1984 original. The film picks up after Otto has boarded his trusty 1967 Chevy Malibu to journey across the infinities of time and space. In that time he has aged exactly 90 minutes.

...

The filmmakers promise to “deliver an enthralling mix of punk energy, existential comedy, and unconventional storytelling, navigating the absurd and chaotic world of repo men into a new age of nuclear brinkmanship and driverless cars.”

...and there's this other nugget from Cox about a perceived connection between Repo Chick and a certain new blockbuster (https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/repo-man-2-alex-cox-exclusive)

Cox later produced a spiritual sequel to Repo Man called Repo Chick, which doesn’t share any characters or plotlines but takes place inside the world of the original film.

“Repo Chick isn't actually a sequel to Repo Man,” Cox says. “It’s a story in the Repo World, but it takes place not in the Los Angeles that we know, but as a model railroad layout. The characters are classic model railroad figures like seven or eight centimeters high. It's very like Barbie in terms of its visual aspect, or I should say Barbie is very like Repo Chick.”

I thought he couldn’t do that bc Universal controlled sequel rights, but I guess that’s not true (or he got them somehow).

this made me look up the actor who says my favourite line (of many!) in the original = leila saying "laugh away, fuckface!"

and it turns out (as everyone except me knows no doubt) she was a very storied child actress with a cult following (who now makes documentaries)

(content warning perhaps for that link: it's mainly about a plotline in little house on the prairie but it's a pretty ugly plotline)

I imagine this sequel won’t be very good (if it ever gets made), but I hope there’s a scene where Otto visits his parents and they’re still sitting there on the couch.

I'm up for the sequel - lots of modern culture/consumerism satire possible nowadays - but really hope he can wrangle such an excellent cast a second time. Tracey Walter and Sy Richardson are still alive. Though Walter has retired and would be in the same 90 minute car, would be cool to see him again.

Have similar high expectations for a soundtrack. Since he's aged 90 minutes, guessing Otto could still be listening to '80s punk?

I know how Alex Cox feels. I once found a $10 bill in a parking lot. Now every time I walk past that place I look around hoping to find another one. I haven't, yet. Could happen again though.

I thought he couldn’t do that bc Universal controlled sequel rights, but I guess that’s not true (or he got them somehow).

According to this old blog post from upthread (originally shared by me!), Cox apparently got the rights back in 2015.

Since he's aged 90 minutes, guessing Otto could still be listening to '80s punk?

A half hour into the movie he'll have aged 120 minutes and he can start listening to '90s alternative

Cox’s proposed 1995 sequel, WALDO’S HAWAIIAN HOLIDAY, became a fascinating graphic novel

I’m thrilled that he’s making a big-ish film again. I really like the micro budget Corman-produced Searchers 2.0, and Repo Chick has some great ideas. Death & the Compass is just brilliant

I forgot to mention-Cox eventually basically gave away the rights to WALDO to two other filmmakers, who ended up so pissed off at him that they made a documentary about their grievances

Happy Anniversary to the OG film. 40 years of spacing the cans…

https://d2ycltig8jwwee.cloudfront.net/features/None/fullwidth.07e41192.jpg

<3

Ten (Mostly) Recognizable ‘Repo Man’ Locations You Can Visit 40 Years Later
https://lataco.com/repo-man-filming-locations

^I did my best, years ago… most were pretty different and I imagine are even more so now!

https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/repo-man-oral-history-1984

Thanking you for that.

Yeah, that was great. I can't believe Dick Rude was a student at the Lee Strasberg Institute... I assumed he was a real punk!

Lol same, Dick Rude makes so much sense as a punk band stage name.

I’m glad they weren’t able to shoot the original ending… I’m glad the Muhammad Ali thing didn’t work out (that sounds corny). All the serendipity along the way, even on the “negative” side, is remarkable.