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Wednesday, Aug 27, 1997
Favorite Mopar
The World's Fastest Hippie (John Knoop, 1975). A gut-wrenching look at local funny car driver Mark Mitchell tearing up the quarter mile. (12 mins, Color, 16mm, From the artist) Vrooom! (Ken Rudolph, 1974). A punchy portrait of the drag-racing scene in the early '70s with Garlits, Muldowney, Kalitta, and other greats. (15:40 mins, Color, Video, Courtesy of Main Attractions) Back in the mid '60s and early '70s, Chrysler ruled the world of musclecars, factory-product with huge stock blocks. Mopars, as they are called, don't just rely on hefty hemis, they bolt them to gorgeous bodies like the Plymouth 'Cuda and the Dodge Charger. Cook's Favorite Mopar is a chirpin' tribute to the cars and the people who own them. Here's what Big Nate Tynan, Gearhead's reviewer, says: "This high quality production ROCKS: ya know it's gonna be good when the first shot is a '68 GTX silhouetted against an American flag. You get all kinds of shots of my favorite brand of cars in action-from sexy angles of show cars to screaming, wheelstanding drag cars....Ultimately, the reason to own this movie is not just for the cars, but to listen to Chrysler fanatics yakking about their rides. I personally love seeing fat guys doing anything, and there's a lotta fat guys talking about Mopars here." And don't forget vintage commercials, interviews with racing legends "Big Daddy" Don Garlits and Bill "Maverick" Golden, and a great soundtrack by rockabilly weirdo Ben Vaughn.-Steve Seid
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