Amazon.com essential video: A volatile, toxic potion of satire and nihilism, road movie and science fiction, violence and comedy, the unclassifiable sensibility of Alex Cox's Repo Man is the model and inspiration for a potent strain of post-punk American comedy that includes not only Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction), but also early Coen brothers (Raising Arizona, in particular), Men in Black, and even (in a weird way) The X-Files. Otto, a baby-face punk played by Emilio Estevez, becomes an apprentice to Bud (Harry Dean Stanton), a coke-snorting, veteran repo-man-of-honor prowling the streets of a Los Angeles wasteland populated by hoods, wackos, burnouts, conspiracy theorists, and aliens of every stripe. It may seem chaotic at first glance, but there's a "latticework of coincidence" (as Tracey Walter puts it) underlying everything. Repo Man is a key American movie of the 1980s--just as Taxi Driver, Nashville, and Chinatown are key American movies of the '70s. With a scorching soundtrack that features Iggy Pop, Fear, Black Flag, Circle Jerks, and Suicidal Tendencies. --Jim Emerson
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Just a bunch of white suburban punks ...
... but I love them. This isn't a masterpiece of a movie but I get lost in it every so often. There are lines that stick with me like, "Hey kid, I think I left a book of matches here. Do you think you ... Read More
Rating: - Boring, gave me a major headache
This has got to be one of the dumbest, most deliriously boring flicks ever made. Heck, watching it gave me a massive headache. I'm known for liking really cheesy movies, but this one is just plain stinky.
Rating: - Repo Man: Alex Cox's Quest For The Holy Grail.
Directed by, Alex Cox (Walker; Straight to Hell; Death and the Compass; Three Businessmen)), Repo Man is a 1980s cult classic starring Emilio Estevez and Harry Dean Stanton. Set in mid-80s Los Angeles, the ... Read More
Rating: - Classic
I loved this movie when it first came out, back in my own post-punk college days. I recently watched it again, after not having seen it for many years, and I'm pleased that it has actually aged quite well. It's ... Read More
Rating: - The One That Got Away
I titled this review, "The One That Got Away" because this movie as it is now being presented is not the exact same movie I fashioned my temporarilly pointless life after in the 80's. I remember a scene (which is ... Read More
- Just a bunch of white suburban punks ...
- Boring, gave me a major headache