... because Eddie Muller had praised it highly, and after watching it I just don't get its allure.
This little British film is oddly centered on a group of drivers working for an unscrupulous short haul trucking company. The truckers have to drive at a dangerously high speed on rather poorly maintained country roads to make their quota or get fired. The motive to put up with this is that the pay is very good for a bunch of guys who probably don't have the skills to do anything else. You see them almost plowing into "civilian" autos and having near misses all of the time with the locals. That and their rowdy entries into public dance halls that break out into free for all fights would have you think that the British, who pride themselves on order, would have the law shut this place down. But that subject never comes up. Instead it is like a 1950s version of Fury Road without the interesting costumes that turns out to have an anti capitalist message.
What's fun about it? The road scenes are suspenseful, although I thought they got somewhat repetitive. There is also the opportunity to see a who's who of 60s and 70s entertainment before anybody knew who they were. And it is a rare chance to see Herbert Lom play not only a normal person, but a likeable one at that.
This little British film is oddly centered on a group of drivers working for an unscrupulous short haul trucking company. The truckers have to drive at a dangerously high speed on rather poorly maintained country roads to make their quota or get fired. The motive to put up with this is that the pay is very good for a bunch of guys who probably don't have the skills to do anything else. You see them almost plowing into "civilian" autos and having near misses all of the time with the locals. That and their rowdy entries into public dance halls that break out into free for all fights would have you think that the British, who pride themselves on order, would have the law shut this place down. But that subject never comes up. Instead it is like a 1950s version of Fury Road without the interesting costumes that turns out to have an anti capitalist message.
What's fun about it? The road scenes are suspenseful, although I thought they got somewhat repetitive. There is also the opportunity to see a who's who of 60s and 70s entertainment before anybody knew who they were. And it is a rare chance to see Herbert Lom play not only a normal person, but a likeable one at that.