| | | | Repo Man
(1984) |
epo Man is among the all-time greats in cult cinema. It possesses a darkness of humour, a blackness of tone that is only equalled by "Heathers" or "Time Bandits" from the 80s. But neither of those films, despite the brilliance and humour of both, feature the downright weird, distorted view of life that Repo Man has.
We open with a map-montage overlaid with Iggy Pop’s instrumental theme to the movie. Then we see J. Frank Parnell, an older man in a 64 Chevy Malibu, driving down a deserted highway. When he is pulled over by a motorcycle cop, and the cop asks what is in the trunk, Parnell replies “You don’t want to look in there.” And he’s right – when the cop opens the trunk he is instantly vaporised.
Next, we meet punk Otto (Emilio Estevez) and Kevin (Zander Schloss), both of whom are working at a convenience store where all labels to all goods are pure white, with blue writing telling you what they are (i.e. food, peaches, beer etc). No product placement here! Otto is fired for ‘not listening’ to his boss, Mr. Humphries, and Kevin is fired too.
After he finds his punk girlfriend Debi sleeping with his recently out-of-jail best friend Duke (also a punk), Otto aimlessly wanders about LA until he is approached by Bud (Harry Dean Stanton), who wants him to take his wife’s car out of a ‘bad neighbourhood’ and offers him $25 to do it. When Otto takes the car, a man attacks him as he drives away.
After following Bud to an office (the Helping Hand Acceptance Corporation), it turns out that he is a repo man – someone who repossesses cars from people ‘who don’t pay their bills’ for a living. The man who attacked Otto hadn’t paid his bill.
Otto is determined not to be a repo man full time, but after he discovers that his parents have given away his ‘college fund’ to Reverend Larry, a TV evangelist, Otto lets Bud and another repo man, named Lite (Sy Richardson), train him up as a repo man.
Meanwhile, J. Frank Parnell is driving around LA in his 64 Chevy, which has a repo price of $20,000 on it. This attracts the attention of the Helping Hand Acceptance Corp and its workers, and the local competition – two repo men brothers named Legarto and Napoleon Rodrigues.
While this is going on, Debi and Duke and another punk named Archie are committing armed robberies in the area. Otto meets a girl named Leila (Olivia Barash) who is convinced that there are rapidly decomposing alien remains in LA, and that the FBI are monitoring her to find out where they are. Leila works at the UFO – the United Fruitcake Outlet.
The dead aliens are in the back of J. Frank Parnell’s car – and now everyone is after it, not only the FBI and Leila (and her ‘weird friends’) for the aliens but also the repo men who want the $30,000.
Can everything turn out right in the end? Will Otto end up with his woman? Watch and see...
 Don't forget that Repo Man is now available to order on Widescreen DVD using our special 80s Retro Assistant...
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Full of social satire, wacky humour and plain dark observations on the American lifestyle of the 1980s, Repo Man is a true cult classic.
There are hundreds of memorable lines – practically the whole script is quotable – and the anarchic spirit neatly mirrors the punk ethic of the protagonists.
The soundtrack pumps the blood like a Dead Kennedys LP, the acting is fantastic and the way the film looks is astonishing. Robby Mullers camerawork is glowing, and certainly not afraid to show us the seedier side of LA.
Alex Cox has made patchy films in his time – Walker, for one, and Straight To Hell for another – but this stands up as a time and place and, dammit, an attitude unlike any other. Alex Cox, stand up and be counted. YOU'RE ALLLLL RIGHT!!!
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There are actually 2 versions of this film. The 2nd version or "extended version" has a few extra scenes, including one featuring a discussion btween J. Frank Parnell and Otto's friend Kevin at the Gas station/Car wash and vacuum. They discuss the quality of vending machine food vs. food from the "Del Taco" across the street.  -Thanks to Repo Van Repo
Lost Scenes:
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There are no generic brands in this film - when Bud buys some drink, we see a six pack of cans marked "drink". Ditto with beer, peaches, and anything else that you can plainly see on shelves. At the time, this was seen as a very cool thing, but rather than being deliberate on the part of the filmmakers, it was mainly due to a lack of authorisation or sponsorship from any major companies.
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The Repo men are all named after beers: Bud, Lite, Miller, Oly. -Thanks to Mike
There are green 'Magic trees' in every car in this film (and on a motorbike at the beginning) - the smelly tree company was one of the film's only sponsors.
Jimmy Buffett is in Repo Man, his hits in the 70s include "Margaritaville" and "Come Monday". He is one of the guys in the "Silver Suits", and is shown in one of the only scenes where they do not have their helmets on. -Thanks to Jennifer
Kevin is driving the Chevy Mailbu when Bud and Otto are cut off by it on the freeway. The destination sign on the bus that Otto exits from when he goes to visit his parents states, "Edge City", which is the name of the studio that produced the film. -Thanks to Craig
Miller talks about cosmic consciousness and refers to a "shrimp" or "plate of shrimp" - later on in the film, there is a sign in a window that is advertising a "plate of shrimp".
Otto's full name is Otto Mattock (visible on the FBI dossier screen in the mobile command center.) -Thanks to Atom / Robertico
When Otto goes to the club to meet the U.F.O. ladies, he says, "I can't believe I used to like these guys." The performing band is the Circle Jerks. Zander Schloss, the actor who plays Otto's friend, Kevin, went on to join the Circle Jerks after the film. He replaced original bass player Roger Rogerson in 1983. -Thanks to Klaus Koski / Janene_machine
Notice the white dress shirts the punks, including Otto, are wearing in the house party scene during the beginning of the film. Also notice the skeletons and skulls drawn on them. These are shirts actually depicted on the cover of Suicidal Tendencies' first LP. Next time you watch that scene in the movie compare the drawings on the shirts shown on the LP with those worn by the actors in the movie. Many are identical. -Thanks to Klaus Koski
When Otto is accosted by the rest of the team and forced to admit who beat him up, instead of telling them it was the band at the house, he sends them to his ex-boss, from the market. This also turns out to be Kevin's dad. You can just barely see Kevin in the background, in the living room. Both are beaten senseless, of course. So much for friendship, eh. -Thanks to Mack The Knife
I wonder if the license plate on the Malibu is referring to the UK punk band G.B.H.? -Thanks to Jeff House
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Find much more great trivia in the filmmaker's commentary on the Repo Man DVD.
Rediscover your favorites! If you like
Repo Man or 80's Comedy classics, then be sure to
check out this list: ..... Tootsie ..... Raising Arizona ..... Good Morning, Vietnam ..... Blues Brothers ..... Heathers ..... Fast Times At Ridgemont High ..... This Is Spinal Tap ..... Naked Gun ..... Adventures In Babysitting ..... Airplane ..... License To Drive ..... Money Pit ..... Porky's ..... Risky Business ..... Twins ..... Soul Man .....[More]
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The license plate NUMBER of the Chevy Impala that is the central "character" of the movie stays the same, - but the plate's STATE changes in almost every scene. -Thanks to Art Harvey
If you look inside the Chevy Malibu from the rear while it is sitting there after the motorcyle cop pulled it over, it is not J. Frank Parnell who is in the driver seat. It appears to be Otto driving the car (you can just see the back of his head). Other times it appears to be Kevin driving it.... -Thanks to Craig
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|  |  |  | | Repo Man
Locations |
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Have you ever noticed how much of the action takes place inside one very small area? (6th St bridge?). It's almost like the filmakers had a permit to film in that area and made the most of it!!
The scene where Lite shoots in to the house was filmed in San Pedro.
If you look at the map in the beginning montage, the setting is in New Mexico, not LA. [Thanks to Mark Sweeny]
Can you help? Do you know any of the Los Angeles, S. California filming locations used for Repo Man? [Please send them in]
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Iggy Pop; The Circle Jerks; Black Flag - very PUNK.
The song which the Circle Jerks are playing in the club scene is called "When the sh*t hits the fan". Only it's a really folksy, lounge version done acoustically. The original version is much harder and faster, and it was first released on the "Golden Shower of Hits" LP in 1983.
The song which Otto sings while sitting on the curb near dusk is "TV Party," by Black Flag. "Don't care about anything, we don't wanna know. We're gonna miss, our favorite shows..." -Thanks to Jake Sprecher
Iggy Pop sings the title song over the opening credits -Thanks to Nick Springsteen
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| | "It's 4 AM, do you know where your car is?"
| |  | | J. Frank Parnell is pulled over |
 | | Emilio Estevez stars |
 | | ...With the always brilliant Harry Dean Stanton |
 | | Something unusual is happening! |
Year:
| 1984 | Studio:
| Edge City / Universal | Director:
| Alex Cox | Starring:
| Harry Dean Stanton,
Emilio Estevez, Tracey Walter, Olivia Barash, Sy Richardson,
Susan Barnes, Fox Harris, Tom Finnegan | | - | - | Genre:
| Comedy | | | | + | Fantastic camerawork; deadpan blacker-than-black humour; two terrific turns of acting from Estevez and Dean Stanton; an endlessly quotable script; great soundtrack....... | - | Like most cult films, it's an acquired taste. The language is very strong for most of the film, and it takes more than one viewing to appreciate the depth of what's going on. Imagine the depth of 'Withnail & I' but in LA and with a satirical pop culture backdrop. |
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The best links we've found for Repo Man.
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Nice page with links to other resources.
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Some good stuff | |
Alex's official website. |
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