Customer Reviews

Hollywood's Hot Wheels

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Boy, I had high hopes for this one, but I was disappointed. If you're looking for something new on the Batmobile, Monkeemobile, the Roth cars, etc. look elsewhere. Very little time is spent on the individual cars themselves, and what is shown is tired TV/Movie/trailer footage you've seen a million times. The only really unique footage was a vintage 10 second clip of the Munsters Koach next to George Barris' garage. The Batmobile is quickly shown in newly shot, dark and uninteresting video clips, its front end sticking out of Barris' Hollywood shop. I would like to have seen Barris walk around the car, explaining why various gadgets were added, or about the creation and checkered history of the car. A very short film clip, apparently from a Ford promo film about the Lincoln Futura (the car the Batmobile was built from) is neat but all too quick. Why do we need to see the trailer from the 1966 BATMAN movie? All in all, this production is more about the overall history of the love affair between Hollywood and the automobile than the "Hollywood Hot Rods" that the name and box cover art imply. "Hollywood Loves Cars" would have been a better title. The hot rod's creators, Barris, Peterson, Jeffries, Roth, etc. are here, but their appearances are short and they don't have much new to say. We quickly see the Outlaw, but what about Roth's other cars? Or his Rat Fink character? This was barely mentioned. In addition, Adam West's narration is even more stiff and awkward than his acting. If you're a fan of these Hollywood cars, you will feel a bit cheated. Tape this one off of cable instead of buying it.

I very much enjoyed watching this broad-spectrum overview of how the automobile has impacted American life and Hollywood films. It doesn't go into great depth in any one area, but it does show quite an array of interesting vehicles and their creators, and how these vehicles left an impact on American youth and culture. It would be nice if they had had a series of these films going into greater depth on each customizer and their famous and not-so-famous cars. But, for a 1 hour overview DVD, I very much enjoyed wathcing this one. Worth buying if you intend to watch it more than once or build a reference automotive DVD library.