the bloodstained knight and his maiden beloved
Now, after two rambling years comes the final and greatest adventure. The climactic battle to kill the false being within and victoriously conclude the spiritual pilgrimage. No longer to be poisoned by civilization he flees, and walks alone upon the land to become lost in the wild.
INTO THE WILD (2007) dir. Sean Penn
Steve McQueen not only performed his own high-speed stunt driving for the famous Crane Beach dune buggy scene—he also had a hand in the customization of the iconic vehicle.
Notoriously motor-passionate McQueen enlisted the help of Pete Condos of Con-Ferr to build a completely customized and entirely unique automobile, which began as a Meyers Manx, the original VW-based buggy first released in 1967.
McQueen worked with Con-Ferr on making the buggy unique and “a whole lot more fun to drive.” It was decked with “custom headlights, extended side pods, a speedster windshield, custom upholstery, and a massive boost in power. Rather than the typical VW flat-four engine, the McQueen Manx employed by a larger and more powerful—but still air-cooled—Chevrolet Corvair flat-six.”
The result was unforgettable, and helped the Meyers Manx go from “being a low volume toy to a globally recognized genre of recreational vehicle.”
In a documentary about the movie, McQueen said, “I helped them design it, so I’m kinda proud of that. It’s set on a Volkswagen chassis with big ol’ wide weenies—big wide tires on mag wheels, Corvair engine stuffed in the back … it’s very light, you know—because of the fiberglass body. It’s pulling about 230 horses and weighs about a thousand pounds.”
THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR (1968)
dir. Norman Jewison
