YEAH, I KNOW I'VE COVERED IT BEFORE . . . AND I'LL PROBABLY TOUCH ON IT AGAIN, IF THERE IS A SINGLE, SIGNIFICANT, PIVOTAL MOMENT WHEN MOTORCYCLES BECAME THE BE ALL AND END ALL IN MY LIFE, SEEING "ON ANY SUNDAY" AT THE CINEMA AS A TEN YEAR OLD BACK IN 1971 WAS IT . . . . WHEN I CAME OUT OF THE THEATRE AT THE END OF THIS EPIC FILM I KNEW THAT THIS 'FEELING' WAS ONLY GONNA GET STRONGER AND THERE WASN'T ANY TURNING BACK . . . . IT WAS A CONCRETE CONFIRMATION IN MY TINY MIND THAT MOTORCYCLES AND THE RUSH THEY DELIVER WOULD STAY WITH ME AND CONTINUE TO FESTER FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE . . . . .
The portion of the film I've included in today's post is the final of the year's flat track championship at the Sacremento Mile . . . . Romero, Mann, Lawill, Aldana, Rice and company battling it out for the Grand National Title and the number 1 plate . . . . unfortunately, it wasn't a type of racing that existed in Australia at the time, still doesn't really, a bit of historic action and that's about it . . . . anyway, the coverage of this kind of racing was the highpoint of the film for me . . . . the speed they were obviously going and the control these guys had over their bikes had me by the sac, not to mention the human aspect of the get offs, the failures, the travel and the perception of classic old time cool was palpable . . . . it was also the last great days of Beezers and Trumpy's against the might of Milwaulkee, a few years later and the British motorcycle industry was all but fucked !!!
Bruce Brown's cinematography still holds up today and is part of the film's timeless appeal, the shots capture completely the downright speed these freaks are travelling at when they drop into a turn, the micro second adjustments they make with 'bars and body weight, those hefty steel shoes attached to the left hoof, the pain of Dick Mann riding with a still broken leg, a young Jim Rice competing after mashing his face up earlier in the day . . . . and the seasons continued mechanical failures for Mert Lawill . . . .
I probably watch all or bits of On Any Sunday once every couple of months . . . . I feel very much as I did as that young kid seeing it for the first time forty years ago . . . I hope that never changes, ever. It is a "must see" piece of motorcycling history, especially for any of today's young crew, there is a real and enduring "quality" this masterful bit of cinema posesses . . . . pass it on whenever and wherever you can . . . .
***** click on the link below or on post title to reacquaint yourself with some butt puckering action from possibly my favourite movie ever . . . "On Any Sunday" . . . yee ha !!!!
On Any Sunday (1971) part 7 - YouTube
The portion of the film I've included in today's post is the final of the year's flat track championship at the Sacremento Mile . . . . Romero, Mann, Lawill, Aldana, Rice and company battling it out for the Grand National Title and the number 1 plate . . . . unfortunately, it wasn't a type of racing that existed in Australia at the time, still doesn't really, a bit of historic action and that's about it . . . . anyway, the coverage of this kind of racing was the highpoint of the film for me . . . . the speed they were obviously going and the control these guys had over their bikes had me by the sac, not to mention the human aspect of the get offs, the failures, the travel and the perception of classic old time cool was palpable . . . . it was also the last great days of Beezers and Trumpy's against the might of Milwaulkee, a few years later and the British motorcycle industry was all but fucked !!!
Bruce Brown's cinematography still holds up today and is part of the film's timeless appeal, the shots capture completely the downright speed these freaks are travelling at when they drop into a turn, the micro second adjustments they make with 'bars and body weight, those hefty steel shoes attached to the left hoof, the pain of Dick Mann riding with a still broken leg, a young Jim Rice competing after mashing his face up earlier in the day . . . . and the seasons continued mechanical failures for Mert Lawill . . . .
I probably watch all or bits of On Any Sunday once every couple of months . . . . I feel very much as I did as that young kid seeing it for the first time forty years ago . . . I hope that never changes, ever. It is a "must see" piece of motorcycling history, especially for any of today's young crew, there is a real and enduring "quality" this masterful bit of cinema posesses . . . . pass it on whenever and wherever you can . . . .
***** click on the link below or on post title to reacquaint yourself with some butt puckering action from possibly my favourite movie ever . . . "On Any Sunday" . . . yee ha !!!!
On Any Sunday (1971) part 7 - YouTube
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