Rad (film)
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- This article is about the film Rad. For other usages of the term, see Rad.
| Rad | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Hal Needham |
| Produced by | Sam Bernard, Mary Eilts, Robert L. Levy, Jack Schwartzman |
| Written by | Sam Bernard Geoffery Edwards |
| Starring | Bill Allen, Lori Loughlin, Talia Shire, Ray Walston, Alfie Wise, Jack Weston |
| Music by | James Di Pasquale |
| Cinematography | Richard Leiterman |
| Distributed by | Columbia Tristar, Tristar Pictures |
| Release date(s) | March 21, 1986 |
| Running time | 91 min. |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Rad is a film about BMX racing, first released in the USA in 1986. The film was written by Sam Bernard and Geoffrey Edwards and directed by Hal Needham. It stars Bill Allen and Lori Loughlin. While the film was critically lambasted, it has developed into a cult film classic.
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[edit] Plot
The film's story focuses on Cru Jones (Bill Allen), a young BMX racer who lives in a small town with his mother (Talia Shire) and sister. Cru is faced with a tough decision: the qualifying races for Helltrack are the same day as his SAT's, which he must take in order to attend college. However, winning Helltrack means a lucrative sponsorship deal and fame. Cru chooses the latter option, ignoring his mother's wishes.
The Helltrack race is endorsed by the city and a duplicitous Duke Best (Jack Weston), president of Mongoose bicycles. Best keeps adjusting the rules in order to keep Cru out of the race and to ensure BMX star Bart Taylor (1984 Olympic gymnastics champion Bart Conner) has an easy road to victory, thus providing a financial windfall for Mongoose Racing, Bart's sponsor.
Racers from all around come to this small town for the Helltrack and Cru meets Christian Hollings (Lori Loughlin), who becomes Cru's romantic interest. Christian and Cru have an interesting scene at the local high school dance where, instead of dancing like the other couples, they perform freestyle bike stunts on the dance floor, to the awe of many. Duke Best and his flunkie step over to the punchbowl, and "wake up those drinks" to which the mayor/resturaunt manager says "don't mind if I do." After being blocked from the race due to a last minute rule change on participant sponsorship, Cru is ready to give up his dreams of winning Helltrack. Christian provides Cru with an idea for how he can still enter the race. With the help of one of the townsfolk, Mr. Timmer (Ray Walston) and the founding of "Rad Racing," a small t-shirt business started by Cru's classmate Matt Weston., Cru is finally able to enter Helltrack. Sgt. Smith tells Cru to "pretend he's in the lumberyard....Go balls out."
[edit] Soundtrack and Trivia
- The song "Send me an Angel" performed by Real Life was played in the school dance scene with Cru and Cristian performing a freestyle dance called the "bicycle boogie" with BMX bikes on the dance floor. Cochrane HS in Cochrane, AB was used for this scene. In the movie you can spot the Cochrane Cobra logo on the wall
- The movie's soundtrack is mainly performed by John Farnham, including the film's signature songs "Break the Ice" and "Thunder in Your Heart".
- Frank "The Tank" McClain is rumored to be the basis for the character of Cru Jones. He is said to be the most famous, BMX riding paperboy in the history of New Jersey. However, he never had the opportunity to compete against the best in the world at a "Helltrack" type of venue.
- The opening credits include flatland and pipeline vert action from the big BMX freestylers of the day, some of whom make cameos at Helltrack as Cru's professional competition.
- The infamous "pipeline" (now destroyed) provides some valuable historical riding footage of real and famous BMX'ers before BMX's post 90's X Games revival. This track was created in Calgary's Bowness Park.
- The character Bart Taylor was played by Olympic gymnast Bart Conner. He is the only male American gymnast to ever win gold medals at all levels in both national and international competitions.
- The BMX stunt riders were brought in from the USA and Canada. There was a large mix of BMX racers and BMX freestylers in the movie, hence the freestyle bikes being seen in the movie racing. Local Calgary pros such as Scott Fleurie, Jeff Ingram, and Tyler Bolhorn can be seen in many of the scenes.
- RAD was filmed primarily in Cochrane and Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
- Four actors from the movie have died since its release, including Jack Weston, the actor that played Sergeant Smith (H.B. Haggerty), Ray Walston, and the actor that played "Blob" (Rick McNair).
- Mr. Duke Best is based on a real character from Clayton New Jersey. His name is Terry Bench....the bio-logical father of the afforementioned Frank "The Tank" McClain.
[edit] DVD Release
Rad was never released on DVD, due to licensing issues with Embassay Entertainment, the movie's production team. VHS copies of the film are sold online, and copies have been made from televised broadcasts on HD channels compressed to DVD quality.
[edit] DVD Petition
For the past 2 to 4 years, many Rad fans have signed an online petition to get the film released onto DVD. As of December, 2007, more than 400 000 fans had signed the petition.
[edit] BillAllenRad.com
In the past two years, actor Bill Allen has created a memorabilia website called BillAllenRad.com, offering fans silk-screened "Rad Racing" t-shirts and autographs signed by Bill himself. Also listed on the site is "behind-the-scenes" info about the making of Rad, a biography of Bill, and links to various interviews.
[edit] Bring Back RAD
Bring Back RAD.html was established in 2008 in an effort to gain support for a DVD release of the film by tracking down the rights and contacting the holders. Included is a listing of the copyright information and various links from around the web, including the petition.
[edit] External links
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