I gave this an "8" from a ex racer's point of view. Its not a great movie but the classic footage of some of the cars that changed Drag Racing is fun to watch. These guys are the ones that put people in the stands and made Drag Racing a huge sport with spectators as well. No "Rice Rockets" or computers here. No nitrous to cover your shortcomings or mistakes. Just major horsepower with ground shaking excitement from the early years of legal Drag Racing.
3 Reviews
Cole Coonce Review "American Nitro"
boont1 June 2011
"The epochal full-length feature film American Nitro has been digitally remastered and released on DVD. Finally. I mean, it is really about time, because although many have tried to capture the hellzapoppin' , explosive and dramatic essence of drag racing on celluloid-- most have failed. This documentary is perhaps the sole exception.
After a successful theatrical run in 1979 (where it grossed over a million dollars-- a rather unheard of and lucrative take for a documentary film), American Nitro was mothballed until VHS cassettes entered American living rooms and home entertainment centers.At that time (circa 1994), Steve Collison, editor of Super Stock & Drag Illustrated, enjoined yours truly to write an essay about the history of drag racing as portrayed in cinema. So I did,hosting a series of beer-and-popcorn catered parties made up equally of gearheads, pseudo-intellectuals and film buffs. The resulting story ran with the rather obvious headline of "Lights! Camera! Nitro!" Some of the thoughts on American Nitro, as commented on by the intelligentsia gathered in my Silver Lake living room, ran as follows..."
"...I jammed something called American Nitro into the VCR and hoped for the best. And I got it. This guy was not unlike Funny Car Summer, but ultimately more successful i.e., no maudlin folk music obnoxiously underscoring the plight of the independent drag racer, and no gratuitous sandstorm footage. Shot mostly at Fremont Raceway, this gem contained plenty of mid-70's era funny car racing. Also included in this work, however, is an extremely chilling interview with engine builder Ed Pink who discusses the horrors of oil fires in the early days of drag racing, particularly the incident which claimed the life of Top Fuel hero John "the Zookeeper" Mulligan at the U.S. Nationals in 1969. That was a dark day for drag racing, and the footage from this segment rattled the collective soul and psyche of the race fans and film buffs gathered in my living room..."
"I have to be honest: I haven't watched that film in over fifteen years. Until... After having been sent a "screener" copy, I popped in the new DVD of American Nitro a few nights ago, and was once again moved by the sequence about John Mulligan. But I also realized what a time capsule this film has become. Besides "Zookeeper" Mulligan after his passing, nitro-addled 1970s Americana is also something that is never coming back. And because that zeitgeist was captured by American Nitro's filmmakers so eloquently, their film has been become not only a crucial document, but a eulogy for the passing of drag racing itself, which, in my opinion, is basically moribund, if not just dead." -- Cole Coonce
After a successful theatrical run in 1979 (where it grossed over a million dollars-- a rather unheard of and lucrative take for a documentary film), American Nitro was mothballed until VHS cassettes entered American living rooms and home entertainment centers.At that time (circa 1994), Steve Collison, editor of Super Stock & Drag Illustrated, enjoined yours truly to write an essay about the history of drag racing as portrayed in cinema. So I did,hosting a series of beer-and-popcorn catered parties made up equally of gearheads, pseudo-intellectuals and film buffs. The resulting story ran with the rather obvious headline of "Lights! Camera! Nitro!" Some of the thoughts on American Nitro, as commented on by the intelligentsia gathered in my Silver Lake living room, ran as follows..."
"...I jammed something called American Nitro into the VCR and hoped for the best. And I got it. This guy was not unlike Funny Car Summer, but ultimately more successful i.e., no maudlin folk music obnoxiously underscoring the plight of the independent drag racer, and no gratuitous sandstorm footage. Shot mostly at Fremont Raceway, this gem contained plenty of mid-70's era funny car racing. Also included in this work, however, is an extremely chilling interview with engine builder Ed Pink who discusses the horrors of oil fires in the early days of drag racing, particularly the incident which claimed the life of Top Fuel hero John "the Zookeeper" Mulligan at the U.S. Nationals in 1969. That was a dark day for drag racing, and the footage from this segment rattled the collective soul and psyche of the race fans and film buffs gathered in my living room..."
"I have to be honest: I haven't watched that film in over fifteen years. Until... After having been sent a "screener" copy, I popped in the new DVD of American Nitro a few nights ago, and was once again moved by the sequence about John Mulligan. But I also realized what a time capsule this film has become. Besides "Zookeeper" Mulligan after his passing, nitro-addled 1970s Americana is also something that is never coming back. And because that zeitgeist was captured by American Nitro's filmmakers so eloquently, their film has been become not only a crucial document, but a eulogy for the passing of drag racing itself, which, in my opinion, is basically moribund, if not just dead." -- Cole Coonce
American Nitro
BandSAboutMovies22 August 2022
Warning: Spoilers
I have no idea how this site has had a recap of drag race docs and a week of drag race movies and this doc never made it in. How many drag racing movies did the 70s have? How many did it need?
Directed by Bill Kimberlin, an Industrial Light and Magic visual effects editor, this was shot at Fremont Raceway and really has a lot of great footage of that era's racers, as well as an interview with Ed Pink about the oil fire incident that claimed the life of John "the Zookeeper" Mulligan at the U. S. Nationals in 1969.
Drag racing used to be such a big thing in the 70s. I remember commercials for it and getting beyond excited. There was even a 1977 arcade game called Drag Race and the Activision game for the Atari 2600 Dragster. That's how much people loved it. Just look at all the films on our list above. While I'm not a fan of the sport, it was fun to take a spin through its past.
Directed by Bill Kimberlin, an Industrial Light and Magic visual effects editor, this was shot at Fremont Raceway and really has a lot of great footage of that era's racers, as well as an interview with Ed Pink about the oil fire incident that claimed the life of John "the Zookeeper" Mulligan at the U. S. Nationals in 1969.
Drag racing used to be such a big thing in the 70s. I remember commercials for it and getting beyond excited. There was even a 1977 arcade game called Drag Race and the Activision game for the Atari 2600 Dragster. That's how much people loved it. Just look at all the films on our list above. While I'm not a fan of the sport, it was fun to take a spin through its past.
See also
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