Silver Dream Racer

When this film first came out I was keen on motorbikes, keen on movies and I was keen on pop music. But....David Essex made music that was poles apart from the stuff I liked, the movie was pretty cheesy and the 'Silver Dream Racer' itself was -to anyone who knew anything about motorcycles- in many respects a fairly obvious fraud. So I wasn't overly impressed, back then.

However, wind the clock on 38 years and by some miracle I can at least tolerate Essex's music, the motorcycling scenes are interesting to me for all kinds of reasons, and when it comes down to it this is a film that is better made than many are, with a plot that is no less cheesy or nonsensical than most.

The motorcycle itself was designed and built by a UK company and used an engine that was mostly used as a sidecar power unit. Three machines were planned, of which two were finished and used in the film. Of the three, only the third machine -which was barely a chassis and bodywork when the movie was made- now exists, apparently, and has been recently restored and used in a photo shoot this year (2018). A further mockup (with an entirely different chassis beneath) was destroyed during filming. The bike is meant to be 'revolutionary' with 240bhp and have a 'carbon fibre chassis' but in the film it is clearly none of these things, although it was a real racing motorcycle of a kind rather than just a prop. About 150bhp was typical at the time for top class GP bikes.

Like many racing films real race footage is used in the film. However unlike most racing films they didn't just dress up an extant racing machine and use that, they actually tried to race the bike that had been built for the film for real. Roger Marshall actually rode the bike in a 1979 Silverstone race and much of the race footage in the film comes from that event. However in reality the performance of the machine was so far from being competitive that in order to qualify the machine they allegedly (and quite illegally) replaced the 500cc motor with a 750cc version instead.

Brands Hatch, Donington Park, Silverstone and an unknown disused airfield were used for filming. In fairness David Essex was a genuine motorcycle nut and rode bikes in several of the scenes in the movie, perhaps taking more risks than most movie stars might have.

So overall this isn't the most brilliant movie in the world but it will (of course) appeal to David Essex fans, it is an interesting period piece and it is somewhat better (especially if you have an interest in motorcycle racing around that period) than some of the negative reviews here might suggest.

If you have read other reviews here you may have gathered that there are two different edits of this film in circulation; if you have the DVD you can choose the version you want but if you watch it on UK TV (eg 'talking pictures') they generally use one version not the other.

Nick Freeman is a down-on-his luck but hearty motorbike rider, but after the death of his brother. He inherits a slick looking and innovative prototype, which his brother originally designed. He also finds himself in a little personal battle with champion rider Bruce McBride, and strikes up a relationship with Julie who tags along with McBride. Nick tries his best to find someone to finance his motorcycle with the help of Julie. After continuous knock backs, he's finally given the opportunity to show good this bike is, in the Silverstone World Championship.

Wow, what a hunk of unadulterated… cheese! Still I kind of like it, despite it hackneyed set-up, overwhelming sense of forced sentiment and b-grade feel even with a modest budget. The prototype (designed by Barry Hart) looks pretty sweet, although the film never really lets the motorcycle smoke it up for too long. The racing scenes are professionally handled with a certain edginess. Creatively crisp cinematography and large-scale aerial shots do a good job of bringing the action to the screen. However some questionable blue screen moments show up (and also outside of the race), but never too distracting. Singer David Essex surprisingly churns out quite a decently genuine and fitting performance in the lead, were his monotonously dry presence captured the reckless nature and sour humour of his character. He was also tagged to the film's soundtrack, which was overwrought, but spiritedly engineered to pluck away. David Wickes' economical direction has its mild flashes of glossy precision. The melodrama plot (taken off Michael Billington's original source) is the same-old story with clichés-galore and plastic situations. What we get is a token romance sub-plot and "against the odds" tale, where the desire to succeed and the developments to get where the protagonist reaches can somewhat drum out an happy feel-good sensation. Along the way there's time for some corny montages with mushy music to back it up, but these moments did slow up the pace. It does feel overlong, and the script is considerably spotty, but always diverting with witty remarks. Now the main talking point has go to be the dramatically downbeat ending. Where did that come from?! While it might feel odd to what has gone before it. I thought it was perfect, as it's just like a punch in the gut. The rest of the performances were good, and the crackling chemistry made sure of humorous interactions. Beau Bridges egotistical showman performance is a glowing one and a elegantly solid Christina Raines simply delights. Clarke Peters winningly fine performance, as Nicks' friend/co-worker always made sure there was something amusing whenever on screen. T.P McKenna also gets a minor part, as a bank manager/biker enthusiast.

I know, just how many times have we've seen this been done? Plenty, but I got to hand to Wickes, as he had me sucked in and that haunting conclusion was a real ice-breaker.

I used to love watching this years ago with my dad and this film got me into bikes too!!! When it was released on DVD i was so chuffed, but unfortunately it had a different ending, gutted! But i finally got a copy on laser-disc with the "unhappy" ending and i love it just as much now as i did then, i don't care if i'm in the minority. This film as lasted the test of time in my books and its great! Surprisingly enough the bike still looked good too after all these years, loved the sound track too! To be honest i wasn't much of a David Essex fan until i watched this film, but now have great respect for him and his work (acting and singing) and no before everyone thinks it I'm not an 85 year old lady who loves him, for the record i'm 23. So all in all a great film for all ages, as long as you watch the crash ending anyway!!! Love the film, love the bike and love the soundtrack!!!

Sarah

When I was younger I loved this film as I was a huge David Essex fan - but you have to be careful what version you watch as far as I know two endings were done - one for the states where he crosses the line a winner and the film has a happy ending - the other a United Kingdom version where he crosses the line a winner then skids, crashes burns and dies - not a brilliant film by any stretch of the imagination but it is over 20 years old now and it did appeal to his die-hard fans

O.K., I'll concede that this movie is not all that great! I don't think there's been a really great motorcycle related film since Easy Rider. Although, Little Fauss and Big Halsey with Redford was not too shabby! A good character study as well as a bike flick. At least these films had something to do with the real racing spirit, unlike the miscreant unproductive behaviors glorified in the recent Larry Fishburn's "Biker Boyz". I can't think of any more insane premise than racing Nitro-enhanced Huyabusa type bikes down a dead-end dirt road as a grand finale... I think trying to travel light speed is a more feasible idea? There's something about that scene stolen from a horse/western flick, but doesn't work! This film did nothing but serve to further demonize the average Joe commuter/enthusiast cyclist for law enforcement types by glamorizing a subculture of reckless uninsurable freaks that exist in the big U.S. cities.

• For those that don't like the SDR ending, don't you get it? Underdog type gets the hot chick, takes the race with utter impunity only to meet demise at the end. It's a classic tragedy! Also tragic was the British motorcycle industry (British industry in general during this period) Metaphor?

I think besides the Norton rotary made for the Brit Police, the U.K. was soon to produce <200 units per annum until the 1995 resurrection of Triumph. I think the Jeff Bridges character in SDR was supposed to be a metaphor for the then- dominant American Kenny Roberts, but I'm sure the great KR wouldn't appreciate that particular character portrayal! If upon watching SDR you find yourself irretrievably bummed out, watch Little Fauss, it will make you feel much better!

However, the Silver Dream concept was not completely fictitious. The Barton "Silver Dream Racers" were actually being built in an abandoned church in the U.K. at this time, They were a good design on paper, but very poorly executed when it came to tolerances and metalurgy. Some units would have their engines frag all over the shop after a couple throttle-twists. As the real story progresses, a Yank. Eric Buell got the design rights & built his own Wisconsin version that worked in 1983 (Buell RW-750 "Road Warrior"). However, the controlling regulatory entity in the U.S. eliminated this racing class that season... Politics even infiltrate the cycle racing world.... After this setback, Buell went back to engineering at Harley for a while. He would rise from the ashes to build an actual super-bike using a Harley engine with his own company. So far, the latest versions are very impressive, if not for all out speed, but a combination of charisma, durability, and finesse that nothing else has . I used to ride exclusively Japanese bikes myself, but have recently been converted... What would make things come full circle is some revived new tech at Harley to produce something that will eat Ducks (Ducatis) and RC51's, Maybe win the AMA super-bike title!!! It could happen? For now, there's the new Triumph Daytona 675. A full frontal assault on the same old Godzilla bike that's been coming from Hamamatsu for innumerable years. That's partially the essence of what this movie is really about. Vindication is at hand!:)

Well, that's where this sad little movie actually does fit into a bigger picture...