Always in the Picture - Rover in any time!

Since pictures had learnt to “run”, around the same time as Rover Cycles was founded, Rovers took part in many small or even big movie productions.

Here a selection of scenes where Rover Cars appeared, more or less in full format:

Peter: Portrait of a Serial Killer

The film, Peter: Portrait of a Serial Killer, is said to reveal previously unknown secrets about the killer.

It depicts the story of Sutcliffe's life, including the vicious murders he committed in and around West Yorkshire.

Watch the serial killer and the Polices Forces driving their Rover 3500.

It is very important to point out, that the film car is in austria in the hands of one of our members.

V - like Vendetta

In the totally reigned Great Britain of some future time, an insurgent – hidden behind a Guy Fawkes mask, opposites against the fascistic, all encompassing claim for power of the unity party, by imaginatively killing their political representatives. The movie is the film version of a comic from 2005 and is  therefore accordingly  bright coloured and cruel. Stephen Rea as a cop is always too late in spite using a fast Rover 75 and therefore he can only collect up the corpses and John Hurt as the dictator is not amused.

However, lastly all are finding their luck, their death and their political liberation – next time don't miss it in the TV.

Breakfast on Pluto

2005 Neil Jordan made a film from Patrick McCabe's novel, portraying Ireland and Great Britain of the 50ties and 60ties. Viewed from the sight of a young man who would to prefer being a woman, having a chaplain as father and who was exposed at the pastors door. Not an easy undertaking during the prude 50ties  and early 60ties– Cilian Murphy still brilliant and relaxed, exceeding limits of conventional role models.

As expected, the police authorities are on the way in a Rover P6, the title figure Kitty Braden is therefore often in conflict with the police, appearing in woman’s, the main hero/heroine is getting problems with the IRA.

George Gently

A typical British crime story located in the 60ties – the ideal conditions for nice pictures of nice English cars! The main actor Martin Shaw, best known from the  TV series “The Professionals”, (curl haired, driving a Ford capri) Now aged the Rover P5, which has taken the co main role,  suits him better.

 

Theater of Horror

Vincent Price and Diana Rigg – father and daughter of horror in a British horror movie gem ! Daddy murders his not even benevolent critics Shakespeare like one after the other, beheading, letting his opponents being death-grinded, beloved pets processed to pies and inventing other types of murder of our “high culture”.

 

In the middle of all, an unprofessional police crew tries to convict the offender, accompanied by a Police P6.

 

American Werewolf in London

A student gets bitten by a mysterious animal, later on he begins to transform himself into a Werewolf, pioneering all later transformation sequences in these genre movies, awarded and unique in 1981,  long before the computer animated digital movie era. A well done movie with many horrible creatures and a slight portion of black humour.

Rover SD1 and P6 as police cars but as usual the poor P6 gets smashed to pieces in the final butchery.

Lock, Stock and Two smoking Barrels

The first movie by Guy Ritchie, who combines the different storylines of this crook comedy in a ludicrous logic and comic. Bizarre ideas, oblique figures, brutal scenes and a hearty humor attracts the viewer.

The story:

A few petty criminals want to make a great cash at an illegal Poker game, of course the fail completely. With 500 000 pounds debt and only 1 week time they are forced to look after a further opportunity for more money. Clear, that the London criminals are chasing them to collect all the lot.
There it happens, that they accidentally tumble over a Grass plantation and that's where the madness takes it course.

Chris the debt collector, drives a Rover P6 – unfortunately to scrap! An evil fate which happily saved the P5 in the ending scenes, thank God.

Snatch

The next movie by Guy Ritchie – an also brilliant, British Crime comedy about diamond dealers, thieves, illegal boxing fights and unsuccessful pet criminlas.

3 different story lines interweave together as the film goes on, for the viewers don't lose their astonishment. Great scenes with Brad Pitt as a mumbling Gipsy.

Here the crooks are pleased about the qualities of an SD1 – which is the spaciousness and the rigid structure of the body shell but as so often in British movies, Rovers are scarred and bruised.

Down to Earth

A British TV series that praises the rural land-life. In the concrete scene a young maiden irritates an ageing Rover-Driver in such way, that he drives – distracted by the beauty of the nature, right away into a bush. The girl even follows the old rogue but only to help him out of his car. And nothing else it's U-rated.

Gattaca

A Rover P6 in a futuristic movie – for simplicity's sake, I cite from Wikipedia:

The Science Fiction Film Gattaca, as one of the first popular movies, treats the problems around pre-implantations technologies targeting the optimization of human life and it's impact to the society. Gattaca tries to get away with the prejudice of the omnipotence of the gene and the accompanied determines and can therefore be seen as a parable about discrimination. The film shows a retro-futuristic version of  a society, driven by liberal eugenics in which gene technologies and pre-implantations diagnostic allows the selection of tailor made children. But with  people, begotten in the “traditional” way, clustering of inferior phenotypes occur, and they are generally considered as disabled, therefore they automatically belong to a new underclass, independent from ethnic or gender.

A forward looking movie and the “dark” authorities are driving Rover, unfortunately not synchronised with V8 sound, but with some futuristic “Hyper-somehow-driving-noise”.

Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke are acting ravishingly beautiful.

Me-The Number One

Lino Ventura as a”turncoat” during the Cold War. A British scientist in Russian duty, at last almost reamed between the two “Worlds”, following scenes show 3 P6 as police cars and a cabdriver as a breakman in front of the Big Ben.

Black Mamba

A gem under the trash movies, with Klaus Kinsky in a main role. Kinsky has often switched between genius and madness, a border crosser between art and trash. “The Black Mamba” belongs more to latter, but the beginning with a ride in a Rolls through London is somehow charming and … the Roll is overtaken by an SD1.

 

 

 

 

 

The Miracle from Loch Ness

Nessie meets E.T. - that was an Idea for a SAT1 production.


The main protagonist is clear:  It's Walter's Rover 3500 S! Although the car appears just only about 3 seconds, but about Walter's car we watched the movie.

Waking The Dead

The P6 as a scene of crime during the terrorism in Northern Ireland, the driver, behind the steering wheel for quite a time, the car is filthy and immobilized for 30 years. The Special Division for “ancient” cases, finds the well preserved Rover with the less “maintained” driver in a garage.

 

The “ Wixxer” (Wanker!)

A Rover P5 is the scenery of a disgusting-humorous scene, in which Oliver Kalkofe awakes from his drunkeness  behind the steering wheel. He missuses the screenwasher, rinsing his mouth, something like this is just only thought out by disrespectful screenwriters.

Life on Mars - Episode 1

A British detective suffers an accident 2005 and awakes in 1973, a time-journey or coma, that remains here unanswered. But he changes his police Rover 75 into a time relevant Police Rover from that era.

This TV series is a gem for fans of the 70ties, because not only the cars of that time  revive, also fashion, music and the police investigation methods are shown.

What a great time was 1973! David Bowie was young, smoking allowed everywhere, and Gender Mainstreaming didn't even exist in the English language.

Life on Mars - continued

Obligational for movies from the 70ties, is persuading by cars - that central action element of a good cop thriller. The story acts in the year 1973, so there is much fun with 70ties cult-cars like Ford Capri, Triumphs, Cortina, Austin Allegro, Vauxhall and of course Rover P5 and P6 are action stars, but unforgivable is – that a Vauxhall Viva and a Rover get scrapped!!!