Movie Club: Hands on a Hardbody
March 7, 2024
Documenting an endurance contest at a Texas car dealership with a truck as the prize, this piece of DIY documentary filmmaking was being developed as a feature by Robert Altman before his death and is a cult classic not-to-be-missed. Selected and introduced by SIFF Associate Director of Digital Marketing (and fan of eccentric Americana) Clare Garvin.
In S.R. Bindler’s 1997 cult classic, two dozen small-town Texans compete for a brand-new “Hardbody” pickup truck at a local car dealership. The event is a contest of endurance and sleep-deprivation—whoever can remain standing the longest with one hand on the truck will get to drive it home. Capturing several days of lunacy, laughter, struggle and heartbreak, Hands On a Hardbody is more than a documentary about winning a truck. It is a remarkable study of competition, camaraderie, faith and determination—the ultimate human drama.
- Director: S.R. Bindler
- Year: 1997
- Running Time: 98 min.
- Producer: S.R. Bindler, Kevin Morris, Chapin Wilson
- Cinematographers: S.R. Bindler, Michael A. Nickles, Chapin Wilson
- Editors: S.R. Bindler
- Music: Neil Kassanoff