Sun, Mar 16, 5:00 pm; Fri, Mar 21, 9:45 pm; Tue, Mar 25, 9:30 pm; Thu, Mar 27, 9:30 pm
Introduction by author Foster Hirsch on Sunday, March 16

In Walter Hill’s profoundly stripped-down noir, Ryan O’Neal is a stoic getaway man known only as “the Driver.” Hill’s love of Alexander Jacobs’ script for POINT BLANK is evident in the film’s emblematic style, as O’Neal upholds his personal code while eluding The Detective (played with psychopathic glee by Bruce Dern). Although critics decried the film’s overt symbolism and terse dialogue, the director always intended the film to be “pure fantasy” set within a “hollow, lonely, city.” With its mythic story structure, enigmatic characters, and neon-bathed night photography—Hill’s minimalist approach to the genre is one that Michael Mann would use wonderfully in his own thrillers (HEAT, COLLATERAL). Underrated and rarely seen, THE DRIVER bristles between silence and intense action, including a legendary underground garage scene in which O’Neal methodically dismembers the car he’s driving at top speed. DIR/SCR Walter Hill; PROD Lawrence Gordon. US, 1978, color, 91 min. RATED R

Ticket Information:
The National Building Museum is proud to partner with the American Film Institute (AFI) Silver Theatre and Cultural Center on this film series, "L.A. Modern, 1960–2000," which surveys mid-century to postmodern views of Los Angeles as the city of angels evolved into the nation’s second largest, and most modern, metropolis. The AFI Silver Theatre is located at 8633 Colesville Road in Silver Spring, Maryland, Silver Spring Metro, Red Line.

BUY TICKETS THROUGH AFI.com/Silver. $8.50 AFI and NBM members | $12 General Admission | $10 Seniors (65+), Students (with valid ID), and Military | $7 Children (12 and under). Tickets may also be purchased at the box office (opens 30 minutes before the first show of the day). Please note that tickets are not available for purchase through the National Building Museum.

Overdrive: L.A. Constructs the Future, 1940-1990 is generously supported by the Milton and Dorothy Sarnoff Raymond Foundation, ZGF Architects LLP, Lois England, and the Reinsch Pierce Family Foundation, Lola C. Reinsch and J. Almont Pierce.