"Speed" Turns 25

by Lynn Lee

When Speed was first released a quarter century(!) ago, the premise seemed ridiculous: Bomb on bus is triggered to go off if the speed ever drops below 50 mph.  A bus in Los Angeles, no less.  At rush hour!  (Actually, it’s always rush hour in L.A., then as now, which only reinforces the preposterousness of the scenario.)  Nevertheless, Speed managed to suspend viewers’ disbelief – and their breaths – with a combo of taut white-knuckle thrills that didn’t require elaborate special effects and light humor that relieved but didn’t distract from the constant tension. 

A major hit both critically and commercially, it went on to win two Oscars (for sound mixing and sound editing) and elevate the then up-and-coming Keanu Reeves to full movie star status.  Now that Keanu seems to be having another “moment” in his long and eclectic career, it feels like an especially opportune time to revisit the movie that vaulted him on to Hollywood’s A list.

How does it hold up?

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Showbiz History: Rita & Orson, Keira's Karenina, and an Emmy boycott

6 random things that happened on this day, September 7th, in showbiz history

1940 Dario Argento is born in Rome. He goes on to fame as the director of stylish thrillers and horror movies, and to father actress/director Asia Argento. We're about to get the remake of his best known feature Suspiria.

←  1943 Movie stars Rita Hayworth and Orson Welles marry (though various internet sources seem to disagree on the date, sometimes September 9th is cited). They're both fresh stars in their twenties at the time having broken out in 1941 with The Strawberry Blonde and Citizen Kane respectively. The marriage will last for five years. I've urged you many times over the years to see the trans documentary Prodigal Sons which has an amazing connection to Welles & Hayworth...

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