A documentary about the roller coasters most famous to roller coaster enthusiasts. The film is a close look at coasters, and covers a bit of history, a history of enthusiast organizations, and discusses the need for coaster preservation.
0:00 Opening title. Narration about Crystal Beach, on the Candian shore of Lake Erie. Shots of the Comet Coaster in the wind. The ride is abandoned for now. Shots of the roller coaster in Spring, ” …as if it knows the year of the coaster is soon to begin.”
2:40 Shots of a Coaster enthusiast, sleeping weirdly on a small bed before his first ride of the season. He wildly rolls out of bed at the sound of the alarm clock and rushes out to ride the coaster.
4:48 The roller coaster kicks into gear. “The sounds of silence have been replaced by the screams of happy riders, as the year of the coaster is about to begin.” Shots of the roller coaster with information about the Comet.
8:57 Segment on maintenance done to the roller coaster early in Spring.
10:00 Talk about roller coaster marathons–for enthusiasts who enjoy riding non-stop. Coverage of a marathon at King’s Dominion Park, on the Rebel Yell Coaster. The marathon ended after 101 hours of roller-coaster riding by three riders.
13:55 Short segment on Coaster Enthusiasts group, and their large yearly meetings. Lots of tracking problems during this segment.
17:15 Talk of the 1981 year in Texas, where the enthusiasts rode every major coaster. One rider: “I started out this morning riding on caffeinie, and now I’m running on pure adrenaline.” They ride the new coaster, the Judge Roy Scream. At a visit to one classic coaster, one of the cars is stuck and needs a push, luckily fixed for the enthusiasts.
22:20 Coverage of the 1982 convention in Hershey, Pennsylvania. A little girl from the 1981 convention brags that she’s finally three feet tall and can ride the back seat. The filmmaker rides with her.
24:03 The filmmaker talks about some history of the Roller Coaster in 1984, the coaster’s 100th anniversary. He talks about historical and old figure 8 coasters. Only one still exists, and it is in relatively bad condition. Tere is a short tour of famous coasters across the United States, and some call for the preservation of roller coasters, especially historic wooden ones, before they fall into disrepair. The filmmaker specifically talks about the Wildcat, closed down in the centennial of the roller coaster. “A painful, violent ride that punished its riders severely, but somehow made us feel better about having ridden it.” A fire eventually destroyed the wooden coaster.
35:45 Talk about the Coastal Beach Cyclone, who people say was one of the best coasters ever.
43:30 Shots of a coaster at sunset. The narrator talks about this moment, when the coaster becomes not only a ride but a work of art.
45:40 Talk of the Comet Coaster falling back into winter season. “For the comet, there will be another year of the coaster.”
47:00 End of tape.
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