Knight Rider (film)

Knight Rider, commonly known by fans as Knight Rider: The Movie, is a 1987 American action crime drama film written by and directed by. Based on the 1982 television series of the same name, the film stars David Hasselhoff, William Daniels, Edward Mulhare, Patricia McPherson and Rebecca Holden as its main cast. The film follows Michael Knight, a high-tech, modern crime fighter assisted by KITT, an advanced, artificially intelligent, self-aware, and nearly indestructible car.

During the production of the film, actors who previously starred in the series reprised their roles with the exception of, who died in September 1984.

The film premiered in Kennedy Center on July 8, 1987 and was released in the United States by Universal Pictures on July 11, 1987, to generally positive reception from critics and fans. Critics praised the performances, characters, action sequences, story, De Palma's direction, KITT's screentime and faithfulness to the spirit of the source material.

The film grossed $77.8 million in the United States on a $88 million budget. It was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Actor for Hasselhoff, Best Film Editing, Best Visual Effects and Best Sound Effects Editing. In April 2004, the film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant".

Plot
In 1982, after Detective Lieutenant Michael Long is shot and left for dead, he is saved by the eccentric billionaire, Wilton Knight and his associate Devon Miles. He is given a new face by plastic surgery, a new identity as Michael Knight, and the Knight Industries Two Thousand (KITT for short) – a dream car with super-spy gadgets and nearly invulnerable armor. Wilton asks Michael to carry on his crime-fighting crusade believing "one man can make a difference." Soon Michael manages to locate his shooter, a woman named Tanya Walker, who is stealing technology secrets from a computer company and selling them to the highest bidder. With the help of a woman named Maggie, Michael lures Tanya into a trap by showing off KITT's abilities as bait.

Michael Knight picks up a hitchhiking girl, who turns out to be West Point graduate Robin Ladd, who hoped to make her dad, Colonel Ernest Ladd, proud. Arriving at his Army base, they hear he was killed in a car crash. Posing as an insurance agent, Michael proves it was no accident. He soon discovers the murder was to cover up malversations at the base. The military culprits are on his trail and determined to murder him too.

Devon instructs Michael to investigate corporate raider Lawrence Blake, who buys mortgages and firms which all 'happen to' go broke shortly after. The next prey is Sammy Phillips's private stock car and motor vehicle stunts show, which he runs with his son, a would-be motorbike stuntman Mark. Michael infiltrates as new stunt driver after Sammy has a suspicious accident. Driving Kitt, stunts are almost too easy anyway, Blake's goon Bill Gordon just the right size, although he has an inside accomplice.

Michael and K.I.T.T. are sent to protect a group of ranchers whose water supply is being cut off by a wealthy landowner. Michael meets his match in a hotheaded young widow who leads the fight for their rights and is instructed to make sure she doesn't do anything too impulsive.

Someday later, Devon is arrested on a traffic violation in Lyndhurst Flats and ends up sharing a jail with Frank Reston, the very journalist he was planning to meet. When Reston is killed by the corrupt police officers because he had too much evidence against them and a corrupt judge that controls them, Devon's life is now on the line because he is the only witness to see Reston alive. Michael teams up with Frank's ex-wife Carol in his search for Devon and expose the corruption to the proper authorities.

Devon has organized an anti-terrorism treaty between three rather unstable third world nations. Michael is assigned to find a plant (and possible hit-man) amongst the security team. He joins them during their special training session at Redmond's Victory Academy. However Michael wonders if this is the work of one person or a team.

In 1983, Michael learns that the woman he was once engaged to, Stephanie Mason, has been arrested for her involvement in a money laundering scheme. Unfortunately, he was engaged to her when he was Michael Long and Stephanie thinks he is dead. The Justice Department has given Stephanie the option of turning in her boss Gilbert Cole, or face conspiracy charges if she refuses. The situation intensifies when Cole sends thugs to eliminate her before she can testify before a grand jury. Now Michael must protect the woman he once loved and capture the people who are setting her up, all the while avoiding slip ups that may give away his secret identity.

A rare and priceless car, "The Pennington Ascot Regency", is stolen from Devon who was borrowing it from an old friend, Commander Smythe. Devon wants the car found before his friend gives him an earful. Michael goes to the only place nearby that such an exotic vehicle could be sold, the "Barton Springs Custom Classic Show". There, Michael meets Carrie Haver, a young woman trying to win a trophy for her deceased father's exotic car, but Carrie is being strongly urged by the show coordinator, Suzanne Weston, into selling it to her. When Carrie's car gets stolen, Michael immediately suspects Weston who has a criminal background, but trailing her doesn't lead to the stolen vehicles. Michael's next plan is to decorate KITT with a flame job, gold rimmed racing wheels and a huge spoiler in an attempt to draw out the real car thieves.

In 1984, Michael investigates an open wheel race team plagued by mysterious accidents. Michael also takes the teams opening as a substitute race car driver and finds out that the owner of another racing team is the biological father of the women on the team he is trying to help; the father claims that he wanted to keep the other team from taking his entire life away, including his daughter, if they win the race. In the end, they win the race thanks to Michael.

In 1985, Michael investigates the death of a prize race horse which he suspects is a cover up by the owner in order to get out of an enormous gambling debt.

Meanwhile, a nerdy Foundation employee (Arye Gross) helps Michael rescue a scientist's daughter from criminals who also steal the scientist's advanced laser weapon to rob a jewel depository.

Michael tries to expose the illegal activities of an owner of a toxic waste dump. KITT is dumped into and destroyed in an acid pit and rebuilt, but he has trouble facing his fears. With Michael's help, he regains his spirit and goes for the final showdown against the waste dump owner, who is trying to burn the dump to the ground to remove the evidence.

Cast

 * as
 * as the voice of
 * as Devon Miles
 * as Dr. Bonnie Barstow
 * as April Curtis
 * as Wilton Knight
 * as Tanya Walker
 * Lin McCarthy as Lawrence Blake
 * as Robin Ladd
 * Tom Gilleran as Colonel Ernest Ladd
 * as Sammy Phillips
 * Adam Postil as Mark
 * Jim Haynie as Frank Reston
 * as Carol Reston
 * as Officer Rex Saunders
 * as Stephanie Mason
 * as Gilbert Cole
 * as Carrie Haver
 * as Commander Smythe
 * as Suzanne Weston
 * as Elliott Sykes