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.
Available on AppleTV and on DVD (and streaming) for the first time in ten years, this new edition of Hands On a Hardbody has been digitally remastered and includes over and hour of never-before-seen interviews.
S.R. Bindler and Chapin Wilson talk about the restoration process in this Q&A at the Stranger Than Fiction doc series at the IFC Center in New York.