Was Preston Tucker a conman, leading his investors down a blind alley with a sure to fail scheme of entering the hotly competitive U.S. auto market? Some would have you believe that was the case, but not Francis Ford Coppola. To him, Tucker was Jeff Bridges, and you can’t not love Jeff Bridges.
Tucker, The Man And His Dream portrays Tucker as a staunch family man and as an individual who stands behind his ideals, and up against the tyranny of the establishment.  In the 1988 film that establishment is the Big Three automakers, the heads of which Coppola presents as scheming defenders of the status quo not above bribing complicit politicians to stamp out upstart competitors. They eventually succeeded in the case of Tucker.
Is that how it really happened? Well, I don’t think it matters anymore, and Tucker, The Man And His Dream should be taken not as historical treatise, but as an allegory of the American dream. The film also gloriously recreates the Tucker car’s development and – using all the existing cars as props, as well as some hand-built models for stunts – will give you an overdose of what might have been. Check it out after the jump.[youtube]http://youtu.be/0Y_Bqn-6uko[/youtube]
It looks like those of you with Amazon Prime can watch the whole flick for free. For everyone else, it’s also available for a cost from the usual sources.