Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		3.5

Convoy Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 10, 2015

Sam Peckinpah's "Convoy" (1978) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Classics. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; TV and radio spots; production stills; three featurettes; footage from Mike Siegel's outstanding documentary film "Passion and Poetry: The Ballad of Sam Peckinpah"; and more. In English, without optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The convoy

Somewhere in Arizona, truck driver Martin 'Rubber Duck' (Kris Kristofferson) and his two buddies Bobby 'Love Machine' (Burt Young) and Spider Mike (Franklyn Ajaye) are pulled over by shady Sheriff Lyle 'Cottonmouth' Wallace (Ernest Borgnine), who demands that they pay him cash if they wish to drive through his town without visiting his jailhouse. The boys pay their dues and shortly after end up in a roadside cafe to celebrate Duck’s birthday.

While Duck is getting ready to enjoy his birthday present -- one of the cafe's naive waitresses -- in the back of his truck, Sheriff Lyle appears and begins harassing the bubbly Spider Mike. Duck is quickly informed, and moments later he and the rest of the truckers inside the cafe give Sheriff Lyle a good beating. The boys then quickly jump in their trucks and head west. Duck is joined by the beautiful Melissa (Ali MacGraw), who has played a nasty trick on another cop after being pulled over in the desert.

Duck, Love Machine and Spider Mike are soon joined by other truckers who have had enough of the area’s shady cops. Sheriff Lyle and a few of his boys go after them, but by the time Duck’s group reaches New Mexico, there are so many trucks that the local news stations send their people to get a good look at the convoy. The National Guard is also mobilized.

After Sheriff Lyle repeatedly fails to stop the convoy, Duck becomes a star. There are people supporting him and his cause (though it is unclear what his cause is) all over the great state of New Mexico. This forces the governor (Seymour Cassel) to join the festivities and meet Duck, hoping that by endorsing his cause he will also secure his reelection. But when Duck refuses to play nice with him, and Spider Mike gets a good beating in a small jailhouse in Texas, all hell breaks loose.

This legendary bad film from director Sam Peckinpah needs more time to join the rest of the it-is-so bad-it-is-actually-good outcasts from the late ‘70s. Maybe twenty years from now the lines its characters utter will sound just as cool as those of many of the bad guys in various early film noirs do, but right now they feel as sloppy as they did when the film was first released in theaters across America.

Two things make Convoy somewhat attractive. First, the big trucks the rebels drive. Kristofferson’s stylish monster, in particular, looks absolutely spectacular in the desert. (According to a short interview included on this new release of Convoy, the truck has achieved cult status amongst real truckers in Scandinavia). The second is the outstanding soundtrack. The title song by C.W. McCall a.k.a. Bill Fries still sounds great. Also heard in throughout the film are Billie Jo Spears’ upbeat “Blanket on the Ground”, Kenny Rogers’ top ballad “Lucile”, Gene Watson’s “Cowboys Don't Get Lucky All the Time”, and Glen Campbell’s classic “Southern Nights”.

Peckinpah has a small cameo in Convoy. Halfway through the film, he appears as a sound engineer next to the bold news reporter who interviews Kristofferson’s character.

Kino Classics' new Blu-ray release presents the fully uncut version of Convoy, which runs at approximately 112 minutes.

Convoy Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.34:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Sam Peckinpah's Convoy arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Classics.

The high-definition transfer is not identical to the one StudioCanal used for their Blu-ray release of Convoy in the United Kingdom. Detail and clarity are mostly pleasing, but there are many fluctuations and depth isn't as convincing as it should be. In fact, even during sequences with plenty of natural light, image depth is rather underwhelming (you can compare screencapture #3 with screencapture #3 from our review of the StudioCanal release). Grain is visible, but it is not as well resolved as it should be. Some of the fluctuations can be traced back to the master, but the encoding is also not optimized (see the compression artifacts in screencapture #19). There is a different range of warmer colors, but balance is uneven. There are no major stability issues, but specks, tiny scratches, and even some debris can be spotted. All in all, select parts of the film can look pleasing, but the technical presentation is quite inconsistent. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Convoy Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles have not been provided for the main feature.

The lossless track is very good. The truck engines sound great and the fights are quite intense (see the fight around the 00.26.52 mark). Obviously, the dynamic intensity is unlikely to impress viewers who appreciate the sound designs contemporary blockbusters have, but depth and clarity are indeed very good. Also, the music has a very important part in the film and thankfully it is balanced very well. There are no pops, audio dropouts, or distortions to report in this review.

Convoy Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for Convoy. In English, not subtitled. (4 min, 1080p).

• Trucker Notes from Norway - Anders Lofaldli, Convoy fan from Norway, explains why the film has achieved cult status in Scandinavia. In English, with optional French and German subtitles. (4 min, 1080p).

• More Production Stills - a collection of production stills from the shooting of Convoy. With music. (4 min, 1080p).

• Injokes, Friends & Cameos - footage and stills highlighting various jokes and showing cameo performances by members of Sam Peckinpah's crew. In English, not subtitled. (6 min, 1080p).

• Three Deleted Scenes - a collection of rare production stills with original text descriptions from the shooting script. These stills are from scenes that did not make it into Sam Peckinpah's final version of Convoy. Music only. (6 min, 1080p).

• Promoting Convoy Featurette - posters, lobby cards, promo stills, CD jackets, magazine covers, and photographs from the U.S., Germany, Hungary, Finland, England, France, Italy, Spain, Czechoslovakia, Belgium, Australia, Thailand, and Japan. With music. (6 min, 1080p).

• U.S. Radio Spots - four original U.S. radio spots. With stills from the film. In English, not subtitled. (4 min, 1080p).

• U.S. TV Spot - original TV spot for Convoy. In English, not subtitled. (4 min, 1080p).

• Passion & Poetry - Sam's Trucker Movie - the footage in this very informative featurette is from Mike Siegel's outstanding documentary film Passion and Poetry: The Ballad of Sam Peckinpah. Included in it are various interviews with Kris Kristofferson, the late Ernest Borgnine, Ali MacGraw, EMI executive Michael Deeley (1977-1979), and Peckinpah biographer Garner Simmons, amongst others. In English, not subtitled. (73 min, 1080p).

• Audio Commentary - audio commentary by film historians Paul Seydor, Garner Simmons, and Nick Redman. The bulk of the comments address Sam Peckinpah's personal life and legacy, the film's problematic production history, its visual style and unevenness.

Convoy Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Kino's technical presentation of Sam Peckinpah's Convoy does not have a lot in common with StudioCanal's presentation of the film. It is somewhat uneven and the film does not look as fresh as I expected it to be. This is rather surprising, as I assumed that the two releases will be identical. On the other hand, all supplemental features from StudioCanal's release are included on Kino's release and a new audio commentary has been added. My advice to you is to find a way to rent this release and then decide whether you want it in your collection.