Fast Charlie... The Moonbeam Rider Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Fast Charlie... The Moonbeam Rider Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 22, 2022

Steve Carver's "Fast Charlie... the Moonbeam Rider" (1979) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include an exclusive new audio commentary by critic Eddie von Muller and vintage trailer for the film. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Fast Charlie… the Moonbeam Rider should have been made with a bigger budget and with John Milius in charge of the camera. It tells a very nice story and its cast is great, but it is instantly obvious that Steve Carver was too careful to meet a wide range of production expectations. However, it is hard to blame him because Roger Corman was one of the co-producers, which means that everything had to be done as cheaply as possible and of course on time. Milius would have fought for Fast Charlie… the Moonbeam Rider to be done right, and knowing what he was able to accomplish for Big Wednesday at the same time, it seems logical to conclude that he would have won.

In its current form Fast Charlie… the Moonbeam Rider looks and feels like a small genre film that is perfectly content to be a small genre film. Indeed, it has a proper rhythm and some pretty good visuals, a fine sense of humor too, but it does not take long before it creates the impression that its ultimate goal is to simply wrap up its story without any gaffes. Needless to say, a bit of spontaneity and genuine excitement for its characters could have made quite a positive difference.

After the end of WWI, Charlie Swattle (David Carradine) decides to reunite with his old buddies from the trenches and enter the first transcontinental motorcycle race. If Charlie wins, he will split the humongous sum of $5,000 with them and retire in style. But there is a minor problem with his ambitious plan -- Charlie has been gone for years and his buddies have been dying to meet him to settle various old scores with him. Floyd (L.Q. Jones) for instance is convinced that if Charlie had not deserted his comrades, he would not have lost a leg. Al Barber (R.G. Armstrong) does not have any missing body parts, but he has lost a lot of money because of Charlie’s double plays. Lester Neal (Terry Kiser) has bad memories of Charlie too, plus now that he is in jail and regularly gets free meals the last thing on his mind is going back out to work.

Before he begins looking for his buddies, Charlie visits his old flame Gracie (Brenda Vaccaro), who is making ends meet as a waitress and is trying to decide whether to say “I Do” to her latest boyfriend. Because the boyfriend has just about proven that he is the Most Boring Person in the World, Brenda is reluctant to become his lawful soulmate, but since he owns the only hardware store in town, she has been debating whether to order her heart to keep quiet and settle down with him. When Charlie meets her at the local diner, Brenda uses her charm and brains to trick him and a day later he agrees to take her and her boy all the way to St. Louis.

The $5,000 prize has a predictable effect on Charlie’s buddies, so even though he is greeted with understandable animosity, together they quickly become a team. Soon after, Charlie’s old bike is tuned up and he officially enters the greatest race that has ever been organized in America. But a veteran businessman who has put his entire company on the line while backing another rider warns Charlie that the race is a dirty war that some very ambitious people, himself included, would do anything to win.

The action and light humor easily transform Fast Charlie… the Moonbeam Rider into a charmer that is most appropriate to see late at night, but the feeling that it should have been a bigger and much more impressive film is impossible to brush aside. At times it even looks like its stars are trying to be in that kind of a memorable film because there are some quiet moments and intimate scenes that are really well done.

Unfortunately, Carver was either unable to detect the tiny bits of magic that were happening before his camera, or, as speculated earlier, unwilling to take any risks and try to deliver a bigger film. He gets the racing footage right and at the appropriate time ends the film in a most predictable fashion.

Fast Charlie... The Moonbeam Rider Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Fast Charlie... the Moonbeam Rider arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from an exclusive new 2K master that is a bit of a mixed bag. The good news is that the master is free of compromising digital corrections, so even though some of the visuals could be somewhat rough, they boast proper organic qualities. There are some pretty obvious inherited fluctuations, but in select darker areas there is a bit of light crushing as well. Delineation is ranges from decent to good, in some areas even very good, but it is quite easy to tell that for the film to look as good as it should proper restoration work is needed. The color grading job is where most of the issues emerge from. Some areas have fine primaries and nuances, but elsewhere variations of neon green and blue negatively impact already shaky saturation levels. As a result, the color balance becomes shaky and, more importantly, unnatural. Also, there are various white speck, some scratches, and even larger blemishes. Image stability is good. My score is 3.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Fast Charlie... The Moonbeam Rider 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 are provided for the main feature.

While the audio track is perfectly serviceable, it can definitely benefit from a proper remastering job. For example, early into the film, during select exchanges, some easily noticeable buzz makes its presence felt. Elsewhere the audio can be fuller and better rounded as well. There is even room for some rebalancing work, especially during the second half where most of the action is. My score is 3.25/5.00.

Fast Charlie... The Moonbeam Rider Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - a vintage trailer for Fast Charlie... the Moonbeam Rider. In English, not subtitle. (3 min).

• Commentary - an exclusive new audio commentary recorded by critic Eddie von Muller.

Fast Charlie... The Moonbeam Rider Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The story is very nice, the cast is solid, and the action looks good, and still Fast Charlie... the Moonbeam Rider is awfully difficult to describe as an exciting genre film. I think that with the same original material and cast someone like John Milius would have delivered a vastly different, much bigger, and ultimately more convincing film. As it is, Fast Charlie... the Moonbeam Rider frequently had me focused on the vintage bikes, even though I really wanted to care about the adventures of its characters. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from a new but shaky 2K master. RECOMMENDED, but only if you can find it with a very attractive price tag.