Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

Road Games Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 17, 2019

Richard Franklin's "Road Games" (1981) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Shout Factory. The supplemental features on the disc include vintage promotional materials; new video interview with Stacy Keach; two audio commentaries; various vintage interviews; and a lot more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The truckie

The film can be genuinely trippy at times, though it actually channels more of the qualities that defined the classic noir pictures than the atmospheric slashers from the 1980s. It is directed by Australian helmer Richard Franklin, whose credits include such horror hits as Patrick and Psycho II.

Stacey Keach plays the veteran truckie Pat Quid, who is contracted to transport a large load of meat across the Outback during a nationwide strike. On the day before he heads to Perth, Quid parks his truck in front of a cheap motel and sees a man (Grant Page, The Tracker) and a woman book the last available room. Visibly annoyed, he spends the night in his truck and on the following morning witnesses how the garbage collectors pick up an oversized black bag from the dumpster in front of the motel. Despite sensing that something isn’t right, he cleans up and goes to work.

Soon after he exits Melbourne, Quid and the man from the motel engage in a bizarre cat-and-mouse game. Initially the game brings some refreshing excitement to Quid’s journey, but when reports start coming in that there is a maniac on the loose that has been raping and killing young hitchhikers he decides to tell the police about the suspicious black bag. Much to his displeasure, however, after he contacts the authorities he becomes a suspect. Around the same time, Quid also impulsively picks up a beautiful hitchhiker (Jamie Lee Curtis, Halloween), who begins flirting with him and slows down his journey.

While Quid keeps guessing what his opponent’s next move might be, it seems like there is serious potential for a number of special twists in this film. The entire first act and a small portion of the second act, for instance, play by the rules many of Hitchcock’s best films follow and give one plenty of good reasons to analyze the action from a variety of different angles. At one point it even makes sense to question Quid’s sanity.

After the long buildup, however, the film heads in a familiar direction and settles down for a fairly conventional resolution which culminates with an intense clash between Quid and the man from the motel. Admittedly, the action is quite well done – according to cinematographer Vincent Monton there were no fancy special effects and the big chase sequences were as risky as they appear in the film -- and it has the type of raw energy that nowadays is completely missing from big-budget action films, but at the end it does feel like an opportunity was wasted to deliver something unique.

Keach’s performance is predictably excellent. Some of the monologues are quite tricky, but his delivery is so good that they actually end up defining the film’s identity. Frankly, without the eccentric humor that they carry the end result almost certainly would have been disappointing. Curtis is a good match for Keach, but there isn’t enough good material for her to impress.

Arguably the biggest surprise in this film is the terrific soundtrack from the legendary Australian composer Brian May (Mad Max, Race for the Yankee Zephyr). It is a wonderfully rich and diverse collection of moody and suspenseful music themes that make the film look like a much more ambitious project than it was.

Road Games Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Road Games arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Shout Factory.

The release is sourced from the 4K master that Umbrella Entertainment prepared and used for their local release of the film in 2016. So, if you have already seen the Australian release you should expect an identical technical presentation. Below are the comments that I left in our review of the Australian release:

"Virtually the entire film looks very healthy. Stability is also good, though there are a few segments where some minor optimizations could have been made. Density is good, but it is quite easy to tell that it is not optimal. I would like to make it clear that I do not refer to native density fluctuations -- of which there are quite a few -- but to the fact that it is quite clear that there are limitations on the master (see screencapture #9). Depth also isn't optimal, though it is still quite pleasing. There are no traces of problematic degraining corrections, but ideally grain should be better exposed and resolved. There are no traces of compromising sharpening adjustments. Colors are natural and healthy, but the overall dynamic range does fluctuate a bit. In fact, there are a couple of different segments where it appears that brightness levels are elevated and as a result the primaries and some of the nuances lack proper balance (see the motel sequence and the flashing sign in the every beginning of the film). Finally, there some minor compression artifacts that sneak in, though they never become overly distracting). All in all, this is a fine presentation of Road Games, but ideally the film should have an even more convincing appearance on Blu-ray. My score is 3.75/5.00." (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).

Road Games 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. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The back cover of this release mentions a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, but this must a typo because I did not find one. Now, I was able to do some direct comparisons between the lossless Mono track from this release and the lossy Mono track from the Australian release and I can confirm that there are certain improvements in terms of dynamic intensity. But do not expect to hear a dramatic shift in quality because the native characteristics of the original soundtrack are actually reproduced quite well on the lossy track. I wasn't surprised that it turned out to be so because I could easily determine that depth, clarity, and the ranges of nuances that were present on the lossy track were already very good, which is why I mentioned it in the review of the Australian release. So, the lossless track is clearly superior and preferable, but the improvements that it offers are primarily cosmetic.

Road Games Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interview with Stacy Keach - in this new video interview, Stacy Keach recalls how he was offered to play Pat Quid in Road Games and what it was like to work under the direction of Richard Franklin in Australia. Also, there are some very interesting comments about his decision to do primarily TV work. The interview was produced by Walt Olsen and Cliff MacMillan for Shout Factory. In English, not subtitled. (14 min, 1080p).

• Script Read - a 1980 script read with producer/director Richard Franklin and actors Stacy Keach and Marion Edwards. In English, not subtitled.

• Demos - presented here are music demos from composer Brian May, accompanied by stills and poster gallery. In English, not subtitled. (5 min, 1080p).

• Kangaroo Hitchcock: The Making of Road Games - in this archival featurette, director Richard Franklin discusses his association with Hitchcock, early work and the production history of Road Games (the original intent was to have Sean Connery play the main protagonist). Stacey Keach also recalls how he was approached with an offer to play Pat Quid and some of the interesting work he had to do during the shooting of the film. In English, not subtitled. (21 min, 1080p).

• Uncut Interviews From Not Quite Hollywood - presented here are excerpts from interviews conducted by director Mark Hartley for his documentary Not Quite Hollywood (2008). Jamie Lee Curtis, Stacy Keach, dierctor/producer Richard Franklin, Grant Page, and screenwriter Everett De Roche talk about their involvement with Road Games and discuss some of the film's unique qualities. In English, not subtitled. (64 min, 1080i).

• Vintage Lecture on the Making of Road Games - presented here is a filmed lecture with director Richard Franklin, coproducer Barbi Taylor, and composer Brian May. The three guests answer a wide variety of questions about Road Games, its characters, and style and structure. The lecture was filmed on November 20, 1980. VHS quality. In English, not subtitled. (131 min, 1080i).

• Audio Interview with Richard Franklin - in this archival audio interview, director Richard Franklin discusses the early stages of his career, his interactions and work with various prominent figures from the film business, the production history of Road Games (with some very interesting comments about the script), etc. The interview was conducted for Umbrella Entertainment in 2001. In English, not subtitled. (24 min, 1080p).

• Vintage Profile of Producer/Director Richard Franklin - in this archival program, director Richard Franklin discusses his early work and some of his stylistic preferences. The program also includes raw footage from the shooting of different films. The interview was conducted in 1981. In English, not subtitled. (25 min, 1080i).

• Audio Interview with Stacy Keach - in this audio interview, actor Stacy Keach (Pat Quid) mentions that Road Games is one of his favorite films and discusses his work with Richard Franklin, some of the unique qualities of his character, the tone and style of the film, his interactions with Jamie Lee Curtis, etc. The interview was conducted for Umbrella Entertainment in 2016. In English, not subtitled. (10 min, 1080p).

• Audio Interview with Grant Page - in this audio interview, stunt coordinator and actor Grant Page (the killer) explains how he became involved with Road Games and discusses his contribution to the film. The interview was conducted for Umbrella Entertainment in 2016. In English, not subtitled. (33 min, 1080p).

• Promotional Materials - large collection of production stills, storyboards, articles, other vintage promotional materials, etc. (1080p).

• Trailer - a vintage trailer for Road Games. In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 1080p).

• Cover - reversible cover with vintage poster art.

• Audio Commentary One - this archival audio commentary initially appeared on Anchor Bay's out of print DVD release of Road Games. Director Richard Franklin explains in great detail how Road Games was shot, and discusses some unique lensing choices, some interesting changes in the original story, the atmosphere of the film, etc.

• Audio Commentary Two - this new audio commentary features filmmaker Mark Hartley (Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation!), director of photography Vincent Monton, production secretary Helen Watts, and costume designer Aphrodite Kondos. There is a lot of interesting information here about the production history and marketing of Road Games, which at the time was the first Australian film to have a guaranteed worldwide distribution as well as the most expensive local production; the numerous changes that were made to the original script; the locations where key parts of the film were shot; and the film's reception. The commentary was recorded exclusively for Shout Factory.

Road Games Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Shout Factory's new release of Richard Franklin's thriller Road Games is sourced from the 4K master that Australian label Umbrella Entertainment produced a couple of years ago. The release also retains all of the important special features from the Australian release and adds an exclusive new interview with Stacy Keach as well as a very good audio commentary with filmmaker Mark Hartley, cinemaotgrapher Vincent Monton, production secretary Helen Watts, and costume designer Aphrodite Kondos. I think that ideally the film should look better in high-definition, but the technical presentation is still quite good and there is a wealth of great information that its fans will appreciate. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.