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 December 10, 2020

Richard Franklin's "Road Games" (1981) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films. The supplemental features on the disc include vintage promotional materials; interviews with Stacy Keach; various vintage interviews; short film; audio commentaries; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "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 Indicator/Powerhouse Films.

We have reviews of two different releases of Road Games -- one produced by Australian label Umbrella Entertainment, which is listed here, and one produced by Shout Factory, which is listed here. Both releases were sourced from the same 4K master that the folks at Umbrella Entertainment produced in 2016.

The press materials for this upcoming release from Indicator/Powerhouse promoted a 'brand new 4K restoration completed in 2020', but after viewing the presentation last night I think that the end result isn't any different than what you would typically get from 'digital remastering', which involves a lot of cosmetic work. Here's why:

Despite some better exposed grain, it is very easy to tell that the density levels are not optimal. They are good, but a proper 4K master struck from the OCN would produce vastly different qualities, which are not present here. The previous releases shared a 4K master that was struck from a 35mm release print, which means that it has native limitations, one of which is less than optimal density levels, and I see the same limitation retained on this release (you can see very obvious examples in screencaptures 1, 5, 6 and 12). Quite predictably, depth isn't optimal either. There are a lot of areas where it looks pleasing, but once again it is easy to tell that it should be quite a bit better. Grain appears better exposed, particularly during the daylight footage, but the odd thing about it is that it actually makes it that much easier to realize that ideally the film should look better in 1080p -- and most certainly in native 4K, if a proper 4K master is struck from the OCN. There are no traces of problematic digital adjustments. Some color values look different here. My guess is that adjustments were made to rebalanace what was perceived not to look right on the previous two releases. I don't have an old DVD release of the film to produce any meaningful comparisons, and I don't know precisely how this release was graded. I noticed that blues are expanded in some areas (see screencapture #6), plus there are stronger browns in other areas (see screencapture #17). However, as it was the case on the previous releases, the film's dynamic range still fluctuates, so the overall balance isn't as good as it should be (see screencapture #11). Image stability is good. So, I think that the current presentation of the film is fine, and I also think that the other two releases offer serviceable presentations as well, but the definitive 4K master for this film is still missing. My score is 3.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B 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 LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The lossless track handles the original Mono track as well as it should. I did not do any direct comparisons with the lossless track from the Shout Factory release of Road Games because I don't think that there are any meaningful discrepancies between them. I think that they both use the same master source. Clarity, depth, and stability are very good.

Road Games Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original restored trailer for Road Games. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Kangaroo Hitchcock: The Making of Road Games - in this archival featurette, director Richard Franklin discusses his association with Alfred 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).

• Cast and Crew Interviews/Featurettes -
  
  1. Stacy Keach One - in this 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 in 2019, and initially appeared on Shout Factory's release of Road Games. In English, not subtitled. (14 min)
  
  2. Stacy Keach Two - in this audio interview, Stacy Keach 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 exclusively for Umbrella Entertainment in 2016. In English, not subtitled. (10 min).
  
  3. Richard Franklin One - in this archival featurette, director Richard Franklin discusses his early work and some of his stylistic preferences. The featurette also includes raw footage from the shooting of different films. The featurette was produced in 1981. In English, not subtitled. (26 min).
  
  4. Richard Franklin Two - 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 exclusively for Umbrella Entertainment in 2001. In English, not subtitled. (24 min).
  
  5. 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 exclusively for Umbrella Entertainment in 2016. In English, not subtitled. (33 min).
  
  6. Not Quite Hollywood: Interview Excerpts - presented here are excerpts from interviews conducted by director Mark Hartley for his documentary Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! (2008). Jamie Lee Curtis, Stacy Keach, director/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).

• Road Games: A Lecture - 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).

• Neil Sinyard: Trouble Ahead - in this new featurette, critic Neil Sinyard discusses the style and tone of Road Games. In English, not subtitled. (13 min).

• 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).

• Image Galleries -
  
  1. Gallery One - promotional stills and posters.
  2. Gallery Two - promotional guide and test screening report.

• And His Ghost May Be Heard - this short film about a hobo visiting Melbourne was directed by Richard Franklin in 1973. With optional English subtitles. (16 min).

• 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.

• Audio Commentary Three - this new audio commentary was recorded by critics Anna Bogutskaya and Olivia Howe in 2020.

• Book - 80-page book with a new essay by Lee Gambin, extensive archival interviews with Richard Franklin, Stacy Keach and Jamie Lee Curtis, Franklin's 1980 Alfred Hitchcock obituary, an overview of contemporary critical responses, Mark Hartley on ...And His Ghost May Be Heard, and film credits.

• Poster - exclusive double-sided poster.

Road Games Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Stacy Keach plays an eccentric truck driver who gets in a lot of trouble after he heads to Perth to deliver a large load of meat in this noirish thriller from the late Australian director Richard Franklin. I think that the story has some flaws that could have been avoided, but Road Games is a fine genre film that deserves its cult status. This upcoming release from Indicator/Powerhouse Films gathers all of the good bonus features that have been produced for the film. It also offers a slightly different technical presentation of the film, but I think that the definitive 4K master that is needed to make it look as it should is still missing. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.