The Driver Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.5

The Driver Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 16, 2022

Walter Hill's "The Driver" (1978) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal. The supplemental features on the release include two exclusive new programs with the director; an alternate opening; original trailer for the film; and thirteen original teasers. In English, with optional English SDH, German, and French subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

The Driver

The Driver (Ryan O'Neal, Love Story) pulls in front of a busy casino. A few minutes later, two masked men jump in his car and they disappear into the night. The cops quickly track down The Driver and begin chasing him. He drives like a maniac but does not utter a single word.

The Detective (Bruce Dern, After Dark, My Sweet) is obsessed with The Driver. He admires his professionalism and wants to be the man that puts The Driver behind bars. It does not matter how as long as he is the one that does it.

After the chase, The Detective attempts to frame The Driver, but The Player (Isabelle Adjani, Queen Margot), who has been hired to be a 'witness' during the casino robbery, can’t identify him. The Detective goes berserk. Eventually, he comes up with a clever plan that should get him his man.

Meanwhile, The Driver is informed by The Connection (Ronee Blakley, TV's Vega$) that some serious men want to hire him. The men are planning a big job and need the best driver in the business. The Driver trusts The Connection and agrees to meet them. The men annoy The Driver, but he agrees to do the job. Then things go terribly wrong.

Walter Hill’s The Driver has the look of an edgy action film and the style of a modern noir picture. It knows exactly where it wants to go and it is confident that it can get there without disappointing. The end result is something very special, a classy macho film that looks even better now than it did in the late '70s.

In his review for The New York Times the late Vincent Canby argued that The Driver is "singularly unexciting and uninvolving", but he simply did not get the film. The Driver is not about avoiding cliches, it is about driving straight through them and unapologetically having fun with them. This, I assure you, the film does exceptionally well.

The cast is first-class. O’Neal's loner is every bit as charismatic as Steve McQueen’s Frank Bullitt. One reason why is that he rarely talks, another is because he looks great in a worn-out suit. Dern’s detective is appropriately aggressive and obnoxious, very much the type of guy a law-breaker would want to kick in the teeth. Adjani is fantastic as the mysterious beauty that is ready to take all sorts of different risks if she is paid well. Blakley, who had impressed in Robert Altman’s Nashville, also does not disappoint as The Driver’s business partner.

Director Hill and cinematographer Philip H. Lathrop (The Cincinnati Kid) shot The Driver on location in Los Angeles, but in the film the city is never identified. The chase sequences are some of the very best shot for a film of this caliber.

The excellent soundtrack was composed by Michael Small (Klute, The Parallax View). The music blends elements of psychedelia and jazz and very effectively enhances the film’s neo-noir qualities.

Note: StudioCanal’s Blu-ray release of The Driver contains the film’s uncut version, which is approximately two minutes longer than the U.S. version.

The Driver 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, The Driver arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal.

The comments included below were also used in our review of the 4K Blu-ray release of The Driver. They are reposted here because they address very specific discrepancies and similarities between the new 1080p, native 4K, and older 1080p presentations of The Driver.

***

If you have been on this site for a few years, you probably already know that The Driver is one of my three all-time favorite films. I have owned it in every single home video format and have never regretted upgrading as technology evolved. I always wanted to have the best physical copy of it in my library. (I am sorry. I do not do streaming and have zero interest in any non-physical media ownership options. If I don't have a copy of the film on my shelf, then I do not own it). So, I could hardly wait to receive StudioCanal's new 4K Blu-ray release of The Driver. This release is sourced from a new 4K master that was prepared after the film was fully restored in 4K. StudioCanal's previous Blu-ray release from 2014 was sourced from a different master.

I am going to address the native 4K and 1080p presentations separately, but before I do I would like to mention a couple of things about the quality of the restoration work that was done. The people that restored The Driver in 4K did some very, very careful work. I know the film like the palm of my hand and I could immediately tell that the restoration was not a rushed project. Simply put, this project is worlds apart from the recent 4K makeovers of Raw Deal and King Kong.

4K BLU-RAY DISC

Before I went to the native 4K presentation, I tested various sections of the 1080p presentation. Later, I went back and viewed the entire film in 1080p without interruptions because I wanted to be very comfortable with my assessment of the 4K makeover. In native 4K with HDR, the film looks exceptionally vibrant and simply immaculate. The fluidity of the visuals is incredible and the few bumps that are present on the previous 1080p presentations are virtually impossible to detect, so if you have a very large screen, I have to assume that this type of quality will make you very, very happy. Grain appears better exposed in 1080p and native 4K, but in native 4K, the visuals resemble those of the previous 1080p presentation. Why? Because in native 4K the visuals tighten up quite a bit and on the previous 1080p presentation the grain isn't as nicely exposed. This is one of the main benefits of the new 4K makeover. Unfortunately, the superior grain exposure does not translate into superior detail. I went back and forth looking for noticeable improvements in detail and I think that the previous 1080p presentation produces virtually the same excellent detail. However, on the new 4K makeover there is very mild crushing that is visible in native 4K and 1080p. It is not a lot but the film is lensed in a very particular manner, emphasizing thick shadows and restricted light(ing), so the difference could be easy to recognize. On the other hand, it is very oddly distributed, meaning that it is not consistent. In fact, numerous sequences look better in native 4K and 1080p on the new 4K makeover. I went back and forth multiple times to be absolutely sure that this was what I was seeing on my system, and it was. What about the color grading? It is extremely similar to the one from the previous 1080p presentations. There are a few areas where in native 4K with HDR I felt that it might be a tad too aggressive, but the long chase at the beginning of the film, the tunnel footage, and the final cat-and-mouse game in the warehouse look absolutely incredible. I have seen this film projected in 35mm multiple times in years past and what I saw in these sequences looked outstanding. It is just that in some darker areas I felt that in native 4K and 1080p the blacks crush a bit. What are some specific color discrepancies that I noticed? Reds are a tad cooler and browns just a tad weaker, while some of the blues appear a tad too aggressive pushing toward but not evolving into cyan on the new 4K makeover. Again, I think that the people that graded the 4K makeover wanted to make it look very convincing. Image stability is outstanding. My score is 4.75/5.00.

BLU-RAY DISC

I viewed the entire film in 1080p a day after I viewed it in native 4K. I could immediately tell that a new master was used to source it, and the stability of the visuals was rather impressive. However, the difference in the dynamic range of the visuals between 1080p and native 4K is pretty big. Also, virtually all of the random light crushing that I mentioned above is much easier to recognize in 1080p. The older 1080p presentation has a slightly more dated appearance, but after multiple comparisons, I can categorically state that it provides a more satisfying and convincing presentation of the film on my system. Sometimes it is a touch of red or blue that looks a little more accurate to my eyes, and sometimes it is just the background shadows that appear more even. The difference is very small, but I can spot it. (To give you an idea about the tiny things I notice, I would like to mention the Pontiac emblem in screencapture #1. I think that it is a tad more accurate on the old 1080p presentation). My score is 4.75/5.00.

The Driver Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are three standard audio tracks on this release: English LPCM 2.0., French LPCM 2.0, and German LPCM. Optional English SDH, French, and German subtitles are provided for the main feature.

As you already know, I did various comparisons while preparing this article. On my system, right from the get-go, as The Driver comes up the elevator, the audio sounded a bit clearer. During the car chases and action, it sounded really sharp, too, The difference was nowhere near what I would call dramatic, but I noticed it because the claustrophobic music also benefits. So, I am going to speculate here that the audio was newly transferred and most likely has some new work done on it. I did not encounter any anomalies to report in our review.

The Driver Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Masterclass with Walter Hill - in this exclusive new program, Walter Hill discusses the early stages of his career and specifically his work as a screenwriter as well as the craft of filmmaking. Mr. Hill also has some very interesting observations about the type of music he favors in his films and its significance in shaping their mood, tone, and drama, as well as the tremendous impact Seven Samurai had on him and his love for westerns. In English, not subtitled. (15 min).

• Interview with Walter Hill - in this new exclusive program, Walter Hill explains how the original idea for The Driver materialized and what it was like to work on the screenplay for it and its eventual production. There are some particularly interesting comments about the generic names the main characters received and how they were used by the critics to declare that The Driver was a deeply flawed film, as well as the casting of Isabelle Adjani. (Tuesday Weld was initially considered for the same part). Mr. Hill even shares a good story about his 'difficult' relationship with Charles Bronson after the completion of Hard Times. In English, not subtitled. (31 min).

• Alternate Opening - in English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Trailer - original trailer for The Driver. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Teasers - thirteen original teasers for The Driver. In English, not subtitled. (7 min).

• Poster - mini-poster for the new 4K restoration of The Driver.

The Driver Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

My impression is that the people that completed the 4K restoration of The Driver were very careful to preserve its native qualities, which is precisely how a proper film makeover should be handled. Unsurprisingly, there is a lot to like in the new 1080p presentation of The Driver that StudioCanal's new Blu-ray release offers. However, The Driver is one of my three all-time favorite films and there are a few tiny inconsistencies on the new makeover that I would have liked addressed before I fall in love with it. It is why I prefer the previous, slightly dated-looking presentation of the film from StudioCanal's original Blu-ray release from 2014. This release has two exclusive new programs with Walter Hill in which he discusses his career in the film industry and the conception and production of The Driver. I thought that both were outstanding. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.