7.7 | / 10 |
Users | 4.3 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
In Los Angeles, a mysterious getaway driver becomes the latest assignment for a tenacious detective.
Starring: Ryan O'Neal, Bruce Dern, Isabelle Adjani, Ronee Blakley, Matt ClarkDrama | 100% |
Crime | 32% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
Music: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Two of the best remembered car chases in film occur in 1968’s Bullitt and 1971’s The French Connection. Maybe by 1978 audiences thought they had already seen it all in terms of spectacularly staged dueling automobile sequences, which might be one reason Walter Hill’s The Driver never made much of an impact on stateside audiences, at least with regard to those who are adrenaline junkies living on the vicarious thrills of watching various high speed maneuvers in a variety of muscle cars (and trucks) marauding through urban landscapes. But there are probably at least a few more salient reasons that Hill’s film was largely overlooked at the time of its release. Much like one of Hill’s other overlooked seventies’ outings, Hard Times, The Driver features a laconic hero who is in many ways a complete cipher, an empty vessel waiting for each individual viewer to fill with self- supplied content. In fact The Driver’s main character, known not so coincidentally only as The Driver (Ryan O’Neal) is so taciturn he makes Charles Bronson’s character in Hard Times seem like a veritable Chatty Cathy (or whatever the male version of that doll might be called) by comparison. Hill is dealing in types rather than traditional characters in The Driver, and so along with O’Neal’s titular individual, we also have The Detective (Bruce Dern), The Player (Isabelle Adjani), and The Connection (Ronee Blakely). These people exist almost as spectral entities, there to serve the plot and not to experience any of the much ballyhooed “arcs” that are a staple of Screenwriting 101 classes. That may in fact be the major reason The Driver failed to connect with American audiences. It’s a kind of semi-convoluted caper film without the benefit of a sympathetic character to root for and with a cool, detached tone that only really explodes during some incredible car chase sequences.
The Driver is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Twilight Time with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. This is yet another really great looking high definition master licensed to Twilight Time by Fox. The film is incessantly dark, with the bulk of the action taking place at night or in dim interiors, and it's my hunch that Hill and cinematographer Philip H. Lathrop intentionally push processed large swaths of this outing, for there is both remarkable shadow detail as well as pretty overwhelming grain at times and the slightly gauzier look that uprating usually engenders. Colors are vivid and very accurate looking and the image is stable and precise. There's one quite odd insert of a skyline where a bizarre effulgent blue glow overtakes the right side of the image (see screenshot 12). I'm frankly not sure if this is another example of the pushed quality of much of this film, but it's an unusual, transitory anomaly in an otherwise well detailed presentation. The elements are in very good condition, with no overt damage to report.
The Driver's original mono mix is delivered by a perfectly adequate DTS-HD Master Audio Mono outing. Things get a bit crowded sounding in the big chase set pieces, where a glut of screeching tires, police sirens, and even occasional lines of dialogue tend to overlap each other in a bit of cacophony. The bulk of the film, however, offers clear dialogue and an excellent representation of Michael Small's ultra-cool score.
The Driver has had a perhaps unexpected influence on subsequent films and filmmakers, as evidenced by homages to it in some Quentin Tarantino outings as well as the either intentionally or unintentionally similar Drive. This is not a film that will engender strong feelings of connection with the characters, as even Hill seems to be admitting by refusing to give them names. But the story is taut and compelling and Hill stages it all with a great deal of finesse. Dern is a standout as the conceited, obsessed cop, and O'Neal is surprisingly effective in an almost wordless role. This Blu-ray features great video and audio and comes Highly recommended.
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