7.5 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Master thief Doc McCoy knows his wife has been in bed with the local political boss in order to spring him from jail. What he can't know is the sinister succession of double-crosses that will sour the deal once he's on the outside - and executing the ultimate robbery. Fasten your seat belts and join Steve McQueen and Ali MacGraw in a supreme action thriller based on Jim Thompson's novel. Sam Peckinpah directed, filming on locations across Texas and in sequence - from the opening inside Hunstville State Prison to the explosive El Paso border climax. Once The Getaway starts, there's no escaping its breathless intensity.
Starring: Steve McQueen (I), Ali MacGraw, Ben Johnson, Sally Struthers, Al LettieriDrama | 100% |
Crime | 63% |
Heist | 17% |
Action | Insignificant |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.38:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby Digital Mono (192 kbps)
French: Dolby Digital Mono
Spanish: Dolby Digital Mono
BDInfo verified. French & Spanish tracks are also (192kbps)
English, French, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 2.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Between Bonnie and Clyde, Badlands, Wild at Heart, and The Getaway—along with a score of others, both memorable and lost to time—Hollywood has made a genre out of lovers on the lam from the law. Part road movie, part romance, and part crime caper, these films present love as a literal and figurative journey, fraught with physical and emotional dangers. Director Sam Peckinpah, master of the deviant Western, turned his attentions to one such story at a time when his career desperately needed a box-office hit. The result was The Getaway, a film that seems glossier and less artistically tempered than his other works, but is nevertheless an effective thriller that plays with and against some of the director’s well-noted stylistic trademarks. The movie also launched the real-life romance of its stars, Steve McQueen and Ali McGraw, and the media buzz surrounding their behind-the-scenes affair hyped the film for audiences and gave the two lovebirds temporary claim to the title of Hollywood’s couple de jour.
Ouch, that hurt!
Released on Blu-ray day-and-date with McQueen's Bullitt, and I found The Getaway's 1080p, VC-1 encoded transfer to be the cleaner, more vibrant, and better detailed of the two. The title shows its age with the occasional smattering of specks and dust on the print, but looks otherwise stunning in the upgrade to HD. Look at the scene when Doc and Carol go to the park—the greens of the foliage are vibrant, skin tones looks warm and healthy, if a little reddish, and black levels are deep enough to give the image some pop but not so crushed as to ink out the fine details on McQueen's dark suit. Sure, there are a handful of little PQ issues—the occasional washed out shots, a few instances of contrast wavering, and an overall image that's a bit soft by today's standards—but The Getaway looks great for 37 year-old catalog title. There are only two shots that stand out as particularly awful—both of trains going by—and they're so grainy and wobbly that I'm convinced they must be either archival footage or film shot by a second-unit that was both pressed for time and running out of light. These are less than one second shots though, and the film as a whole is quite nice in 1080p.
While The Getaway looks great, its monaural Dolby Digital 1.0 track sounds unfortunately less than stunning. It's not a bad mono mix—I've heard far, far worse—but the track simply doesn't have the dynamic oomph to back-up the action onscreen. High-end sounds—like the prison factory's repetitive noises—are brash and tinny, and without a .1 LFE channel, bass is rendered thin and inert. Sound effects suffer frequently from a canned and compressed hollowness, particularly screeching tires, and gunshots are never as explosive as they ought to be. Still, dialogue is broadcast cleanly through the center channel, and Quincy Jones' harmonica-led shuffles sound sprightly, even if they could use some added dimensionality and heft.
Commentary by Nick Redman and Authors Paul Seydor, Garner Simmons, and David
Weddle
This spectacular commentary track is hosted by Nick Redman, who fields question after question
to a panel of veritable Peckinpah experts. The three writers provide critical dissection for just
about every scene in The Getaway, illuminating the director's intent and personal experiences
making the film, noting the tricks of the cinematic trade, and providing some extremely insightful
thematic discussion. Peckinpah buffs will learn loads, and even casual viewers will find this track
lively and full of relevant information.
Main Title 1M1: Jerry Fielding, Sam Peckinpah and The Getaway (SD,
29:56)
A reminiscence of the working relationship between Peckinpah and composer Jerry Fielding, this
half hour documentary features interviews with Fielding's wife and daughter, and Peckinpah's
former assistant. While all three women have some funny and sometimes insightful stories about
the volatile relationship that the director and composer had, this feature runs a little long and
gets boring far before they even begin to discuss The Getaway. It doesn't help that the
feature looks like it was shot on consumer-grade SD camcorders.
1972 Reel 1 - "Virtual" Audio Commentary (SD, 10:36)
Using audio from a variety of interviews with Sam Peckinpah, Steve McQueen, and Ali McGraw,
this is a cobbled-together "virtual" commentary of the film's first ten minutes. While it's a nice
inclusion—I really can't get enough McQueen and Peckinpah—the discussion is interesting
enough that I was a let down when it ended so soon.
The Bank Robbery Sequence with Jerry Fielding Score (SD, 9:19)
This allows you to view the robbery sequence with Jerry Fielding's original score, and with full
dialogue and effects. The track is more traditionally symphonic, and I have to say I'm glad they
went with Quincy Jones' funkier sound.
Jerry Fielding Alternate Score
This lets you watch the entire film with Fielding's score, which was replaced at the last minute by
music from Quincy Jones, at Steve McQueen's behest. Do note that this is just the score and the
visuals—no dialogue or sound effects have been added.
Trailers (SD, 16:02 total)
Includes trailers for The Getaway, Ride the High Country, The Wild
Bunch, The Ballad of Cable Hogue, and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid.
As far as Steve McQueen vehicles go, The Getaway is, in my opinion at least, a far better film than the flashy but sometimes incoherent Bullitt. The action is edited well, the story is intelligible and interesting, and the performances—with the minor exception of Ali McGraw's—are tight and memorable. The film looks great on Blu-ray, and though its 1.0 audio offering is a little weak, I have no problem recommending The Getaway to McQueen and Peckinpah fans— who have probably snapped this one up already—and to anyone interested in 1970's cinema in general.
2013
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Import
1978
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Part 2 / Mesrine: L'ennemi public n°1
2008
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40th Anniversary Edition
1975
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2K Remaster
1974
Filmmakers Signature Series | Remastered
1971
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