Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		4.0

Trackdown Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 23, 2021

Richard T. Heffron's "Trackdown" 1976) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Scorpion Releasing. The supplemental features on the disc include vintage trailer and radio spots from the film's promotional campaign. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The outsider

It is not unreasonable to speculate that Paul Schrader might have gotten his inspiration for Hardcore after viewing Richard T. Heffron’s Trackdown. Both films enter the same dark places and use authentic footage to emphasize realism. Both films refuse to wrap up their stories with conventional optimistic messages as well. Trackdown came out in 1976, while Hardcore was released in 1979, so technically it is possible that Schrader was in fact influenced in some particular way. But it could very well be that these two films are not related at all, and the reason why they appear similar is the fact that they emerged in the same decade, which is when American auteurs reached their zenith.

Despite repeatedly being warned not to leave her family ranch in Montana, Betsy Calhoun (Karen Lamm) packs her bags, jumps on the bus, and eventually arrives in Los Angeles looking for a job and plenty of adventures. When a gang of local thieves steals her personal belongings and money, she befriends Chucho (Erik Estrada), another freelancing thief, who takes her to his place and quickly convinces her that the two were meant to be together. But hours later Chucho surrenders Betsy to the same thieves that left her penniless, and after they gang-rape her and sell her to a local pimp (Vince Cannon), her life permanently spins out of control.

Meanwhile, Betsy’s brother, Jim (James Mitchum), becomes seriously concerned that she has not phoned to let him know that her relocation has been successful, as previously agreed, and heads down to Los Angeles to find out what has happened to her. Once in the city, he teams up with social worker Lynn Strong (Cathy Lee Crosby), who begins showing him the places where young girls like his sister eventually end up working as prostitutes.

Large portions of the film utilize on-location footage that transforms it into a curious time capsule. Plenty of it is quite raw and fairly low-budget as well, so the sense of realism that emerges from it very quickly becomes a key quality of the drama. Heffron’s camera does not seem bothered by the ugly either, which makes some of the main events quite disturbing.

The film is unquestionably a team effort because there are too many vital contributions from secondary characters that shape its story in a very particular way, but Mitchum shines brighter than everyone else. Oddly, this is a somewhat deceptive description of Mitchum’s performance because he is actually very casual and often even rather stiff before the camera. It is hard to tell if he does everything by design, but the approach works perfectly because it certainly makes his character look like the genuine outsider the screenplay requires him to be.

The action is rough and violent, completely devoid of cinematic trickery as well. It moves quickly too. This is definitely by design because there are plenty of opportunities where Heffron could have transformed the film into a straightforward revenge thriller that would have emphasized a series of meaningless brawls and shootouts. But the action is just a minor segment of a human tragedy that easily could have been prevented.

Heffron used the services of cinematographer Gene Polito, who a few years earlier had lensed the excellent neo-noirish action thriller Prime Cut.

*Scorpion Releasing’s Blu-ray release of Trackdown is sourced from an exclusive new 2K master that was struck from an interpositive. In the United States, it is the first-ever home video release of the film that offers a proper widescreen presentation of it.

Trackdown Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Trackdown arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Scorpion Releasing.

The release is sourced from a new 2K master that was apparently struck from an interpositive. Generally speaking, the film looks slightly softer than it should, with most darker areas revealing consistent noticeable crushing as well. There is still plenty of good detail, but it is very easy to tell that ideally the film should have a richer and more nuanced appearance. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. Grain does fluctuate, but it does not appear manipulated. Again, all fluctuations and other similar inconsistencies are inherited limitations. Colors are stable and nicely balanced, but there is some room for improvement in terms of saturation and balance. Image stability is good, but there are a few shaky transitions. A couple of marks -- one of which is quite big -- and some dark spots pop up, but I did not find them distracting. 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).

Trackdown Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit). Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The dialog is clear and easy to follow. There are a few areas where it is a bit uneven, but a lot of footage was shot on-location with plenty of external sounds and noises left as they are. The upper register is healthy, but I think that there is some room for optimizations. There are no audio dropouts, pops, or distortions to report in out review.

Trackdown Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for Trackdown. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Radio Spots - a couple of vintage radio spots for Trackdown. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Cover - reversible cover with vintage poster art for Trackdown.

Trackdown Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Trackdown is a very solid acquisition for Scorpion Releasing. It is a raw old-school action thriller that does all the things these types of genre films need to do to appear legit. Because it was shot with a modest budget and on location in LA, it is an intriguing time capsule as well. It is a team effort, not a one-man show, but James Mitchum is undoubtedly its star. I loved it. The release we have reviewed here is sourced from a good exclusive new 2K master. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.