Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

White Line Fever Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 27, 2019

Jonathan Kaplan's "White Line Fever" (1975) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Swiss label Explosive Media. The supplemental features on the disc include vintage trailers for the film; exclusive documentary featuring screenwriter Ken Friedman; promotional materials from around the world; and more. In English, without optional English SDH or German subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Blue Mule

In the bonus section of this recent release of Jonathan Kaplan’s film White Line Fever there is an exclusive documentary that was produced by Eric Mache, Ulrich Bruckner and Ally Lamaj. A rather large segment of it is dedicated to a very interesting interview with Ken Friedman, who teaches film at New York University. I would like to highlight a few things that Mr. Friedman mentions in the interview because I wholeheartedly agree with him.

Back in the early ‘60s when Friedman was a lot younger, he came to NYU with the clear understanding that if a film wasn’t made in Europe, or perhaps England, it was trash. At the time, he was in love with the films of Jean-Luc Godard, Michelangelo Antonioni, and all the other big continental filmmakers that were praised by the critics, and he viewed their work as cinematic art. Naturally, not only he disliked all American films, but he considered them the very definition of the trash that he had been avoiding. (This is the exact term that Friedman uses multiple times in the interview). Then one day he enrolled in a class that Marty Scorsese was teaching and he turned his world upside down. Each week, Friedman was introduced to a classic American film that gradually made him realize that the things he loved seeing in the work of Truffaut and Godard, for instance, were actually done a lot earlier by Howard Hawks and John Ford, even Fritz Lang. So, it dawned on him that the Europeans, whose work he admired so much, were actually ‘borrowing’ a lot from a generation of American directors whose films he was completely unfamiliar with. At the time, Friedman and Kaplan were classmates, and it was during this illuminating period that the idea for White Line Fever emerged.

After spending a couple of years in the Air Force, Carrol Jo Hummer (Jan-Michael Vincent) returns home to Arizona and promptly marries his girl, Jerri (Kay Lenz). The two then use all of their savings to put a down payment on a Blue Mule so that CJ can begin working as an independent trucker. Shortly after, one of his father’s old business partners, Duane Huller (Slim Pickens), offers him a good-paying gig, but with slightly responsibilities -- in addition to transporting fruits and vegetables, CJ would have to do regular ‘favors’ for local hotshot Buck Wessle (the great L.Q. Jones), who deals with stolen slot machines and cigarettes. Even though he needs the money to start paying the bank that gave him the loan for the truck, CJ rejects Duane’s offer, which turns out to be a foolish move because it instantly earns him a ‘message’ from Buck’s boys that leaves him with a few broken ribs. But instead of reconsidering and accepting Duane’s offer, CJ vows to find a proper job and begins offering his services to other contractors in the area. However, he soon realizes that the same people that control Duane are also running the state’s entire trucking business. When he decides to expose them, all hell breaks loose.

According to Kaplan, White Line Fever materialized because of the success of his previous film, Truck Turner, which he made for AIP. A big boss at Columbia had read an article in Variety about the impressive box-office numbers it made in Detroit and Chicago and assumed that White Line Fever would be a similar project, not realizing of course that there were no trucks in Truck Turner. So, the boss did what needed to be done, Columbia cut a check for White Line Fever, and Kaplan went to work.

The film is essentially a contemporary western in which Vincent’s character faces a bunch of baddies, but instead of riding a horse, he drives a big truck. Rather predictably, all of the conflicts that emerge after he goes on the warpath are also constructed in a way that reminds of the classic westerns that the likes of John Sturges and Sam Peckinpah did. In fact, when Kaplan and Friedman were finalizing the script, they agreed that it would be a terrific idea if the film had the attitude of a Peckinpah project, which is why they brought on board old pros like Pickens, Jones, Dick Miller, and R.G. Armstrong.

The film oozes terrific energy and the action is very realistic. There is also a whiff of that light but very attractive cynicism that now makes so many of the action films that emerged during the late’60s and ‘70s look quite refreshing.

White Line Fever Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Jonathan Kaplan's White Line Fever arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Explosive Media.

The release is sourced from an older remaster that was prepared by Sony Pictures in the United States. However, the remaster is very good, and I think that the film looks lovely in high-definition. There are a few areas where a new remaster will undoubtedly strengthen existing nuances and improve shadow definition, and it is possible that with such a remaster grain exposure will be slightly better as well, but the overwhelming majority of these improvements will be cosmetic. Indeed, depth, clarity, and fluidity are already very good, and on a larger screen the visuals remain stable. There is one segment with small but noticeable density fluctuations which comes right after CJ heads to Utah, but I am quite confident that the unevenness is part of the original cinematography. The primary colors are healthy, stable and properly balanced, with equally decent supporting nuances. Background highlights never break down. Image stability is excellent. Lastly, there are no damage marks, debris, cuts, torn or warped frames to report. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).

White Line Fever Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and German DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English or German subtitles are not provided for the main feature.

The audio is clear and stable. It is also clean, especially in the upper register, where older films usually show some sort of deterioration. The dynamic intensity is convincing as well, though it is possible that some additional work could introduce some improvements. But I doubt it, because it is obvious to me that Sony Pictures already did a very solid remastering job.

White Line Fever Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

NOTE: All of the supplemental features on this Blu-ray release are perfectly playable on North American Blu-ray players, including the PS3.

• Trailer One - original U.S. trailer for White Line Fever. In English, not subtitled. (2 min, 480/60i).

• Trailer Two - original German trailer for White Line Fever. In German, not subtitled. (2 min, 480/60i).

• Trailers From Hell - in this vintage episode of Trailers From Hell, director Jonathan Kaplan quickly addresses the production history of White Line Fever. In English, with optional English and German subtitles. In German, not subtitled. (3 min, 1080p).

• Ken Friedman Discusses White Line Fever - in this exclusive documentary, writer Ken Friedman recalls his work with Jonathan Kaplan and discusses in great detail the production history of White Line Fever. The documentary was produced by Eric Mache, Ulrich Bruckner and Ally Lamaj for Explosive Media. In English, with optional English and German subtitles. (52 min, 480/60i).

• Still Gallery - a gallery of vintage promotional materials for White Line Fever from around the world. With music. (3 min, 1080p).

• Cover - reversible cover.

White Line Fever Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is unlikely that Michael Cimino was in any way inspired by White Line Fever when he started developing Year of the Dragon, but these two films are more or less the same -- they are contemporary westerns and their main protagonists are on pretty much identical missions. However, Jonathan Kaplan gives his film an American 'kitchen-sink' vibe that basically makes it look a lot more casual. It is a very fine film with some terrific performances by Jan-Michael Vincent and old pros like L.Q. Jones, Slim Pickens, and R.G. Armstrong. Explosive Media's release is sourced from a solid remaster that was prepared by Sony Pictures in the United States, and has a terrific exclusive interview with screenwriter Ken Friedman. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.