The Car Blu-ray Review

8th Jul 2013

Ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to introduce Arrow Video’s latest forgotten little 70s horror gem, The Car – available in high definition Blu-ray for the first time.

Director Elliott Silverstein (best known to this reviewer for directing Richard Harris in A Man Called Horse a few years before this), brings us ‘Jaws on wheels’. That’s right, it’s a little bit of Jaws, a little bit of The Omen, and a fair bit of Killdozer!, oh! and Duel of course.

So, to all you folks out there who are either too young to have seen this movie back in the day, or who may have forgotten it; here’s the skinny:

In a nutshell, it’s the story of a demonic driverless car that tears around a remote Utah town, and its surrounding desert canyon roads; being generally eeevil and devilish. The demon automobile appears like a big black spectre of doom day or night, and one by one reduces the town’s unsuspecting and disbelieving population by a fair few. No-one knows from whence it came, or if it is indeed the devil in car form or not. Some believe, some don’t.

Can the impoverished police department destroy it, or will the car survive to menace another unsuspecting town? The climax, and end credits are somewhat ambiguous about that.

Yeah you heard me, It’s a killer car that cannot enter hallowed ground y’all!

That’s pretty much it.

James Brolin heads up an impressive mid level cast that includes Ronnie Cox, Kathleen Lloyd, and a young John Rubenstein, as well as child actress Kim ‘Assault on Precinct 13‘ Richards (who, happily, does not get shockingly blown away this time).

The movie’s premise is a classic example of the ‘High Concept’ being a tremendously silly one, and yet nonetheless compelling. The vibe of verisimilitude established early on is, to be fair, somewhat snookered by such cinematic no no’s as the speeded up film technique of making vehicles seem like they’re going faster than they are. It was comedic and unconvincing then, and it hasn’t aged well in 2013. I don’t know who thought that the way to make a giant black devil car even more scary, is to occasionally make it move like it’s taking part in a Benny Hill chase (queue Yakety Sax theme music), but that guy needed firing. The Car is at its most effective, when the vehicle itself is allowed to just be a properly menacing and malevolent force. There’s a scene, for example (and I’ll try to be vague enough not to spoil it), where one of the characters enters his own garage to get some supplies, and turns round to discover the bloody great thing just sitting silently, right there next to him!

Anyway, the movie is unashamedly daft, but does a very good job of reigning in any violent bloody excess that could have been par for the course in someone else’s hands. It’s also notable that not a single one of the fatalities the car racks up, is allowed to be cheaply set up, or carried out on nameless characters who don’t fit in to the greater whole. The writers in fact, take the trouble to construct a decent framework of who everybody is, and (as it’s a small town), what the relationships are. Even characters who’s sole purpose is admittedly, to get creamed by the car (like John Rubenstein’s french horn playing hitchhiker), are afforded the kind of ‘pre-splat’ set up that makes them much more human for the viewer. Most movies with as nutty a premise as The Car wouldn’t bother with such things.

The design of the car itself has not aged as well as in other demented vehicle flicks. Spielberg’s own Duel, as well as Christine a few years later; both avoided the need to accentuate or embellish, what were real automobiles. Their power and drama manifest more subtly. The devil car in this movie, is quite heavily modified for the role, and while it still has a certain deranged charm; it’s perhaps a little too comic book evil looking to be taken seriously. However, we should keep reminding ourselves of the unashamedly ‘B’ movie basic premise, and understand that, being taken seriously was in some ways, out of the question from the get go.

So, movie aside, how does this Blu-ray release actually measure up?

Well, the most impressive thing about it, is most definitely the picture quality. Here at Filmwerk Towers, we have seen quite a few older movies from the 70s and 80s get the Blu-ray treatment. Practically every time, we have to preface whatever we say about the picture quality, with some kind of ‘look folks, it’s an old movie’ reality check. We will tell you that it’s just not fair to judge an old movie by the standards of a modern release, and one must instead evaluate it with a slightly altered sensibility. Things changed when Spielberg released the benchmark setting Jaws Blu-ray restoration a couple of years ago, as it became clear that it was indeed possible to restore an old movie to a quality level that competes with any modern release, and comfortably exceeds many. Jaws really is that good.

So, then we come to evaluate The Car, and once again, the goalposts seem to have been moved. This is a film that cannot possibly have had the restoration budget afforded to Jaws, or Blade Runner (my previous benchmark old movie Blu-ray release). Yet, I have to hold my hands up and say that the quality on show here is phenomenal.

No doubt, It helps that the film is beautifully shot, taking great advantage of some fantastic desert canyon, and high road locations. Many of the scenes look like they were captured in that amazing early morning/late afternoon light that photographers and cinematographers love so much. It’s shot in Anamorphic 235:1 too, which works amazingly well for the vistas showcased throughout. I can’t stress enough how impressive the clarity, detail and Hi-Def density, and vibrant colour is on this disc. Not to detract from the effort of the restorers, but my only conclusion is that the original print negative, or whatever source was used to create the HD transfer, must have been untouched since 1977, and stored beautifully. It really is a very impressive HD result, the likes of which, we can’t recall seeing before, on a release of this type. Very nice indeed, and a breath of fresh air to not have to excuse ultimate image quality on the grounds of it being an old movie.

Sound is unfortunately not quite as impressive; the film comes packing a par for the course lossless PCM Stereo 2.0 mix on board.

The extras:

As with most (if not all), of Arrow Video’s Blu-ray classic releases, this one comes with some much appreciated bonus content. Here’s a quick run-down (excuse the ‘car’ related pun).

1. Audio Commentary with director Elliott Silverstein – This is a major feather in the packages cap

2. Making a Mechanical Monster – 27 minute – making of with William Aldridge, focusing on the practical FX and stunts on the movie. Aldridge went on to be very successful, and work on many blockbuster movies. His time and enthusiasm in this documentary is a great asset.

3.Hitchhike To Hell – A ten or so minute interview with actor John Rubenstein on his role in the movie.

4. Trailer Commentary by director John Landis – A slightly odd inclusion, as most of what Landis says about the film in this short spot, is along the lines of ‘so bad it’s good’, and swerves a little to near to being actually disingenuous. Landis is always humorous though, and ultimately, I guess he likes the movie, else he wouldn’t be here!

5. Original Trailer

6. Easter Egg – I won’t spoil the surprise, but it’s easy to find and worth it when you do.

The retail package rounds things off with the now customary reversible outer sleeve, featuring original and brand new artwork, as well as an illustrated collector’s booklet featuring writings and interviews about the movie.

We see a lot of these types of Blu-ray releases come through our offices, and after a while you get a feel for what to expect from them. Most fit the expectation down to a tee i.e. decent hi-def transfer that is certainly good enough to take laurels from previous DVD releases, but not mind blowing in absolute terms. Add in a smattering of extras, usually with a half hour or (if very lucky), hour long making of, as the central component, and you’re good to go.

The Car, is a definite cut above. Here, you have an HD transfer that (as mentioned earlier), is absolutely cracking, plus a director’s commentary; surely the cornerstone of any decent collection of bonus features.

If I had to raise a niggle (and I always try to), it would be that the ‘making of’ documentary; while very good, could have been a full hour, and featured something from Brolin; just to really give the viewer a full belly.

That’s it though.

All in all then, a very impressive package, and one that is sure to serve the movie very well indeed for years to come.

If you’re a fan of bonkers high concept 70s movies….or just killer cars rampaging around mowing down unsuspecting pedestrians, you absolutely must have The Car in your collection.