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The Getaway Release Date: February 27, 2007 Studio: Warner Home Video Packaging/Materials: Standard single-disc HD DVD case Year: 1972 Rating: PG Running Time: 2h03m Video (Feature): 1080p HD 16x9 2.40:1 (mislabeled 1.85:1) Audio (Feature): Dolby Digital Plus: English 1.0, French 1.0, Spanish 1.0 Video (Special Features): 480i or 480p SD Audio (Special Features): Stereo and mono Subtitles: English, French, Spanish MSRP: $28.99 The Feature: 3/5 Notorious bank robber "Doc" alt=" " /> Though the relationship story adds a dimension atypical of heist/chase films, the material feels overly familiar in this age of infidelity and jealous husband subplots and tends to make the film drag. The worse subplot is Rudy's as he tries to catch up to McCoy and Carol. Along the way he takes hostage a veterinarian and his wife Fran (Sally Struthers), who turns out to be every husband's nightmare, unhesitatingly becoming Rudy's lover and whipping post. Ultimately this darkly comic and disturbing scenario felt like just one too many irons in the fire, and ultimately infuriating with Struthers's pathetic and hysterical character. What saves the film - or at least keeps it from getting a "2" - is that it is a Sam Peckinpah film, meaning action, suspense, and even love scenes are filmed and especially edited to the greatest emotional effect. And that is ultimately enough to recommend viewing "The Getaway" at least once. Video Quality: 3.5/5 "The Getaway" looks very good with scenes set in the Texas outdoors and in the often evenly lit indoor environments like the bank, prison and various motels. The picture is adequately detailed, bright and sharp in these scenes, with only occasional moments of softness in the picture as a whole. The most problematic or inconsistent aspect of the transfer is shadow detail. McQueen is often dressed in black and rarely can there be seen any more than the black shape of his clothing with a bit of highlighting along the edges. Dimly lit environments like basements and alleys also tend to be on the murky side. Color and fleshtones are deeply saturated, though not unnaturally so. There are also no signs of dust, dirt, print damage or edge halos. Overall a decent but not great transfer. Audio Quality: 4/5 The single channel Dolby Digital Plus audio track is firmly planted in the center channel and simply does its job, unremarkable but effective. Dialogue, sound effects and score are clear and intelligible with no moments of strain or distortion. Special Features: 3.5/5 Commentary by Peckinpah biographers/documentarians Nick Redman, Paul Seydar, Garner Simmons and David Weddle: The four men engage in an interesting and free flowing conversation about the film's technical and story elements, Peckinpah's filmmaking style and interaction between cast and crew. Recommended. Main Title 1M1 Jerry Fielding, Sam Peckinpah and The Getaway (29m54s): Documentary consists of interviews with Fielding's widow Camille, daughter Elizabeth and Peckinpah's female companion Katy Haber talking about Fielding and his relationship with Peckinpah. Archival audio clips used in the production have some serious low bass tones for whatever reason. "Virtual" Reel 1 Commentary by Steve McQueen, Ali MacGraw and Sam Peckinpah (10m36s): Archival audio interviews laid over the first 10 minutes of the film. Most of the content is standard promotional fare. Reel 4 Bank Robbery Sequence with Alternate Jerry Fielding Score (9m18s): Viewers get a peek at what might have been. Sam Peckinpah Movie Trailer Gallery (16m01s): Includes trailers for the "The Getaway," "Ride the High Country," "The Wild Bunch," "The Ballad of Cable Hogue," and "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid." The first, third and last films are 16x9. The rest are either full frame or matted widescreen 4:3. All are HD, though none are really in the original aspect ratio or in the best shape. Isolated Jerry Fielding Alternate Score: I can only see the most devoted Fielding fan sitting through this as the music cues are few and far between and there is no other sound between those moments. In fact, there is no music until 10 minutes into the film. Fielding would have been better served by separating out each scene as was done for the bank robbery sequence. Personally I preferred Quincy Jones's replacement score to Fielding's somewhat jovial and country influenced work. Recap and Final Thoughts The Feature: 3/5 Video Quality: 3.5/5 Audio Quality: 3/5 Special Features: 3.5/5 Overall Score (not an average): 3/5 A master filmmaker saves a so-so heist story. Average audio and video quality and special features don't really help its cause, but it remains recommended at least as a rental. Equipment: Toshiba 42" CRT RPTV fed a 1080i signal over component from a Toshiba HD-A1 HD DVD player. Audio evaluation is based on an Onkyo TX-SR575x 5.1 AVR running JBL S26 mains and surrounds, JBL S-Center, and BFD-equalized SVS 20-39 PCi subwoofer. Audio connection from the HD-A1 is via the multichannel analog outputs.
