Jason Perez
Second Unit
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2003
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The Sugarland Express
Studio: Universal
Year: 1974
Rated: PG
Running Time: 110 minutes
Aspect Ratio: Anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1)
Captions: English
Subtitles: French and Spanish
Audio: English – Monaural (2.0)
Release Date:
August 17th, 2004
Based (loosely?) on events that transpired in Texas during 1969, Steven Spielberg’s debut as a director of feature films chronicles a few days in the life of a female ex-con, Lou Jean Poplin (Goldie Hawn). During this time, Lou Jean springs her husband Clovis (William Atherton – yes, the very same guy that played the a-hole in both Ghostbusters and Die Hard) from prison, in what seems like the easiest prison break ever, so they can attempt to take back their young son Langston from a foster family that was granted full custody of him.
Lou Jean’s plan, if she ever had one, is not very well thought out though, for shortly into their journey, she steals an older couple’s car, and then complicated the situation worse by commandeering a police car, along with its driver, State Trooper Maxwell Slide (Michael Sacks). Carjacking a regular Joe would have been bad enough, but after this foolish action, the Poplins receive massive amounts of unwanted attention from the media circus, what seems like the entire law enforcement community of Texas, and even excited citizens, some of them vigilantes who try to join in on the action!
To be sure, some of these folks, even the Trooper Slide, who is being held captive by the Poplins, can relate to the couple’s desire to be with their child. Unfortunately, the criminal way in which the couple has gone about trying to reunite with their boy forces the lawmen to do their duty, and bring them to justice. As the situation unfolds, Captain Harlin Tanner (Ben Johnson), who is in charge of the pursuit, continually tries to negotiate with the Poplins, in hopes of bringing them in alive and unharmed. However, as his efforts to get them to surrender prove futile, the future begins to look grimmer for Lou Jean and Clovis with each passing moment. Will they make it to Sugarland for the reunion with baby Langston, or will the trip come to a premature and tragic end?
It seems as though audiences really didn’t want to know the answers to those questions, for even though it was warmly received by critics, and lauded at the Cannes Film Festival, The Sugarland Express floundered somewhat at the box office. Perhaps audiences were not attracted to the film because it is somewhat dark, and does not have the happiest of endings, but whatever the reason, Steven Spielberg’s feature debut only managed to sell tickets to the tune of about $7.5 million.
Okay, so the film was not a runaway hit, but sometimes a film’s box-office take is not what really matters. The important thing about The Sugarland Express is that not only was it a good movie that gets better with each successive viewing, but it provides evidence that even at the outset of his filmmaking career, Spielberg’s directorial skills were finely honed, especially in terms of his ability to develop characters and get the very best out of his actors. In particular, Goldie Hawn is arguably as good in The Sugarland Express as she has ever been in a feature film, and her co-stars William Atherton, Michael Sacks, and Ben Johnson are almost as great.
Spielberg’s ability to craft memorable and interesting looking scenes in his films is also on display here (I just love the shot of the two motorcycle cops riding into the sunset!). Filmed completely on location in Texas, The Sugarland Express features wonderful cinematography by Vilmos Zsigmond, which adds a great deal of richness to Spielberg’s film. And finally, this film marked the first in a long series of collaborations between Spielberg and musical genius John Williams.
Most impressively, despite the fact that Steven Spielberg is not on camera, he steals the show! As the picture plays on, you can sense his influence on the characters, and especially on the cinematography, which seems to match the story perfectly. It really is a fine first effort, which stands now as a precursor to the indelible impact that Steven Spielberg has had on motion pictures. While I do not have the same fondness for Sugarland Express that I do for Duel, it will still have a well-deserved spot in my film collection!
SO, HOW DOES IT LOOK?
Finally making its way to DVD, The Sugarland Express is presented in an anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) transfer that looks nearly as good as the young Goldie Hawn did! Although exhibiting a bit of the typical 70’s fade, colors are reproduced very accurately, without any evidence of chroma noise or dot crawl. The same holds true for skin tones, which are quite natural in appearance. Blacks are also deep and true, so detail in the film’s shadows is brought out nicely.
Happily, the source print used is also quite clean, possessing no major print damage to detract from the film, although some light grain and a nominal number of specks are visible throughout (particularly early on). Likewise, although I would not say it is excellent, fine detail is above average, often extending into the background of a given scene. Just as importantly, the image is virtually free of digital signatures and edge enhancement, which makes the presentation very film-like.
For a work of this age, this is a very respectable effort, and I cannot imagine that it will lead to much disappointment!
WHAT IS THAT NOISE?
For a monaural Dolby Digital (2.0) presentation of a 30-year-old film, the source material sounded quite good. Obviously, the soundstage was fairly restrictive, but this never became a problem or distraction. In fact, in addition to the faithful, clear reproduction of dialogue, John Williams’ wonderful score exhibited a fairly flat frequency response and better instrument separation than most monaural tracks offer.
Sounds effects, like gunshots, shattering glass, and screeching tires are also reproduced commendably, never becoming harsh or fatiguing. Of course, they do not have the fullness and outright impact that effects in the surround mixes of today have, but for what they are, the presentation is fine.
It is not reference quality, but overall I have to say that this monaural track is better than I expected it would be, and it does a fine job of recreating the sounds of the Poplin’s fateful journey to Sugarland!
EXTRAS, EXTRAS!!!
Theatrical Trailer
The shabby-looking, artifact filled theatrical trailer for The Sugarland Express is included.
SCORE CARD
(on a five-point scale)
Movie: :star: :star: :star: :star: 1/2
Video: :star: :star: :star: :star:
Audio: :star: :star: :star: :star:
Extras: :star:
Overall: :star: :star: :star: :star:
THE LAST WORD
Well acted, technically sound, and superbly directed, The Sugarland Express proved to be a very solid first feature for Steven Spielberg. More importantly, it offers evidence of the immense directorial and storytelling talent Mr. Spielberg possessed before he became world famous with Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial, among others.
In terms of extras, this disc is a disappointment, as all that we get is the theatrical trailer. However, the anamorphically enhanced image is a pleasure to behold, and the monaural (2.0) soundtrack presents the source material, especially John Williams’ score, in a pretty good fashion. For these reasons, even though it is not the offering I was hoping for, I recommend picking The Sugarland Express up anyway. Simply put it is a good enough film to warrant repeat viewings!
Stay tuned…