Lets look at Red Line 7000 . By 1965, Howard Hawks had already established himself as one of Hollywood’s greatest directors of the 20th Century. Starting in the Silent Era of Hollywood – after serving as a lieutenant in the Signal Corps during World War I – Hawks established himself as a reliable director adept in many genres with his trademark laconic style that lent itself well to his many films; among his finest films include Scarface (1932), Bringing Up Baby (1938), Only Angels Have Wings (1939), His Girl Friday (1940), Red River (1948) and Rio Bravo (1959), just to name a few. With Red Line 7000, the famed director decided to rely on a cast of mostly newcomers, a couple of which would go on have lengthy careers. Previously released on Blu-ray by Kino, Arrow Video has licensed the movie from Paramount for a Limited Edition Blu-ray release.
The Production: 3.5/5
For the drivers on Pat Kazarian’s (Norman Alden) racing team, their sport and their private lives go at three speeds: fast, faster and fastest. However, after the Daytona 500 race leaves Kazarian with one less driver – Jim Loomis dying in a fatal car crash – Mike Marsh (James Caan) consoles Jim’s fiancée Holly (Gail Hire) as he starts to move up the ladder in the racing world. But his rising star is challenged by a newcomer to the team, Dan McCall (Skip Ward) – who arrives from France along with his girlfriend Gabrielle Queneau (Marianna Hill) – whose womanizing ways provoke Mike to make a fateful decision that may just wreck more than his career…
In many ways, Red Line 7000 follows the formula that Howard Hawks relied on over his career, but here the famed director steps slightly out of his comfort zone compared to his previous films. First of all, the director is relying more on the talents of his predominantly up-and-coming cast to help sell George Kirgo’s story of life in the fast lane on the racing circuit; among those talents here are James Caan and George Takei, the latter of which would soon become immortalized in pop culture as Mr. Sulu on the iconic TV series Star Trek. The racing sequences – consisting of both stock footage and sequences guided under the film’s second unit director Bruce Kessler – are top notch and capture the thrill of pushing the vehicles to the limit; veteran cinematographer Milton R. Krasner deserves much of the credit for establishing the film’s visual style and atmosphere. However, the film’s main flaw here that Kirgo’s multi-layered script is let down by a mostly ambivalent nature of the performances from the cast, never truly letting us get to care for the characters in the story; Hawks’ direction is solid as usual, but he can only do so much to keep the proceedings from falling into second gear (however, the off-track drama isn’t as soapy or pretentious like Grand Prix, which came shortly after this movie). In the end though, Red Line 7000 hems closely to the Hawks formula of action and drama as a catalyst for examining the roles that we play in certain situations while also capturing the excitement of the sport of race car driving (which was popular for moviemaking at this time).
In addition to the aforementioned Caan and Takei, some of the more notable cast members here include John Robert Crawford (in his only film role) as young racer Ned Arp, character actor Norman Alden as racing team owner Pat Kazarian, Skip Ward as the hotshot Dan McCall, Marianna Hill as Dan’s girlfriend Gabrielle Queneau, Gail Hire – also in her only film role – as Mike’s girlfriend (and former fiancée to the ill-fated Jim Loomis) Holly, Charlene Holt as Southern debutante Lindy Bonaparte, and Carol Conners (who penned two songs for the movie, “Wildcat Jones” and “Prudence Pim of the PTA”) as waitress, Teri Garr as a nightclub go-go dancer and Robert Donner as Leroy; see if you can spot Howard Hawks and Jerry Lewis as drivers while Michele Carey was cast in the film, but her part was deleted from the final cut.
Video: 4/5
3D Rating: NA
The film – presented here in its 110-minute re-release form – is presented in its original 1:85:1 aspect ratio, taken from an HD transfer previously used for the 2017 Kino Blu-ray release, but given some additional cleanup work by Arrow Films. Film grain, fine details and color palette are all presented faithfully with minimal cases of scratches, tears and dirt present on the transfer (limited mostly to the stock footage utilized for the races). Comparing this release to the previous Kino Blu-ray, this Limited Edition Blu-ray release is now likely the best the movie will ever look on home video.
Audio: 4.5/5
The film’s original mono soundtrack is presented on a PCM track for this Limited Edition Blu-ray release. Dialogue, sound mix and Nelson Riddle’s music score are all presented clearly and faithfully with minimal cases of distortion present on the track like crackling, clicking, popping and hissing present. Comparing this to the previous Kino Blu-ray release, this Limited Edition Blu-ray release is now likely the best the movie will ever sound on home video.
Special Features: 4/5
Commentary by film historians Julie Kirgo and Nick Redman – Originally recorded for Kino’s Blu-ray release, Kirgo – whose father George wrote the screenplay for the movie – and Redman go over the many aspects of the film and how it fits overall in Hawks’ career.
Bruce Kessler: Man in Motion (45:25) – The film’s 2nd unit director – and former race car driver and future movie and TV director in his own right – recalls memories of working with Howard Hawks and his own career in this brand new interview with Kessler and appreciation by filmmaker/critic Howard S. Berger.
Gas, Gears, Girls, Guys & Death: Trophy Hunting in Howard Hawks’ Cinematic Arena (36:23) – Berger and Angela McEntee – who’s surprisingly not mentioned in the press release – look at how this film differed from previous Hawks films in themes and style in this brand new visual essay.
A Modern Type of Woman (19:48) – Film scholar Kat Ellinger breaks down what makes a “Hawksian woman” in Hawks’ films and how that concept fits in this movie in this brand new visual essay.
Image Gallery (36 stills)
Double sided foldout poster
Booklet feat. an essay by film critic Martyn Conterio
Overall: 4/5
Met with ambivalence from both the critics and audiences upon initial release, Red Line 7000 has become a minor cult favorite – Quentin Tarantino is among the film’s fans – due to the presence of the legendary Howard Hawks as well as the appearances of future stars James Caan and George Takei. Arrow Video has likely delivered the definitive home video release of the movie, with a great HD transfer that improves upon the previous Kino Blu-ray’s transfer while carrying over that release’s commentary track in addition to new bonus features delving into the background on the film. Very highly recommended and worth upgrading from the previous Kino Blu-ray.
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