This film was the basis of the Bruckheimer actionfest of the same name. Same name, same car and same script in spirit. It is, however, very different in execution. While the modern version is a model of large scale, big budget production, the 1974 version is all about the dedication of the director, producer, screenwriter and actor who financed the film by himself and owned the cars that were crashed. In fact the movie is distributed independently and by local outfit Magna Pacific.
The story is the same - 40-50 cars needed to be stolen on consignment. The vast majority are no problem. The thieves come and go and so do the cars. There are many icons of the '70s here and you're a real pro if you can name them, you really are exceptional as there are many obscure models here.
However it comes down to one car that is the centrepiece, and that's the 1973 Boss Mustang in a wonderfully '70s shade of mustard orange. Now this chase is long - 40 minutes-like and it doesn't stop until the final few minutes. The chase is almost Blues Brothers style in brutality and although it sounds long, the chase takes you to a variety of far out places including a car dealership and the vast highways (the same ones as the modern version!). The ending is clever, original and surprising.
The shooting is inventive. Pacing is done as a slow but steady build up to the half way mark. A lot of it is done in voiceover form, with the footage being more a backdrop to the important vocals. Let me give you an example. To save money, I think Halicki filmed any wedding to represent the nuptuals of one of the characters. He overlays a phone conversation over the top to carry the scene (that he can't make the wedding). Nice idea to save production money. The film is full of shooting economies to save money for the big chase centrepiece. The cinematography is inventive and even in what is a hackeyed genre, refreshing and kinetic. It is a credit that the 40-minute chase is enthralling the whole time and there is no one to 'blame' for that but the driver and 'man-with-many-hats' himself.
Full frame 1.33:1 and of excellent quality given the source material. It's a surprisingly pristine tranfer with no damage I can remember, it is there every so often, just rare. Colours and contrast are drab but expected. Sharpness is in the same boat. There are no deep blacks and night scenes suffer. However everything else is excellent, frame speed and motion are fluid and the production has a consistent, high quality feel. There is slight grain every so often. The video conveys a strong feeling for the '70s and is a credit to the local conversion team. The cars look fantastic!
Dolby Surround at 192k/s. It's not as bad as it sounds on paper. Vocals are generally clear and there's reasonable ambience from the rears especially with the in car shots. At times the vocals can be muffled due to the relatively poor equipment. Police radio has that characteristic echo. As expected effects such as gunshots, crashes and squealing tyres sound a little ADR added.
Bass doesn't hit the LFE, never that low, but there's good, full bodied response from the music and the V8 engines. Music is sparse and tends not to sound too cliched '70s. Overall, a surprising clean soundtrack. There are no subtitles or alternate tracks.
This is a very good value disc; I would say a better buy than its modern cousin. The high quality production and the informative extras are a great introduction to Magna Pacific. This is a perfect foil to the modern version and to other films of its genre like Bullitt. There's even a redone Dolby City trailer at the end with a local bent.
