Review of The Getaway (1972) by Jude P — 07 Feb 2017

Something of a minor classic from notoriously temperamental (and brilliant) director Sam Peckinpah, who with this film was attempting to show the studios he could be a commercial director. Much like when Orson Welles made "The Stranger," he too wanted to show the studio bosses he could make a commercial thriller, both films are solid entertainment, but are nowhere as brilliant as either Peckingpah or Welles' finest films.

Based upon Jim Thompson's excellent novel, the Walter Hill adaptation waters down the material, taking off it's edge, but does follow the general outline of the original story. Doc McCoy, a terrific Steve McQueen, gets an early parole from a corrupt prison official, the also great Ben Johnson, by agreeing to rob a bank for him.

Doc gets out and his wife, Ali MacGraw, and two flunkies hired by Johnson, Al Lettieri and Bo Hopkins, pull off the bank heist, but like most heist films, things don't go well. Double crosses happen and the film becomes a chase film with McQueen and McGraw trying to make it to Mexico with Lettieri and the cops hot on their heels.

The story and episodic action set pieces are fun, but the film lacks the depth of Peckinpah's best films. There's nothing here as deep or emotionally resonant as "The Wild Bunch," "Straw Dogs," or "Ride the High Country.

" If the script were true to Jim Thompson's original novel, there was a story and character drama worth of a Sam Peckinpah film. However, despite the surface level nature of the script, Peckinpah does provide to great action sequences and McQueen is, as always, the personification of COOL.

Peckinpah does leave his mark on this film and there is not mistaking this is a Sam Peckinpah film, which the elegant slow motion action sequences, the brilliantly edited montage sequences (particularly the opening prison montage), and sadly also includes his penchant for misogyny.

McQueen also elevates the film by being just amazingly captivating on screen. He's one of those guys like Kirk Douglas or Clint Eastwood who steal every scene they ever appear in. In this film he has a seething anger that you rarely see on screen outside of certain actors like Daniel Day Lewis or Robert DeNiro.

You really cannot take your eyes off of McQueen in the film. Top it all off with a memorable Quincy Jones score and excellent photography from frequent Peckinpah collaborator Lucien Ballard, and you have something of a minor classic.

Though I do see this film a a missed opportunity for something that could have been great, this film is still super cool and is a must see for Peckinpah, McQueen, and 70s action film fans.