Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Rarely before this movie had such bad people been seen getting away with bad things. You love Steve McQueen’s Carter despite the fact that he’s a bank robber and he kills people. Add in Ali MacGraw, explosions, and the fact that this is one of the only movies made almost entirely in sequence (as in the first scene was shot first, the last one last), and you have a classic of American cinema.

The image is presented in 2.40:1 (incorrectly labeled on the box as 1.85:1), and I can best describe it as not bad. It’s more detailed and less noisy than other recent releases of this era on HD DVD. Close-ups look great, but wide shots are often noticeably soft. The only audio choice is the original mono mix presented in Dolby Digital Plus 1.0. It too isn’t bad, but sometimes what really comes out in the mix seems like an odd choice. This could be stylistic; I can’t say.

The extras include commentary from four biographers of director Sam Peckinpah. There is also a ten-minute “commentary” track that uses interview clips from McQueen, MacGraw, and Peckinpah talking over the beginning of the movie. It’s a clever idea and works pretty well. Then there’s the bank-robbery scene and an audio-only track, both of which feature an entire alternate score by Jerry Fielding. It’s a fascinating example of what music can do to change a movie. Finally, there’s a 30-minute featurette on Peckinpah and Fielding. It’s not the greatest HD DVD, but it’s worth having.