The Getaway (1972) [Blu-ray]

Carter McCoy is a flinty-eyed con whose steely exterior masks a keen mind and even more carefully hidden sensitivity. In other words, he’s the kind of character that star Steve McQueen excelled at playing.Carter’s up for parole, but he gets shot down. Most of the parole board members are faceless bureaucrats, but one seems wryly amused by Carter’s predicament. That man is Jack Benyon (Ben Johnson), a Stetson-wearing South Texas swell with a lot of political muscle.He’s willing to play ball with Carter, but only if Carter is willing to play ball back. The problem is that playing ball in this case requires Carter to lend the sleazoid the services of his woman, Carol (Ali MacGraw). Oh, and Benyon wants Carter to pull a bank job to show his appreciation for springing him early from stir.What follows is the kind of story director Sam Peckinpah excelled at telling: bloody and filled with action and chases and double crosses, undergirded by strong moral ambiguity. It’s not the noir world of the weak, the bad, and the worse, but rather the post-Eastwood Western universe where even good guys have to do terrible things. And they also have bad tempers that sometimes lead them to lay hands on women when they’re not busy shooting men.I’m not usually a fan of Ali MacGraw, and frankly regard her as a middling actress, but here—perhaps due McQueen’s mean charisma—she proves up to the task. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that only she could have played Carol, but the chemistry between her and McQueen is palpable, their dilemma compelling. Ultimately the movie asks the question, How possible is true love in a world where violence is the ultimate authority, and nothing moves without money?The movie doesn’t quite answer the question, but that’s not important. It raises it, and lets us and the characters mull it over while people are getting shot and cars are getting blown up.Another masterpiece from the master Peckinpah, with a bit more humor and lewdness than in some of his earlier offerings. It didn’t get much love when it came out, and was scorned as formulaic and underwhelming by critics, even those usually predisposed to say good things about Peckinpah flicks. Audiences, however, got its appeal immediately and made it a box office success. And you don’t need me to tell you that time has been kind to the picture, as here we are, me writing about it and you reading about it.One especial highlight (or lowlight) involves a subplot about a degenerate gunslinger who takes a doctor and his wife hostage, cuckolding the doc and psychologically dominating the woman. The shooter and the ditsy wife are played respectively by Al Lettieri (the Turk in The Godfather), and Sally Struthers of All in the Family fame. You might not expect an Italian-American heavy character actor and the bubbly blonde from daytime TV to steal the show, but they usually do whenever they’re onscreen.Highest recommendation, for fans of neo-Westerns and shoot ‘em ups and action movies with souls and brains to go with the usual helping of viscera.

Who doesn’t like Steve McQueen? He does most ( if not all) of his own stunt driving in this movie. Exhilarating!

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This film has many layers.It is one of the best action movies ever made. It is full of graphic beatings, intimidation, sexual sadism, shootings, fires and car crashes. The Texas prison guards and police look real and mean business. The criminals look and act like real criminals - seedy, ignorant, brutal, and callous. When Beynon (whose name in pronounced "Benyan" throughout the movie) is found dead his brother orders his henchmen not to waste time burying the body, saying "dump it down a dry well, if you can find one." McQueen handles the 12 gauge shotgun and .45 Government Model pistol adroitly as befits an ex-Marine and the shoot-outs are very believable. The wounds look real, the dead people look dead. In reality, two people could not survive such a series of violent encounters unscathed, but it's a movie, so they do. Such is the magic of film that we believe it all happens just as we see it.It's a portrait of life in a certain time and place, Texas in the early 1970's. The background scenes are very unselfconscious and natural - the accents, the heat, the mesquite, and barbecue, the open and friendly manner of Texans. The extras seem to have been there all along, living their lives; the camera just happens to catch them as they respond to the whirlwind of violence that rolls into town with McQueen and MacGraw.It's the story of a strong sexual relationship between two very attractive people. It is not surprising that Steve and Ali became sexually involved off the screen and eventually married. The chemistry is obvious and clearly communicated, even though the standards of the time did not require the sexual explicitness that we have become accustomed to these days.It is an exceptionally well made film. Every frame hold one's interest. In fact, Peckinpah's mastery of the visual aspect of film is such that each PART of each frame holds one's interest.The plot is intriguing. How is "Doc" going to get out of prison, and how is he going to rob the bank, and who is going to betray whom, and how? And how are he and "Carol" going to finally get to Mexico? Only the ending has a false ring. "Doc" and "Carol" are ruthless criminals in spite of their good looks and classy clothes, but we prefer to think they are misunderstood lovers, and we want true love to win out in the end, so we accept this ending. But as others have pointed out this is not how the book ended, and it is not consistent with the overall tone of the movie."The Getaway" is a powerful portrayal of the criminal mind as it acts out its ruthless greed and selfishness. But two amoral people like "Doc" and "Carol" could in the end never have really trusted each other. Thompson's story makes this clear, while Peckinpah's film muddies these waters in order to provide an acceptable "Hollywood" ending.This review is based on the VHS version.Update Oct. 20, 2007:I have just seen the DVD version for the first time. Visually it is a significant improvement over the VHS version. The music is more coherent, less sappy. The critical commentary track provides some very interesting insights into the acting and Peckinpah's film technique. The "virtual" commentary by Peckinpah, MacGraw, and McQueen reveals all three to be fairly inarticulate and lacking in insight - Ali gushes on and on about what a great actor McQueen is, when what she really means is how much in love with him she is.It's still a great film, even better on DVD.

Steve McQueen and Ali MacGraw were at their peak with this flick. Supporting cast is also solid. Ben Johnson., Slim Pickens, Bo Hopkins, and a great effort by Sally Struthers...a solid cast for the 1970's! A two hour ride that keeps on giving all the way through.

One of Steve McQueen’s best film

One of my favourite classic 70s action flick.

👍 Great performance by Steve McQueen

Based on Jim Thompson's novel, The Getaway finds director Sam Peckinpah, and king of cool actor Steve McQueen, turning to hard grit drama after the sedate splendour of Junior Bonner earlier in the year.Doc McCoy is released early from prison due to some string pulling from influential gangster Jack Benyon, however it comes under condition that McCoy pulls off a bank robbery for the gruff smarmy Benyon. Thus the seed is sown for double crosses, murder, cross country pursuits, adultery, and carnage Peckinpah style.Steve McQueen is excellent as McCoy, few actors can claim to look so good when popping off a pump action shotgun, or shooting a pistol complete with arm recoil, and here he has Peckinpah to maximise the damage whilst poetically portraying the slow-mo death sequences. Al Lettieri is vile thug Rudy Butler who is in hot pursuit of McCoy & his wife Carol, a wonderful weasel turn full of cold abusive charm that reeks of menace. Sadly the film is let down a touch by the performance of Ali MacGraw as Carol, it's a terribly wooden performance that threatens to undo all the good things in the film, but luckily McQueen manages to ease her thru the production to minimise the damage.This of course is the film where both of them fell madly in love and ended up getting married to each other, the chemistry is good, but it's just that MacGraw's delivery of her lines lacks emotion or fortitude. Peckinpah disagreed with the critics of the time, even sending a letter to MacGraw praising her efforts. However when she turned up for the shoot unable to drive a car, he was less than pleased since her character was the getaway driver!Full of fine sequences and bloody scenarios, it stands up as a real good Sam Peckinpah picture, it's a kind of city set western where the outlaws are actually coming across as heroes. We get pulled into this couple's world and we want so much for them to achieve their goals, so add that feeling to the gritty structure of the story and you get a real enjoyable piece benefiting from great work from director and charismatic leading man alike. 8/10

This is a reasonable quality transfer of an old film to blu-ray but never having seen it on DVD I can't say how it compares. The story is quite good with lots of twists and turns that you don't expect. Ali McGraw stars (complete with wardrobe malfunction at a distance) along with Steve McQueen and if you're a big fan of hers this film is surely a must.

A superb crime thriller, The Getaway, stars Steve McQueen and Ali McGraw as the husband-wife duo on the lam after a successful bank heist. The film is noted for its car chases and the violent shootout at the end. McQueen oozes charm as the wronged guy out for revenge but the film is rather let down by McGraw's simpering performance as the female lead. Al Lettieri is sinister as the villain who has McQueen in his sights.There was a remake with Kim Basinger but this one is the one to watch! A classic indeed.They don't make 'em like this anymore!

Prime Sam Peckinpah with Steve McQueen, Ali McGraw and the usual supporting cast of Peckinpah regulars. Goes like a rocket and a great example of Peckinpah's montage-like editing style. Warner's blu-ray is okay and adequate in the picture and sound departments. But this is worthy of a re-master. Come on Warner Archive!

Great film. Steve McQueen and Ali McGraw are very good.