The Car

Film appreciation by Robert Siegel of The Digital Bits

An ominously powerful, brutally murderous car roams the highways, terrorizing innocent citizens, killing at random in Universal's The Car, which has been released by Universal Home Video. James Brolin portrays a police officer determined to put an end to The Car's carnage. Also starring is Kathleen Lloyd, who appears as Brolin's girlfriend, who made her film debut in The Missouri Breaks with Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson. Of course the big star of this film is the car itself, which was custom crafted by world-renowned automotive designer George Barris, who had designed cars for numerous films and TV series and for such performers as Liberace, Bob Hope, Elvis Presley and Evel Knievel.

Arriving on location in Kanab, Utah, six days before filming was to begin, James Brolin, who is known for his research on his roles, first went to the local police station to see how the officers dressed. "It was the kind of role I had never done before and I wanted to be sure that I looked and felt the part," the actor explained. "The first thing I discovered was that the local uniforms were similar to those used by most police departments in the Southwest, but there were a number of subtle differences that I had corrected." Inspired by his research, Brolin then spent days talking to the local police chief, riding with the officers and absorbing the atmosphere of the area. "I made a lot of suggestions to our director," Brolin said. "And by the time we began filming, Wade Parent had a very definite character and was very human, one I felt the audience could identify with. The other problem was the temperatures on location. They soared to 120 degrees and we had to film for many days for 14 hours. It was not an easy film to do."

The Car was a monster in itself. The monstrous 18-gauge steel machine weighed 5500 pounds, was 240 inches long and 92 inches wide and was powered by a 455-cubic inch engine. Construction took eight weeks for installation of special devices designed to protect the stuntmen who would risk their necks at the wheel. These included gears that lock at the rear of the car for spins, double air shocks, a full roll cage, reinforced steel tubing and hap harnesses. Producer-director Elliot Silverstein was actively involved in all facets of production of this film, working side by side with Everett Creach, who was stunt coordinator on more than 900 films. A veteran of television's golden age, Silverstein's first motion picture was Cat Ballou.

[Continued below...]

To emphasize the menacing sound of The Car, director Elliot Silverstein insisted that the film be recorded in four-track stereo and feature a frightening musical score by Academy Award winner Leonard Rosenman. As the story goes, it took quite a bit of convincing to get Universal to OK the extra cost of this soundtrack's stereo tracks. The Car was previously available on DVD by Anchor Bay but has been out of print for many years until now with this Universal Home Video release.

Release Details: Theatrical Release: May 13, 1977 by Universal Pictures Filming Locations: Glen Canyon, Zion National Park, St. George, Hurricane (Utah) Category: Mystery Thriller Original Running Time: 96 minutes Original Specs: 35mm Panavision 2:35:1, 4 Track Magnetic Stereo Soundtrack on LP, CD: None Known Awards: None DVD Release: May 6, 2008 by Universal Home Video - UPC 025195027571 DVD Specs: English Dolby Digital Stereo 2.0, French Dolby Digital Mono, English subtitles

Duck, You Sucker (A Fistful of Dynamite)

The turbulent says of the Mexican Revolution provide the exciting backdrop for Duck, You Sucker, also knows as A Fistful of Dynamite, released for the first time on DVD from MGM Home Video in a 2-disc Collector's Edition (also available as a single disc). The film stars Rod Steiger, James Coburn and continental favorite Romolo Valli. In Mexico at the time of the Revolution, Juan, the leader of a bandit family, meets John Mallory, an IRA explosives expert on the run from the British. Seeing John's skill with explosives, Juan decides to persuade him to join the bandits in a raid on the great bank of Mesa Verde. John in the meantime has made contact with the revolutionaries, and intends to use his dynamite in their service.

[Continued below...]

Steiger, who won as Oscar for In the Heat of the Night, and Coburn, noted for the Flint thrillers, made an effective anti-establishment pair in this drama directed by Sergio Leone. In scope and theme, Duck, You Sucker went beyond the popular Dollar westerns that catapulted Leone to the front ranks of action directors. Steiger plays a Mexican peon turned revolutionist and Coburn is seen as an Irish terrorist addicted to bombs and dynamite. For Steiger, Duck, You Sucker was his first appearance as a Mexican. The film was shot on location in Spain with a colorful international cast that also included Maria Monti and Rick Battaglia. Leone directed from a screenplay he wrote with Lucianna Vincenzoni and Sergio Donati. The picture was produced for United Artists in Technicolor and Techniscope. Music composed by Ennio Morricone, one of Italy's foremost authors of motion picture scores.

The bomb-throwing aspect of the role troubled Coburn, and it continued to trouble him even after Leone sold him on taking the role. But his conscience bothered him less when he realized that the character is depicted as something less than laudable- a revolutionary more interested in power for power's sake than in the general good the revolution might bring. He said on the set, "No, I'm not going to fall into a trap by coming on like some brilliant sage on this business of anarchy and revolution. The outs are always after the ins, right? But bombs are not the answer. The line I like best in this film is when Mallory, realizing the ultimate futility of his violent actions, says "I started using dynamite because I too believed in many things, and I ended up believing in dynamite." Steiger claimed, "I liked the character of Juan. He comes from the earth. He doesn't know what the hell revolution is. To him, the whole thing is illogical.

Coming in the Next Column...