Hitcher, The

Released By:

HBO Home Video, Distributed by Warner Brothers Home Video

Features:

1984; 98 Min; Rated R; Dolby Digital: English 5.1; Dolby Surround: English; Anamorphic Widescreen (2.35).

Extras:

Theatrical Trailer; Cast and Crew Listings.

Review:

Yes, the past week has been a Rutger Hauer fest. First there was Ladyhawke, now, The Hitcher. This twisted little tale has become somewhat of a cult hit. I'll admit it, I've never seen the full un-edited version of the film. I've only seen the piece of shit, sorry, pan and scan version, on syndicated TV.

C. Thomas Howell (Where is he now?) plays a young teen named Jim Halsey, who is taking a drive off car to San Diego. When he rolls a thunderstorm in Texas, he picks up a stranger on the side of the road. Ruter Hauer is the stranger, and to say you instantly know he's eight cans short of a six pack is being kind. "John Ryder" threatens bodily harm to Jim, and it isn't instantly expalined. It 's proabably the trail of butchered people he's left on the side of the road.

After Halsey throws him out of his car, and finds a family slaughtered, he goes to a small town and calls the police to report the murders. Of course,  Halsey is blamed. He also runs into a love interest named Nash (Jennifer Jason Leigh), who doesn't believe him, but later in the film stumbles into his path. The cat and mouse chase between Halsey, "Ryder" and the police is on.

What struck me most about watching this movie, was remembering the good old days film making (yes, I know, my perspective is sad). There was a time when most violence was off screen, or at least the most intense elements of it were. Director Robert Harmon executes the scenes of brutal violence, with suggestive camera angles and wise editing. This could have been partially budget driven, because I don't think it cost very much to make this film, but it's still effective.

The actual picture quality of the film is very grainy during the dark scenes, but fairly crisp and clean during the daytime scenes. This is probably another budget issue, so it's no big deal. The widescreen 2.35 transfer only shows signs of digital artifacting during the night time scenes, otherwise the video transfer is decent.

The audio was the surprise for me, not that it was of outstanding quality, but it was presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. I don't remember this title being announced in 5.1, but I might have just overlooked it. This title is by no means a reference disc, but it was re-mixed well. Most of the split effects are placed into the front three speakers, but some audio is mixed is split into the rear speakers, it's mostly cars driving by. During the opening thunderstorm, it's decently aggressive, but it's no Hard Rain.

The extra feature of this disc are from the good old days of Warner Home Video. There was a trailer plus a cast and crew biography, nothing real stunning. The big surprise was the moving main menu, I was impressed. I don't think it was really needed, but it was a nice touch.

If you are a fan of this film, buy this disc now. It wont be getting any better, and I don't think this title will make the transition to HD-DVD, whenever that is. If you're a Rutger Hauer, or like twisted films, you should at least rent this film.

The Hitcher ranks at about 6.5 for actual quality of a movie.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I give this presentation a rating of 6. I guess the moving menus are worth 1 bonus biscuit, since I didn't expect them.

Dan Linzmeier, FIT Productions
Fitprod@aol.com
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