Rating: Summary: "The Getaway" with Steve McQueen Review: No glitzy special effects or mushy love scenes here...just a hard-core action film about an ex-con named "Doc" McCoy (McQueen) and his wife (MacGraw) trying to keep their relationship intact amid an unfair criminal justice system, a bank heist, double crosses, car chases and some serious shoot-outs as they make a dash for the Mexican border with a bag full of stolen cash. The final gun battle at the motel is classic, as is the touching scene when the couple share part of their loot with a crusty old cowboy (played by Slim Pickens) whose pick-up truck they have commandeered near the border. Anyone who finds fault with "The Getaway" deserves a gut dose of McCoy's 12-gauge. The 1994 remake was just that...a remake. This original rules!
Rating: Summary: Extremely boring Review: The Getaway is one of the most non-involving action films I've seen in a while. It features characters that aren't likeable, settings that are dull, chases that move at a sluggish pace, and just an overall lack of action or compelling drama. With the exception of the last shootout, the movie is a complete bore. Stick with Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch, Cross of Iron, or even the slightly underrated Killer Elite.
Rating: Summary: The remake is much better Review: Steve McQueen and Ali MacGraw play lovers on the lam; she helped to bust him out of prison, but they owe a local crime lord one last heist. Sam Peckinpah is a very good action director, and those sequences do work, as do the scenes that open the film: McQueen is prison, thinking about the things dearest to him (including MacGraw). The story, though, plods along, until the climatic shootouts. I saw the 1994 remake directed by Roger Donaldson and starring Alec Baldwin, Kim Basinger, and James Woods, and I thought that it was much more stylish, sensual, and was better acted. Check that one out instead.
Rating: Summary: Tough, exciting action movie Review: This is a mean, tough action movie featuring Steve McQueen as a cool, calculating bank robber. Real-life wife Ali McGraw co-stars with him. As usual, McQueen's charisma is the standout of the movie, and the plot is exciting and very fast paced. Ben Johnson as McQueen's nemesis is also outstanding. Note: I wouldn't show this movie to little kids, though. In addition to the violence and profanity, "The Getaway's" main characters (McQueen & McGraw) actually profit from their crimes and escape justice, as well as thrash the police at every confrontation. Not a good morality lesson for the youngsters.
Rating: Summary: Best movie McQueen ever made Review: 1972 was a vintage year in Hollywood, like 1939 (Gone with the Wind & Wizard of Oz). With Prime Cut (Lee Marvin), The Getaway represents, IMO, the pinnacle of American action films. Great characters, locales, snapshots of local American culture & it just moves moves moves, like a really good movie should. The chemistry between McQueen & McGraw in this one is sensational! Forget people who sob about disloyalty to Jim Thompson. His novels are great but don't make great films unless they are rethought as films (see Coup de Torchon - another super rendering).
Rating: Summary: GOOD NEWS ! OUTLAWS DO HAVE A CODE OF HONOR Review: Sam Peckinpah's world is very coherent : it's violent, heartless and filled with guns. Men can only survive there if they follow a strict code of honor. It's perfectly admitted to shoot 10 men during a car chase but your girl-friend has to be a nun while you are spending 5 years in prison. In fact, THE GETAWAY is repeating in a minor key what THE WILD BUNCH exposed three years before. The problem is that Steve McQueen isn't William Holden nor Robert Ryan. He has only one facial expression and that's it. THE WILD BUNCH was also a kind of melancholic movie and you cared for these men going to their death with an heroic attitude. THE GETAWAY is, on the contrary, a totally cold movie. The french Director Jean-Pierre Melville could have made this film ( With less gunfires and car crashes I suppose). I admire very much Sam Peckinpah but for me this movie marked the beginning of the decline of this major director. The transfer in the DVD mode isn't good at all, so buy this DVD only if you're a PECKINPAH admirer.
Rating: Summary: A classic that still sets the standard. Review: An excellent movie. One of the first in its sort and rather daring in its time for actually letting crime pay. A strong cast led by Steve McQueen and Ali McGraw makes does good work with a plot that was original in its time and still keeps up the suspence after years of inferior spin-offs. Sam Peckinpah's directing is outstanding and the score by Quincy Jones is one of the best ever. Better in my opinion than his work for the Pawnbroker. The Getaway is a must for every action movie fan. Leave the 1994 remake for what it is and get yourself a copy of this one.
Rating: Summary: The Getaway Review: I have not seen this movie in quite a long time, but i watched it last night and a really enjoyed the chemistry between McGraw and McQueen and the action you dont see in very many movies today, i also enjoyed the other chracters in the movie, along with Ali's simple beauty.
Rating: Summary: Ten times better than "Bonnie and Clyde!!" Review: I always thought "Bonnie and Clyde" was good- this movie is way better. It's terrific! It has become one of my favorite movies. Steve McQueen and Ali MacGraw are the perfect couple in this exciting film. It shows their love for one another, which followed off-screen, and their exciting, thrilling adventure. I also see Sally Struthers in a new light, after seeing her in this movie. Her performance is good, and adds to the film. Quincy Jones' score adds the magic touch. This movie keeps me interested, and even makes me laugh in parts. You can easily tell it was filmed in my home state, Texas. The prison scenes are very real. It's a very entertaining movie- a love story, and dangerous, exciting adventure, at the same time. I can't get enough of it!
Rating: Summary: Peckinpah. Review: "Bad Sam" makes quite a few points in this yarn about a bank robber and his wife who heist a bank and get set up. Sam's theories about women, as discussed in some of his interviews, show up in Sally Struther's character. There's plenty of good old all American violence here, although a lot of it seems directed at things (like police cars) than people at least some of the time. A bang-up ending, and even a pretty good scene with Slim Pickins, and heck, you've got a modern western. Much more a guy flick than a kid or date flick.
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