Backtrack

Rating:
Summary: WARNING!
Review: A word to the wise from one who got burned: the Artisan DVD release is the expurgated cut. The story makes no sense once they've trimmed the Jodie/Dennis sex scenes, so don't buy it. Shame on Artisan.

Rating:
Summary: An average thriller with a superb cast
Review: As a big-time Jodie Foster fan, I try to watch any movie she appears in, yet I left BackTrack sitting on my shelf for basically several years before popping it in the old VCR (and, for the record, I have the 1992 Director's Cut version on VHS). After hearing a reviewer I respect heap praise upon this film, I knew there must be something there that never came across to me on the box cover. Actually, the film was better than I expected, yet it is not a film that distinguished itself in my eyes as anything very special. Jodie Foster is, of course, terrific as always; Dennis Hopper does not wig out too many times; and a most interesting cast of characters come and go along the way. The problem I have is with the characterization, which is not sufficient in my eyes to describe the transformation of Jodie Foster's character in the course of the events that play out.

Foster plays Anne Benton, an up-and-coming young artist (who uses a most unusual medium for her art) who forgets all about the front tire that blows out and almost causes her to wreck her car when she accidentally witnesses a gang-land hit. Luckily, the Mafia bad guys in this movie can never seem to hit a moving target, so Anne escapes and goes immediately to the police, unaware of the true nature of this particular homicide until two hit men break into her home in an attempt to kill her and the police start expounding upon the virtues of the federal witness protection program. She decides to make a run for it and try to build a new life elsewhere on her own. The police want her as a witness, and the Mafia family run by Mr. Avoca ( an aged Vincent Price) just wants her silenced. The Mafia man for the job is Milo (Dennis Hopper), an accomplished hit man who begins tracking Anne down as she moves across the country. By the time he finds here, though, Milo has fallen in love with her, which is something of a no-no for a man in his profession. He and Anne do not seem to be a natural match by any stretch of the imagination, and thus their evolving relationship just never makes complete sense to me, especially from Anne's perspective, and this is my main point of contention here with the film. Anyway, the movie-long chase has to end somewhere, and the filmmakers do succeed in pulling off a pretty satisfying conclusion.

BackTrack does deserve better than the relative obscurity in which it has lain, although I would not consider this a great film by any means. It is worth a look just for the surprising number of famous faces that grace the screen; besides Foster and Hopper you will see Charlie Sheen, Dean Stockwell (who speaks in one of the most ridiculous put-on voices I have ever heard), the aforementioned Vincent Price, Joe Pesci, and none other than Bob Dylan. I love Bob Dylan and his music, but he really does not possess the charisma or talent necessary to be an actor. Still, it is quite a hoot to see him pop up unexpectedly in the film in a small but quite memorable little scene. All told, BackTrack does have a few interesting things to show the viewer above and beyond the sight of a young Jodie Foster working her magic in front of the cameras (without her clothes at one point, for those who care about that sort of thing). I would not rush out and try to find a copy of the movie, but if it ever passes your way, it is certainly worth a couple hours' of your free time.

Rating:
Summary: Gimme a break
Review: BACKTRACK is unbelievably dopey. Its only redeeming factor is that Jodie Foster shows an eye-popping amount of flesh - and it's no body double. And what a great set of legs! That's why I'm awarding two stars, one for each gam, which just goes to show the sophistication level of the film (AND my review of it).

Anne Benton (Foster) is a "conceptual artist", which means, in the wacky Southern California milieu in which she has her gallery, she creates pieces using message board displays. You know, those where one line of illuminated text moves right to left across a long and narrow screen. Anyway, one night after experiencing a flat tire on the freeway, she witnesses a mob hit on the premises of an oil refinery. (For those LA viewers, it's the one just off the 405 south of LAX where the freeway curves to the east above Palos Verdes.) Like a good citizen, she goes to the police, who realize that they have in Benton a valuable witness against organized crime, and specifically against Big Boss Mr. Avoca (Vincent Price). But after her apartment is invaded and her boyfriend (a quickly expendable Charlie Sheen) shot to death, Anne realizes neither the cops nor the Feds can protect her, so she flees town and establishes a new identity and career. To hunt her down, mob goodfella Leo Carelli (Joe Pesci) hires the saxophone-playing assassin Milo (Dennis Hopper), who tracks her across the West using computer databases. The thing is, he begins to obsess about Anne after finding photos of her (un)dressed in dominatrix accessories. Milo has issues.

The plot has a Keystone Cops quality as law enforcement seeks to retrieve Benton by following Milo. And after the latter severs communication with his employers in favor of his own agenda of infatuation, Leo's thugs go after Milo and Anne by following the cops. Even then, the storyline might've been redeemable if it hadn't taken such a Bonnie and Clyde twist, and the conclusion (at that same refinery) is positively ludicrous.

Hopper as Milo is almost the caricature of a mob hit man. Where did he get those clothes, that hat, and that accent? And speaking of accents, Leo's lawyer John Luponi (Dean Stockwell) has to be one of the most over-acted roles in recent memory. If it didn't get a Razzie Award, it should've.

Perhaps even the cast realized what a disaster BACKTRACK is. Joe Pesci, whose role is not insignificant, isn't even listed on the ending credits. I wonder if he tried to buy up all the prints?

A dedicated Jodie fan will perhaps wax rhapsodic over her nude shower scene. Beyond that, don't bother.

Rating:
Summary: DVD is NOT the Director's Cut!
Review: For those who don't know, there are two versions of this film:

The European version titled "Catchfire", which runs 98 minutes (more or less) and has a music score by Curt Sobel. The director of the film, Dennis Hopper disowned this version--it is credited to Alan Smithee instead.

Then there's the director's cut, "Backtrack", which runs 116 minutes (more or less), and features a different score by Michel Columbier. This version is available on video.

I don't know why, but the DVD release is in fact the shorter European cut w/ alternate score--despite keeping the "Backtrack" title and Hopper's name on the credits as director. Oh, and the back of the box credits Michel Columbier as composer, which is very odd considering not a note of his music is present in this version.

A simple mistake by the distributor Artisan? Or are they simply trying to pull a fast one on the consumers? Either way, I strongly suggest that you either wait for a proper release on DVD or purchase the VHS version instead, which to my knowledge remains as the director's cut.

Maybe Hopper changed his mind about which cut he prefers, but I highly doubt that.

Rating:
Summary: Great Actors, lousy acting.
Review: Had some great actors in this movie, not even seen on the cover, of this movie. How can you not mention {Joe Pesci}. Anyway, I love so many of the actors here, and yet the story plot line was empty. This is such a shame for so much talent. Even seeing Jodi, naked had little impact for me. Thumps down..

Rating:
Summary: A minor disappointment
Review: I had seen the movie before and thought the story to be off-beat and quirky enough to be enjoyable. However, I was curious why the DVD version seemed to have been abbreviated. By my recollection, you saw a little more of Jodie Foster preparing for her shower scene, a lot more of her in lingerie in a motel room with Dennis Hopper and the original final scenes included an exchange between Fred Ward and a departing Vincent Price that is not on the DVD. Again, if my memory is correct, the apparent editing was a bit disappointing.

Rating:
Summary: Backtrack
Review: I wish I had read the reviews before buying this edition of the movie. Parts of the movie are missing. But, it's still a good flick.

Rating:
Summary: Backtrack
Review: I've seen both movies because I am a fan of Dennis Hopper's and was curious as to the differences in the two versions. The shorter, European, Japanese, release is much better. I tend to think that a director's cut must be better because it's the director's cut but that's simply not the case. After doing some investigating, I discovered that when Vestron took over the post-production on the film, Mr. Hopper's version wasn't working for them. Most of the story didn't make sense and was being told by the use of songs, which they eventually dropped, in order to recut the movie and record a new score. It is interesting to see the differences, though, but I prefer the shorter version and the orchestral score by Curt Sobel is more in keeping with the film noir setting of the film. Jody's shower scene looks good in both versions.

Rating:
Summary: Jodie's Leg Fan's Will be Disappointed by Cut Scene's
Review: If your a male fan of Jodie Foster's and you saw this movie on cable, this version is a disappointment. A couple of the scene's showing her dynamite leg's were cut from this version. It's rated R, they show her topless, but they cut out the best leg scene's, go figure?

Rating:
Summary: Avoid! This is NOT the Director's Cut!
Review: People, can you spell: M.I.S.S.E.D. O.P.P.O.R.T.U.N.I.T.Y.?

Please be aware: This is not the 116 minute Director's Cut of this movie (previously released on VHS by Vestron Video), but the 99 minute version (and not 102 minutes as the description and artwork claims).

I took a gamble, since the Video box artwork also states 102 minutes but was in fact 116 minutes, that this would be the proper version, but sadly it was not...

You're better off trying to find the VHS version of this film as it is, even without widescreen, far superior over this version.