Rating: 
Summary: Worth the wait................
Review: (Instead of reviewing a film you probably already know, I stick to DVD special features)(THIS REFERS TO THE UK RELEASE) Those Extras: Commentary: Not bad. Director Harmon and writer Red sit down for a mostly quiet scene by scene chat. Far too many lulls annoy, but some decent information is provided on locations and on-set anecdotes. There are alleged scene specific commentaries which are actually culled audio portions of the disc's documentary dubbed over different moments of the film. Informative but disappointing, sometimes just boring. Such as Isham's endless bit about inspiration and instruments he uses. Documentary: Amazing job. Seven major principles from the film---Director Harmon, Writer Red, Stars Hauer and Howell, Producer Ed Feldman, Director of Photography John Seale, and Composer Mark Isham---are featured in a 45-minute piece on the making of the film. Unforunately Hauer and Howell come off as major weirdos, Rutger with his comments about how he "enjoys touching males", and how the film was a "mindf***". Or Howell's stoned surfer personality, with eyes bugged he muses about Hauer: "I would tell Rutger, 'Don't stick that f***in' knife in my eye, man!'". But Harmon comes off as a really caring filmmaker, so all told, a real treat for a longtime fan. Short Films: There are a pair on the disc, one a brilliant look at the short directed by Harmon years earlier that got him the Hitcher job. The other, a forgettable black and white yawner directed by a Hauer, some sort of biography. Something tells me he agreed to be interviewed if his little thing was included on the disc. Overall: A big thank you to Momentum Films for taking the time and care to give us fans gobs of great features to get into. Unfortunately, you'll have to import this from Europe and have a region free DVD player, as that's the only place featuring all the extras.
Rating: 
Summary: The Hitcher-stupid film!
Review: man, what a dissapointment! I thought the idea behind this movie was great so I cheacked it out(its good Amazon rating also influenced me to see it). Maybe I went into the movie expecting something else, because I didn't get the intelligent fun thriller I was expecting. This movie is more like a B horror film, rather then a realistic thrill ride. Rutger Haurer did a wonderful acting job, but the guy is more like Micheal Myers then a real pyschotic hitcher. Rutger shows up like a genie at every turn and he is almost invincible. acting=4 stars
FX=NA
ending=3.5 stars
atmosphere=3 stars
Editing&Directing=2 star
storyline=2 stars
meaningfullness=NA OVERALL-2.9 stars A really weak unrealistic movie that must have been a favorite on USA up all night. I think people who praise this movie, like it more for nostolgic reasons, then if its good or bad...
Rating: 
Summary: A SECOND .... DUEL ... ! ... BUT WITH AN ....HITCHER !
Review: This STORY can give an idea OF the HELL when THE HITCHER is taken by the poor young man who is rolling toward his destination for rejoin his family his throught his job ! What is his surprise time after time when he can see INCREASINGGLY whitch this man with an almost normal comportment under the rain just before who is taken ! He laugh easily in despite of his BADS ACTION CRIMINALS ! He is notwithstanding him a crazy criminal who can't hinder himself to do that incredibles monstuositys and when the young discern this, it is too LATE for him ! The DUEL IS BEGAN FOR THE TWO MEN and the LAW is not hither for them RUDGER HAUER IS FRIGHTENING in this movie a movie almost same at the other movie (DUEL) But in tis story, this is not a truck witch can give the death, this is a simple man who has enormous intelligence, force, volition to survive in same time, he want the death for anybody and after for him-self because he is certainly WEARY of the LIFE splendid DVD MOVIE
Rating:
Summary: The Hitcher
Review: Definitly a shocker and worth a look or two, The Hitcher shines as one of the most thrilling and suspenseful of all stranger-from-hell cinema. The part where the finger is in the food is very disturbing and ingenious, and the part where Jennifer Jason Leigh is tied between the two vehicles is another bone-chilling experience. I just felt it would have been better to have not exactly seen so much of the title villain. In the recent release of JOY RIDE with Leelee Sobieski and Paul Walker, the villain was very creepy, and especially since the director used a sort of Hitchcockian technique of masking the killer and having us picture what he really looks like...until the end. Overall, The Hitcher is an incredible piece of work with strong performances and cinematography, but a lack of creepiness which it needs.
Rating: 
Summary: Great movie, horrible DVD
Review: The reason I bought a DVD player almost four years ago was that I finally saw for myself the drastic increase in picture quality from VHS. I can tolerate DVD releases that skimp on extras like behind the scenes documentaries and director commentary, but I do demand good picture quality. This DVD fails to deliver. It doesn't look too bad when the scenes occur in daylight, but as soon as the sun goes down and it gets dark, the extremely low quality of the film print and digital transfer come shining through. I haven't seen this much grain and artifacting since... well, ever. It's even worse than the "gray market" DVD of the Twin Peaks pilot episode. Buy if you must, but as for me I wish I'd held out for a better edition.
Rating:
Summary: The Hitcher is some seriously bad company...oh, yeah!
Review: This is my favorite Rutger Hauer movie. His persona fits this role perfectly. With a good supporting cast, a well-written screenplay and an excellent musical score, Hauer drives his audience along the twisted path of a psychotic hitch-hiker who kills just about anyone who is unfortunate enough to meet him. C. Thomas Howell plays a young man by the name of Jim Halsey, who is delivering a car to a customer in San Diego. As he travels across a lonely West Texas highway at nite, he's having trouble keeping awake and nearly runs afoul of a big-rig. When he catches a glimpse of a rain-soaked hitch-hiker (Rutger Hauer) standing on the shoulder, he stops to pick him up, against his better judgement, figuring the man's company would keep him awake. Halsey tries to strike up a conversation with the hitcher, but the hitcher only gives him a terse and twisted tale about being out of gas and needing cigarettes. The hitcher begins to play a psychological game of words with Halsey that quickly turns into a life-threatening situation. A quick-thinking Halsey pushes the hitcher out of the moving car and speeds away, thinking that's the last he'll see of him. The hitcher seems impressed(!!!) by Halsey's escape; apparently no one else has been so lucky. The hitcher begins to pursue Halsey with a mindless obsession that leaves dead bodies and destruction all around them. The hitcher is a master of manipulation in this film. I really liked the ending, although, if the storyline is followed accurately, it doesn't allow for a sequel with Rutger Hauer, who absolutely is the shining star of this movie. I would love to see him play this part again- it truly is his calling. As a previous Amazon reviewer noted, he doesn't have to speak a word for you to know what he is thinking and contemplating as the role of The Hitcher. His body language and facial expressions tell you all you need to know. I think this entire movie could have been done without a single line of dialogue from the hitcher and been just as effective. Rutger is waaaay cool, the movie is awesome and it should be part of your collection if you dont have it yet. A DVD must!
Rating:
Summary: "You know, my mom told me never to do this......"
Review: ....and with those words, an odyssey of terror is about to unfold, as young Jim Halsey (C. Thomas Howell) ignores the wisest advice ever given and stops to pick up a hitchhiker. Jim is doing a job for a drive away company, driving a car cross country from Chicago to California, when he does this. John Ryder (Rutger Hauer), the hitcher of the title, quickly admits to dismembering the last guy who picked him up, with this exchange. RYDER:He didn't walk very far though.
JIM: Why?
RYDER: Because I cut off his legs. and his arms. and his head. and I'm going to do the same to you. Of course, Jim manages to kick Ryder out of the car. He thinks the terror is over, but it is only just beginning, as Ryder starts a game of cat-and-mouse with Jim, forcing him to take desperate measures to stop this lunatic.... All actors turn in good performances, including Hauer, in one of his early movies. Once again, HBO releases a bare bones release of a good movie. Video is watchable, but the first 20 minutes or so seem to be projected out of a screen door. It's not as bad as it sounds, and night scenes are not a mess, as you may hear, but it's irritating for HBO to do this. Audio fares better than video. Much better. Extras. Well, does cast bios, menus, and a creepy trailer sound good? Yes to the trailer, no to the rest. HBO, us fans of old Johnny Ryder want a special edition, seeing as how the sequel is coming out on video soon. Anyway, good until a special edition is released. THE HITCHER
(1986, R) John Ryder: Rutger Hauer
Jim Halsey: C. Thomas Howell
Nash Galveston: Jennifer Jason Leigh
Capt. Esteridge: Jefferey DeMunn
Sgt. Starr: John M. Jackson
Trooper Donner: Billy Green Bush Director: Robert Harmon
Writer: Eric Red MOVIE: 5
VIDEO: 3
AUDIO: 4
EXTRAS: 3
MENUS: 3
OVERALL: 3 Remember: Never pick up a stranger.
Rating:
Summary: C. Thomas Howell....punished for his sins.
Review: It's a great flick, if only because Rutger Hauer, King of the B-movies, gets to do to C. Thomas Howell what we have all dreamed of.....torture him mercilessly, for no adequately explained reason. I guess Rutger saw "Soul Man." Seriously, it's a well-done, if somewhat formulaic, version of the ol' deadly hitchhiker story. I endorse it wholeheartedly. Howell being the victim is just a bonus.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Horror/Thriller
Review: The Hitcher starts off promising, although exactly as you'd expect it would based on the title and the cover. It's a rainy night on a highway in the middle of a desert. Our main character falls asleep for a few moments at the wheel of his car, and almost crashes into the front of a tractor-trailer. Realizing he needs something other than the radio to help keep him awake he picks up a hitchhiker on the side of the road. The hitcher doesn't say much at first, but as they pass a broken down car the hitcher is quick to admit that he killed its driver by cutting off all of his limbs. Then he pulls out a knife, but our hero manages to narrowly escape.
The rest of the movie follows our hero as he gets set-up by the hitcher and wanted by the police for murders that he didn't commit. And naturally it all ends with a showdown between him and the hitcher.
A good thriller but it gets rather boring in the middle with the exception of a good car chase or two.
Rating:
Summary: Scarey!
Review: My husband and I first saw this in 1986 when we were newlyweds. It scared me half to death! Rutger has such charm and charisma, but then his character is so terrifying because you soon learn that there are no limits to what he will do. Nothing is sacred to him. Therefore, he is definitely not a predictable villain. C. Thomas Howell is very convincing in his role as outraged victim. This movie has always been under-rated and merits much more attention. To those of you who say that Rutger is a "One Hit Wonder", I have two words..."Lady Hawke." He has also made many fine movies and won many awards in his homeland of Holland. Any movie with Rutger is worth watching at least once, but this one is worth watching over and over!
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