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| A hilarious poster for Sam Peckinpah's The Getaway, which signals two immortal qualities above all else: Sex and violence |
Our anti-hero robber "Doc" McCoy is let out of the can for good behavior after a stint for armed robbery. On the outside he and his lady immediately begin plotting a new robbery. - Which goes completely awry...!
The Getaway is written by Walter Hill (The Warriors (1979)), adapting Jim Thompson's (The Kill-Off (1957)) same-titled 1958 novel, and directed by great Californian filmmaker Sam Peckinpah (The Deadly Companions (1961)).
Steve McQueen (The Reivers (1969)) kills at random and beats love interest Ali McGraw (Players (1979)), yet this is still a classic for many people. His character isn't very charismatic or exciting, although he does have a certain sex appeal, which is probably the reason for the celebration. Besides this Peckinpah utilizes his usual stylistic effects; slow-motion shoot-ups and focus on form over substance.
The car chase in The Getaway is surprisingly short. The film is a bit overlong and disappointing.
Related posts:
Sam Peckinpah: The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970) - A manly respite with Robards and Peckinpah
The Deadly Companions (1961) - Peckinpah's debut is a tough, great, suspense-filled western
Watch a 3-minute clip from the film here
Cost: 3.3 mil. $
Box office: 18.9 mil. $ (North America alone)
= Huge hit (returned 5.72 times its cost domestically alone)
[The Getaway was released 16 December (Italy) and runs 122 minutes. Peter Bogdanovich was hired to direct the film, but McQueen fired him upon learning that he was more interested in comedy What's Up, Doc? (1972). Peckinpah was instead hired, fresh from his flop with McQueen, Junior Bonner (1972), as well as Paramount boss Robert Evans' wife, model-turned-actress McGraw. McQueen worked for 10 % of the gross, which accumulated to at least 1.8 mil. $. Shooting took place in Texas and Arizona from February - April 1972. McGraw and McQueen had an affair on the production, which led to McGraw leaving husband Evans and marrying McQueen. She later said she "hated" her performance in the film. Of McQueen's final-cut privilege, Peckinpah said that he was "playing it safe with these pretty-boy shots." McQueen was unhappy with Peckinpah's regular composer Jerry Fielding and instead got Quincy Jones hired to make a jazzy score, angering Peckinpah further. Sources say the film earned rentals of 18 mil. $ in North America and a 18.9 mil. $ gross domestically, becoming the year's 8th highest-grossing film in North America. The-Numbers have an unsupported claim that it made 36.7 mil. $ domestically. The film was nominated for a Golden Globe. Roger Ebert gave it a 2/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. A flop remake was made with same title by Roger Donaldson in 1994 starring Alec Baldwin and Kim Bassinger. Peckinpah returned with Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973). McQueen returned in Papillon (1973); MacGraw in Convoy (1978). The Getaway is fresh at 86 % with a 6.90/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
What do you think of The Getaway?
