The Driver (1978)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Walter Hill

Writer:

Walter Hill (written by)

Release Date:

8 June 1978 (Netherlands)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

He'll get you away faster than anyone else on wheels.

Plot:

"The Driver" is specialist in a rare business: he drives getaway cars in robberies. His exceptional talent prevented him from being caught yet...

Plot Keywords:

Driver | Detective | Police | Man With No Name | Existentialism

Cast

Ryan O'Neal	...	The Driver
Bruce Dern	...	The Detective
Isabelle Adjani	...	The Player
Ronee Blakley	...	The Connection
Matt Clark	...	Red Plainclothesman
Felice Orlandi	...	Gold Plainclothesman
Joseph Walsh	...	Glasses
Rudy Ramos	...	Teeth
Denny Macko	...	Exchange Man
Frank Bruno	...	The Kid
Will Walker	...	Fingers
Sandy Brown Wyeth	...	Split
Tara King	...	Frizzy
Richard Carey	...	Floorman
Fidel Corona	...	Card Player

Also Known As:

Driver (UK) (DVD title)

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Germany:16 (re-rating) (2006) | Netherlands:12 | UK:A (original rating) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:18

Filming Locations:

Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

EMI Films

Trivia:

The titular driver is a man of few words - 350 in all.

Goofs:

Continuity: As the two bank robbers exit the bank, you can see the Firebird used in the escape parked directly outside during one shot, and then a minute or two later, the Firebird isn't where it was in the previous scene. (It actually comes flying around the corner, skidding to a stop right where it was originally.)

Quotes:

The Driver: [at different times to different lowlife types] Go home!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)

A Fine Study In Cool

I looked long and hard for this film and finally found it online... About a year ago I found the novelization at a local used bookshop and was enthralled. Then I shook loose a repressed memory of a scene from the Driver -well more like an image. That of Ryan O'Neal behind the wheel -shades in place, a study in cool.

Well I was obsessed and had to find the film. Once I did, it was like some sort of archaeological find. I popped it in the vcr (old school all the way) and sat back ready to be taken into a dangerous world of ruthless and amoral characters who live by some sort of twisted samurai code and law of thieves.

In a nutshell, this film delivered in spades. If you can find a copy of it, buy it or rent it. The car chases are extraordinary. The performances and cinematography are gloriously minimal and committed to the aesthetic of 'cool'.

It's a shame that junk like "The Transporter" and "Gone In Sixty Seconds" have come to embody the modern day equivalent of the existential bad guy and wheelman. Those films aren't fit to shine the chrome of this one.

One of Walter Hill's Best.

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