The Driver (1978)

Director:

Walter Hill

Writer:

Walter Hill (written by)

Release Date:

8 June 1978 (Netherlands)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

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

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Driver | Detective | Robbery | Car | Getaway Car

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
Victor Gilmour	...	Boardman
Nick Dimitri	...	Blue Mask
Bob Minor	...	Green Mask
Angelo Lamonea	...	Patron
Patrick Burns	...	Patron
Karen Kleiman	...	Patron
Thomas Myers	...	Passenger
Bill McConnell	...	Passenger
Peter Jason	...	Commuter
William Hasley	...	Commuter
Allan Graf	...	Uniformed Cop
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Steve Moriarty	...	Person at Train Station / Driver (uncredited)

Directed by
Walter Hill

Writing credits
Walter Hill		(written by)

Produced by
Lawrence Gordon	....	producer
Frank Marshall	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Michael Small

Cinematography by
Philip H. Lathrop		(director of photography) (as Philip Lathrop)

Film Editing by
Tina Hirsch
Robert K. Lambert

Casting by
Jane Feinberg
Mike Fenton

Production Design by
Harry Horner

Art Direction by
David M. Haber		(as David Haber)

Set Decoration by
Darrell Silvera

Costume Design by
Jack Bear
Robert Cornwall
Jennifer L. Parsons

Makeup Department
Gary Liddiard	....	makeup artist
Shirley Padgett	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Russell Saunders	....	production manager (as Russ Saunders)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Lisa Hallas-Gottlieb	....	second assistant director (as Lisa Hallas)
Pat Kehoe	....	assistant director
Jonathan Giles Zimmerman	....	trainee assistant director (as Jonathan Zimmerman)

Sound Department
William Hartman	....	sound effects editor
Michael Hilkene	....	sound effects editor (as Mike Hilkene)
John Kline	....	sound effects editor
Theodore Soderberg	....	sound re-recording mixer
Richard Sperber	....	sound effects editor
Richard Wagner	....	production sound mixer
Paul Wells	....	sound re-recording mixer
Douglas O. Williams	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Douglas Williams)
Donald C. Rogers	....	technical director of sound (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Charles Spurgeon	....	special effects

Stunts
Mickey Alzola	....	stunts
William H. Burton	....	stunts (as Bill Burton)
Diane Carter	....	stunts
Bobby Clark	....	stunts
Everett Creach	....	stunt coordinator
Chris Howell	....	stunts
Gene McLaughlin	....	stunts
Gerald L. Ray	....	stunts
Robert Sizer	....	stunts (as Bob Sizer)

Camera and Electrical Department
Bill Johnson	....	camera operator
Wilbur Kinnett	....	gaffer
Carl Manoogian	....	key grip
Glenn K. Shimada	....	first assistant camera
Steve Yaconelli	....	camera operator

Editorial Department
Jere Huggins	....	assistant editor
Ron Smith	....	assistant editor

Music Department
John R. Harris	....	music editor
Jack Hayes	....	orchestrator
Kenneth Wannberg	....	music editor

Transportation Department
William Hogue	....	driver
James Nordberg	....	driver

Other crew
Don Kruger	....	location manager
Cassandra Oliva	....	script supervisor
B.J. Smith	....	set paramedic (uncredited)

Production Companies

• EMI Films
• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1980) (USA) (TV)
• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (1978) (USA) (theatrical)
• Sandrew Film & Teater (1978) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Atlantic Film (2002) (Sweden) (DVD)
• CBS/Fox Home Video (1985) (USA) (VHS)
• Cannon Screen Entertainment (198?) (West Germany) (VHS)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2001) (Germany) (DVD)
• VTI Home Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera dollies
• DeLuxe Laboratories  color by (as DeLuxe)
• Intrada  score album released by (limited edition)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 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:

258 Winston St., Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

EMI Films

Trivia:

Cheryl Smith had a sizable co-starring role in the original longer cut of the film, but the subplot involving her character wound up being excised and subsequently all of her scenes got cut out as well. Director Walter Hill regretted cutting these scenes and spoke favorably about Smith's acting skills.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the first chase, the driver swings to the right, bumping the police car running next to him solidly broadside (judging by the sound effect), causing it so slide out and crash into a pile of sacks of cement. But in the next shots, we can see the police car's left side and the driver's car's right side clearly, and neither car shows any sign that they made contact.

Quotes:

The Detective:Planning on looking for work soon?
The Driver:My line of work is kind of hard to come by.
The Detective:It depends on where you look.
The Driver:It depends on who you are.
The Detective:I dunno. Some of the criminal types these days, they, eh, think that they're real cowboys. Think they can just, eh, drive around...do whatever they wanna do...whenever they wanna do it.
[chuckles]
The Detective:I respect a man who's good at what he does. I'll tell you something else: I'm *very* good at what I do.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Pulp Fiction (1994)

high octane

Ryan O'Neal ("Barry Lyndon", "Love Story", "Paper Moon") is an immaculate getaway man known simply as Driver. A detective (Bruce Dern, "Hang 'Em High", "Black Sunday", "Monster") is hellbent on apprehending the driver and goes so far as to enlist criminals to entangle the driver in a faux robbery. What follows is an amazing slick, taunt, and exciting piece of American cinema. Writer/Director Water Hill is one of my favorite movie makers, and with this film (along with such all-time classics as "48 Hours", "The Warriors", "The Getaway, and "Red Heat" among others) it's VERY easy to be able to tell why. Every actor in this movie is great, the car chases are exciting and it's just a very cool film. I highly recommend this one for guys who like GUY movies.

My Grade: A

DVD Extras: Both widescreen and Fullscreen versions; Alternate Beginning;Theatrical Trailer