The Getaway (1994)

Director:

Roger Donaldson

Writers (WGA):

Jim Thompson (novel)
Walter Hill (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

11 February 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Drama | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Choosing between love and money is one thing. Getting away with both is something else

Plot:

Doc McCoy is put in prison because his partners chickened out and flew off without him after exchanging a prisoner with a lot of money...

Plot Keywords:

Nudity | Cuckold | Beautiful Woman | Shower Scene | Female Nudity

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Alec Baldwin	...	Carter 'Doc' McCoy
Kim Basinger	...	Carol McCoy
Michael Madsen	...	Rudy Travis
James Woods	...	Jack Benyon
David Morse	...	Jim Deer Jackson
Jennifer Tilly	...	Fran Carvey
James Stephens	...	Harold Carvey, DVM
Richard Farnsworth	...	Slim
Philip Seymour Hoffman	...	Frank Hansen (as Philip Hoffman)
Burton Gilliam	...	Gollie
Royce D. Applegate	...	Gun Shop Salesman
Daniel Villarreal	...	Luis Mendoza
Scott McKenna	...	Red Shirt
Alex Colon	...	Ramon
Justin Williams	...	Soldier

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, sexuality and language.

Runtime:

115 min | Australia:116 min (uncut version)

Country:

USA | Japan

Language:

English

Color:

Color (DeLuxe)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby | DTS

Certification:

Iceland:16 | South Korea:18 | Canada:R (Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) | Philippines:R-18 | Australia:MA (DVD rating) | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Argentina:13 | Australia:R | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 | Norway:18 | Peru:14 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | USA:Unrated (original cut)

Filming Locations:

Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa - 2400 E Missouri Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

The hotel where Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger stay at the end of the movie is the same as the one where Steve McQueen and Ali MacGraw stayed at the end of The Getaway (1972).

Goofs:

Continuity: Shaving cream on Doc's face after the shave.

Quotes:

Fran Carvey: What's the plan?
Rudy Travis: The plan is shut up.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Pipas (1994)

Soundtrack:

CARMELITA

The big gundown

Roger Donaldson's remake of Sam Peckinpah's 1972 gangster movie classic "The Getaway" is alright, but cannot - as many remakes - reach the power, humor and style of the original version. There are some plus points - the bloody and lengthened showdown in the hotel at the end tries to overpower the impact of the original version, and it works.

There are some good supporting roles from James Woods and Michael Madsen (with dreadful hair style that belongs rather into an Ace Ventura or Wayne's World movie). The plot, even many story details, are just repetitions of the Peckinpah movie, but the tempo of the film is okay as well.

Otherwise there are also too many low points: the score is boring and can't compete with Quincy Jones' original jazz funk fusion grooves. The photography is to clean despite all the Mexican dust and sometimes too MTV style and without the dirty atmosphere that was typical for many Peckinpah movies.

Kim Basinger is alright in the Ali McGraw role, but Alec Baldwin is trying too hard to copy an image of Steve McQueen which isn't working at all. The dialogues aren't as witty as with McQueen and McGraw, and Donaldson would have done a far better job if he could have managed to give an individual life to this picture instead of just doing a 1994 techno grunge remix of an early seventies classic.

Anyway, if you like to watch an entertaining contemporary gangster and road movie, the 1993 version of "The Getaway" is still fun to watch. But if you have the choice to take the original VHS or DVD, skip the remake.