The Getaway (1994)

An ex-con and his devoted wife must flee from danger when a heist doesn't go as planned.

Director:

Roger Donaldson

Writers:

Jim Thompson (novel), Walter Hill (screenplay)

Stars:

Alec Baldwin, Kim Basinger, Michael Madsen

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

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. Doc knows Jack Benyon, a rich "business"-man, is up to something big, so he tells his wife (Carol McCoy) to tell him that he's for sale if Benyon can get him out of prison. Benyon pulls some strings and Doc McCoy is released again. Unfortunately he has to cooperate with the same person that got him to prison.

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Plot Keywords:

manhunt | fugitive | neo noir | one last job | suicide by hanging | 

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Taglines:

A dangerous deal. A double cross. And the ultimate set up is yet to come.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, sexuality and language

Details

Country:

USA Japan

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 February 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Getaway

Filming Locations:

Flagstaff, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,806,515, 13 February 1994

Gross USA:

$16,094,974

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$30,057,974

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Largo Entertainment, JVC Entertainment Networks

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min 116 min (uncut)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The screenplay for the original film was written by Walter Hill. In 1990, Hill's wife, Hildy Gottlieb, had left her job as an agent to head up Alec Baldwin's production company, Meadowbrook Productions. Hill and Baldwin were friendly - at one stage they were going to make The Fugitive (1993) together before being replaced by Andrew Davis and Harrison Ford. According to Baldwin, Hill always wanted to film his original script before it had been changed by Sam Peckinpah. Hill was going to direct with Baldwin starring, then, according to Baldwin, "they got into a hassle about the budget and Walter split to go do Geronimo: An American Legend (1993), and he gave everybody his blessing to go do it without him."

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Goofs

Gollie should've have called the police when Rudy first threatened him with his life.

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Quotes

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

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Alternate Versions

US theatrical version trimmed sex scenes between Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger to get a R-rating. The European release and US unrated videocassette are uncut.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: The Getaway/Blank Check/My Girl 2 (1994)

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Soundtracks

Carmelita
Written by David White

User Reviews

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.