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Gone In 60 Seconds (1974)
Ventura // Unrated // November 28, 2000
List Price: $24.95 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
This is -- brace yourself -- my 100th review for DVD Talk. What a milestone.
Back when Jerry Bruckheimer was producing films like "Farewell, My Lovely" that didn't involve big box office draws or megatons of explosives, a car enthusiast named H.B. Halicki set out to produce the best car chase movie ever, which he wrote, directed, financed, acted in, and distributed. Though I doubt many would consider the original "Gone In 60 Seconds" to be a great movie, the spectacular stuntwork and sheer number of car chases...notably the lengthy 40 minute chase in Eleanor, the Ford Mustang...have made it quite a cult classic. Hot on the heels of the release of Bruckheimer's remake, the original "Gone In 60 Seconds" has been restored and digitally remastered, and though a stunt accident took Halicki's life, his film lives on...
Yes, "Gone In 60 Seconds" is a car-chase movie, and complaining about the acting in a film like this is about as pointless as complaining about the acting in porn. Here, the "money shots" come in the form of car crashes and great stuntwork, and these scenes more than make up for some of the amateurish acting. The plot isn't that complex -- a group of professional car thieves set out to steal 48 high-priced cars at the request of some powerful Argentinians. Wackiness ensues. I had a lot of fun with "Gone In 60 Seconds", and it'd be nice to see this film get the attention it deserves.
Video: "Gone In 60 Seconds" looks outstanding, thanks to an incredible restoration job. Though non-anamorphic, the sharpness and detail of the image are remarkable. Colors seem largely accurate although fleshtones seem a little on the light side...admittedly, I tend to have a tough time judging with these largely drab mid-'70s palettes. Blacks are solid for the most part, and there are only a handful of print flaws during the entire length of the film. Dust and assorted specks are virtually non-existent. A couple of shots don't seem entirely in focus, but that's likely a problem with the source material. A widescreen-enhanced transfer would've made this disc just about perfect, but the image holds up remarkably well to zooming in, so 16x9 set owners shouldn't be too disappointed. An excellent effort, and I hope this is indicative of future Navarre releases.
Audio: About as good as a 5.1 remix of a mono source can sound... The music is presumably all new; it certainly doesn't sound like it's 25 years old, and out of a couple hundred discs watched, this is the only one where the bass was so powerful that I had to stop the film to adjust the settings on my receiver. The dialogue often sounds somewhat poorly recorded (often with considerable echo or slightly muffled), but again, this is probably the way it's always sounded and isn't all that distracting. The sound effects don't suffer from this same sort of problem, sounding rich and full with quite a low-end kick. Although the original mono track isn't included, there are Dolby Pro-Logic, Dolby Digital 5.1, and DTS tracks.
Supplements: Quite a loaded special edition! First of all, the film is introduced by Halicki's widow, Denice, who appears with the real star of "Gone In 60 Seconds", Eleanor. Most introductions to films get on my nerves -- especially Lloyd Kaufman's seemingly-never-ending tirades on Troma discs -- but this one is actually worth watching, providing a bit of insight into the filmmaker's love for cars, this project, and all that went into making it.
There are three deleted scenes, totaling about eight and a half minutes in length, along with over a half-hour of interviews with notable automobile experts Lee Iacoca (the father of the Ford Mustang), Parnelli Jones, Bobby Ore, and J.C. Agajanian, who comment on the film and some of the stunts involved. The original trailers for "Gone In 60 Seconds" and "The Junkman" are included, along with a promo for the remastered "Gone In 60 Seconds". Also notable are 24 galleries of stills and a collection of international poster art. There are also 46 assorted images on the DVD-ROM portion of the disc, along with links to related websites.
Cinematographer Jack Vacek and editor Warner Leighton provide a pretty interesting commentary, primarily focusing on anecdotes, information on some of the actors, how certain equipment was acquired, and general insight into the art of guerilla filmmaking. There are a number of silent bits in the track, but both men seemed to have had a lot of fun making the movie, and that comes through in the commentary.
The case also lists a hidden Easter egg, but I wasn't able to find it. Oh well. The Dolby Digital "the sound of the future!" bit plays before the menu appears, which was a pleasant surprise.
Conclusion: Anyone with even the slightest interest in the loose 2000 remake of "Gone In 60 Seconds" should give the original a look. Although the film drags during 'character development' scenes, the car chases are without parallel, and the final 40 minute chase in Eleanor is worth the price of entry alone. The disc looks and sounds great, and there are enough supplements to provide plenty of replay value. Well-worth the $24.95 MSRP...highly recommended.
Back when Jerry Bruckheimer was producing films like "Farewell, My Lovely" that didn't involve big box office draws or megatons of explosives, a car enthusiast named H.B. Halicki set out to produce the best car chase movie ever, which he wrote, directed, financed, acted in, and distributed. Though I doubt many would consider the original "Gone In 60 Seconds" to be a great movie, the spectacular stuntwork and sheer number of car chases...notably the lengthy 40 minute chase in Eleanor, the Ford Mustang...have made it quite a cult classic. Hot on the heels of the release of Bruckheimer's remake, the original "Gone In 60 Seconds" has been restored and digitally remastered, and though a stunt accident took Halicki's life, his film lives on...
Yes, "Gone In 60 Seconds" is a car-chase movie, and complaining about the acting in a film like this is about as pointless as complaining about the acting in porn. Here, the "money shots" come in the form of car crashes and great stuntwork, and these scenes more than make up for some of the amateurish acting. The plot isn't that complex -- a group of professional car thieves set out to steal 48 high-priced cars at the request of some powerful Argentinians. Wackiness ensues. I had a lot of fun with "Gone In 60 Seconds", and it'd be nice to see this film get the attention it deserves.
Video: "Gone In 60 Seconds" looks outstanding, thanks to an incredible restoration job. Though non-anamorphic, the sharpness and detail of the image are remarkable. Colors seem largely accurate although fleshtones seem a little on the light side...admittedly, I tend to have a tough time judging with these largely drab mid-'70s palettes. Blacks are solid for the most part, and there are only a handful of print flaws during the entire length of the film. Dust and assorted specks are virtually non-existent. A couple of shots don't seem entirely in focus, but that's likely a problem with the source material. A widescreen-enhanced transfer would've made this disc just about perfect, but the image holds up remarkably well to zooming in, so 16x9 set owners shouldn't be too disappointed. An excellent effort, and I hope this is indicative of future Navarre releases.
Audio: About as good as a 5.1 remix of a mono source can sound... The music is presumably all new; it certainly doesn't sound like it's 25 years old, and out of a couple hundred discs watched, this is the only one where the bass was so powerful that I had to stop the film to adjust the settings on my receiver. The dialogue often sounds somewhat poorly recorded (often with considerable echo or slightly muffled), but again, this is probably the way it's always sounded and isn't all that distracting. The sound effects don't suffer from this same sort of problem, sounding rich and full with quite a low-end kick. Although the original mono track isn't included, there are Dolby Pro-Logic, Dolby Digital 5.1, and DTS tracks.
Supplements: Quite a loaded special edition! First of all, the film is introduced by Halicki's widow, Denice, who appears with the real star of "Gone In 60 Seconds", Eleanor. Most introductions to films get on my nerves -- especially Lloyd Kaufman's seemingly-never-ending tirades on Troma discs -- but this one is actually worth watching, providing a bit of insight into the filmmaker's love for cars, this project, and all that went into making it.
There are three deleted scenes, totaling about eight and a half minutes in length, along with over a half-hour of interviews with notable automobile experts Lee Iacoca (the father of the Ford Mustang), Parnelli Jones, Bobby Ore, and J.C. Agajanian, who comment on the film and some of the stunts involved. The original trailers for "Gone In 60 Seconds" and "The Junkman" are included, along with a promo for the remastered "Gone In 60 Seconds". Also notable are 24 galleries of stills and a collection of international poster art. There are also 46 assorted images on the DVD-ROM portion of the disc, along with links to related websites.
Cinematographer Jack Vacek and editor Warner Leighton provide a pretty interesting commentary, primarily focusing on anecdotes, information on some of the actors, how certain equipment was acquired, and general insight into the art of guerilla filmmaking. There are a number of silent bits in the track, but both men seemed to have had a lot of fun making the movie, and that comes through in the commentary.
The case also lists a hidden Easter egg, but I wasn't able to find it. Oh well. The Dolby Digital "the sound of the future!" bit plays before the menu appears, which was a pleasant surprise.
Conclusion: Anyone with even the slightest interest in the loose 2000 remake of "Gone In 60 Seconds" should give the original a look. Although the film drags during 'character development' scenes, the car chases are without parallel, and the final 40 minute chase in Eleanor is worth the price of entry alone. The disc looks and sounds great, and there are enough supplements to provide plenty of replay value. Well-worth the $24.95 MSRP...highly recommended.
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