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Black Cat Run

List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]

Review by Marc Girdler | posted January 18, 2000 | E-mail the Author
Johnny Del Grissom isn't having a good day. He just lost a big race, and worst of all, he is not allowed to see his girlfriend anymore. You see, her father is also the sheriff, and he just laid down the law, no more Johnny for his daughter. Not too cool, and Johnny is wondering if things could any worse for him. Soon, he will find out, they can...and will. Elsewhere, a band of escaped convicts are blazing a crime spree through the desert landscape, leaving a large body count behind as they go. When they cross paths with the aforementioned sheriff, not only do they murder him, they also take his daughter hostage! Now, since Johnny was pretty upset at the sheriff, and he's gone from town, the police assume he's the guilty party, and start chasing him. Truth is, Johnny's trying to catch the escapees, so he can save his girl and clear his name. But it won't be easy, as the criminals are covering the path with dead bodies galore, all of which the police believe to be victims of Johnny's rage. Now, the chase is heading ever closer to the Mexican border, and time is running out for Johnny. He has a fast car and quick thinking, but will that be enough?

I assume this is a made for HBO movie, as it is presented full frame, and has the look of such a film. Having recently watched "Made Men," another made for HBO flick, I had high hopes for this movie, especially since the case told me it was written by Frank Darabont, director of The Shawshank Redemption. Now, it was no Shawshank by any means, but this is a fun action filled romp, chase fans will be very interested. The movie has lower than usual production values, so don't expect miracles, although some of the stunts and effects are quite good. This movie is for viewers who like chases and action movies only, all others will probably not enjoy this as much. Now, I don't think this is a movie to purchase, unless you are a die hard chase lover, but it is worth a rent. It will make for a fun weekend rental, that's for sure.

Since the movie was made for television, the print looks very nice, with little wear signs and flecking. Althought some may scoff at the full frame ratio, the movie was shot for television, so I assume the ratio is correct. There is no obvious panning to be seen. One thing that struck me about the visuals of this film are the desert landscapes, which look beautiful, and this disc makes them look as good as they ever have. Colors look natural, with vivid primaries and correct flesh tones and darker hues. Thanks to correct black levels, even the darkest shadows retain full detail, a plus for a movie like this, with plenty of darker scenes. I could not see any compression errors in the transfer either, a top notch transfer all the way.

The audio is simply put, acceptable. With this type of movie, plenty of gun fire and squealing tires, I expected a more active audio track, but such was not the case. It's not bad however, it could just be better. There is some moderate surround use, but the majority of the audio is focused toward the front channels. I was disappointed with the audio, but if you don't expect as much as I did, you'll have no complaints. The track does a superb job at capturing the low level effects, such as rocks rumbling under the cars, whispering, audio of that type. The dialogue sounds good, with solid clarity and good seperation between audio elements. A decent track, but I wonder how good this would have been in a deluxe 5.1 track. No supplements are included, aside from some meager talent files.

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