The Getaway

The Getaway (1972)

A striking, very characteristic period piece that owes something (a lot) to "Bonnie and Clyde" from five years earlier. Steve McQueen is strong, in his silently brooding, intense way. And he rules the movie. His counterpart (his wife, actually), is played by Ali MacGraw (of "Love Story" fame) who is predictably a bit drab, though she fits the mold of the times.

So who makes the movie even slightly great? The photographer and editor, and therefore the director, Sam Pickinpaw, who had risen up with "The Wild Bunch" and "Straw Dogs," both better films than this one. The combination of natural, smart visuals (thanks to Lucian Ballard) and amazingly back and forth editing that would make Christopher Nolan proud (thanks to Robert Wolfe, who would go on to do a number of interesting films), the movie has punch and fresh energy.

The plot is fairly straight up—Doc McCoy gets out of jail thanks to a "favor" by his wife with a crime king. The debt is paid with more crime, and so the movie follows the new heist. Parallel to this is the reunification of McCoy with his wife. And she is involved in the new job, so the interweaving continues.

So in a way, the plot does its job keeping the other elements in place. The movie is fast, and has a lot of changes and interesting aspects. The settings are great—Texas in the early 1970s— and the feeling of small crime in the big world makes a great backdrop. McQueen is smart and wily, and a lot of the small parts are strong, especially Slim Pickens at the end.

It also sums up the attempts in New Hollywood to be shocking and new. Worth seeing.

Sick and tired of new releases I couldn't get through 45 minutes of, I went back to a classic: Sam Peckinpah's The Getaway. What a breath of fresh air this 1972 heist/chase movie turned out to be. In addition to hyper realistic characterizations of the McCoys (played by Steve McQueen and Ali MacGraw), everything else about this movie rings true. 35 years later, Peckinpah's signature slo-motion shoot outs stand up against anything in the theaters today. There's little to dislike about this movie and I can't help but wonder why movies aren't made like this anymore: no special FX, no over-the-top stunt sequences, no melodramatic dialogue, not fat, no filler. This is a movie made by real people, for real people. Plain and simple.

Technically, the stand-out aspect within The Getaway is the editing. Influenced by the French New Wave, Peckinpah defies convention by playing with time and space as he uses disjointed cuts to jump ahead in time before allowing the events within the movie to catch up to the present. The most interesting example of this occurs when Doc and Carol are at a busy park alongside a river. Doc has just been released from prison and he's soaking in the sights and sounds of freedom. Peckinpah cuts to a shot of Doc jumping into the river with his clothes on, followed by Carol. At first this feels like a fantasy in Doc's head since we abruptly cut back to the present where Doc is still standing and looking at the river. But soon he actually does run to and jump into the river. From there we cut directly to Carol's apartment where the two enter soaking wet and smiling. It is atypical and unexpected to see unconventional editing like this in mainstream American movies, but when it's done (and done right) there' something incredibly rewarding about having your brain (and expectations) teased in such a randomly disjointed (yet fluid) way.

Another example of unconventional yet incredibly effective montage happens in the opening thirty minutes. In this sequence Doc McCoy (McQueen) is locked up in prison and slowly losing his wits. Peckinpah portrays Doc's inner head space through a dizzying montage of shots of Doc in and around the prison, where synced sound cuts smash into one another in a relentlessly pounding and oppressive manner. You get the sense something has to break and before long you realize it's Doc's resolve.

Peckinpah proves with The Getaway that you don't need astounding source material to make a great movie. On the written page I'm sure this film seemed like a very standard heist/chase film. But by allowing the actors to bring realistic, idiosyncratic performances to the table and by utilizing unorthodox techniques, such as French New Wave inspired editing, Peckinpah elevates pulp into high art. I know I'm sounding like a broken record by saying this but: where are the artists in Hollywood today?

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Before Action became routine and Bruce Willis there was the 1970´s Action-film, which often had a lot of mood. "The Getaway" is one of those films, showing what range the Action-film could have - there is more than violence and wannabe-cool dialog here. This was before the Action-films became exaggerated, instead of having just explosions and being over-explicit there is booth plot and suspense in "The Getaway". It let Peckinpah use his well known style, in the way of Boorman´s "Point Blank". The result is pure. Ali McGraw is said to be limited and stiff, but Peckinpah made her solid here. I guess that Steve McQueen never was better than here, even if some wouldn't agree. Some of Peckinpah´s regular starred (such as Ben Johnson, Slim Pickens, Bo Hopkins and Dub Taylor) which makes it even better today - the impact of Peckinpah is powerful.

Rating: 8 of 10.

The Getaway has the very important "Three S's" which are so crucial to any film: Style, Substance, and Steve McQueen.

This film, right behind PAPILLON, is definitely my favorite McQueen vehicle -- it's a big, BIG film (which makes sense, it takes place in Texas), has an epic feel, yet at the same time is very gritty and very honest in its approach to storytelling. The simplistic yet larger-than-life style of THE GETAWAY makes this flick a great watch on a Saturday Night.

Oh, and you can't go wrong with Steve McQueen. At his side is *THE* girl-next-door type, the ultra-likable Ali MacGraw. Their chemistry is very obvious (which would make a lot of sense, the two had an on-set affair which was followed by a five year marriage), and it carries the film. The score, composed by Quincy Jones, hits all the right notes in all the right spots, and is definitely pivotal in giving THE GETAWAY its "feel." The supporting cast couldn't be better-suited to their roles. The bad guys are really bad, and quite despicable. Despite the sinister villains, this early 70s gem has a sense of humor. At times the more "innocent" characters are mocked by the situations they find themselves in, much to your amusement or disgust (I, for one, found laugh-out-loud moments all the way through). By the very nature of a McQueen film, the characters are all "approachable," and down to earth in their own strange way. In a nutshell, a simplistically epic film that finds the time to not take itself so seriously.

While THE GETAWAY may not be the best to bring out at a movie get-together due to its slightly slow pacing and early 70s narrative (which, unfortunately, due to the breakneck music-video pacing of most "modern" films, tends to turn off anyone with a less-than-sufficient attention span), it is definitely worth a purchase, and something that you will be proud to say that you've seen.

Long Live McQueen, and Have a RIB, Harold!

The film centers about a robber named "Doc" McCoy (Steve McQueen) is paroled from a Texas state prison , somewhat to his surprise . His spouse , Carol (Ali McGraw) , has arranged for his freedom by sleeping with the corrupt but politically well connected Jack Benyon (Ben Johnson) . Ben Johnson assigns him a heist helped by Al Lettieri and Bo Hopkins but he's betrayed and the events burst .

In the motion picture there is suspense , drama , thriller, car pursuits and amount of violence reflected in slow-moving shots typical of Peckinpah . From the beginning to the end the action-packed is interminable . The final confrontation at hotel between the starring , Steve McQueen , Ali McGraw and the enemies is breathtaking and overwhelming . The picture has been classified ¨R¨ for crude murders and isn't apt for little boys , neither squeamish . However , it was rated PG by the MPAA in the United States. A few years later, in retrospect, this was considered a mistake and the board believed that the film should have been rated one step higher, an R . Steve McQeen and Ali McGraw's (marriage in real life) interpretation is top-notch . Sam Peckinpah direction is excellent though is better in Western films (Wild bunch , Pat Garret and Billy the Kid , Bring me the head Alfredo Garcia and Major Dundee).

The movie obtained success and originated a remake featured by Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger (marriage in real life, too) although failed at box office . The yarn will appeal to action buffs and Peckinpah fans . Rating : 7/10 .Well catching