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The Driver | 
| Director: Walter Hill
Actors: Isabelle Adjani, Ronee Blakely, Richard Carey, Fidel Corona, Bruce Dern
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Category: DVD
List Price: CDN$ 12.06
Buy New: CDN$ 7.33
You Save: CDN$ 4.73 (39%)
New (12) Used (2) from CDN$ 7.17
Rating:  12 reviews
Format: Import, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled)
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: D2227331D
UPC: 024543173311
EAN: 0024543173311
ASIN: B0007ZEOC8
Theatrical Release Date: 1978
Release Date: June 7, 2005
Availability: Usually ships within 1 - 2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new Item, factory Sealed. Buy direct from the U.S. and save! We only ship airmail to Canada (7-15 days).Caiman, les prix qu'on aime! Tous nos produits sont neufs. Envoi par avion des Etats-Unis
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| Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...
 Gives new meaning to the term slam bang November 11, 2002
LGwriter (Astoria, N.Y. United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Walter Hill is the doyen of American action films, hands down. 1978's The Driver is one of his best; the focus here is on momentum, pure and simple. There are great car chases and the slam-bang stuff is there in buckets--especially a great scene inside a parking garage in which the title character played by Ryan O'Neal demolishes a vermilion Mercedes Benz by screeching around corners all over the place, showing just how good a driver he is to skeptical crooks who need him as their getaway man.pA laconic flick to be sure, The Driver gives nobody names. Bruce Dern is the snartass cop who's after the driver and even recruits bank robbers to nab him. Natch, that doesn't work. You could even say this is the quintessential Hill flick (although I am very partial to Trespass), since dialogue is overshadowed by car chases and all the other stuff manipulative people (cops and criminals both) do to make their place in the world. What dialogue there is wastes no words, just like the plot wastes no time on what could be a possible romance (O'Neal and French lovely Isabelle Adjani), instead having the two of them partner up for a lot of dough--knowing glances, yeah, but no gooey stuff.pRonee Blakley is also here in a smaller role as another great looking go-between for the driver, but she's not on screen a lot, and there's never even the faintest hint of any hanky-panky between them. pThis is not only one of the best Hill flicks, but without question one of the best American action films ever made. The recent drivel, I mean, Driven, with Stallone deserves to crash and burn, while The Driver--tight as a drum and slick as greased lightning--is a red hot roadster of a film. pSee it when you need a serious revving up.
Drive, he said August 12, 2002
D. Hartley (Seattle, WA USA)
It's too bad director Walter Hill will likely be remembered more for providing Eddie Murphy with his first big screen showcase (in 48 Hours) than for his overall contribution to the American action film genre. Hill's tough-as-nails 1978 noir The Driver is arguably both his least-known and best work. Ryan O'Neal is quite effective as a dour, sociopathic wheelman who hires himself out as a getaway driver for assorted criminal enterprises. Bruce Dern is at his sleazy best as the cynical but driven cop on his trail. O'Neal and Dern play this classic cat-and-mouse noir scneario to the hilt (similar to Pacino and DeNiro's relationsip in 1995's Heat). Isabelle Adjani's icy beauty well suits her role as O'Neal's fatalistic girlfriend. It's ironic that Ryan O'Neal's best films seem to be the ones where he doesn't have to recite much dialogue (Barry Lyndon). Supposedly the word count for O'Neal's lines in The Driver totals a scant 350 (!) according to a factoid that prefaced a recent cable airing. Well worth seeking out.
 Post-Noir Pseudo-Existentialism With Great Car Chases May 13, 2001
Michael Weber (Atlanta)
It gets three stars for (mostly) the car chases and the quality of menace that O'Neal manages to put into the two unaccented words Go Home.pYou know you're in for someone's ego-trip attempt at The Great American Existentialist Film when the characters have no names, just labels -- The Driver, The Player, The Cop, etc.pIt becomes more obvious when every other bit of dialog is a dry, clever bit of cynicism.pAnd it's right there in your face when the major plot revelation in the film is that people don't always do what they always do.pIt's far from awful -- Hill is a decent if overrated writer/director. I mean, he's working the same vein as Leone, Peckinpah and Siegel, just not in as rich a part of the ore.pWell worth seeing for the transitory fun of the story and the incredible driving sequences -- comparable to the original Gone in 60 Seconds or Vanishing Point and superior to, say Bullitt. But most people i've known who have kept the tape, kept it they can watch that Mercedes in the garage, the chase inside the warehouse or the other driving sequences, not to revel in the story.
Somber and Engrossing, Classic Noir with a 70s Groove! January 18, 2001
Douglas R. Williams (Akron, Ohio United States)
This is a true piece of american noir. It seems like a diverting little car chase movie the first time you see it, but O'Neil's stoic, nihilistic getaway driver has a way of bringing you back for more viewings. It's interesting that Ian Muldoon mentions the similarity to a Jean-Pierre Melville film in his review, because I think this movie owes a lot to Melville's LE SAMOURAI (on which John Woo's THE KILLER was also based). Just like Melville's hit man Jeff kills without conscience or reflection, yet still abides by an unbending code of honor, O'Neil's Driver is, ironically, more moral in his way than the obsessed, power-mad cop (Bruce Dern) who pursues him.pWalter Hill no frills, straight-to-the-gut style really works here. The costumes, sets, and cinematography are dark, understated, and really engrossing, especially on repeated viewings. I believe that this is a movie that grad-school film students will be watching 100 years from now.
 One of the single best car chase films. September 18, 2000
Amazing-and to this day a film that is not loved as much as it should be. Ryan O'Neal is great as the driver-a nearly silent Hawksian professional getaway driver. Bruce Dern is also good as a cop bent on catching this outlaw. Lots of western parallels. Great scene wherein O'Neal is asked to demonstrate his driving skill and he destroys the car that his fellow crooks have brought. Lots of great car chases-some of the best ever. Walter Hill really does a heck of a great job here(like he has before). A great film that deserves the cult following it has-it even deserved more-well worth owning.
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