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The Car | 
| Director: Elliot Silverstein
Actors: R.g. Armstrong, Tony Brande, James Brolin, Ronny Cox, Doris Dowling
Studio: Universal Studios
Category: DVD
List Price: CDN$ 22.99
Buy New: CDN$ 13.88
You Save: CDN$ 9.11 (40%)
New (11) Used (1) from CDN$ 13.88
Avg. Customer Rating:  82 reviews
Sales Rank: 3331
Format: Dolby, Dubbed, Ntsc, Subtitled, Widescreen
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Dubbed)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 61103503
UPC: 025195027571
EAN: 0025195027571
ASIN: B0013527K2
Theatrical Release Date: May 13, 1977
Release Date: May 6, 2008
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 77 more reviews...
Detroit's finest killing machine August 19, 2007
Every so often a movie comes along that is just better than it has any right to be. The Car (from 1977) is one of those movies. Summary-wise, it doesn't sound like much at all. Basically, you've got a killer car haunting the streets of a desert town, and James Brolin stars as the law man who has to find a way to end the car's reign of terror. That's it, really. You also have the fact that no one could come up with a less mundane title than The Car. It turns out, though, that the title suits the movie quite well, as this film really is all about the car (a custom Lincoln Mark III). It's a sleek, seductive, darkly charismatic, made-in-the-USA monster of a vehicle. The king of 1970s cinematic automobiles, it could eat Herbie for lunch and scare the wax right off of Christine.
A couple of bikers are the car's first victims, but word doesn't really spread until the car takes out an annoying French horn-playing hijacker. Local explosives dude and wife-beater Amos Clements (R.G. Armstrong) is the first to witness the vehicle in action, but it isn't long before most of the men on the police force have seen it, as well -- with an increasing number of them not living to tell about it. When Wade Parent (Brolin) has to step in to the shoes of the sheriff (who won't be needing those shoes anymore), it's up to him to devise some plan for bringing the unknown driver to justice. Yeah, an elderly Indian witness says that she saw no one driving the thing, but that couldn't be true, now could it? With his second in command choosing that time to fall off the wagon, Wade definitely has his work cut out for him. Among other things, he's got a local school marching band out practicing on the town's parade route. Personally, I don't think it's a good idea to march dozens of kids up and down the middle of a public road at any time (even though Lord knows they need the practice), but it's especially dangerous when your town is completely at the mercy of a killer hot rod Lincoln.
There are an awful lot of things that go boom in this movie. Apart from blowing up one car before it hardly has a chance to even hit anything, the special effects are pretty darn satisfying (especially given the film's age). Through it all, the killer car shows no sign of a single scratch. Heck, you can't even shoot this thing with a shotgun and leave a mark -- this is one tough horseless carriage. Cursing the car out seems pretty effective, but believe me when I say this is only a temporary solution. What's a person to do when even the comfort of your own home doesn't guarantee your safety? Personally, I would recommend moving to the left or right when being pursued by an evil car, but everyone in this movie seems to think their only choice is to try and outrace the vehicular behemoth (whether on foot, on a bike, or in a car).
The ending is a little cheesy (surprise, surprise), but I actually enjoyed this film quite a bit. James Brolin actually turns in a decent performance, you've got a fairly significant body count, and the car is just relentless in its attacks. How do you stop something like this, especially when you begin to suspect the driver may be more than a normal man (and that's assuming the car actually has someone at the controls to begin with)? Well, figuring that out is just part of the fun, isn't it?
Eerie and entertaining, but incomplete print. May 26, 2004
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Once again Anchor Bay does a commendable job of delivering a long forgotten classic on DVD. This film has been called 'JAWS on wheels' and I must say this is not an unfair comparison, despite this The Car stands up on its own merit as a great suspense film. This film does indeed borrow more from JAWS than other automotive terror films like DUEL.
The Car, a possessed luxury sedan, is presented as a predatory entity systematically decimating the population of a small New Mexico town as the local Sheriff and his men struggle to stop the remorseless killing machine.
The cast is wonderful, particulary James Brolin (The Amityville Horror) and Ronny Cox (The Beast Within). Brolin plays Sheriff Wade Parent, the macho protagonist determined to stop the car. Kathleen Lloyd is excellent as Brolin's strong willed love interest. Ronny Cox is great too as the eternally tormented alcoholic deputy Luke.
The film benefits from some truly effective scenes-the wide shots of the New Mexico desert with the car emerging in the distance and thundering its way towards the viewer are creepy and uneasy. The use of sound-alternating long periods of silence with deafening blasts of automotive noise is also very unnerving, this film is sure to make even the most jaded viewer jump in places.
It should be mentioned that this film is rather anemic, so gorehounds should abstain, instead this film relies on character development and suspense.
Now for the negative aspects of this DVD-the film for some reason is most certainly cut as I recently watched this film on cable tv and the tv cut featured at least 20-30 seconds more footage in the cemetary scene. This may seem like nitpicking, but why Anchor Bay chose to release an edited version of this film when most of its catalog is comprised of sex and gore epics is nothing short of a mystery. Also, the climatic scenes of this film are marred by a considerable amount of grain in the picture.
All in all though, it is great to have this above average b-movie available, since I was a kid this is one film I enjoy watching over and over again. The film is presented full frame and widescreen. It also includes a theatrical trailer. This DVD is getting harder and harder to find so buy this now and add another lost gem to your DVD collection!!
 James Brolin's Absolute Summit As A Thespian May 25, 2004
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
"The Car" manifests James Brolin's absolute summit of the acting craft, reflecting the finest performance he ever gave in one of the best films ever made -- about a driverless car that kills people and cannot be stopped. (Before you denounce this concept as implausible, take a look at "Yentl.") Brolin's delivery in "The Car," his use of his features, expressions, voice and body to totally immerse himself in the character of a small-town law officer facing the challenge of a lifetime, is unparalleled by any other work in his career. This film should be required viewing in every school of drama in the nation, to demonstrate to young actors what they could become if given the right opportunity. And it was terrific seeing young Ronny Cox in this movie too, fresh off his broke-arm, drowned-in-the-river portrayal in "Deliverance." (At one point in "The Car," we see Cox weeping -- and you just have to think he was actually upset from watching Brolin's performance on the set, which so easily enabled him to produce tears.) "The Car" (a film FAR superior to Kill Dozer, though the concept is the same) was James Brolin's peak, the apex of his entire acting portfolio. There really was nothing left for him to do after this, but marry Barbra and witness her incomparable participation in the aging process.
Relentless Machines May 7, 2004
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Anyone who has seen Stephen King's CHRISTINE or read the book will have noticed some similarities between it and THE CAR. I missed this film when it was first released, but it was apparently overshadowed by STAR WARS. THE CAR is nevertheless one of the great movies of the 1970's, up there with JAWS, DUEL, THE BIG WEDNESDAY, and APOCALYPSE NOW.This film has a tense quality throughout, with many scenes shot in complete silence, keeping the viewer in anticipation as to where the car will strike next and who will be its next unfortunate victim. There is no back story; no-one knows where the mechanical fiend originated from. It just appears one day, bent on the destruction of a small desert town, casually picking off its inhabitants and any hitchhikers passing through. James Brolin plays the New Mexico town's sheriff, Wade Parent, who relentlessly pursues the car, trying to obtain a licence plate or a description of the driver. Roadblocks are set up, but the car dissappears without a trace following each bloody incident. The question on Wade's mind is: are they dealing with a homicidal maniac - or some dark phantom, a demonic otherworldly apparition? Of all the horror films based on 'killing machines', THE CAR (1977) is one of the best. Perhaps not as good as DUEL (1971), it ranks alongside CHRISTINE (1983) and MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE (1986)). Closely following are THE BLACK CADILLAC (2002), THE AMBULANCE (1990), TRUCKS (1997), THE WRAITH (1986), and ROADKILL (2001, aka JOYRIDE). Disc features: Widescreen Presentation; Full-Frame Presentation; Theatrical Trailer; Talent Biographies. Cast: James Brolin, Kathleen Lloyd, John Marley, Elizabeth Thompson, and Ronny Cox (DELIVERANCE). Director: Elliot Silverstein (A MAN CALLED HORSE).
 Review of The Car March 20, 2004
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
An okay movie for 1977, and virtually forgotten about, even back then, when its box office appearance was overtaken by another 1977 film called "Star Wars". The Car is a nightmare story about a mysterious black car that appears out of nowhere, and begins to terrorize a small desert town, killing the citizens at random for no reason otherthen the thrill of murderous bloodshed. The town's sheriff (James Brolin) must do his duty and capture the psycopathic driver, but when its revealed the car has doesn't have a driver, the sheriff realizes he's facing a car spawned by pure evil, and it may be unstoppable. The car itself looks really cool, and I like the idea it doesn't look like any dicernable make or model. Just looking at it, you can tell its menacing and evil. The movie overall, is typical of 70's horror films; many characters are killed off, and your left guessing who will survive in the end. The concept of the demon car is original, since "Christine" came out later, and the idea was of course spawned off an urban legend; that of a ghostly black car that cause accidents on Route 666 in Nevada. Fans of Spielberg's "The Duel" may like this movie as well, down to the car's chilling horn which trumpeted like a Mack truck. However, this overused horn gets kind of annoying later on in the film. Some of the characters are also kind of dry in my opinion. I was glad when a few got ran over since you don't have to deal with them later on. In conclusion, "The Car" isn't terrible, and it's a fun movie to watch on Halloween if your sick of slasher films. The violence is actually pretty vague in this movie. Most victims are hit off screen and your left with just the thump of the impact and a puddle of blood or two on the road.
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