Pit Stop isn’t a very well known film and especially not amongst Jack Hill’s semi-lengthy filmography which includes Foxy Brown and Spider Baby but for my money, I enjoyed the heck out of it especially with the impressive stunt work and a generally unpredictable finale. The Blu-ray release by Arrow Video offers great video/audio transfers and a fair selection of bonus material making this a worthwhile purchase.
Pit Stop
(1969)
REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall
Genre(s): Drama, Sports
Arrow Video | NR – 91 min. – $29.95 | June 23, 2015
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MOVIE INFO: Directed by: Jack Hill Writer(s): Jack Hill (written by) Cast: Brian Donlevy, Richard Davalos, Ellen Burstyn, Sid Haig, Beverly Washburn DISC INFO: Audio: English (PCM 1.0) |
** Click Here to Purchase Pit Stop on Blu-ray from Amazon.com **
THE MOVIE – 3.0/5
Plot Synopsis: The most dangerous game ever devised, to pit man against man, flesh against steel – the figure-8 race. Rick Bowman (RICHARD AVALOS) is a street punk who winds up in jail after a street race goes wrong. Bailed out by race promoter Grant Willard (BRIAN DONLEVY) is put in the deadly track where he comes up against Hawk Sidney (SID HAIG).
Quick Hit Review: Pit Stop isn’t a very well known film, heck while I’ve heard of it in passing, I completely forgot about it, yet it’s a very well made movie that in spite of some questionable performances features some well choreographed racing scenes and an ending that’s anything but Hollywood. Still, there are some solid acting going on here from Sid Haig to Beverly Washburn who is not only cute as a button but has a few good scenes for her limited part.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.75/5
This Arrow Video release comes housed in an HD Keep Case. Inside is a 30-page photo and essay booklet. Also included is a reversible artwork.
Audio Commentary – Writer/Director Jack Hill sits down for a fine track where he talks about various aspects of making the film from locations, stunts and certain actors.
Crash and Burn: Jack Hill on the Making of Pit Stop (15:31; HD) is a new interview with the writer/director as he recounts making the movie so many years later.
Drive Hard: Sid Haig Remembers Pit Stop (16:48; HD) – The actor chats about his time working on the film.
Roger Corman on the Genesis of Pit Stop (11:36; HD) – Producer Corman gives his thoughts on the project and how it came to be including how he started his own production company.
Restoring Pit Stop (3:53; HD) breaks down the restoration process.
Theatrical Trailer (2:03; HD)
VIDEO – 4.0/5
Arrow Video releases Pit Stop onto Blu-ray presented in its original 1.78 widescreen aspect ratio and given a 1080p high-definition transfer from 35mm film print from filmmaker Jack Hill’s own collection as the original film elements were apparently lost (though there’s some contention to that as there is another Blu-ray release by Scorpion Releasing). The transfer itself is pretty good and mostly clean with good detail levels and only a moderate amount of scratches or dust marks.
AUDIO – 4.5/5
The movie comes with an uncompressed PCM Mono track which, as with the picture, was culled from the original sources as possible and any hisses, bumps and other ailments were removed and what we’re left with is a solid track providing for not only clear dialogue levels but also giving some depth for the racing sequences.
OVERALL – 3.0/5
Overall, Pit Stop isn’t a very well known film and especially not amongst Jack Hill’s semi-lengthy filmography which includes Foxy Brown and Spider Baby but for my money, I enjoyed the heck out of it especially with the impressive stunt work and a generally unpredictable finale. The Blu-ray release by Arrow Video offers great video/audio transfers and a fair selection of bonus material making this a worthwhile purchase.
Published: 08/06/2015
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.