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The Hitcher (1986)

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Commentaries on this disc:

Commentary 1: Director Robert Harmon and screenwriter Eric Red Rating:7.3/10 (3 votes) [graph]Login to vote or review
Reviewed by britwrit on March 20th, 2009:Find all reviews by britwrit
This one starts off really slowly, with lots of dead air in the first half hour or so of the film. Gradually, though, both director and screenwriter get into it, talking about the genesis of the project and how some of those spectacular stunts were staged. I would have rated this higher (7/10) but it's never a good sign when you switch to a commentary track and going nothing but silence.
Reviewed by frankasu03 on March 25th, 2015:Find all reviews by frankasu03
Mainly, I am in strong agreement with the previous review. The track does begin very slowly, perhaps a moderator could have "jump started" the proceedings a bit. Once the many action set-pieces begin to unfold, Director Harmon engages the listener more frequently. You learn how the stunts were achieved, what camera techniques and tools were utilized to capture the phenomenal action (before CGI, mind you). A little more background behind the project would have been refreshing, as a movie this uncompromising warrants some explanation. I think it's fair to say a film like the "Hitcher" would be difficult to "green-light" in today's marketplace. Hearing screenwriter Red in other media, I have found him to be very engaging. There is a "bootleg" "Bad Moon" commentary out there that is as unapologetic and fierce as his many films. This track, not so much. Kudos to Harmon for staying on point, especially towards the second half of the commentary (location info, shooting choices, and more trivia are delivered). 6/10
Commentary 2: Director Robert Harmon, actors Rutger Hauer, C. Thomas Howell, composer Mark Isham, Edward S. Felman, cinematographer John Seale and screenwriter Eric Red. Rating:10.0/10 (1 vote) [graph]Login to vote or review