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| Dvdivas
was founded by John Gabbard in 2000. It's purpose has been and
remains to be to provide you, the entertainment community with
the latest dvds and movie reviews. It will continue to be your
link to the most popular dvd movies. |
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“Race
with the Devil”
|
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Reviewed
by: |
Wayne A. Klein |
| Genre: |
Horror |
| Video: |
1.85:1 Anamorphic
widescreen |
| Audio: |
Dolby Digital
2.0 |
| Languages |
English |
| Subtitles |
English |
| Length |
90 minutes
|
| Rating |
R |
| Release Date |
6/28/05 |
| Studio |
Anchor Bay
Entertainment |
| Commentary:
|
Producer
Paul Maslansky, actress Lara Parker moderated by DVD special
features producer/writer/director Perry Martin |
| Documentaries:
|
None |
| Featurettes:
|
“Hell on Wheels” |
| Filmography/Biography:
|
None |
|
Interviews: |
None |
| Trailers/TV
Spots: |
Trailers and radio advertising
spots, previews for “The Entity”, “Ghost in the Machine”, “Quicksilver
Highway” |
| Alternate/Deleted
Scenes: |
None |
| Music
Video: |
None |
| Other:
|
Photo galleries |
| Cast
and Crew: |
Peter Fonda,
Warren Oats, Loretta Swit, Lara Parker |
| Written
By: |
Wes Bishop
and Lee Frost |
| Produced
By: |
Paul Maslansky
|
| Directed
By: |
Jack Starrett
|
| Music:
|
Leonard Rosenman
|
| The
Review: |
Anybody that’s traveled in an RV
knows that it can be hell on wheels if you’re not getting
along with your fellow travelers. It’s even worse when you
stumble upon devil worshipers sacrificing a woman right outside
your door. A low budget minor horror classic, “Race with the
Devil” finally arrives on DVD courtesy of Anchor Bay in a
deluxe release that probably had a budget nearly as large
as the original film release itself. A pair of couples (Peter
Fonda, Lara Parker, Warren Oates, Loretta Swit) traveling
by RV to go skiing in Colorado observe what they think is
an orgy at first. When it turns into murder and it’s clear
that it’s part of some satanic ritual, they have to run for
their lives as the cult pursues them. One of a series of low
budget horror movies that are memorable from the 70’s, “Race
with the Devil” was an example of the only type of independent
filmmaking that could be made because it was designed for
a quick shoot, quick profit and with a specific target audience.
“Race with the Devil” represented the type of low budget independent
films that were being done in the 70’s. I thought for a long
time that “Race with the Devil” was a made for TV movie in
the mold of “The Night Stalker” or “The Norlis Tapes” (another
made for TV horror film that deserves to be unearthed) when
I first caught it on late night during the late 70’s-early
80’s. ---
|
| Image
and Sound: |
A surprisingly
great looking transfer for this vintage horror film. Anchor
Bay has done a superb job in bringing “Race with the Devil”
to DVD. There’s the expected grain issues but there’s no analog
defects that I can detect and it’s clear that Anchor Bay pulled
this from a recent print of the film. The film grain isn’t the
result of the transfer but of the stock and condition of the
original negative. It’s not even an issue for a film made in
1974 in my mind. It actually adds texture to the film and to
the atmosphere as well. The mono sound comes across crisp and
clear and isn’t clipped or compressed. Leonard Rosenman’s atmospheric
period score sounds quite good within the limitations of the
presentation. --- |
| The
Extras: |
Anchor
Bay DVD producer Perry Martin has included all the bells and
whistles here. We get the original theatrical trailer, radio
ads, photo galleries as well as promotional stills and posters
from theatrical exhibits of the film from around the world.
This was the third film that Warren Oates and Peter Fonda
made together. They enjoyed each other’s company and worked
extensively throughout the 70’s. There’s also an excellent
featurette on the making of the film featuring Fonda discussing
the making of the film. Featuring clips frm two other films
that Fonda made with Oates, Fonda discusses the water balloon
and pie fight that concluded the shooting of the movie. Oates
was a bit surprised commenting that, “this never happened
on a Peckinpah movie”. Fonda explained that this was the crew’s
way of expressing how much fun they had making the movie.
“Go with it Warren”, was his response. Writer/director Perry
Martin makes liberal use of clips and behind-the-scenes photos
to illustrate what Fonda discusses in the featurette. Great
job yet again Perry! ---
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| Commentary:
|
A very involving
commentary track featuring co-producer Paul Maslansky (“Police
Academy”) and actress Lara Parker (“Dark Shadows”) moderated
by Perry Martin. Martin keeps the discussing moving asking lots
of great questions about the making of the movie. Maslansky
(who provided behind-the-scenes photos from his personal collection)
discusses everything from the fact that they had no ending and
created it by using previously shot footage to the remake that
he pitched (and is being made this year for release next year).
Parker shares many of the behind-the-scenes stories on the making
of the movie that one would expect about joking around but also
discusses the concern they had working with a real rattlesnake
and her own suggestion for how the remake should end. --- |
| Final
Words: |
A terrific
job by Anchor Bay in presenting this psychological terror story
on DVD. The extras are great and any of the major studios would
probably just dumped this on the market without anything in
the way of extras so kudos to Perry Martin for doing such a
great job with the budget he had for extras. |
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