A getaway driver becomes the latest assignment for a tenacious detective.A getaway driver becomes the latest assignment for a tenacious detective.A getaway driver becomes the latest assignment for a tenacious detective.
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis film was originally written for Steve McQueen, but he turned it down. According to Walter Hill, "He didn't want to do anything that had to do with cars at that time. He felt he had already done that and it was pretty hard to argue with that." Hill had been assistant director on Bullitt (1968) and The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) and wrote The Getaway (1972).
- GoofsIn a couple of shots in the first car chase the lid is missing from the trunk of the Driver's car. However, it isn't until a couple of minutes later that we see the police actually blow the lid off with a shotgun blast.
- Quotes
The Detective: I respect a man that's good at what he does. I'll tell you something, I'm very good at what I do.
- Alternate versionsA version of The Driver seen on TV years ago included a pre-credit prologue, in which Bruce Dern's and Matt Clark's characters meet for the first time, and Ronee Blakley gives Isabelle Adjani her assignment as an alibi. The CBS/Fox home video version begins abruptly with the opening credits, omitting this prologue.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Automan: The Biggest Game in Town (1984)
- SoundtracksOne Fine Day
(uncredited)
Written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King
performed by Julie Budd (uncredited)
Heard just prior to the first chase in the pool room
Featured review
I looked long and hard for this film and finally found it online... About a year ago I found the novelization at a local used bookshop and was enthralled. Then I shook loose a repressed memory of a scene from the Driver -well more like an image. That of Ryan O'Neal behind the wheel -shades in place, a study in cool.
Well I was obsessed and had to find the film. Once I did, it was like some sort of archaeological find. I popped it in the vcr (old school all the way) and sat back ready to be taken into a dangerous world of ruthless and amoral characters who live by some sort of twisted samurai code and law of thieves.
In a nutshell, this film delivered in spades. If you can find a copy of it, buy it or rent it. The car chases are extraordinary. The performances and cinematography are gloriously minimal and committed to the aesthetic of 'cool'.
It's a shame that junk like "The Transporter" and "Gone In Sixty Seconds" have come to embody the modern day equivalent of the existential bad guy and wheelman. Those films aren't fit to shine the chrome of this one.
One of Walter Hill's Best.
Thumbs Up.
Well I was obsessed and had to find the film. Once I did, it was like some sort of archaeological find. I popped it in the vcr (old school all the way) and sat back ready to be taken into a dangerous world of ruthless and amoral characters who live by some sort of twisted samurai code and law of thieves.
In a nutshell, this film delivered in spades. If you can find a copy of it, buy it or rent it. The car chases are extraordinary. The performances and cinematography are gloriously minimal and committed to the aesthetic of 'cool'.
It's a shame that junk like "The Transporter" and "Gone In Sixty Seconds" have come to embody the modern day equivalent of the existential bad guy and wheelman. Those films aren't fit to shine the chrome of this one.
One of Walter Hill's Best.
Thumbs Up.
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Driver
- Filming locations
- Torchy's Bar - 218 1/2 West Fifth Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA(Exterior bar scenes as detectives exit.)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $4,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross worldwide
- $1,091
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