Capo
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Posts: 7,847
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Post by Capo on Dec 9, 2008 19:29:54 GMT
Juvenile and dated, but its early silliness has an immersive charm - and, come the final act, it has in retrospect helped (with a more serious opening, the silly ending might have been a let-down).
It's gorgeous to look at - well-composed shots that evoke the American landscape beautifully. Music's good, too. Hauer has presence, C. Thomas Howell doesn't; together, they're quite good.
It's very easy to read it as a coming-of-age parable; an adolescent boy in the wilderness chasing and being chased (and rescued) by an older alter-ego figure. Lots of references to him not being able, for whatever reason, to fire a gun (especially when Jennifer Jason Leigh is around), until he conquers his fears and thirst for adventure at the climax to shoot down his opponent - Hauer, as fitting an actor as anyone in a role requiring cartoonish machismo... and then some sort of watery attempt at humane vulnerability towards the end.
On top of that, there are at least two moments in which the protagonist (who, tellingly, isn't the titular "hitcher") suggestively awakes from an apparent sleepiness (the first moment is in the opening credits).
Self-knowing extended male fantasy?
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Post by ronnierocketago on Dec 9, 2008 21:28:57 GMT
I always liked THE HITCHER, and apparently out of his 200+ movies, its one of the few flicks that Hauer is proud of having worked in, as he should be. He's awesome in it.
yes its obviously a 80s movie, but shit its not retarded and fucking silly like the recent awful remake* was.
So Capo, if you had to give a score, what would it be?
*=Opening night for that remake at my local theatre, someone threw a fire cracker at the screen. Ouch
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Capo
Administrator
Posts: 7,847
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Post by Capo on Dec 10, 2008 13:20:09 GMT
Tree stars outta five.
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