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Pit Stop AKA The Winner (Blu-ray)
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - United Kingdom - Arrow Films Review written by and copyright: Samuel Scott (27th March 2014). |
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The Film
 ***This is a technical review only. For reviews on the movie from various critics, we recommend visiting HERE.*** The most dangerous game ever devised, to pit man against man, flesh against steel – the figure-8 race! Jack Hill (Coffy, Foxy Brown) follows up Spider Baby, once again teaming up with Sid Haig (House of 1000 Corpses) in one of his greatest roles for this action-spectacular crash-o-rama! Richard Davalos (East of Eden) stars as Rick Bowman, a street punk who winds up in jail after a street race goes wrong. Bailed out by race promoter Grant Willard, Davalos is put in the deadly track where he comes up against Haig’s maniacal winner Hawk Sidney. Featuring an outstanding supporting cast including Brian Donlevy (The Quatermass Xperiment) in his last film appearance, Ellen Burstyn, billed as Ellen McRae (The Exorcist) and Beverly Washburn (Spider Baby) Pit Stop is one of Hill’s lesser known films but arguably his greatest. Filmed on a real figure-8 track, Hill and his crew were able to capture gripping real-life car wreck scenes lending the film a brilliant sense of realism. You’ve never seen a motion picture like this before – can you take it?
Video
Arrow Films have restored Jack Hill's "Pit Stop" themselves, under the supervision of James White, who also oversaw Arrow's releases of Zombie Flesh Eaters, Time Bandits, and The Fury. Using a first generation print owned by director Jack Hill, that was taken from the original negatives, the transfer is a joy for fans, though around 5% of scenes are of obvious poorer quality than the other 95%. The transfer is 1080p and is presented at 1.78:1, using an AVC MPEG-4 encode. Director Jack Hill was on hand to oversee the grading, so it is certainly safe to say the transfer is director-approved. Now, I'll get the bad elements of the transfer out of the way first. There are quite a few very small specks and scratches throughout the run time, but for the majority they are barely worth even mentioning. A good example of some of the more noticeable minor damage is at 32:30, where we get a couple of vertical scratches running down the entire screen for a couple of seconds. However, the scene where Sid Haig smashes up Richard Davalos' car and beats him up, is easily the low-point of the transfer, with numerous heavy blemishes and nicks. On the plus side, it is obvious to anybody who has ever seen this film before, that a lot of work has gone into this restoration, and it really shows. Large swathes of the feature look exceptional, with detail surprisingly strong. You can see every little crumple in some of the cars, the shine off metal from the figure-eight stadium lighting doesn't bloom and looks natural, and the dirt track shows great clarity. Hell, you're even able to make out the small details in tire treads left in the dirt. Black levels are strong with good depth, and there are no signs of crushing, not to mention no obvious manipulation such as digital noise reduction that I could see. I noticed no edge enhancement, aliasing, banding, or compression issues. These genre films from the sixties are not exactly well known for being well preserved, but Arrow Films have done a great job with "Pit Stop". Fans will be very happy. The disc is region free, and the feature runs 90:50.
Audio
Arrow Films have provided a single English LPCM 1.0 Mono track for the feature, which is reminiscent of the original track. As per the transfer, the audio has undergone a full restoration by Arrow, and it sounds great. Despite the fact it is a simple mono track, you still feel the roar of the engines, the rattle of exhausts, and the crumpling of metal, in what is a surprisingly engaging track. Dialogue is clear throughout, and volume levels between the score, effects and speech consistent, with none of the elements feeling drowned out by another. There are no obvious signs of damage such as scratches or drop outs, and I noticed no signs of background hiss. As far as mono tracks for old low budget movies go, it's almost reference quality. Optional subtitles are available in English for the hard of hearing.
Extras
The first extra is an audio commentary by director Jack Hill, moderated by Calum Waddell. It's a good commentary, with Waddell keeping things moving at a good pace, and asking Hill plenty of questions about various aspects of not only "Pit Stop", but his career in general. Hill comes across as a very modest man, but someone who has a lot of passion for his projects. He's quite open, even when it comes to more controversial elements of his career, but he carries himself well. An interesting and enjoyable commentary, especially considering how Hill seems to remember a lot of filming details from this 40+ year-old movie. Next we have an interview with director Jack Hill entitled "Crash and Burn: Jack Hill on the Making of Pit Stop", and it lasts 15:30. Hill talks about how Roger Corman approached him to make a stock car movie after viewing "Mondo Keyhole", casting Ellen Burstyn in her feature film debut, casting in general, the original title of "The Winner" which was changed because Universal was releasing a bigger budget feature called "Winning", and the taglines. "Drive Hard: Sid Haig Remembers Pit Stop" is an interview with actor Sid Haig, who had previously worked with Hill on "Spider Baby" and "Blood Bath". The interview runs 16:47, and Haig talks about how the film was shot in a guerilla style and in black and white, due to the meagre $35000 budget, working with Hill, his character of Hawk who ruled by intimidation, how Ellen Burstyn was a bit leary towards other cast members, the various cast members, and how they managed to get certain elements for free, such as use of a garage to shoot some scenes in. The most interesting part of the interview though is where he talks about how humble Hill is, and how Tarantino made Hill's name a little more well known. It's great to see a respect that is in no way fake, as is the case for many interviews in new movies. "Roger Corman on the Genesis of Pit Stop" is an interview with the legendary Roger Corman, clocking in at 11:36. Corman talks about the popularity of stock car movies in the South of America where drive-ins were most popular, the first time he talked with Jack Hill about the project, the success of "The Big Doll House", and how he was surprised Hill never got more offers from bigger studios. The "Restoring Pit Stop" featurette (3:52) is the one in the YouTube video I have posted in the picture quality section of this review. It's worth following Arrow on YouTube and Twitter, as they post videos and interesting information on a regular basis. I imagine they have a Facebook also, but I don't use it, so have never even thought of looking it up. The on-disc extras conclude with the theatrical trailer (2:03). Also included with this release is a DVD copy, a reversible sleeve with newly commissioned artwork by Jay Shaw, and a booklet featuring essays, stills and artwork.
Overall
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