Synopsis
The Driver specializes in driving getaway cars for robberies. His exceptional talent has prevented him from being caught yet. After another successful flight from the police a self-assured detective makes it his primary goal to catch the Driver. He promises pardons to a gang if they help to convict him in a set-up robbery. The Driver seeks help from The Player to mislead the detective.
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Cast
- Ryan O'NealThe Driver
- Bruce DernThe Detective
- Isabelle AdjaniThe Player
- Ronee BlakleyThe Connection
- Matt ClarkRed Plainclothesman
- Felice OrlandiGold Plainclothesman
- Joseph WalshGlasses
- Rudy RamosTeeth
- Denny MackoExchange Man
- Frank BrunoThe Kid
Recommendations
- 100
CineVue
The Driver is a film of types and trends; a cinematic expression of our basest narrative impulses. Directed with remarkable economy, the seasoned Hill keeps everything as tight as possible. - 80
Time Out
A combination of brilliantly edited car chases and existential thriller which recalls the sombreness of Melville and the spareness of Leone in a context which is the 'classical' economy of directors like Hawks and Walsh. - 80
TV Guide Magazine
The sparse story of the struggle of the two men with their obsessions, and with each other, skillfully creates a mood that is hard to shake after the ending credits. The car chases are breathtaking. - 75
Slant Magazine
A visceral symphony of screeching tires and crushing metal. - 70
Newsweek
As ludicrous as the dialogue by screenwriter/director Walter Hill may be, the film's visual scheme is hypnotic. Dark, moody and muscular, its style gets under your skin even if your brain rebels. [21 Aug 1978, p.66] - 63
Chicago Sun-Times
All of this could have been nice and juicy if Walter Hill had done a few more things with his screenplay, such as made the characters into people. - 60
Empire
A fair-to-middling auto-noir with a hole in the middle roughly the size of its leading man’s head. - 60
Variety
Director Walter Hill and stunt coordinator Everett Creach have engineered a number of car chases and they are fabulous, if you like car chases.
