Sawed-off Robert Blake gets the Big John Wayne treatment in this homage to John Ford and American Westerns.
Western parallels also abound. Instead of a saloon, for example, in this lone bar state there's a road house run by proprietess Jolene, whom we learn is Harv's girlfriend . . . but only after we see her having sex with that little guy with the big attitude. Blake's height is the brunt of more than a few jokes throughout the film, the most engaging when he's standing in line at a desert lunch-wagon and turns to two tall and statuesque young women with perhaps the funniest pick-up lines in cinematic history, "Did you know that me and Alan Ladd are exactly the same height?" Beat. "Did ya know that he was so short that they had to dig a ditch for the girls to stand in to kiss him?" Ba-bump! And yeah, the women look interested.
But tone is a problem, and perhaps one reason for the film's detractors to label it "fascist." When Wintergreen dons his plain clothes duds for the first time, prom music plays in the background, and the scene ends with a shot of him touching a photo of a '50s rock 'n' roll group hanging on his wall. But that ironic, witty, and self-referential humor is offset by segments which romanticize the law enforcement officer with long and lingering up-angle shots, cheesy music, and American flags draped all over the background. Those two tones mingle with a third: a gritty realism that works its way into the film like sand in the shoes. "Electra Glide in Blue" was based, in part, on a true story of a motorcycle cop who was killed outside Phoenix, Arizona. But the tone keeps shifting among these three styles, with the result being that the film doesn't come together as cohesively and powerfully as it otherwise might have. Then too, Blake's character is the only one with any three-dimensionality. His partner, the saloonkeeper, the lead detective, the crazy man, the bikers—all of them are stock characters. Westerns, of course, used stock characters as a matter of course, but "Electra Glide in Blue" seems far too savvy in spots for us to sit back and enjoy the stereotypes.
Video: This road picture wasn't shot as cheaply as "Easy Rider" and the film stock has held up really well. Though there's no mention of restoration, the quality is superb for a film released in 1973. "Electra Glide" is presented in anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1 ratio, though on my screen it appears closer to 1.85:1 and fills out more of the screen than the typical 2.35:1 picture) with color by DeLuxe.
Audio: The audio seems to be Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, with the front main speakers getting just as much of a workout as the front center speaker. The sound quality is natural and free of hiss, crackle, and pop. No complaints here.
Extras: Aside from Guercio's introduction there's an audio commentary by the director, which is nice to have but pretty average.
Bottom Line: Sawed-off Robert Blake gets the Big John Wayne treatment in this homage to John Ford and American Westerns. Despite cardboard characters all around him, Blake's performance as a motorcycle cop is strong, the script plays out with the same interest as "Easy Rider," and the cinematography is by turns artsy and stunningly naturalistic. In fact, the photography is one of the reasons to watch this film. But don't go into this expecting an action film. There's action, but there's much more meandering drama.
But tone is a problem, and perhaps one reason for the film's detractors to label it "fascist." When Wintergreen dons his plain clothes duds for the first time, prom music plays in the background, and the scene ends with a shot of him touching a photo of a '50s rock 'n' roll group hanging on his wall. But that ironic, witty, and self-referential humor is offset by segments which romanticize the law enforcement officer with long and lingering up-angle shots, cheesy music, and American flags draped all over the background. Those two tones mingle with a third: a gritty realism that works its way into the film like sand in the shoes. "Electra Glide in Blue" was based, in part, on a true story of a motorcycle cop who was killed outside Phoenix, Arizona. But the tone keeps shifting among these three styles, with the result being that the film doesn't come together as cohesively and powerfully as it otherwise might have. Then too, Blake's character is the only one with any three-dimensionality. His partner, the saloonkeeper, the lead detective, the crazy man, the bikers—all of them are stock characters. Westerns, of course, used stock characters as a matter of course, but "Electra Glide in Blue" seems far too savvy in spots for us to sit back and enjoy the stereotypes.
Video: This road picture wasn't shot as cheaply as "Easy Rider" and the film stock has held up really well. Though there's no mention of restoration, the quality is superb for a film released in 1973. "Electra Glide" is presented in anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1 ratio, though on my screen it appears closer to 1.85:1 and fills out more of the screen than the typical 2.35:1 picture) with color by DeLuxe.
Audio: The audio seems to be Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, with the front main speakers getting just as much of a workout as the front center speaker. The sound quality is natural and free of hiss, crackle, and pop. No complaints here.
Extras: Aside from Guercio's introduction there's an audio commentary by the director, which is nice to have but pretty average.
Bottom Line: Sawed-off Robert Blake gets the Big John Wayne treatment in this homage to John Ford and American Westerns. Despite cardboard characters all around him, Blake's performance as a motorcycle cop is strong, the script plays out with the same interest as "Easy Rider," and the cinematography is by turns artsy and stunningly naturalistic. In fact, the photography is one of the reasons to watch this film. But don't go into this expecting an action film. There's action, but there's much more meandering drama.
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[release]15602[/release]