All Rise...

Breaker, Breaker! Judge Patrick Naugle is eastbound and down with the hammer down.

The Charge

Keep on truckin'.

The Case

Martin "Rubber Duck" Penwald (Kris Kristofferson, Blade: Trinity) is a legendary trucker who finds himself in an age old battle with the law when he raises the ire of his old nemesis, Sheirff "Dirty Lyle" Wallace (Ernest Borgnine, The Poseidon Adventure). The corrupt Wallace has already extorted money from Rubber Duck and his fellow trucking buddies (including one of his black friends, to whom Wallace is especially cruel), and the battle between the lawman and the trucker turns Rubber Duck into something of a folk hero. With a beautiful girl (Ali McGraw, The Getaway) in tow and the community rallying around them, Rubber Duck and his ever-growing convoy are able to drive off into US history as they're pursued at every turn by Wallace and his department.

Let me start out by saying that any movie featuring Ernest Borgnine automatically becomes better, even if it's the worst film ever made. There's something about Ernie's presence in a film that gives me a warm feeling, like seeing an old friend after a lengthy period of time. From his brilliant turn in the Oscar winning Marty to supporting roles in just about everything in-between, Borgnine is a welcome presence in any movie he graces. I share that with you because even Borgnine can't save Convoy which is a lazy, tepid movie that drags on endlessly like the convoy of trucks that drive through the feature's vast heartland. Someone gave the director millions of dollars to film a fleet of trucks driving…and driving…and driving. God bless America.

Convoy is based on the now creaky novelty song by C.W. McCall, was directed by the legendary Sam Peckinpah (The Wild Bunch), and stars singer Kris Kristofferson and bombshell Ali McGraw as a couple of hicks who spend two hours driving. That it was directed by Peckinpah is like finding out Quentin Tarantino secretly made Smokey and the Bandit. Departing from his usual high intensity bloodshed, Peckinpah's Convoy is a good ol' boys action film that features all the trappings of the late 1970s rural chase flick: Kenny Rogers songs, CB radios, Daisy Dukes cutoffs, and men with porno-style mustaches. The locals—mostly bar patrons—are as weathered and leathery as the corpse of Jack Palance. Sadly, whereas Smokey and the Bandit still holds up today due to Burt Reynolds and Sally Field's charms, Convoy is a set of lead wheels due to Kris Kristofferson's monotone line recital and Ali McGraw's terrible perm.

Like one of the eighteen wheelers featured in the film, Convoy weaves all over the place, a movie strung together by plot threads and characters that seem more like convenience than narrative gold. A grizzled Kris Kirstofferson plays Rubber Duck as a solid slice of male machismo. Kristofferson has all the charisma of a shag carpet in a role that gives him little to than man the wheel. His partners in crime—Rocky's Burt Young and The 'Burbs' Franklin Ajaye—are just a couple of bumpkins who spend most of the movie laughing or following Kristofferson around. Ali McGraw—with a cheap tan and a perm that looks like a poodle died on her head—plays the requisite sidekick role, à la Sally Field in the Smokey and the Bandit films. Only my good friend Ernest Borgnine has any real fun in the film as the hotheaded Sheriff Lyle. Borgnine sneers and jeers his way through this turd, making his performance the sole reason to sit through Convoy.

Shockingly, Convoy went over budget but still managed to become the highest grossing film of Sam Peckinpah's career. Why? I have no idea. 35 years later, it doesn't really hold up except as a slice of pure, now-extinct Americana. Whereas the Smokey and the Bandit films were filled with comedy and action, Convoy wants to be seen as something with a deeper message. Sadly, that deeper message ends up being: a line of trucks does not a movie make.

Convoy (Blu-ray) is presented in 2.35:1/1080p HD widescreen. This Fox/MGM title (licensed to Kino Lorber) is in very good shape. There is a fine grain structure in place that gives the film a warm, lived in feel that’s mostly clear with some minor imperfections marring the image. The DTS-HD 1.0 Master Audio track works fine, but it's nothing to write home about. There are no directional or surround sound effects to be found here. Also included on this disc are English subtitles.

Bonus features include a commentary by film historians Paul Seydor, Garner Simmons, and Nick Redman; a feature length documentary on the film ("Passion and Poetry: Sam's Trucker Movie"), some radio spots, a few TV spots, a few promotional featurettes ("Promoting Convoy", "In-jokes, Friends, and Cameos"), three deleted scenes, some trucker notes from Norway, and production stills from the film.

The Verdict

A long drive to nowhere.

Give us your feedback!

Did we give Convoy (1978) (Blu-ray) a fair trial? yes / no

What's "fair"? Whether positive or negative, our reviews should be unbiased, informative, and critique the material on its own merits.

Share This Review

Follow DVD Verdict

Other Reviews You Might Enjoy

• A River Runs Through It
• Desperado: Superbit Edition
• Hard Rain (Blu-Ray)
• Hustle And Heat