CONVOY SYNOPSIS:

Truckers form a mile-long "convoy" in support of a trucker's vendetta with an abusive sheriff - Based on the country song of the same title by C.W. McCall.

​

When the western film, for many decades the staple of the American cinema, suffered a decline in the Seventies, a new sub-genre helped fill the void—the trucking epic. Legendary filmmaker Sam Peckinpah (Ride the High Country, Straw Dogs, Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia) directed this action-packed classic based on the runaway hit song, Convoy. Martin ‘Rubber Duck’ Penwald (Kris Kristofferson, Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid) who, in pursuance of a feud with Sheriff Dirty Lyle ‘Cottonmouth’ Wallace (Ernest Borgnine, The Wild Bunch), unites scores of his fellow drivers via Citizen Band radio into a gigantic mile-long convoy which, powered by pent-up frustrations and resentments as much as by diesel fuel, rolls irresistibly along the Arizona highways towards the freedom of the New Mexican border. The stellar cast includes Ali MacGraw (The Getaway), Seymour Cassel (Rushmore) and Burt Young (The Killer Elite) as Bobby ‘Love Machine’ ‘Pig Pen’. Beautifully shot in CinemaScope by the great Harry Stradling Jr. (Bite the Bullet), Convoy was Peckinpah’s biggest box office hit.

​

OUR FILM REVIEW

Convoy is an unfortunate circumstance of Smokey and the Bandit doing so well the year prior to its release, as this film fails to build much excitement and struggles to build momentum to get to the very end. Visually the film focuses primarily on the Arizona and New Mexico deserts with the same glistening as white as snow. The film may not have a ton of variety in its setting, but it does pull some needlessly entertaining slow motion fight sequences that this latest release provides a pretty nice upgrade to the comedic sound quality of all that is happening. 

The story follows a sheriff with a deep hatred of truckers, especially one by the name of “Rubber Duck” and after an assault at a local restaurant, he is gung ho on disposing of his trucker nemesis once and for all. Sadly the film falls to build much of a connection between the truckers, even with their constant back and forth over the CB I hardly know a thing about them. What makes matters worse is the lead is poorly explained, his reasons for what he does, his backstory is weak and his inconsistent attitude toward the open road is bizarre. Not to mention the attempt at a romance between Ali McGraw’s Melissa and Kris Kristofferson’s Rubber Duck. 

While the film may not meet the unrealistic standards a marvelous title like Smokey and the Bandit may have conjured up, this 4K UHD upgrade is sure to appease fans of the 1978 box office hit. From its SD digital counterpart to its 4K introduction, there is a terrific amount of effort put into this transition with a brand new HDR/Dolby Vision Master by Studio Canal from a 4K scan of the 35mm original camera negative.

The film also comes supplied with a brand new audio commentary from filmmaker/historian Steve Mitchell and two other commentaries making their way over from other additions. 

​

SPECIAL FEATURES ​

• DISC ONE - 4K UHD

  • NEW Audio Commentary by Filmmaker/Historian Steve Mitchell

  • Audio Commentary by Sam Peckinpah Historians Paul Seydor, Garner Simmons and Nick Redman

  • Audio Commentary by Peckinpah Scholar Mike Siegel

  • DISC TWO - BLU-RAY

    • NEW Audio Commentary by Filmmaker/Historian Steve Mitchell

    • Audio Commentary by Sam Peckinpah Historians Paul Seydor, Garner Simmons and Nick Redman

    • Audio Commentary by Peckinpah Scholar Mike Siegel

  • DISC TWO - SPECIAL FEATURES DISC

    • Sam’s Trucker Movie: 2013 Documentary - Revised in 2024 (70:44)

    • The Lost Convoy: 2024 Video Essay by Mike Siegel

    • Three Lost Scenes: Deleted Scenes Illustrated with Rare Photos (5:53)

    • Injokes, Friends & Cameos: 2013 Featurette (6:05)

    • Trucker Notes from Norway: 2013 Interview with Norwegian Trucker Expert Anders Loefaldli (3:19)

    • The Duck Trucks: 2024 Featurette (8:34)

    • Promoting Convoy: International Posters & Lobby Cards (9:49)

    • Convoy in Color: A Selection of 125 Color Stills (11:03)

    • Filming Convoy 1: A Rare Selection of 360 Production Stills (10:32)

    • Filming Convoy 2: A Rare Selection of 360 Production Stills (11:06)

    • Filming Convoy 3: A Rare Selection of 360 Production Stills (11:18)

    • Theatrical Trailer Widescreen (3:47)

    • TV Spot (1:07)

    • 4 Radio Spots (3:32)