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Released by: Shout! Factory
Released on: 5/24/2011
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The Movies:
It's a family affair when the Howard Family teams up with Roger Corman for two crash 'em up drive-in movies. Join brothers Ron and Clint with poppa Rance as they pursue and get pursued by one another in these early entries into one of the best genres out there: the chase movie.
Eat My Dust (1976); directed by Charles B. Griffith; starring Ron Howard, Christopher Norris, Dave Madden, Warren J. Kemmerling, Rance Howard, Clint Howard
Ron Howard plays Hoover, a teenage kid with a heavy foot and dreams of one day racing cars for a living. Enamored with one driver in particular, Big Bubba Jones (Dave Madden), he takes the opportunity to meet him after a big race. He also takes the opportunity to steal Bubba's racecar and he tears ass off of the track and onto the road. He grabs a chick he likes, Darlene (Christopher Norris), and they pick up friends along the way while being chased by the police and eventually bubba's drunk racecar buddies.
Ron and Darlene engage in some hanky-panky, but Darlene has no interest in the lesser-privileged young man and is really in the game for the thrill of gong fast and doing things her wealthy daddy won't let her do. Hoover is hot-to-trot for the young lass, but his fancy is in vein. Other than that, this is just one big car chase.
But to say “this is just one big car chase†is in no way meant as a slight against the movie. That's just the truth. It's pretty much non-stop fast driving and vehicle smashing and there is nothing wrong with that. In fact, it's a real blast to watch. Lots of good wrecks and plenty of inadequate authority figures (the sheriff is Hoover's dad and one of the deputies is Ron Howard's dad), make for a good time. No one dies (or even gets hurt) when seatbelt-less drivers get tossed around in a car that rolls over a hundred times, and no one seems to be able to catch this kid on shitty dirt roads, so throw out any hopes for realism with this one and you'll be able to enjoy it for what it is: mindless joy. And Ms. Norris looks quite nice in her short-shorts and that helps things along too.
Charles B. Griffith knows how to make a good chase flick and sharp eyes will see the use of a few stunts/crashes used in a movie he did a few years later, Smokey Bites the Dust. (he stole some scenes from Grand Theft Auto for it too) One scene in particular involves a Chinese restaurant that doesn't really make sense in Smokey, and it obviously came from this movie. Movies like Smokey and the Bandit definitely owe something to Mr. Griffith as do television shows like The Dukes of Hazzard. Corman is noted as saying this was a huge moneymaker for him, and it obviously influenced others to follow suit. Is it one of the great car chase movies? No, but it certainly is fun.
Grand Theft Auto (1977); directed by Ron Howard; starring Ron Howard, Nancy Morgan, Clint Howard, Rance Howard, Paul Linke, Marion Ross
This movie marks the feature film directorial debut of Ron Howard. After making a deal with Roger Corman to be in Eat My Dust in exchange for the possibility of directing a movie for Corman, Howard offered to be in the “sequel†for the same money to act, and to direct it for free. Corman took him up on it and Ron with his father Rance wrote Grand Theft Auto. This is not a sequel, but rather another chase movie with Ron Howard as the one being chased.
Sam Freeman (Howard) and his rich girlfriend Paula Powers (Nancy Morgan) want to get married, but rich daddy says no way. She is to get married to another local rich cat named Collins Hedgeworth (Paul Linke) whether she likes it or not. Well she doesn't and she steals daddy's Rolls Royce and drives off with Sam in the passenger seat.
Rich boy Collins is enraged that his fiancée is being taken from him and gives chase. His mother wants him to come back, so she chases him. Meanwhile a local radio disc jockey catches wind of the story and starts talking about it on the radio. Paula's father offers a $25,000 reward for the return of his car, and Collins mom (Marion Ross) offers a $25,000 reward for the return of her son, and the DJ lets everyone listening know it. The two lovebirds race off and get pursued by the inept authorities along with Paula's father, a minister out for the dough, a couple of gear-heads who are also out for the dough, Collins, Collins' mother, a cop chasing Collins' mother, and a bus load of senior citizens. The kids are on their way to get married in Las Vegas, but will they make it? Only the end of this movie will tell.
As with Eat My Dust, this one is a full-length car chase. Why change the formula? They smash up tons of cars including the Rolls Royce, a Porche, and an ice cream truck. And there's a smash up derby in the mix as well. Howard's role is almost entirely played out in the passenger seat of the car, which is a pretty crafty way of being able to be the star of the picture as well as running the show behind the camera. He says he won't act and direct at the same time, as he says it's just too difficult (Clint Eastwood can do it…) and would rather do one or the other.
There are some great stunts in this one, courtesy of Joey Chitwood and his crew, and plenty of cars become piles of junk throughout the film. There're doses of humor here and there, but it's not really a flat out comedy. That's fine though, as the crashes and smashes are the real draw to this flick. There's some cameos to watch for too like Paul Bartel and Garry Marshall. Real-life 70s Los Angeles radio personality Don Steele plays Curly Q. Brown, the guy practically narrating the movie. He gets to be a little much toward the end and the movie would have been better without him spouting out dumb one-liners. One other item to note is that Joe Dante edited this picture (the only one he ever edited that he didn't direct himself). He helps keep the show moving along at a good pace and uses some interesting cuts to give certain sequences an extra wallop.
Eat My Dust edges out Grand Theft Auto for overall entertainment, but both are just plain fun. They make a naturally perfect double feature.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Both films are presented by Shout! Factory with a new 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer and they look miles better than they have in previous releases. A nice clear image with the right amount of film grain and it makes for pleasing viewing. And although there is dirt present, it's not anything to worry about. If anything it helps with the nostalgic aspect. The skin tones and colors come through nicely and there do not appear to be any artifacts. The audio for both is a 2-channel Dolby Digital track. The sound is clear and void of any issues to note. The same sound seems to come from both speakers. It sounds just fine and there are no disc issues to report.
The extras are plentiful for both films. Split up into two discs by movie title, the set offers the collector the following items.
Disc One (Eat My Dust)
- “New Interview with Star Ron Howard†(15:16) New to this release, Howard talks fondly about both films on the disc.
- “How to Crash on a Dime- The Making of Eat My Dust†(9:32) People involved with the picture talk about their experiences on the movie and working for Roger Corman. Ported over from the inferior 2007 Buena Vista disc.
- “Leonard Maltin Interviews Roger Corman†(3:00) An older interview talking about the movie.
- “The Illustrated Man- A Conversation with Corman Poster Artist John Solie†(13:04) New to this release, the featurette shows some great posters.
- Theatrical Trailer
Disc Two (Grand Theft Auto)
- “Introduction by Roger Corman†(:36) from the 2007 Buena Vista disc
- “A Family Affair- An Interview with Rance and Clint Howard (8:40) from the 2007 Buena Vista disc
- “Interview with Ron Howard and Roger Corman†(13:40) from the 1999 New Concorde disc
- “Leonard Maltin Interviews Roger Corman†(5:31) Talking about Ron Howard and the movie. From the 2007 Buena Vista disc
- “Theatrical Trailer and TV Spotsâ€
- Audio commentary with Ron Howard and Roger Corman, from the 1999 New Concorde disc
A great batch of extras for both discs, some from older releases and some are new to this 2-disc set. Both commentaries on Grand Theft Auto are excellent, offering tons of info, very little dead space, and all participants on both commentaries bring enthusiasm to the table. Great stuff and if you dig commentaries you can go wrong with either one. The Ron Howard interview on Eat My Dust is well worth watching. Its great to have the extras offered up on various releases of both movies all in one collection. One other item worthy of mention is the packaging. The inside of the DVD sleeve has a message from Corman and some outside-the-U.S. movie posters. The nice touches and always appreciated.
The Final Word:
Shout! Factory brings forth yet another home run with their latest offering in their “Roger Corman's Cult Classics†line, giving the collectors two great transfers of two fun films and loaded with extras. A must have for fans of Corman films.
