The Driver (1978)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Reid V

  
  Veteran badass Walter Hill creates another incredibly enjoyable and delightfully dated crime thriller. Ryan O'Neal is fantastic as the mild-mannered getaway driver and his counterpart Bruce Dern is equally enjoyable as the morally ambivalent and devilishly persistent cop.… More
  Veteran badass Walter Hill creates another incredibly enjoyable and delightfully dated crime thriller. Ryan O'Neal is fantastic as the mild-mannered getaway driver and his counterpart Bruce Dern is equally enjoyable as the morally ambivalent and devilishly persistent cop. Hill's Los Angeles is dark, gritty, and replete with swanky bars and dimly-lit parking garages. Yet, perhaps the best parts of the film are the chase scenes. The fluid editing and Hill's ability to capture seemingly every conceivable angle of the chase, makes for quite an enthralling experience. However, the movie is not without its problems. The acting, while minimal, isn't the smoothest from the supporting cast. Also, due to the opening scene and the ice cool demeanor of the protagonist, Refn's Drive no longer feels so original. But in the end, one cannot help but love the ride that Hill's Driver takes us on.

• Tsubaki S

  
  Old school action car chase goodness. Just badass stunt drivers doing their thing. O'Neal is the usual prototype no-bullshit attitude you expect from a protagonist in a Hill flick. Having Adjani doesn't hurt things, neither Dern as the cop.

• AJ V

  
  An interesting story for the most part, and O'Neal is pretty good in it, but the movie is slow and boring for the most part. There are also some good scenes, though, so I'll just say it's okay.

• Pierluigi P

  
  From Walter Hill, a cult classic craftsman, comes this gritty cop thriller with two correct leads though just a tad unexpressive (O'Neill and Adjani) nevertheless there's Bruce Dern's character, an austere mise en scene and non stop duels on hot wheels. The car chases… More
  From Walter Hill, a cult classic craftsman, comes this gritty cop thriller with two correct leads though just a tad unexpressive (O'Neill and Adjani) nevertheless there's Bruce Dern's character, an austere mise en scene and non stop duels on hot wheels. The car chases are very much in the vein of "Bullitt", only that here are more than just one.

• El Hombre I

  
  An exciting and gritty feature from Walter Hill, the man behind some of my favorite late night flicks. Originally written for Steve McQueen, Ryan O'Neal is The Driver, a man of very few words. Bruce Dern's role as a cop adds to the drama that plays out like an urban… More
  An exciting and gritty feature from Walter Hill, the man behind some of my favorite late night flicks. Originally written for Steve McQueen, Ryan O'Neal is The Driver, a man of very few words. Bruce Dern's role as a cop adds to the drama that plays out like an urban Western with the black-and-white hats on the wrong heads. The talk is tough, but speaks louder when it comes to the action of the car chases, with its' mounted cameras, great editing and bleak-lighting that makes The Fast And The Furious seem like a sunday drive with grandma on the way to a game of bridge. <a href="http://s273.photobucket.com/albums/jj203/goji9000/?action=view¤t=driver.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj203/goji9000/driver.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

• Ken S

  
  A whole lotta BAD ASS! I have a new found respect for Ryan O'Neal and Walter Hill.

• xGary X

  
  A minor 70s classic from Walter Hill in which an unnamed getaway driver is relentlessly pursued by obsessive cop Bruce Dern who is not afraid to employ questionable methods. The car is definitely the star, especially during a memorable scene in which O'Neal methodically… More
  A minor 70s classic from Walter Hill in which an unnamed getaway driver is relentlessly pursued by obsessive cop Bruce Dern who is not afraid to employ questionable methods. The car is definitely the star, especially during a memorable scene in which O'Neal methodically dismantles his vehicle to prove his worth.

• Stephen E

  
  The two car chases that bookend "The Driver" are flawlessly edited and directed and undeniably tense. Those two chases are the main reasons to watch this film. Other than that, it's your basic "cops and robbers" picture. I should also mention that both Ryan… More
  The two car chases that bookend "The Driver" are flawlessly edited and directed and undeniably tense. Those two chases are the main reasons to watch this film. Other than that, it's your basic "cops and robbers" picture. I should also mention that both Ryan O'Neal and Bruce Dern are very good as well.

• Wu C

  
  Walter Hill is definitely one of the most underrated directors from the 70's-80's. 2011's 'Drive' owes a lot to this cult classic. The driving scenes are fantastic. Dern and O'neal are badass.

• Christopher B

  
  A great movie where cops and robbers is equated with team sports, but instead of numbers the players are given names; The Driver, The Detective, etc. O' Neal is great as the mysterious driver and Dern is fantastic as the gung ho detective. In fact, this is one of the few movies… More
  A great movie where cops and robbers is equated with team sports, but instead of numbers the players are given names; The Driver, The Detective, etc. O' Neal is great as the mysterious driver and Dern is fantastic as the gung ho detective. In fact, this is one of the few movies where I wasn't certain what characters would do. There is one scene at the end where a main character is holding a gun to another character and I was actually not sure if he was going to murder him. A great Walter Hill film.

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