THE PURSUIT OF D.B. COOPER - Andy's Early Kino Lorber Review
Posted: Sun Sep 26, 2021 6:06 pm
THE PURSUIT OF D.B. COOPER (1981)
6/10
*Available October 26th
Three directors, two cinematographers, several writers and all kinds of production trouble made THE PURSUIT OF D.B. COOPER (104 mins., 1981, PG) a problematic movie that somehow made its way into theaters to meet Universal's promised November 1981 release date. One of those films that's more interesting for what happened off the screen than on it, this Polygram Pictures product kicks off Kino Lorber's October release slate, one that's filled with a varied array of titles from the pre-Code era through the late stages of Michael J. Fox's box-office appeal.
The case of D.B. Cooper was well documented throughout the '70s and '80s: a mysterious man who skyjacked some $200,000 out of a Boeing jet and jumped out, presumably to freedom – or his demise, seeing as only a young passerby ever recovered some of the bills. The case baffled authorities, served the basis for an “In Search Of...” episode, and was eventually closed in 2016 without Cooper's whereabouts – or the money's – ever being uncovered.
Treat Williams stars in the title role in “The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper,” with Cooper envisioned as Jim Meade: a Vietnam vet guilty of the robbery, who ends up being pursued by his ex-sergeant (Robert Duvall) now working as an insurance investigator plus a former buddy (Paul Gleason) who pieces together that Meade perpetrated the Cooper heist. Ultimately, Meade gains an assist from his estranged wife (Kathryn Harrold) as the duo make a series of fast escapes via cars, inflatable rafts, horses and everything inbetween.
“Cooper” started off as a John Frankenheimer film before the director, then suffering from alcoholism, was canned days into shooting. Buzz Kulik replaced him and, indeed, the first trailer for this film (available here in Kino Lorber's Blu-Ray) is billed as “A Buzz Kulik Film.” Yet, according to Michael Sragrow in a Film Comment article back in 1983, Kulik's completed movie was slow-going, talky and not very entertaining – hence director Roger Spottiswoode was brought in to punch the movie up. What was supposed to be a principal stunt sequence executed by Spottiswoode ended up being a massive reshoot of more than half the movie, with Ron Shelton rewriting much of the screenplay along the way.
Only Spottiswoode was credited with direction on the final film, which also listed two cinematographers (Harry Stradling Jr., who shot the Kulik version, and Charles F. Wheeler) and a single screenwriter in Jeffrey Alan Fiskin, though reportedly W.D. Richer in addition to Shelton (who ended up with an Associate Producer credit for his trouble) also worked on the movie.
The end result shows clear signs of tinkering, most especially in how the frizzly mop on Harrold, a highly underrated '80s leading lady, varies lengths from scene to scene. In general, though, Spottiswoode's punchy action made the movie a lot more watchable than Kulik's cut according to Sragow's reporting, even if it mostly comes off like a pricey big-screen episode of “The Dukes of Hazzard,” down to James Horner's twangy, “down home” country score (it certainly doesn't sound like anything Horner would've written).
Ultimately all the turmoil may not have been worth the trouble, as “The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper” bombed at the box-office before becoming a staple on HBO. Kino Lorber resurrects the film here in a strong 1080p (1.85) AVC encoded transfer that looks so good you can spot the differences in the cinematography, with Kulik footage seeming like it's a generation removed from other scenes. The mono sound is punchy and filled with songs, while two trailers (one listing Kulik as director, another with Spottiswoode) and a commentary with Fiskin and Daniel Kremer touching upon the movie's difficult shoot round out the release.
6/10
*Available October 26th
Three directors, two cinematographers, several writers and all kinds of production trouble made THE PURSUIT OF D.B. COOPER (104 mins., 1981, PG) a problematic movie that somehow made its way into theaters to meet Universal's promised November 1981 release date. One of those films that's more interesting for what happened off the screen than on it, this Polygram Pictures product kicks off Kino Lorber's October release slate, one that's filled with a varied array of titles from the pre-Code era through the late stages of Michael J. Fox's box-office appeal.
The case of D.B. Cooper was well documented throughout the '70s and '80s: a mysterious man who skyjacked some $200,000 out of a Boeing jet and jumped out, presumably to freedom – or his demise, seeing as only a young passerby ever recovered some of the bills. The case baffled authorities, served the basis for an “In Search Of...” episode, and was eventually closed in 2016 without Cooper's whereabouts – or the money's – ever being uncovered.
Treat Williams stars in the title role in “The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper,” with Cooper envisioned as Jim Meade: a Vietnam vet guilty of the robbery, who ends up being pursued by his ex-sergeant (Robert Duvall) now working as an insurance investigator plus a former buddy (Paul Gleason) who pieces together that Meade perpetrated the Cooper heist. Ultimately, Meade gains an assist from his estranged wife (Kathryn Harrold) as the duo make a series of fast escapes via cars, inflatable rafts, horses and everything inbetween.
“Cooper” started off as a John Frankenheimer film before the director, then suffering from alcoholism, was canned days into shooting. Buzz Kulik replaced him and, indeed, the first trailer for this film (available here in Kino Lorber's Blu-Ray) is billed as “A Buzz Kulik Film.” Yet, according to Michael Sragrow in a Film Comment article back in 1983, Kulik's completed movie was slow-going, talky and not very entertaining – hence director Roger Spottiswoode was brought in to punch the movie up. What was supposed to be a principal stunt sequence executed by Spottiswoode ended up being a massive reshoot of more than half the movie, with Ron Shelton rewriting much of the screenplay along the way.
Only Spottiswoode was credited with direction on the final film, which also listed two cinematographers (Harry Stradling Jr., who shot the Kulik version, and Charles F. Wheeler) and a single screenwriter in Jeffrey Alan Fiskin, though reportedly W.D. Richer in addition to Shelton (who ended up with an Associate Producer credit for his trouble) also worked on the movie.
The end result shows clear signs of tinkering, most especially in how the frizzly mop on Harrold, a highly underrated '80s leading lady, varies lengths from scene to scene. In general, though, Spottiswoode's punchy action made the movie a lot more watchable than Kulik's cut according to Sragow's reporting, even if it mostly comes off like a pricey big-screen episode of “The Dukes of Hazzard,” down to James Horner's twangy, “down home” country score (it certainly doesn't sound like anything Horner would've written).
Ultimately all the turmoil may not have been worth the trouble, as “The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper” bombed at the box-office before becoming a staple on HBO. Kino Lorber resurrects the film here in a strong 1080p (1.85) AVC encoded transfer that looks so good you can spot the differences in the cinematography, with Kulik footage seeming like it's a generation removed from other scenes. The mono sound is punchy and filled with songs, while two trailers (one listing Kulik as director, another with Spottiswoode) and a commentary with Fiskin and Daniel Kremer touching upon the movie's difficult shoot round out the release.
