''The Getaway'' is a 1994 American

action thriller film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

directed by

Roger Donaldson Roger Lindsey Donaldson (born 15 November 1945) is an Australian-born New Zealand film director, producer and writer whose films include the 1981 relationship drama '' Smash Palace'', and a run of titles shot in the United States, including ...

. The screenplay was written by

Walter Hill Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 1 ...

and

Amy Holden Jones Amy Holden Jones is an American screenwriter and film director best known for creating the FOX medical drama '' The Resident''. She has edited various films and later began directing and writing. She currently works in television. Early life an ...

, based on Jim Thompson’s 1958 novel of the same name. The film stars

Alec Baldwin Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. In his early career, Baldwin played both leading and supporting roles in a variety of films such as Tim Burton's '' Beetlejuice'' (1988), Mike Nic ...

and Kim Basinger, with

Michael Madsen Michael Søren Madsen (born September 25, 1957) is an American actor. He has starred in many films and television series, frequently collaborating with director Quentin Tarantino, most famously in the latter's debut film '' Reservoir Dogs'' (1 ...

James Woods James Howard Woods (born April 18, 1947) is an American actor. He is known for his work in various film, stage, and television productions. He started his career in minor roles on and off- Broadway. In 1972, he appeared in ''The Trial of the ...

, and

Jennifer Tilly Jennifer Tilly (born Jennifer Ellen Chan; September 16, 1958) is an American–Canadian actress and poker player. Known for her distinctive voice and comedic timing, she has been nominated for an Academy Award, two MTV Movie Awards and three Sa ...

in supporting roles.

Plot

Carter "Doc" McCoy and his wife Carol are taking target practice with pistols when Rudy arrives to propose they break a Mexican drug lord's nephew out of jail for a $300,000 payment. The job is successful, but it turns out the

drug lord A drug lord, drug baron, kingpin or narcotrafficker is a high-ranking crime boss who controls a sizable network of people involved in the illegal drug trade. Such figures are often difficult to bring to justice, as they are normally not directly ...

wanted his nephew free to kill him. Rudy is waiting with a getaway plane, but he sees police cars and leaves Doc behind. After a year in a Mexican jail, Doc sends Carol to

mob boss A crime boss, also known as a crime lord, Don, gang lord, gang boss, mob boss, kingpin, godfather, crime mentor or criminal mastermind, is a person in charge of a criminal organization. Description A crime boss typically has absolute or nearl ...

Jack Benyon, who is looking to put together a select team of experts to rob a dog track in

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. Benyon agrees to get Doc released from prison, in exchange for

sexual favors Human sexual activity, human sexual practice or human sexual behaviour is the manner in which humans experience and express their sexuality. People engage in a variety of sexual acts, ranging from activities done alone (e.g., masturbation) t ...

from Carol first. Doc gets out and meets the men Benyon has hired. One is Rudy, along with Hansen, who seems inexperienced. Rudy extends a hand and says "No hard feelings" but is punched by Doc and warned not to double-cross him again. At the track, while Doc is breaking into the

vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosure ...

, a guard pulls a gun and is shot by Hansen in a panic. The thieves escape by creating a diversion with a

bomb A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechan ...

under a gas truck and leave with the cash, totaling over one million dollars. The plan was for Doc and Carol to meet Rudy and Hansen later to split the money. On the road, Rudy kills Hansen and pushes him out of the car. Doc arrives at the rendezvous point, where Rudy again pulls a gun. Doc expected this and is ready with his own weapon, shooting Rudy and leaving him for dead. Doc and Carol drive off with all the money, unaware that Rudy was wearing a

bulletproof vest A bulletproof vest, also known as a ballistic vest or a bullet-resistant vest, is an item of body armor that helps absorb the impact and reduce or stop penetration to the torso from firearm-fired projectiles and fragmentation from explosions. Th ...

. A wounded Rudy drives to a local clinic, where he holds

veterinarian A veterinarian (vet), also known as a veterinary surgeon or veterinary physician, is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, vet ...

Harold and his wife Fran hostage, forces them to treat his wounds and drive him to El Paso. An attraction develops between Rudy and Fran and they taunt her meek husband. At a motel, Rudy has sex with Fran after tying Harold to a chair. Hearing his wife's moans and her laughter at him, a heart-broken Harold commits

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and ...

by hanging himself. Fran barely looks back as she accompanies Rudy to El Paso. Doc and Carol go to Benyon's house with the money. Benyon drops broad hints about what Carol did to get Doc out of jail. Carol approaches with a gun, unseen by Doc as he counts the money. Benyon clearly expects her to shoot Doc, but she kills him instead. Doc is upset, but Carol says she did what she had to do to help Doc and assumes he'd do the same if their situations were reversed. There continues to be tension between the pair, particularly when Carol loses the money to a con man at a train station in Flagstaff. Doc has to board the train, find the man and subdue him to retrieve the money. They proceed to the rustic Border Hotel in El Paso, owned by Doc's friend Gollie, to get new passports and identities so they can escape to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

. Rudy is already there waiting with Fran. Benyon's men, led by Jim Deer want the money and arrive in El Paso. Rudy sets a trap and Doc is startled to see him alive. He knocks out Rudy but resists killing him

in cold blood ''In Cold Blood'' is a non-fiction novel by American author Truman Capote, first published in 1966. It details the 1959 murders of four members of the Clutter family in the small farming community of Holcomb, Kansas. Capote learned of the qu ...

. A long and bloody gunfight ensues with Doc and Carol shooting it out with Benyon's men in the halls and stairwells of the hotel. Rudy comes to his senses just as the last of Benyon's men die. He makes one more attempt to get the money, but after a hand-to-hand fight he is killed by Doc in an elevator when Doc shoots the cables, sending the elevator plummeting down to ground level, where his body is discovered by a screaming Fran. Doc and Carol make their way out of the hotel just as the police arrive, and hijack a pickup truck driven by "Slim", an old cowboy, forcing him to drive them to the border. After safely crossing into Mexico, they buy Slim's truck from him and drive southward, making their getaway.

Cast

as Carter "Doc" McCoy * Kim Basinger as Carol McCoy *

as Rudy Travis *

as Jack Benyon *

David Morse David Bowditch Morse (born October 11, 1953) is an American actor, singer, television director, and writer. He first came to national attention as Dr. Jack "Boomer" Morrison in the medical drama series ''St. Elsewhere'' (1982–88). His film ca ...

as Jim Deer Jackson *

as Fran Carvey * James Stephens as Harold Carvey *

Richard Farnsworth Richard William Farnsworth (September 1, 1920 – October 6, 2000) was an American actor and stuntman. He was twice nominated for an Academy Award: in 1978 for Best Supporting Actor for ''Comes a Horseman,'' and in 2000 for Best Actor in '' T ...

as "Slim" *

Philip Seymour Hoffman Philip Seymour Hoffman (July 23, 1967 – February 2, 2014) was an American actor. Known for his distinctive supporting and character roles—typically lowlifes, eccentrics, underdogs, and misfits—he acted in many films and theatrical produc ...

as Frank Hansen *

Burton Gilliam Burton Gilliam (born August 9, 1938) is an American actor. He is best known for memorable roles in several popular 1970s movies, such as ''Blazing Saddles'' and '' Paper Moon'', as well as comedic cameos in '' Back to the Future, Part III'' and ...

as Gollie Richard Farnsworth who appeared in ''

Tom Horn Thomas Horn Jr., (November 21, 1860 – November 20, 1903) was an American scout, cowboy, soldier, range detective, and Pinkerton agent in the 19th-century and early 20th-century American Old West. Believed to have committed 17 killings as a ...

'' with Steve McQueen (1980) tips his cowboy hat to

Slim Pickens Louis Burton Lindley Jr. (June 29, 1919 – December 8, 1983), better known by his stage name Slim Pickens, was an American actor and rodeo performer. Starting off in the rodeo, Pickens transitioned to acting and appeared in dozens of movies and ...

who had this supporting role to the McCoys in the original version of this film from 1972.

Production

Development and writing

The screenplay for the 1972 version of '' The Getaway'' was written by Walter Hill. In 1990, Hill's wife, Hildy Gottlieb, had left her job as an agent to head up Alec Baldwin's production company, Meadowbrook Productions. Hill and Baldwin were friendly – at one stage they were going to make '' The Fugitive'' together before being replaced by Andrew Davis and Harrison Ford. According to Baldwin, Hill always wanted to film his original script of ''The Getaway'' before it had been changed by Sam Peckinpah. Hill was going to direct with Baldwin starring, then, according to Baldwin, "they got into a hassle about the budget and Walter split to go do ''

Geronimo Geronimo ( apm, Goyaałé, , ; June 16, 1829 – February 17, 1909) was a prominent leader and medicine man from the Bedonkohe band of the Ndendahe Apache people. From 1850 to 1886, Geronimo joined with members of three other Central Apache b ...

'', and he gave everybody his blessing to go do it without him." Producer David Foster approached

to direct in Hill's place. Donaldson originally said no as he did not want to do a remake. Then he read the script "and I really liked it," said Donaldson. "And then I rented the original movie, which I'd never seen, and I liked that, too. I saw how I could put my own stamp on it. There were lots of things about it that appealed to me: I love the Southwest, I love the genre of the road movie, I love a thriller and I like the sort of underlying conflicts of the relationships in that movie." Baldwin said he "always wanted to do a movie that required what I consider to be movie acting, which is that it's not what you do, but what you don't do. It's all about small, and less and less. An action film is a perfect opportunity for that. There's always a steady flow of action films – it's the most mined material – but what distinguishes an action movie is the acting." Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger had fallen in love while making ''

The Marrying Man ''The Marrying Man'' (known as ''Too Hot to Handle'' in the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Philippines) is a 1991 American romantic comedy film, directed by Jerry Rees, written by Neil Simon, and starring Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger. The f ...

'' together and he asked her to play the female role. Basinger said she "loved" the original movie "a lot. It had this cult status. But my first reaction to Alec's suggestion was no." She went back to the original Jim Thompson novel to see if there was a more substantial theme to the story.

I saw that this theme could be summed up in one word – trust.... And I said to Alec, "See what we have here. This is all about trust. These two people can't trust anybody or anything. They can't trust their colleagues. They seemingly can't trust each other. And when mistrust occurs, it breeds violence and havoc."

Basinger says her views were incorporated into rewrites of the script by Amy Jones. She liked them and accepted the role. Basinger:

There's something going on between us here that was never developed between
Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of the counterculture of the 1960s, made him a top box-office draw for his films of the late 1950s, 1960s, and ...
and Ali McGraw ic The movie asks all sorts of questions about our relationship. I'd said to Alec that if we did this together, I wanted it to be more of a partnership movie than the first. I wanted to see where that aspect went, with the movie being more about the relationship and the violence running second – although there's plenty of that in the movie... Let's not kid ourselves. This movie is made for a commercial audience. It's a very difficult question for me because I don't like violence. But at the same time, how else are we going to make a film that faithfully mirrors the truth out there in our society? This is a story about misfits in a world of misfits. It's a story about trust and mistrust and how mistrust breeds violence.

Filming

The film was shot in Yuma, Phoenix, and The Apache Lodge in

Prescott, Arizona Prescott ( ) is a city in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2020 Census, the city's population was 45,827. The city is the county seat of Yavapai County. In 1864, Prescott was designated as the capital of the Arizona ...

. The location portrayed as the Border Hotel in El Paso is the Hotel Del Sol (formerly Hotel Del Ming) in Yuma. It was filmed in the spring of 1993 and was originally set to be released in December of that year. The film included a torrid sex scene between Baldwin and Basinger. Director Donaldson said:

These scenes are always the toughest of any scenes to do.... People get into acting not to be exhibitionists, necessarily. They get into it because they love acting. And then you're basically trying to convince them that this part of the story is essential.... Basically my philosophy of how to do these scenes is to give the actors as much freedom and privacy as you can possibly bring to it, and let them feel that ultimately you won't compromise them. That you won't make them look stupid or expose more of themselves than they would perhaps like to see. It has to be relevant to the movie and be tasteful.

"Although we were co-stars we knew we had to forget we were married in real life," Basinger said. "We each had a separate relationship with the director. There was none of this let's go home and talk about it under the sheets and gang up on him the next day... I can't begin to tell you how well the working experience turned out."

said she loved doing the nude scene with

: "At first, it was scary, but you know there's something very freeing about taking your clothes off in front of 50 people."

Reception

Critical response

The film garnered negative reviews from critics. It has an approval rating of 33% on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

based on 24 reviews, with a

weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...

of 4.9/10. It earned a

Razzie Award The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic under-achievements. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, ...

and a

Stinkers Bad Movie Awards The Stinkers Bad Movie Awards (formerly known as the ''Hastings Bad Cinema Society'') was a Los Angeles-based group of film buffs and film critics devoted to honoring the worst films of the year. The society was founded by Mike Lancaster and Ray ...

nomination for Kim Basinger as Worst Actress, but she lost both trophies to

Sharon Stone Sharon Vonne Stone (born March 10, 1958) is an American actress. Known for primarily playing femme fatales and women of mystery on film and television, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1990s. She is the recipient of various ...

for ''

Intersection In mathematics, the intersection of two or more objects is another object consisting of everything that is contained in all of the objects simultaneously. For example, in Euclidean geometry, when two lines in a plane are not parallel, thei ...

'' and ''

The Specialist ''The Specialist'' is a 1994 American action thriller film directed by Luis Llosa and starring Sylvester Stallone, Sharon Stone, James Woods, Eric Roberts, and Rod Steiger. It is loosely based on "The Specialist" series of novels by John Shirley ...

''. Baldwin later referred to the film as "a

". In retrospect, Michael Madsen, is very proud of the movie: “It was a pretty good movie. I don’t think it was really released right. I think it should’ve been a wider release. I think they should’ve left it out a little bit longer.“

Year-end lists

* Honorable mention – David Elliott, ''

The San Diego Union-Tribune ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868. Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' and ...

'' * Honorable mention –

Michael MacCambridge Michael MacCambridge (born June 21, 1963) is an American author, journalist and TV commentator. He is the author, co-author, or editor of 8 books, including the acclaimed ''America's Game: The Epic Story of How Pro Football Captured a Nation''. M ...

, ''

Austin American-Statesman The ''Austin American-Statesman'' is the major daily newspaper for Austin, the capital city of Texas. It is owned by Gannett. The paper prints Associated Press, ''New York Times'', ''The Washington Post'', and ''Los Angeles Times'' internationa ...

References

External links

* * * *https://worldwideboxoffice.com/movie.cgi?title=The%20Getaway&year=1994 {{DEFAULTSORT:Getaway, The 1994 films 1994 action thriller films 1994 crime thriller films American action thriller films American crime thriller films Remakes of American films American heist films Films based on American novels Films based on crime novels American chase films Films directed by Roger Donaldson Adultery in films Films set in Phoenix, Arizona Films set in Mexico Films set in Texas Films shot in Arizona Largo Entertainment films Films about kidnapping in the United States Films about bank robbery Films based on Jim Thompson novels Films scored by Mark Isham Films with screenplays by Walter Hill 1990s English-language films 1990s American films