The Driver (1978) ****1/2

While I find Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive (2011) (review) to be a marginally better film than Walter Hill’s The Driver (1978), there is no denying how much of a debt the former owes to the latter (and how underseen the latter is compared to the former). The Driver contains—without doubt—some of the best car chase sequences ever put to celluloid, amidst a cool, calm, and collected slow burner. A minimalist masterpiece.

Recommended for fans of Bullitt (1968), The French Connection (1971), Dirty Harry (1971), and Le Samouraï (1967) (review).

Walter Hill Films Ranked