1997 Directed by Jonathan Mostow
When his SUV breaks down on a remote Southwestern road, Jeff Taylor lets his wife, Amy, hitch a ride with a trucker to get help. When she doesn't return, Jeff fixes his SUV and tracks down the trucker -- who tells the police he's never seen Amy. Johnathan Mostow's tense thriller then follows Jeff's desperate search for his wife, which eventually uncovers a small town's murderous secret.
M. James Arnett Seth Arnett Bruce Paul Barbour Carey Loftin Al Jones Sven-Ole Thorsen Steve Kelso Mark Ginther Gene Hartline Diana R. Lupo Michael M. Vendrell Tom Glass John Casino Keii Johnston Troy Robinson Tommy J. Huff Norm Compton James M. Halty Jimmy Romano Steve Picerni Pat Romano Eddy Donno Shane Dixon Kevin L. Jackson Ellen Statham Hugh Aodh O'Brien
Breakdown - Implacável Perseguição, Sin rastro, Breakdown - Point de rupture, Moiraia vlavi, A félelem országútján, Breakdown - La trappola, Incydent, Avaria no Asfalto, Slom, Tuzak, Point de rupture, Авария, Инцидентът, Únos, Sin Dejar Rastro, Panne fatale, Breakdown : Point de rupture, עצירת פתע, 브레이크다운, Avarija, Breakdown: Implacável Perseguição, Слом, Аварія, Tai Họa Bất Ngờ, 悍将奇兵
USAR
Los Angeles, California
Brazil14
USAR
Taiwan
SingaporeNC-16
Slovenia
Philippines
AustraliaM
Germany16
Hungary16
Greece16
Brazil
Australia
Brazil
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Philippines
Singapore
Slovenia
Taiwan
USA
Sort of a classic 80’s road trip horror made in the late 90’s that honestly does a better job than most of the movies that inspired it! I can tell you from my days of living in Wyoming that those deserted roads are pretty terrifying. The idea of having a breakdown is scary enough without the added horror of people coming after you. Although, at least there would be people? The reality is that it’s endless miles of absolutely nobody so I guess it’s up to you which is scarier.
Luckily, Kurt Russell is Kurt Russell (and I love Kurt Russell) so he puts on his big boy pants and goes after the trucker that disappears with his wife and we get…
Jonathan Mostow's BREAKDOWN is a tense, taut and pulpy action thriller, that knows what it is and makes good use of its simple premise, serving up fantastic genre thrills. Anchored by a solid Kurt Russell performance. It's vastly underrated.
"Where's my wife?" - Kurt Russel. What? It's not a super quotable film.
I bet the "kidnapping people on rural roads when their cars break down" business took a serious hit when cell phones were invented.
A man and his wife end up on stranded on the side of the road when their car breaks down. A truck driver brings the wife to the nearest town to make a phone call but never comes back. The husband goes searching and ends up in a small town Hitchcockian nightmare involving truck drivers, local yokels and crooked cops.
I love 90 minute films with no subplots... just like hey here's your fucking plot it's about if he can get his wife back...…
A 90 minute 90's film where $90,000 or 90,000 donuts is a plot point in a barebones action film that's better than 90% of other 90's action films. I'd watch it 90 more times. 90!!
I have a real a fondness for this Kurt Russell-starring road-thriller, which feels like a 90s successor to films like Duel and The Hitcher. So I figured in this time of despair, it would be a good chance to revisit it, and unsurprisingly it's still aged as well as ever.
For travelling couple Jeff and Amy Taylor, a long drive from Massachusetts to California quickly becomes a nightmare, as their SUV breaks down in the Arizona desert. After Amy hitches a ride with seemingly-friendly trucker Warren "Red" Barr to no return, Jeff quickly becomes paranoid and nervous, soon finding himself on a mission to save her when he finds out she's being held for ransom by Warren and his friends.…
I had completely forgotten what a solid thriller this is.
Mr. Reliable Kurt Russell carries this film that doesn't do anything new, but does what it should do unbelievably well. It is fantastically paced and even though it finishes with a predictable final act there is just no denying the craftsmanship it has on display.
What also helps is the fact that the fantastic J.T. Walsh is the ultimate badass.
Here we have a less caveman version of The Hills Have Eyes, starring Kurt Russell.
This does what it does so well that it probably seems weird that I don't think it's enough. Discussed on Episode 28 of The Suspense is Killing Us.
Kurt Russell in an indestructible polo shirt and full “where’s my wife!” mode unsurprisingly makes for a good time. Lets the tension simmer for a while and turns it up slowly until it boils over in a nail-biter of a climax, great for anyone that loves vehicular carnage and cathartic payoffs.
78/100
[Currently revisiting some favorite 1997 U.S. releases that I hadn't seen since around that time, in preparation for an A.V. Club "It was 20 years ago today" retrospective. For the most part, I'm just gonna make a few quick notes and then cut/paste what I wrote back then, because I've already fallen like a week behind with updates.]
• Struggling not to be overly influenced by the subsequent extinction of small-scale, human-sized thrillers like this. It seemed like a refreshing throwback even at the time, surrounded as it was by the likes of Twister and early Michael Bay; now, with digital spectacle having conquered all, it might as well be The Great Train Robbery.
• A model of concision, for better…
Always reminded me of Spielberg’s Duel but I must say I always liked this one better. Full of thrills and suspense. Kurt Russell is a perfect lead. I also really wanna go on a road trip.
