Blu ray review: Convoy

It is quite a fascinating cinematic turn that filmmaker Sam

Peckinpah decided to make a feature out of a brief fad that popped up in the mid 1970s:  the CB radio craze. For a couple of years, cars became equipped with CB radios so they could communicate among themselves.  This became especially significant with truck drivers, and it spawned a very unlikely radio hit, “Convoy” by C.W. McCall.  It is based on this song that Peckinpah created the 1978 film Convoy.

The film stars Kris Kristofferson and Ali McGraw and is backed with a supporting cast that includes Burt Young, Ernest Borgnine, Seymour Cassell, even silent movie juvenile Spec O’Donnell.  Peckinpah, responsible for such top western films as The Wild Bunch and Ride The High Country, transforms the western perspective and places it in the trucking industry.  And the result is a rousing, entertaining action drama that became the most commercially successful film of Peckinpah’s career.

Kino Lorber has released a beautiful new HD Master from a 4k scan of the original camera negative. Their two disc blu ray set is filled with excellent special features.  On the first disc that contains the restored movie, there is an audio commentary by filmmaker/historian Steve Mitchell, an audio commentary by Sam Peckinpah historians Paul Seydor, Garner Simmons and Nick Redman, and an audio commentary by Peckinpah Scholar Mike Siegel.

The entire econd disc includes even more features and extras.  It includes Sam’s Trucker Movie: a 2013 documentary that was revised in 2024, The Lost Convoy: a 2024 video essay by Mike Siegel, Three Lost Scenes: Deleted Scenes Illustrated with Rare Photos, Injokes, Friends & Cameos: a 2013 Featurette, Trucker Notes from Norway: a 2013 Interview with Norwegian Trucker Expert Anders Loefal, The Duck Trucks: a 2024 Featurette, Promoting Convoy: a collection of International Posters & Lobby Cards, Convoy in Color: A selection of 125 color  tills, Filming Convoy 1: A rare selection of 360 production stills, Filming Convoy 2: A rare selection of 360 production stills, Filming Convoy 3: A rare selection of 360 production stills, along with the theatrical trailer, a TV spot, and four radio spots.

Convoy is a fun action drama by a top level filmmaker.  It represents a brief, offbeat fad from the 1970s with a film that enjoyed success beyond the director's other films.  Kino has not only released a beautiful restoration of the film, but a two-disc set filled with special features and wonderful extras.  It is one of the best home video releases of the year and is most highly recommended.

The two disc blu ray set can be found at this link:  CONVOY