BY JOHN M. WHALEN
“The Hot Rock†(1972), starring Robert Redford and George
Segal, a Twilight Time Blu-Ray release, is a comedy crime caper about an inept but
lovable (they’re always lovable) gang of thieves trying to steal a huge African
diamond, the Sahara Stone, from The Brooklyn Museum. It was adapted for the
screen by William Goldman (“Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid†) from one of a
series of books written by novelist Donald E. Westlake featuring John
Dortmunder, a thief who’s a genius at planning heists, but who seems to be
plagued with nothing but bad luck. Something always goes wrong on his jobs,
leading to increasingly comical complications.
On this operation, Dortmunder is assisted by his
brother-in-law Andy Kelp (George Segal), who puts the heist together; Alan Greenberg
(Paul Sand), who’s good at making bombs; and Stan Murch (Ron Leibman), the
wheel man who can drive or fly anything from getaway cars to 16 wheelers to
choppers. He knows every shortcut in downtown Manhattan (depending on the time
of day), and spends his off hours tinkering in his garage, while listening to
the stereo-recorded sounds of car races.
The job goes wrong from the start when Dortmunder, Kelp and
Greenberg break into the museum at night and realize too late the floor-length
glass display case protecting the stone is too heavy for three men to lift.
Greenberg gets trapped inside it and despite a diversion set up by Murch to
distract the cops, they are forced to run for it, leaving Greenberg trapped in
the case with the stone. He swallows the gem, and from that point it’s all
about the gang trying to get Greenberg and the stone out of police custody. The
plot becomes a bit repetitious, as Dortmunder and company keep losing the rock
and have to “steal†it all over again four times. But what makes the movie fun
is the Looney Tunes Road Runner-like dedication Dortmunder and gang display in
the pursuit of their goal.
While the quartet’s antics are amusing (not Marx Bros.
funny, but funny enough), “The Hot Rock†really comes alive in an odd way in
the second act. The movie becomes something special, not because of anything in
the script or the performances of the lead actors. It’s more due to history and
fate. There is a sequence in which Murch flies Dortmunder and company in a
chopper over downtown Manhattan trying to find the police station where they
believe the stone is now located. Director Peter Yates (“Bullittâ€), and
cinematographer Ed Brown shot the chopper flying low over the city’s sky
scrapers and up close to the two World Trade Center Towers, then still under
construction. This footage, viewed today, can’t help but provoke a twinge of
nostalgia. Certainly no cinematographer or director today could get permits to
fly that low and close over the skyline and the streets of The Naked City. The
nostalgia is quickly dissipated, however, when Murch lands the chopper on the
roof of the wrong building. A couple of alter
cockers sunning themselves on the roof give them directions to the police
station. A nice touch.
“The Hot Rock†is a New York movie all the way. The cast
includes New York Actors Charlotte Rae, as Murch’s mother, and William Redfield
as Captain of the police precinct where Greenberg was incarcerated. Harry
Bellaver, who played Detective Arcaro on “The Naked Cityâ€TV series, is seen
here as a bartender in the bar where Dortmunder and his buddies hang out. Also
in the cast are Moses Gunn as Dr. Amusa, the African ambassador who hires the
gang to steal the jewel for his government, which claims to be the rightful
original owner of the stone, and Zero Mostel as Greenberg’s shyster lawyer
father, Abe, who knows where the Sahara Stone is located but won’t tell
Dortmunder or the others even when they threaten to throw his son down an
elevator shaft.
Perhaps the craziest sequence in the film comes when
hypnotist Miasmo (Lynne Gordon) is brought in to hypnotize the bank security
guard in charge of the safety deposit box where the Sahara Stone eventually
ends up. She gets into an elevator with him and tells him to look at the
numbers of the floors lighting up as they ascend. Once he’s under her spell,
she utters the trigger phrase “Afghanistan Bananastan.†Later Dortmunder enters
the bank’s safety deposit room and tells the guard “Afghanistan Bananastan.†By
the way, for those who like their movie trivia on the really obscure side,
there is a video on You Tube by the Stretchheads called “Afghanistan Bananastan.â€
Whether there is any connection with the movie I have no idea, as the lyrics in
the video are made indecipherable by loud drums and electric guitar. But it
can’t be just a coincidence.
Twilight Time’s limited edition (3,000 units) Blu-Ray presents
“The Hot Rock†in a 1080p High Definition transfer in its theatrical aspect ratio
2.35:1. The picture is good, considering the age of the film. The disc comes
with two terrific extras. The first is the audio commentary by the late Nick
Redman, Julie Kirgo, and screenwriter Lem Dobbs. Their discussion of the film
is worth hearing, especially their comments about the location filming around
the World Trade Center. The other bonus feature is the isolated music
soundtrack, which was composed and conducted by Quincy Jones, and features a
band of all stars, including Clark Terry, Jerry Mulligan, Grady Tate, Ray
Brown, and others.
“The Hot Rock†on
Blu-Ray is definitely worth having in your collection. It’s a lot of fun.
“Afghanistan Bananastan.â€
CLICK
HERE TO ORDER FROM SCREEN ARCHIVES
(Twilight Time has ceased operations.)
John M. Whalen is the author of "Tragon of Ramura". Click here to order from Amazon.