Night Moves

Although this film is classified as a thriller, it's not the sort that gets pulses racing: Night Moves eschews stereotypical action and overt melodrama in favor of mood, atmosphere, and psychological tension. Arthur Penn's 1975 movie stars Gene Hackman as a Los Angeles-based private detective hired to find a faded actress' runaway daughter, a search that eventually takes him to Florida, where he gets tangled up in a smuggling operation run by the girl's stepfather. The plot, which resembles those employed in the private-eye novels of Ross MacDonald, is far from direct, with the digressions carrying just as much narrative weight as the principal story thread. Hackman, superb as always, is backed by an unusually strong supporting cast. Melanie Griffith, barely 18 and making her film debut, sparkles as the wayward nymphet, and John Crawford is excellent as her stepdad. Also noteworthy are Jennifer Warren, as Crawford's classy mistress; Susan Clark, playing Hackman's unfaithful wife; and James Woods, who makes a memorable appearance as a smarmy mechanic. Some might find the Alan Sharp script needlessly complicated, but the plot twists keep Night Moves from lapsing into cliché (and the film boasts one of the all-time classic digs at French cinema: "I saw a Rohmer film once. It was kind of like watching paint dry."). Presented with an excellent transfer, DVD extras include a vintage featurette. Recommended. (E. Hulse)[Blu-ray Review—Sept. 19, 2017—Warner, 100 min., R, Blu-ray: $21.99—Making its debut on Blu-ray, 1975's Night Moves features a great transfer and a DTS-HD 2.0 soundtrack. Extras include a vintage “The Day of the Director” featurette with filmmaker Arthur Penn (8 min.). Bottom line: this ‘70s classic sparkles on Blu-ray.]