Red Line 7000 appears in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Most of the film looked fine, but some source issues arose.
The vast majority of the concerns stemmed from the movie’s ample use of material from actual auto races, as these came with lots of print flaws. While the rest of the flick emerged with only a few defects, the driving scenes tended to seem pretty ugly.
Outside of those, sharpness largely worked fine. I saw occasional instances of softness, but most of the non-race footage of 7000 showed appealing delineation.
No issues with jagged edges or moiré effects emerged. I saw no edge haloes and grain felt appropriate.
7000 opted for a fairly natural palette and the colors looked fine. While they didn’t dazzle, the hues came across with reasonably solid reproduction.
Blacks appeared deep and dense, while low-light shots brought appropriate clarity. Despite the problematic racing scenes, this remained a positive presentation.
As for the film’s LPCM monaural soundtrack, it worked well given the material’s vintage. Speech boasted good clarity and lacked edginess.
Music and effects occasionally veered a little shrill and they lacked much range. Still, they seemed perfectly acceptable for recordings from 1965. Expect a more than listenable soundtrack here.
As we move to extras, we find an audio commentary from film historians Nick Redman and Julie Kirgo. Both sit together for a running, screen-specific discussion of story/characters, cast and crew, various production details and reactions to the film.
Kirgo does double-duty here. Not only does she serve as a film historian, but also her father George wrote the movie’s screenplay.
That adds a nice personal touch to the commentary, even if most of it sticks with the usual subjects. Kirgo and Redman also seem more willing to point out the movie’s flaws than usual, so this turns into a fairly effective chat.
Three video programs follow, and Man In Motion runs 45 minutes, 25 seconds. It offers a chat with racecar driver/filmmaker/Red Line 7000 2nd unit director Bruce Kessler.
Including an introduction and sporadic commentary from film historian Howard S. Berger, “Motion” covers Kessler's youth and interest in racing, how he got into movies, and aspects of his career. This becomes an informative view of Kessler's productive life.
A Modern Type of Woman spans 19 minutes, 48 seconds. Here we get a video essay from film scholar Kat Ellinger.
She talks about how Howard Hawks depicted women in his films, with an emphasis on the main female roles of 7000. Ellinger offers a good look at this topic.
Finally, Gas, Gears, Girls, Guys and Death occupies 36 minutes, 23 seconds. This one offers a “visual essay” from film historians Howard S. Berger and Angela McEntee.
“Gas” tells us about aspects of the movie’s story and themes. The program attributes much more substance to this piece of fluff than it deserves.
An Image Gallery brings 36 elements that mix movie photos and ads. It becomes a decent compilation.
Legendary director Howard Hawks tried something different with Red Line 7000 and failed miserably. Neither an exciting racecar film nor a compelling interpersonal drama, the movie becomes a tedious dud. The Blu-ray comes with generally positive picture and audio as well as a mix of bonus materials. Quentin Tarantino may love this clunker, but I can’t find anything of value here.
