A man searches for his missing wife after his car breaks down in the middle of the desert.A man searches for his missing wife after his car breaks down in the middle of the desert.A man searches for his missing wife after his car breaks down in the middle of the desert.
- Awards
- 1 win & 2 nominations
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhen Red (J.T. Walsh) says to Jeff (Kurt Russell): "49 minutes, Jeff. Time to get the show on the road." - it is exactly 49 minutes until the end of the movie.
- GoofsWhen the Jeep quits running, the odometer reads 242 miles. It has already been driven from Massachusetts to the western US desert.
- Alternate versionsThe film originally had a prologue added at the behest of the producers showing Kurt Russell's character as a cameraman in a war zone. He witnesses the death of a young girl and this prompts the cross country trip with his wife to start a new job. Director Jonathan Mostow did not like the opening and asked Paramount to test screen one version with the prologue and one without. After the screenings, the studio executives agreed with Mostow and opted to remove the prologue.
- SoundtracksBurgers & Fries
Written by Ben Peters
Performed by Charley Pride
Courtesy of the RCA Records Label of BMG Entertainment
Featured review
First-Rate Action Suspense Thriller.
Kurt Russell and Kathleen Quinlan play Jeff & Amy Taylor, who are traveling by car across country to California. After stopping at a gas station, they develop engine trouble in the middle of the desert. Desperate, his wife agrees to a ride with a friendly trucker(played memorably by J.T. Walsh), who promises to get them help. When she doesn't return(and after the car starts working again) Jeff drives back into town, only to find to his dismay that not only isn't his wife there, but that they never showed up at all. He does find the trucker, only to be shocked when told by him that he doesn't know what he's talking about! Thus begins a game of cat and mouse, hunter and hunted between Jeff and a particularly nasty gang of kidnappers, demanding ransom.
Extremely exciting film involves the viewer with the couple's plight right away, and seldom goes wrong. Direction by Jonathan Mostow is efficient and inspired, and the performances really ring true, as does the smart script, leading to a cliffhanging climax.
Cautionary tale about not going along with strangers works well as a variation on "Duel". Not to be missed.
Extremely exciting film involves the viewer with the couple's plight right away, and seldom goes wrong. Direction by Jonathan Mostow is efficient and inspired, and the performances really ring true, as does the smart script, leading to a cliffhanging climax.
Cautionary tale about not going along with strangers works well as a variation on "Duel". Not to be missed.
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- AaronCapenBanner
- Sep 28, 2013
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- $36,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $50,159,144
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $12,307,128
- May 4, 1997
- Gross worldwide
- $50,159,144
- Runtime1 hour 33 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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