Last night I decided to watch one of the many Arrow Video purchases that Ive made over the past couple of years but hadn’t yet gotten around to watching. That film was Pit Stop (also known as The Winner) from 1969 (but which was filmed in 1967) by writer/director Jack Hill (Coffy, Foxy Brown). Shot in black and white (which does give the film a more classic look to it than it would in colour). I knew nothing about the film other than it was a Jack Hill film and the bluray comes packed with a bunch of special features which is what swung me to pick up this bluray/DVD set in the first place, during one of Arrows seasonal sales.

So lets talk Pit Stop and what its about.  Pit Stop focuses on what they call the figure-8 race involving stock cars. So if you want to see some amazing car crash scenes, then Pit Stop is for you.

The film stars Richard Davalos (East of Eden) as Rick Bowman, a street racer who ends in jail after a street race goes wrong but is bailed out by race promoter Grant Willard (played by Brian Donlevy (The Quatermass Xperiment), Davalos takes an invite to get involved in the deadly figure 8 racing and soon goes up against driver Hawk Sidney (brilliantly played by Sid Haig), the film also features Ellen Burstyn, billed as Ellen McRae (The Exorcist) and Beverly Washburn (Spider Baby) 

I thoroughly enjoyed Pit Stop, not just for its crazy driving scenes, but for its story, the way the film has been shot and especially the crazy performance by the late Sid Haig.  It was a film I hadn’t heard of before I bought it, but its a film I wont forget and a film I will happily recommend to those who like ‘older films’ or films that they might not have heard of but are definitely ‘gems’. Also after in the past year or so  checking out for the first time Coffy, and Foxy Brown. I am definitely a Jack Hill fan! 

On the Arrow Bluray there are also the following special features

New High Definition digital transfer supervised and approved by director Jack Hill
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation
Original mono 1.0 audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray)
New audio commentary with Jack Hill moderated by his biographer Calum Waddell
Crash and Burn! – Jack Hill on the making of Pit Stop (which runs for 15 minutes)
Drive Hard – actor Sid Haig speaks about his experience of acting in Pit Stop
Life in the Fast Lane – producer Roger Corman on the genesis of Pit Stop
Restoring Pit Stop – restoration demonstration by Technical Supervisor James White
Original trailer
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jay Shaw
Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by critic Glenn Kenny and musicologist and writer Gray Newell on the film’s soundtrack, illustrated with original stills and artwork.