VCI's Hot Rods & Hot Chicks Double Feature Blu-ray + DVD sets brings together 70's drive-in flicks Bad Georgia Road (1977) and Mag Wheels (1978) newly restored in HD, scanned in 4K from the original camera negative with a new commentaries, trailers, and an image gallery.
BAD GEORGIA ROAD (1977)
Label: VCI Entertainment
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: R
Duration: 86 Minutes 29 Seconds
Audio: English PCM 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: John C. Broderick
Cast: Gary Lockwood, Carol Lynley, Royal Dano, John Wheeler, John Kerry, Cliff Emmich, Tom Kibbe, Glynn Rubin
Southern hicksploitation Bad Georgia Road (1977), directed by John C. Broderick (The Warrior and the Sorceress), concerns a sophisticated New York snob named Molly Golden (Carol Lynley, Vigilante) who after getting word that she has been left a $100,000 inheritance by her long-forgotten uncle Elton Payne in Alabama promptly quits her job at a fashion magazine and drives on down to claim it, alongside her assistant Larch (John Kerry, Dolemite). However, upon arriving the slippery lawyer (Cliff Emmich, Halloween II) tells her all the cash is going towards paying debts and his fees, and all that she is left with is her uncles crusty old shack and what turns out to be a pretty lucrative moonshine operation. The property comes with two employees, Arthur Pennyrich (Royal Danno, Ghoulies II), a sharp-shooting former preacher, and redneck moonshine runner Leroy Hastings (Gary Lochwood, 2001: A Space Odyssey), a vulgar, privative man who drives a souped-up 1970 Plymouth Road Runner, and whose Southern ways rubs against Molly snooty Yankee ways. With little other options, having already quit her job in the city, she makes a go at taking over the moonshine operations. Her and Leroy rub each other the wrong way, but in that certain way that only trash from the 70s could muster, Leroy rapes Molly, after which she rightfully tries to shoot him dead with a shotgun, only for the encounter to turn inconceivably consensual, naturally.
The moonshine enterprise takes off, however, the trio find themselves targeted by IRS revenue agent named Dub Douchette (John Wheeler, Vice Squad Women) who has an axe to grind, and worse, the local moonshine Syndicate is looking to muscle in on the operation as part of his expanding criminal enterprise. We get plenty of dirt road care chases, loutish redneck behavior, and some attempts at a moonshiner comedy, but that rape turned love-fest was hard to swallow. Still, I did spot Mary Woronov (Sugar Cookies) in the opening scene (never to return, sadly) and George "Buck" Flowers (They Live) shows-up as another local bootlegger, so that was fun at least. Not great, not awful, somewhat entertaining drive-in fare, but not amazing either, and no nudity, though there is some chaste sun bathing, skinny dipping, and of course raping. Notably, the Southern Fried slice of moonshine was shot by Tak Fujimoto (The Sixth Sense) and features a peppy little score by Don Peake (The Hills Have Eyes).
MAG WHEELS (1978)
Label: VCI Entertainment
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: R
Duration: 81 Minutes 18 Seconds
Audio: English PCM 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1)
Director: Bethel Buckalew
Cast: John Laughlin, Shelly Horner, Phoebe Schmidt, Verkina Flower, Steven Rose, Frederick Schmidt, Craig Horrall, Nancy Herr, Lynn Kuratomi, Charles Kent, Irwin Schaeffer, George Barris, Tammy Michaels, Danielle Happ, Roger Lawrence Pierce, Jeff Richards, Joji Barris, Joel Kramer, Shotzi Barris, Vicki Huff
The second half of this '70s drive-un double-feature is the SoCal slice of Vansploitation, Mag Wheels (1978) aka Summer School, directed by Bethel Buckalew (Below the Belt). In it attractive SoCal "teens" skip school and hang out at the beach, have sex, and engage in local Vanners versus Truckers rivalries, with the vanners being the guys and the young women being the truckers. The main dramatic thrust of this flicks is Steve (John Laughlin, Crimes of Passion) girlfriend Donna (Verkina Flower, daughter of George "Buck" Flowers, The Witch Who Came from the Sea), and the jealously that arises when Steve takes a lustful interest in newcomer tot he school Anita (Shelly Horner) provokes a hostile response from his jealous. As Anita tries to fit in she hangs out with Steve and the Vanners but also befriends Jill (Phoebe Schmidt), the leader of the girl-truckers. The possessive Donna comes at her, even driving her off the road one night, and at home Anita has to deal with a drag of a dad, and at work her tub-o-lard boss is tries to sexually assault her, she has sort of a bummer of a life to be honest. At school she gets expelled after a girl-fight with Donna, and later after being framed for dropping a dime tot he cops about drug activity concerning the Steve and Vanners they chase her and Jill down and attempt to gang rape them in the desert, it's pretty wild stuff. The finale features tensions spiraling out of control with a vanners versus truckers drag-off, which is basically a tug-o-war atop a steep mountaintop plateau with the loser sure to plummet tot heir death into a ravine. This SoCal slice of automotive teen culture was a fun watch, and at the very least it recognizes that rape is bad, which Bad Georgia Road did not. On an aesthetic level the '70s van and truck culture is nice eye-candy, and many of the vans were customized by co-producer and car legend George Barris, the creator of the Batmobile for the Batman TV sand he who also cameos in the film.
We get plenty of beach action, splashes of nudity, and some tasty skate shots filmed at the Boogie Bowl Skatepark, and it's quite a fun time capsule of late-70s fashion and hairstyles with feathered hair, tube socks, tube-tops, cut-off shorts, and bell-bottom jeans.
I'd never watched either of these film previously, and I found this to be a solidly entertaining double-feature, if you're a fan of trashy Southern-fried hicksploitation and SoCal vansploitation culture this drive-in double-header is an easy recommend.
Audio/Video: Both film arrives on single Blu-ray presented in 1080p HD framed in 1.85:1 widescreen. The sources are in good shape, grain is present and the image looks solid throughout without any rampant blemishing, and it has not been digitally scrubbed. The colors generally look pretty good here, though there is some occasional softness in certain outdoor sequences. Audio on both flicks comes by way of uncompressed DTS-HD MA 2.0 dual-mono with optional English subtitles. The tracks are clean and well-balanced, hiss or sibilance was not an issue. Neither offer the most dynamic range, but this sounds accurate to the film low-budget origins to my eyes.
Extras include a pair of Audio Commentary tracks for both movies by Rob Kelly noted Film historian, podcaster, and artist which was a terrific listen, he offered quite a bit of knowledge about the films, the cast and crew, noting the tropey elements and pointing out the unsavory rape-y elements found in both flicks. We also get a 3-min
Hot Rods & Hot Chicks Movies Poster Gallery, and the Restored Trailers for Bag Georgia Road and Mag Wheels. The 2-disc Blu-ray + DVD Combo arrives in a clear keepcase with a Reversible Wrap, offering the same artwork with a darker or lighter background, but otherwise they are essentially the same. The artwork incorporates what looks to be original movie posters but wrapped in some shitty AI generated bullshit.
Special Features:
- Audio Commentary tracks on both movies by Rob Kelly noted Film historian, podcaster, and artist.
- Hot Rods & Hot Chicks Movies Poster Gallery (3:15)
- Restored Trailers: Bag Georgia Road (2:33), Mag Wheels (1:24)
Screenshots from the VCI Entertainment Blu-ray:
BAD GEORGIA ROAD (1977)
Extras:
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