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The Hitcher (Special Edition) [1986] Dolby Digital 5.1 [DVD]
 
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The Hitcher (Special Edition) [1986] Dolby Digital 5.1 [DVD]

DVD ~ Rutger Hauer
4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)

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The Hitcher (Special Edition) [1986] Dolby Digital 5.1 [DVD]
65% buy the item featured on this page:
The Hitcher (Special Edition) [1986] Dolby Digital 5.1 [DVD] 4.4 out of 5 stars (21)
The Hitcher [DVD] [1986]
25% buy
The Hitcher [DVD] [1986] 5.0 out of 5 stars (1)
£5.78
The Hitcher [DVD] [1986]
4% buy
The Hitcher [DVD] [1986] 5.0 out of 5 stars (3)
The Hitcher 2 - I've Been Waiting [DVD] [2003]
3% buy
The Hitcher 2 - I've Been Waiting [DVD] [2003] 2.8 out of 5 stars (8)
£12.07
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Product details

  • Actors: Rutger Hauer, C. Thomas Howell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jeffrey DeMunn, John M. Jackson
  • Directors: Robert Harmon
  • Writers: Eric Red
  • Producers: Charles R. Meeker, David Bombyk, Edward S. Feldman, Kip Ohman, Paul Lewis
  • Format: Anamorphic, Dolby, PAL, Special Edition, Widescreen
  • Language English
  • Subtitles: Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
  • Number of discs: 2
  • Classification: 18
  • Studio: Momentum Pictures
  • DVD Release Date: 14 Jul 2003
  • Run Time: 93 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B0000A1M68
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 17,760 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

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Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
Made in 1984, The Hitcher is an update--in spirit at least--of Steven Spielberg's first feature film, 1971's Duel. Here C Thomas Howell plays a guy taking a drive-away car from Chicago to San Diego. On a whim, in the rain, and against his better judgment, he picks up a hitchhiker (Rutger Hauer). The hitcher quickly admits to being a murdering psychopath and once Howell finally gets him out of his car, he is pursued with all the vengeance of the ancient furies. We're never sure if the hitcher is a figment of his imagination, making Howell a schizophrenic killer, or if he's real and Howell is the random victim of a wandering madman, which is how his potential new girlfriend (Jennifer Jason Leigh) thinks of him. Either way, The Hitcher is great fun, kinda scary and teetering on the brink of "must see". --Andy Spletzer

DVD Description
Beautifully shot against the backdrop of Nevada’s eerily quiet valleys and long desert roads, The Hitcher is as acclaimed for its stunning cinematography and masterful direction as for its nail-biting and intriguing tale of terror and paranoia.

C. Thomas Howell (The Outsiders, Soul Man) stars as the unassuming Jim Halsey who decides to pick up hitchhiker Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner) on a rainy road in the middle of nowhere. Learning only that the name of his chillingly silent passenger is John Ryder, Halsey soon regrets his decision to stop as the hitcher pulls a knife on him and nearly forces the car off the road. Narrowly escaping and leaving the hitcher behind, Halsey’s nightmare has only just begun as a terrifying and psychotic game of cat and mouse ensues with all who pass on the road becoming unwitting victims of the hitcher’s intent. In a race against time, Halsey tries to raise the alarm but becomes a suspect himself when Ryder reappears and annihilates everyone in the small town police station. Believed only by a waitress, Nash (played by eXistenZ and Road to Perdition star Jennifer Jason Leigh), the stakes are raised again as Nash becomes the victim of one of the most extreme and unforgettable killings in film history. Challenged by Ryder to "stop me", only Halsey can end this waking nightmare.

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Customer Reviews

21 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (21 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Unmissable, 1 Feb 2008
By David Rush "Fasten your seatbelts, its going ... (Glasgow, Scotland) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)      
The Hitcher is one of the best films ever made and ultimately one of most overlooked as well. The premise of the film is very simple: Jim Halsey is driving a car cross country with plans of dropping it off at his destination when he comes across hitchhiker John Ryder, who seems suspicious from the start. It is incredibly tense and atmospheric and centres around a terrifying performance from Rutger Hauer as John Ryder, a mysterious drifter intent on following C. Thomas Howell's Jim Halsey and making his road trip one that he'll never forget. Most of the film's atmosphere radiates from Hauer as he scares both Howell and the audience with a simple glance which could mean anything and everything. Jennifer Jason Leigh makes an early appearance as a waitress dragged along for the ride after Howell stumbles upon the diner she works at. The performances of the three main actors are involving and it is very easy to feel sympathy for Howell, who has done nothing to deserve the torture he receives at the hands of Hauer, who makes for a terrific villain. A hidden gem and a great cult film, The Hitcher is fantastic.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A fantatstic road movie with a psychotic twist..., 29 April 2002
By L. Andrews "jointhepartyuk" (Newport, South Wales) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Hitcher [VHS] [1986] (VHS Tape)
This film is a masterpiece, and is almost on par with Spielberg's TV movie DUEL. In both films, someone is being chased by the unexplained, but in the HITCHER we actualy see who is doing the chasing. Rutger Hauer shines through in this performance as the mysterious maniac, and for me is by far his best film (I wasn't too keen on BLADE RUNNER, althoygh he was brilliant in that too). It's a pity that he has sunk to the lower levels of TV movie fame, as he makes a brilliant villain, and it would be a joy to see him back in mainstream cinema. Well, we can only hope.

But this is a review about the film, and not Rutger Hauer. C Thomas Howell (SOULMAN) plays Jim Halsey, travelling across the desert in a delivery car, and happens to pick up a hitcher who has a tendency of killing his benfactors. Halsey escapes, but finds himself pitted against this madman who takes it personal. Get set for one of the most atmospheric, unsettling 'road moives' ever made.

I suppose it is a little inaccurate to label this as a road movie, but THE HITCHER is always compared with other films of the genre. For me, it is DUEL that THE HITCHER is most similar to, but THE HITCHER takes the violence to the extreme, setting up a hefty body count as it progresses.

Like the vampire film NEAR DARK, the film's atmosphere comes from its music, excellently composed by Mark Isham (of BLADE fame). The sense of isolation is superbly brought across to the viewer.

Jennifer Jason Leigh (SINGLE WHITE FEMALE, DELORES CLAIBORNE) also stars, and viewers will want to watch the scene involving her, Rutger Hauer and a truck. Definetly the most riveting scene in the film.

Brilliant from start to finish. I definetly recommend this to fans of road movies and horror alike.

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Rutger Hauer, Rugtor Hower, Roetag Hoore... oh sod it!, 31 Aug 2003
By Mr. I. P. Mciver "Guyverpop" (Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
It begins and ends with the lighting of a match, it's not really important but most would say the same thing about this film. It's low budget and lack of any 'credible' stars means it is destined to be repeated in the early hours of the morning when no one gives a damn. This film is important to me.
I never considered that C Thomas Howell's character could be a schitzophrenic, never occured to me in the slightest, but it also meant that I never quite understood why the hitcher was chasing him. This explanation doesn't make sense either because there is a point when the policemen see him in the truckyard and the main character is told he is asking for him so how could it be the same man? This film is all about the thrill of the chase, an agonising traumatic chase where a young man has been singled out. Everywhere he goes the hitcher is there waiting for him, ready to play with his mind some more and severely change the world around him.
The acting is kept to a bare minimum with only Jennifer Jason Leigh getting the change to say more than a sentence which is the amount you feel the others get. This adds to the atmosphere of the surroundings though; the echoing, harsh landscape of the desert seeking to trap its victims and kill. I like this film because it doesn't need any flashy devices to keep your attention. It doesn't try too hard to get your attention either it just keeps doing what it wants and you admire that. You want C Thomas Howell to survive and get the girl and kill the bad guy and be happy forever and ever... not gonna happen. It's short and bittersweet, and as cult films go it isn't as bad as the rest of the world thinks. You just need to remember that when eating a plate of chips, keep your eyes open.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Who on earth works for Amazon and writes this nonsense?
Who is the culprit who writes this nonsense as an Amazon film reviewer? Indicating the hitcher could be a figment of imagination and in fact the teenager is the killer, did they... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Joanna Lumley's Favourite Gurkha

1.0 out of 5 stars it's actually a bit rubbish
seems there are lots of 5 star reviews for this film and whilst everyone is entitled to their opinion I just don't get it. Read more
Published 10 months ago by andtash

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good B movie
Rutger Hauer dominates this classy thriller, with a performance that matches his role in Bladerunner. Read more
Published 15 months ago by S J Buck

5.0 out of 5 stars Quic Reviews!
A definitive Road Movie which features some impressive stunt work, chases and crashes, as well as a storming performance from Rutger Hauer and some shocking moments and twists... Read more
Published 19 months ago by carlosnightman

5.0 out of 5 stars Superbly shady and sinister!
As horror films go, this one is not a complete gore fest, yet it is memorable simply because it is big on suspense, psychological drama and implied horror. Read more
Published on 16 April 2007 by J. Roberts

5.0 out of 5 stars A Masterpiece
Quite simply a masterpiece. Every aspect of this film works and the story bits that appear not too, do really and enhance the mystique of this film further. Read more
Published on 19 Feb 2007 by N. Saunders

3.0 out of 5 stars Not a bad film but not great!
When I started to watch this, it reminded me of duel but as the film went on, I realised it was quite different. Read more
Published on 3 April 2006 by Mr. N. D. Havers

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic, tense thriller
(See above synopsis)
When I first watched this film, I was terrified by it, and I remember my parents asking if I was feeling ok because I was white as a sheet. Read more
Published on 17 Mar 2006 by H. R. Trigg

5.0 out of 5 stars The Hitcher
When the bible tallkes about "THE GOOD SAMARITAN" well this film shows you what happens if you act as the good samaritan, Jim Hausly thinks that he will be the good samartan and... Read more
Published on 28 Dec 2004 by jyhinky

5.0 out of 5 stars More Than Just A Ride!
One of the scariest movies I have ever seen, The Hitcher is relentless inits intensity. Jim Halsey (C. Howell) picks up a hitchhiker (R. Read more
Published on 27 April 2004 by Martin A Hogan

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