I'm not familiar with this movie, but am a huge fan of Criterion's restoration and high-quality presentation of deserving old movies. When they release a restoration, it's always sure to look and sound terrific.

This is a superb film with one scene in particular that genuinely shocked me. I'm very happy that it finally has a high quality release.

Ann Savage is one of the great '40s femme fatales.

@rudely_murray said:

This is a superb film with one scene in particular that genuinely shocked me. I'm very happy that it finally has a high quality release.

Ann Savage is one of the great '40s femme fatales.

Yup. Agree on all points. It's probably the best Poverty Row film of that time. You could make movies about Tom Neal and Ann Savage's personal lives too. Can't wait to see it. One piece of trivia: The original trailer for Detour was thought to be lost in time but a collector has it but refuses to share it unless he's paid a king's ransom for it. So it'll be interesting if Criterion actually includes the original trailer on the DVD.

I've just now checked YouTube (where I'll watch this film sometime soon) and found the trailer for the 4k restoration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWIuKcyuesg

As for Tom Neal, I recently read about his messy personal life. Definitely would make for an interesting movie!

I liked 'Detour' enough to buy it. And the one I bought is not the best reproduction. But I like the story enough, Hitchcock like.

I have to say that the first I heard of this movie was in discussions and reviews of David Lynch's 'Lost Highway'. If I remember correctly it was a review by Jonathan Rosenbaum. He suggested that 'Detour' was an inspiration for Lynch, or he thought there were parallels. He also mentioned Robert Aldrich's 'Kiss Me Deadly' as another influence. I guess after viewing both I would agree somewhat. Both have highway scenes and protagonists in over their heads with mysterious women. And the cinematography is reminiscent.

Today I received the Criterion DVD in the mail and am very much looking forward to watching it, and all its included extras, plus read the included 28-page booklet, sometime soon.