Switchback

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jeb Stuart directs. Oliver Wood behind the camera. Basil Poledouris scores. Conrad Buff IV cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Earned back only 18% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
• 229 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
• 3Directed by Jeb Stuart, shot by Oliver Wood. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 4Original score by Basil Poledouris. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 5Editor Conrad Buff IV shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 6Dennis Quaid and Danny Glover and R. Lee Ermey carry the top of the cast.
• 7Marketing tagline: "The hunter becomes the hunted.".
• 8IMDB entry: tt0119210 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 9Classified under 18 themes, including "sheriff", "texas", "colorado", "murder".

The technical file

Cinematography

Oliver Wood

Original score

Basil Poledouris

Editing

Conrad Buff IV

Production design

Jeffrey Howard

Makeup / hair

Gerald Quist

Sound

Cormac Funge

Stunt coordinator

Jeff Habberstad

Runtime

118 min · 1h 58m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Budget

$37,000,000

Box office

$6,482,195

Return

18% of budget

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

R

IMDB

Switchback (1997) ↗

Also by

Jeb Stuart

• 
  Blood Done Sign My Name

  2010 · ★ 5.4

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Car Crash

  Clip · Official
• 

  ▶
  Switchback (1997) Original Trailer [HD]

  Trailer

Community reviews

What people are saying

• John Chard2017-02-04
  ★ 5/10

  Cause he told the truth, and once you've heard the truth, everything else is just cheap whiskey. Switchback is written and directed by Jeb Stuart. It stars Dennis Quaid, Danny Glover, Jared Leto, R. Lee Ermey, Ted Levine and William Fitchner. Music is by Basil Poledouris and cinematography by Oliver Wood. FBI agent Frank LaCrosse (Quaid) is tracking a serial killer who he believes kidnapped his young son. Switchback is a standard serial killer based thriller that flopped at the box office. It's not a bad film but it never delivers on its potential. The location travelogue of the story is most impressive, especially the last third once we get to the snowy mountains of Colorado, but it's the scenery that grips and holds the attention more than the plot. The red herrings have interest value enough for us to stay with what is at just under two hours a long film, but resolutions are either anti climatic or too obvious. Cast are a mixed bag, with Quaid just okay as the perpetually bleak protag and Glover sadly winding out as miscast once film shows its hands. Thankfully Leto and Ermey are on hand to keep a rein on things, playing the intended thriller tone just right as per their respective characters. It's perhaps unlucky to have followed far superior/intelligent serial killer based thrillers, rendering it then and now as weak offerings. It's not the dead on stinker the box office suggests, and trimmed of 20 minutes it would have been a decent time waster, but as it is it plays out as unoriginal and lacking in directorial focus. 5/10

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  Rysher Entertainment

  US

• PA

  Pacific Western

  US

• 

  Paramount Pictures

  US

Key crew

• EditorConrad Buff IV
• CastingPam Dixon
• Music SupervisorRalph Sall
• Production DesignJeffrey Howard
• Executive ProducerKeith Samples
• Executive ProducerMel Efros
• Executive ProducerJeb Stuart
• Stunt CoordinatorJeff Habberstad
• Second Unit DirectorGary Hymes
• Unit Production ManagerMarty P. Ewing
• First Assistant DirectorVincent Lascoumes
• Second Assistant DirectorPhil Dupont
• StuntsSeth Arnett
• StuntsLes Larson
• StuntsJophery C. Brown
• StuntsJake Lombard
• StuntsTony Brubaker
• StuntsJan Michael Shultz
• StuntsMyke Schwartz
• StuntsKeii Johnston
• StuntsJim Stephan
• Art DirectionCarl J. Stensel
• Set DecorationDena Roth
• Script SupervisorJudi Townsend

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• sheriff
• texas
• colorado
• murder
• young boy
• serial killer
• hitchhiker
• train
• series of murders
• election
• pursuit
• railroad
• federal agent
• murder investigation
• child kidnapping
• missing son
• winter storm
• fbi agent

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical1997-10-31R

Also known as

International titles

• Śledztwo nad przepaściąPL
• La piste du tueurFR
• SecuestroAR
• スイッチバック　追跡者JP