Death Journey [Import]

Jesse Crowder has 48 hours and 3000 miles to cover in an attempt to deliver a mob accountant turned material witness named Finley to the New York district attorney Virgil Riley. Standing in Crowder's way at every turn are numerous mob hit men waiting to snuff out Crowder and Finley as they make their "Death Journey" from Los Angeles to New York.

Fred "The Hammer" Williamson returns to the screen as former L.A. cop turned man for hire Jesse Crowder in the 1976 Blaxploitation hit Death Journey. For fans not familiar with "The Hammer" this is basically a reprisal of his role as Jesse Crowder from "No Way Back" released in 1975, a film that definitely needs to be released on DVD in widescreen. Unlike Williamson's 1976 snoozer Mean Johnny Barrows "Death Journey" definitely has a lot more going for it in terms of action and violence.

Death Journey is a low budget action flick that makes great use of city locales and various methods of travel available in the 1970's. This film also benefits from some decent funky music and some great one liners from Williamson. Not only does Fred Williamson star in Death Journey; it was produced and directed by Williamson's film company PO'BOY PRODUCTIONS for around $75,000. In death Journey we get the classic "Hammer" with cigar in mouth, shirt unbuttoned strutting his stuff for the ladies and kicking butt in between. After all what kind of Fred Williamson film would it be if he wasn't shagging the ladies and killing bad guys?

Either the original negatives of this film were in incredible shape to begin with or Code Red spent some money cleaning up the print. This film doesn't contain any of the contrast or color problems I encountered with their previous release of Mean Johnny Barrows. The anamorphic widescreen print used for this DVD release will make even the casual "Hammer" fan shout with joy. The print is really clear containing some slight speckling here and there, certainly nothing that would ruin the overall viewing enjoyment. Compared to Mean Johnny Barrows the colors are sharp and vibrant and even the little details really stand out. The 2.0 mono sound is clear and consistent throughout. The video commentary with "The Hammer" in the special features section was very entertaining. I really have to commend Code Red on this DVD release. Well Done!

DVD Special Features Include:
*Director's Cut: Original 2.35:1 scope remastered in Hi Def from the original master negatives
*Audio Commentary with the Producer, Director/star Fred "The Hammer" Williamson
*Featurette: Hammertime#2, interview with Fred "The Hammer" Williamson
*Original theatrical trailer
*Other Code Red trailers