Overview
A heist gone wrong leads to a desperate escape across the Texas border.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Graphic
- tense
- kinetic
- sardonic
- classic action night
- crime movie marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly recognize an entertaining, high-energy heist thriller powered by Steve McQueen and Peckinpah's action style, despite reservations about its contrived story and uneven performances.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Doc and Carol flee together across Texas toward Mexico while confronting betrayals and pressure on their marriage.
The bank robbery and subsequent pursuit use forceful, rapidly escalating action set pieces associated with Peckinpah.
Jack Beynon secures Doc's release in exchange for organizing a bank robbery and dictates the crew and terms.
Doc and Carol's escape depends on reaching one of the West Texas crossings into Mexico while multiple parties track them.
Films like The Getaway, and why
Bonnie and Clyde
shared lovers-on-the-run crime narrative, heist structure, and kinetic 1970s action style
The Wild Bunch
shared criminal protagonists, morally abrasive violence, and revisionist American crime filmmaking
Dog Day Afternoon
shared bank robbery mechanics, desperate fugitives, and escalating pursuit thriller tension
Gun Crazy
shared fugitive romance, criminal underworld pressure, and stylish action-driven suspense
Movie Details
- Director
- Sam Peckinpah
- Release Date
- 1972-12-13
- Runtime
- 123 min
- Rating
- 7.2 / 10 (694)
Cast
- Steve McQueen
- Ali MacGraw
- Ben Johnson
- Sally Struthers
- Al Lettieri
- Slim Pickens
- Richard Bright
- Jack Dodson
- Dub Taylor
- Bo Hopkins
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- YouTube TV
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Getaway about?
- A newly freed Texas robber and his wife race toward Mexico after a coerced bank heist collapses into a violent pursuit.
- What is The Getaway like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Getaway as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is The Getaway violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in The Getaway as graphic.
- What did critics think of The Getaway?
- Critics broadly recognize an entertaining, high-energy heist thriller powered by Steve McQueen and Peckinpah's action style, despite reservations about its contrived story and uneven performances.
- Which films are like The Getaway?
- Films with a similar feel include Bonnie and Clyde, The Wild Bunch, Dog Day Afternoon, and Gun Crazy.
- How long is The Getaway?
- The Getaway runs 123 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Getaway?
- In United States, The Getaway streams on YouTube TV.
