Giuseppe Patroni Griffi's "The Driver's Seat" Blu-ray - Elizabeth Taylor @BFI (Patreon)

BONUS CAPTURES:

Giuseppe Patroni Griffi's "The Driver's Seat" Blu-ray - Elizabeth Taylor @BFI

UK: https://amzn.to/40rEYg3

OUR REVIEW:

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film11/blu-ray_review_174/the_drivers_seat_blu-ray.htm

Elizabeth Taylor stars as a troubled woman who, upon arriving in Rome, finds a city fragmented by autocratic law, leftist violence and her own increasingly unhinged mission to find the most dangerous liaison of all.

Never before released in the UK, The Driver’s Seat (aka Identikit) remains the most obscure, bizarre and wildly misunderstood film of Taylor’s illustrious career. Adapted from an unnerving novella by Muriel Spark (The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie), the film marked a wild step into the unknown for the screen icon, as she cast off the shackles of the US studio system in the shadow of her tumultuous personal life. Co-starring Ian Bannen, Mona Washbourne and Andy Warhol, The Driver’s Seat stunned critics and audiences alike upon its premiere in 1974 but failed to secure a UK release – until now.

Directed by Giuseppe Patroni Griffi ('Tis Pity She's a Whore) and featuring cinematography by three-time Oscar winner Vittorio Storaro (Apocalypse Now), this much-sought after cult classic is presented in a new 4K restoration by Cineteca di Bologna and Severin Films.

***

Giuseppe Patroni Griffi's The Driver's Seat certainly fits Liz Taylor's penchant for, often, artistically challenging cinematic expressions. I'm thinking the Losey films Boom and Secret Ceremony. While The Driver's Seat was generally derided, I loved it. It's all her and she gives one of her finest performances as the unstable Lise - who is not dangerous - but rather unnecessarily confused augmented by less-understandable peculiarities. She unknowingly flirts with men - who all want a 'roll-in-the-hay' with the large-busted 42-year old beauty. If she can't keep her hands off of them. The Driver's Seat is non-linear, bouncing around confusingly... with the authorities on top of anyone who has been in contact with allusive Lise. We eventually learn why. The Driver's Seat is filled with hinted themes, subtext and sly Vittorio Storaro cinematography with an abundance of mirrors and shots through windows. The BFI Blu-ray gave me a thoroughly enjoyable viewing and the additional commentary and other extras proved valuable in filling a few gaps in understanding The Driver's Seat. This would be a strong recommendation to Liz Taylor fans and a slightly more modest encouragement to those keen on provocative, exigent, cinema.