Ottersis was visiting, and she had mentioned this movie as one of her favorite explodos. I had never heard of it, it having been released before I became a serious devotee of explodo films (in 1991, with the release of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, if you really want to know. Suddenly, I got the whole 'gunshots and explosions' thing. It was like achieving Nirvana...)

See, there was no movie theater in the town I grew up in, so most of my young Otter moviegoing was confined to whatever was playing in the "2 for 99 cent" theater in the next town, or occasional forays to the BIG town 20 miles away with my high school buddies when one of us had the use of a car.

But I digress. So Ottersis was visiting, and we were chillin'. Shopping, talking, eating, more talking, more eating. Out to dinner with Mr. Otter. Then a lovely evening with this very nice explodo to round things off.

And this is EXCELLENT explodo, don't let the long buildup fool you. It starts off slow, giving the reasons why all three of the main characters are there in the middle of godforsaken South American nowhere, and doesn't really seem to be getting to the point. But as soon as the four guys take off in the two trucks loaded with unstable dynamite...it's white-knuckle, edge-of-you-seat time.

Now I'm not saying that Roy Scheider is a serious honey, although in my book, for some reason, he's damn close. I may promote him, as that is Otter's perogative. But he's really, really fun to watch. In this, in Jaws, in All That Jazz...just a joy to watch.

And we all noticed how different this movie, made in 1977, was from what it would be like if it were made nowadays: the prologue would be very short (no suspense) and the special effects would be overwhelming, to the detriment, in my humble opinion, of focusing on the people involved and the toll this trip takes on them.

Anyway. It's moviemaking as it should be, and an amazing ride. The last ten minutes are just gutwrenching. See it and enjoy it, you can thank me (and Ottersis) later.

Oh, and by the way: the title of the movie is the name of Roy's truck.