Synopsis:

Truck Stop was co-written and directed by Jean-Marie Pallardy (Erotic Diary of a Lumberjack, My Body Burns). He also has a prominent role in the film, his characters name is Eugene (in the English dubbed version) and Ulysse (in the French language version). The screenplay for Truck Stop was co-written by Oscar Righini whose other notable contributions as a screenwriter include The Red Nights of the Gestapo and Disco Music Fever (which he also directed). The screenplay for Truck Stop is loosely based on Homer’s Odyssey.

Centering the whole film on Homer’s Odyssey while an interesting idea. The execution of the source material leaves a lot to be desired. The plot is unfocused, the comedy rarely hits its mark, the sex scenes are lack any real heat and the only real tragedy in this film is that is takes ninety minutes of muddling along before it is finally over. That is not to say that there are not a few moments that don’t work. The film’s opening desert sequence where Eugene and his friend Jeff get lost in the desert. Jeff’s hallucinations cause him to see a lesbian like mirage in the middle of the desert. The scene that stands out head and shoulders above the rest involves a truck driver who picks up a transvestite in the men’s bathroom. The truck driver agrees to give the transvestite a ride if the transvestite has sex with his friend who is sleeping in the cab of the truck. After this scene the film starts to go off the tracks as it crawls along to its forgettable finale. The cast does feature a few recognizable faces like Ajita Wilson (The Nude Princess, Sadomanía, Macumba Sexual), Elizabeth Turner (Beyond the Door, The Psychic, Cannibal Apocalypse) and Annik Borel (Werewolf Woman) in the role of the Transvestite.

The DVD:

Truck Stop is presented in a 2.35:1 letterboxed widescreen. The source material is not in that good of shape there are noticeable tape rolls, colors fluctuate and details look fuzzy / soft throughout. This transfer has been flagged for progressive playback.

This release comes with one audio option a Dolby Digital stereo mix in English. The audio has background noise throughout that varies in degree and there are a few very noticeable audio drop outs.

Extras for this release include trailers for My Body Burns (2 minute 7 seconds – in French no English subtitles), Lucky Lucky & The Datelines (1 minute 40 seconds – in French no English subtitles), Gunfight at OK Corral (1 minute 38 seconds – in French no English subtitles), Erotic Diary of a Lumberjack (1 minute 9 seconds – in French no English subtitles) and Truck Stop (1 minute 39 seconds – in French no English subtitles). All five trailers are presented in a letterboxed widescreen. Other extras include an extensive image gallery that plays like a featurette (12 minutes 48 seconds). The main extra include with this release is a sixty one minute interview with director Jean-Marie Pallardy in French with English subtitles. This interview gives a well rounded overview of his career as a filmmaker.

According to the text on the back of DVD, the director Jean-Marie Pallardy supplied the source materials used for this release. The flaws in the audio / video presentation could be attributed to that is most likely no better surviving elements for this film. The most disappointing part of this release is that the original French language audio with English subtitles was not included. Overall Truck Stop makes up for its flawed audio / video presentation with its wealth of extra content.