A prolific filmmaker who explored documentary, narrative, and experimental cinema, Pat Rocco captured the essence of queer culture in the late 1960s and early ’70s, when it was still largely ignored by the popular media. Having achieved notoriety in the gay underground, Rocco expected his third feature to cross over to general audiences. A West Coast response to Midnight Cowboy, Drifter observes the odyssey of an emotionally ambivalent bisexual hustler (Joed Adair) as he wanders through a series of relationships with men and women, yearning for a sense of belonging in a Southern California characterized by impersonal pick-ups and sex for hire. Playful and irreverent, Rocco‘s films could also be disarmingly earnest and sensitive, and might have found a greater audience had not serious gay narratives remained such a stubborn cultural taboo. As it was, Rocco’s breakthrough film failed to receive commercial distribution, and for decades Drifter remained virtually unseen. Fifty years later, Kino Cult celebrates Rocco‘s magnum opus with a 2K restoration from the original 16mm A/B negatives preserved by the UCLA Film and Television Archive, setting the stage for a reappraisal of Rocco’s eclectic and historically significant body of work.

For thoughts on Drifter, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/T7jBM3kHH9s?si=R2RZW9f3-gD2R7fA&t=3071]

Video Quality

Kino Cult rescues Drifter from obscurity with a new 1080p master transfer in 1.37:1 sourced from a 2K restoration from the Original 16mm A/B negatives preserved by the UCLA Film and Television Archives. While there are still signs of limitations when it comes to the source, the quality is primarily terrific throughout. The transfer retains the sumptuous natural film grain absent of any compression artifacts or other such damage. The grain always resolves evenly and consistently without becoming noisy or clumpy. The film is not exactly pristine, but it avoids most of the egregious damage and dirt. You will spot some stray lines and specks that do not distract from the presentation.

The film features some rich colors within the clothing and shooting locations that radiate off the screen with impeccable vibrancy. Skin tones display naturally, and the presentation offers strong black levels that hold up well in shadows within the source limitations. There is a level of fine detail that should please viewers. Subtle details in the environments, clothing, and production design are revealed for presumably the first time. Kino Cult has treated this one with respect.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray comes with a decent DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that shows a bit more wear than the video but still holds up okay. Dialogue and background noises rarely clash in a displeasing manner. The track reveals signs of age-related wear and tear such as mild hissing and popping. The sound also registers as the slightest bit hollow. All of the sound effects and music appear to be faithful to the original intent of the creative team. Not much overshadows the dialogue or other important information. There are a handful of hiccups in the fidelity, but things hold up well on the whole. This is a fine effort from Kino Cult. There are also optional English SDH subtitles included.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Film Historian Finley Freibert provides a pretty informative commentary track in which he delves into the production history of the film, the career of director Pat Rocco concerning queer cinema, the background of the performers, the changes from the script, the release history of the film, the legacy of the feature since its release, and more.

Short Films by Pat Rocco: An assortment of earlier short films from the director is provided in pretty solid HD quality. You can see some of the stylistic throughlines in his work, and those who enjoyed the feature will appreciate these.

- Autumn Nocturne (24:32)

- A Matter Of Life (14:18)

- Strip Strip (3:15)

- Sunny Boys (3:11)

Final Thoughts

Drifter is a fairly engaging tale of a man who finds himself in an emotional and sexual whirlwind that leaves a path of destruction. Pat Rocco treats his characters with a great amount of respect as he allows them to feel authentic rather than caricatures that can be easily labeled by society. They are brought to life by a talented cast who put forth fearless performances. The pacing can get a little bit sluggish at times, but this is a slice of queer cinema history that is worth rediscovering. Kino Cult has provided a new Blu-Ray featuring an impressive A/V presentation and a rich selection of special features. If you want more complex queer narratives, this is worth watching as a building block. Recommended

Drifter is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Kino Cult has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.