This movie,as far as I know,never won any special honors.It perhaps is not listed as one of the top 1,000,000 movies of all time.It may not be considered by many to be a great film,but I (and I am not ashamed to admit this),love this movie.Perhaps it is the charm exuded by Burt Reynolds and Jerry Reed.Perhaps it is the beautiful Sally Field(she never looked better on film).Perhaps it is the comic genius of Jackie Gleason.Perhaps it is all these things rolled into one.This is the absolute "king" of redneck comedy movies(and I use the term "redneck" with the utmost affection).I am a fan of great films,but I have my guilty pleasure movies as anyone has. This one tops my list of those.Love it!
Add a Review
-
SmileysWorld4 November 2001
-
AlsExGal27 December 2018The plot is silly, and the audience gets that from the start as ridiculously dressed tycoon "Big Enos" hires "The Bandit" (Burt Reynolds) to bring back a truckload of Coors beer to Georgia, which was illegal to ship anywhere but regionally at that time. The Bandit enlists his trucker friend Cledus (Jerry Reed) to help him on the endeavor. The trip to Texarkana to get the beer is easy enough. But the trip back is quite harrowing and hilarious. It starts when a runaway bride (Sally Field as Carrie) stops Bandit in the middle of the road in need of a ride. What Bandit does not know is that Carrie walked out on her wedding to the department store mannequin like son (honestly, Cledus' Bassett hound Fred has more personality) of Sheriff Buford T. Justice (Jackie Gleason). So Bandit thinks he is being pursued across country because of his speeding and reckless driving, maybe because of the beer, but never does it occur to him the sheriff is after his new passenger.
This is just a delightful road picture made authentic looking with tons of anonymous extras playing truckers, ladies of the evening, workers and customers at roadside diners, and teens just looking to do some mischief while listening in on their CB radios. There are also some great songs and Jerry Reed's musical talents are not wasted. About the CB radios - they were a fad in the mid 70s made that way by a 1975 hit entitled "Convoy", and they were the only way to communicate to other drivers on the road in the 1970s. There would not be an internet in common use for another 20 years and cell phones would not be ubiquitous for another 30.
So be prepared to be transported back to a simpler time when there were not tiny cameras tied to cell phones everywhere, air bags did not exist, gas mileage was not an issue, and the era of "zero tolerance" had not occurred yet. Oh, and the role of profane but persistent Buford T. Justice started a bit of a film acting renaissance for Jackie Gleason, who had always had a presence on TV but had been absent from the big screen awhile. -
catchick3727 July 2005I guess one reason I love this movie is because it doesn't pretend to be anything more than it is. It doesn't aspire to great movie-making. It was just supposed to be 90 minutes of entertainment on the big screen, and it's still entertaining. Take your brain off for a while and have fun with it.
There are hilarious lines, some funny pratfalls and even a bit of home-grown wisdom: "How ignorant you are depends a lot on which part of the United States you're standing on." Or something like that. I get a kick out of watching the convoy/rocking-chair scene every time. Makes me wonder how in the world they got around Birmingham, but that's suspension of disbelief for you. LOL.
Wish director Hal Needham had remembered that Alabama State Troopers drive Fords, not Pontiacs, but that's a small thing. My dad remarked on it every time, though.
It's just cornball entertainment, rare enough these days. Pop some popcorn and have a blast watching it. -
I've never been much of a fan of Burt Reynolds fan, but he happens to star in many 70's and early 80's movies that are right up my alley. We're talking about movies with charismatic macho man protagonists, fast cars, trucks so large they seem to be overcompensating for something else, infantile comedy and flamboyant action stunts. Movies like "White Lightning", "Hooper", The Cannonball Run", "Sharky's Machine", "Gator" and of course the "Smokey and the Bandit" trilogy and I can't help the fact they all star Burt Reynolds. "Smokey and the Bandit" is basically a very simplistic story and approximately three quarters of the film seems improvised at the spot, but a premise like this just can't fail. Two Texan big shots hire the notorious trucker Bandit to illegally transport a lorry of Coors Beer from Texarkana to Georgia in barely 28 hours. Bandit develops a nifty plan where his buddy Snowman drives the beer truck and he drives a Trans-Am in front to divert the attention of the coppers. During the wild and time-pressured ride, Bandit picks up the hyperactive runaway bride Carrie and becomes involved in a testosterone showdown with the fearsome Texan Sheriff Buford T. Justice. You easily forgive "Smokey and the Bandit" for its lack of originality and ideas, simply because everyone involved in the film seems to be so very enthusiast and cheerful. Former stuntman Hal Needham delivers a fast- paced script and taut direction (his other film "MegaForce", on the other hand is a terribly boring turkey) whilst all his cast members are having the time of their lives. Jerry Reed is excellent as the lesser cool sidekick Snowman and he also provides the film with a sublimely irresistible hillbilly soundtrack, including the fantastically catchy songs "East Bound and Down" and "The Legend". Sally Field and Burt Reynolds definitely have on-screen chemistry, but the show is undeniably stolen by Jackie Gleason as the persistent and downright obsessive Sheriff Buford T. Justice. Heck, even his character's name alone is awesome to write and pronounce repeatedly! He has the best lines, allegedly a large part of them were ad-libbed, like when he says to his slow and unintelligent son: "the first thing I'm going to do when we get home, is punch your mother in the face" (referring that the son can't possibly have inherited his stupidity from him).
-
ggh624 January 2001One of the first films to tap into the anti-authoritarian aspects of the Citizen's Band (CB) radio craze, "Smokey" is basically a movie-length car chase and a pleasantly insipid slice of late-'70's Americana.
The tissue-thin plot has good ole boy pals The Bandit (Reynolds) and Cletus (a surprisingly good Jerry Reed) running a load of Coors cross-country on a tight deadline while trying to avoid an assortment of less-than-bright cops, led by pompous blowhard Buford T. Justice (Jackie Gleason). Sally Field, as a runaway bride who thumbs her way into Reynolds' car, brings charm and a welcome sense of irony to the macho proceedings.
Stunt coordinator-turned-director Hal Needham stages the action competently, and the actors, who supposedly improvised much of the dialogue, obviously enjoy themselves. A good choice for those who want to relive the glory days of CB rebels, long sideburns, plaid western shirts, and black Trans-Ams with "screaming chicken" decals on the hood. Avoid the two vastly inferior sequels. -
ptb-815 June 2009Enormous good fun.. and I am flabbergasted that this film is 33 years old. In 1977 a 1944 film sure did look old but now in 2009 this 1976 production still looks fairly modern albeit super-bad 70s. In fact I really enjoyed the time-trip to this free 70s with its good natured roadside and trailer-park American fun times which echo all through SMOKEY. Burt Reynolds perfected his good ol' boy image thru DELIVERANCE in 73 then WW AND THE DIXIE DANCEKINGS in 74 via some lovably clumsy tap dancing in AT LONG LAST LOVE in 75 then rum running with doe eyed Robbie Benson and shrieking Liza Minnelli in LUCKY LADY (what a campy film!..no wonder it has never surfaced again ... yet...maybe after Stanley Donen dies)...) and then into SMOKEY which sets the scene for stunt car comedies for the next 5 years. In 1978 we got HOOPER then in 1979 THE BLUES BROTHERS and CONVOY and then more SMOKEY sequels. It was seemingly endless. SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT must be one of the most profitable films ever made. Seen thu 2009 eyes it seems to be the most simple of productions: there is not even ONE set used... every shot is taken on the road in a car or a truck, at a raceway fun-park, in a roadside diner, in a car park or in a picnic ground. It is all real .. and with real ordinary people as extras in most scenes..which was a clever way of ensuring incredible expectant word of mouth for the film to open in a big way. And it did.. one of the biggest cinema successes of the late 70s. More good fun than I remembered and evoking a wonderful nostalgia for the 70s, and with the most awful fashions imaginable.. brown pants and incredibly tight clothes.. eek! The budget must have been less than $3 million and it brought in over $100m in rentals! SMOKEY shows why everyone loved the 70s and Burt Reynolds at 42 years old hit his stride as a mega-star of the time. Sally Field was about 36 when she made this and still looks like a teenager!
-
When this movie came out, it became the biggest movie in America until Star Wars took over during that summer. Like Star Wars, each installment of the original trilogy was released the same year as the other original trilogy, with each movie grossing less than the original. Unlike star wars, no more sequels were made and the rest is history.
-
dieseldemon8513 February 2022This is a classic, and is one of the funniest movies of its day, nothing new can compare. It was fun beginning to end, meant as light time filler. Gleeson was perfectly cast as the sheriff. He had some great line that wouldn't pass the snowflake censors nowadays. The only common mistakes I have seen where few scenes switch from Lemans, to Plymouth's and while being destroyed back to Lemans. Followed by two sequels.
-
thekarmicnomad29 July 2022This is one of those films that was always on when I was a kid, now many years latter I get to view through the eys of a big kid.
It is still great!
The plot is beautifuly simple and no effort is made to complicate it.
An awful lot of the film is police cars screeching around and crashing.
The dialouge is as sparse as it is cheesey.
This is real anarchic silly fun.
There is more than enough here to upset a modern, sensative audience from sterotypes to dodgy flags.
You can actually feel the ozone layer deplete as hundreds of trucks and card overrev there way across the countryside.
But this really taps into a simpler time - a time where every little thing wasn't held under a microscope - and should be viewed as such
This is pre digital so all the stunts are real and you can really feel the rubber hitting the tarmac.
Technically the editing is choppy, each car chase feeling a bit isolated but I can forgive it that. -
Bandit19745 January 2006As you can tell by my screen name, I love this movie. I do regard this movie as my favorite of all time. Oscar material? Certainly not. But who cares.
The basic premise of the movie is a simple one. The Bandit (Burt Reynolds) and The Snowman (Jerry Reed) are trying to deliver a truckload of bootlegged Coors beer in 38 hours or less for $80,000 (big money back in 1977). All this while trying to shake a bloodhound sheriff (Smokey played by Jackie Gleason) and his bonehead son, Junior. Oh, and during all of this Bandit falls in love with a hitchhiker named Carrie (Sally Field).
As much as this is the movie that Burt Reynolds is known for, it's Jackie Gleason that makes this movie for me. His are my favorite lines in the movie. Don't get me wrong, Burt and his ohhh so 70's mustache do a fabulous job of smiling and laughing, but it's Gleason who has me in stitches every time I watch this movie. I received my first copy of this movie somewhere around 1986 (Christmas present). At some point I tried to figure out how many times I have viewed this movie. A conservative guess would be somewhere around 300.
It's simple fun, but there is a little bit of magic in this movie that was absent in Smokey And The Bandit II. Both Burt Reynolds and Sally Field claim that the reason the movie worked so well is that you are watching two people fall in love, for real, on film.
Aside from the love story and Gleason's portrayal of Bufford T. Justice, the movie has some fantastic and real (not CGI) car chases and stunts. This is a must own for anyone who loves a good car chase. -
planktonrules23 September 2021The plot to "Smokey and the Bandit" is pretty simple. Two very strange rich guys, Big Enos and Little Enos, offer Bandit (Burt Reynolds) a veritable fortune to transport a semi filled with Coors beer from Texarkana, Texas to Georgia because you apparently couldn't find the beer in Georgia at that time. But they'll be transporting the beer without paying the liquor taxes and if Bandit and his friend, Cledus (Jerry Reed) are caught, they could be in big trouble. So, Bandit's job is to draw the local cops' attention by driving even faster and crazier than Cledus in his rig. Along the way, Bandit picks up a lady running away from a wedding (Sally Field)....and in pursuit is the groom and his mentally imbalanced Sheriff father (Jackie Gleason).
This is a film I'd place in the category of 'turn off your brain and just enjoy it'. This is NOT meant as an insult. It's the sort of silly, undemanding film you might enjoy as a change of pace and I strongly doubt if we'll be seeing it on the Criterion Channel any time in the near future! There are some things about the film that don't make much sense (such as a sheriff chasing them from Texas to Georgia and destroying a LOT in the process)...again, just turn off your brain and enjoy it for what it is...silly fun.
By the way, during the movie they say that the drive from Texarkana, Texas to Atlanta, Georgia is 900 miles. Well, it's actually about 700. -
slightlymad229 January 2007This movie,as far as I know,never won any special honours.It perhaps is not listed as one of the top 1,000,000 movies of all time.but I (and I am not ashamed to admit this),love this movie.Perhaps it is the charm exuded by Burt Reynolds. Perhaps it is the beautiful Sally Field(she will forever remind me of the little girl who lived next door but one who always managed to elude me)Perhaps it is the comic genius of Jackie Gleason. This is the absolute "king" of redneck comedy movies(and I use the term "redneck" with the utmost affection).I am a fan of great films,but I have my guilty pleasure movies as anyone has. This one tops my list of those.Love it!
Your enjoyment of the film depends on your first viewing experience. If like myself, you were a young boy growing up in the mid-eighties, you will have no doubt lived for the endless thrills, spills, car crashes, second-rate jokes and Big Burt as the Bandit, and its two sequels. It's easy to laugh at now, but there is a perverse pleasure in seeing bell-bottoms, grown men with CB radios and muscles cars the size of small houses, the likes of which most people won't have seen since 1982.
And as a side note only Star Wars grossed more than Smokey and the Bandit in 1977 -
Leofwine_draca23 May 2021SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT is the classic good ol' boy car chase adventure flick, helping to typecast Burt Reynolds in the genre but also giving stunt driver Hal Needham a chance to show off his skills as director. The whole film feels based on a single car chase in LIVE AND LET DIE, and such it's very slight and superficial, enlivened by fun photography and earnest performances from both Sally Field as the love interest and a scene-stealing Jackie Gleason as the obsessed sheriff. Hardly high art, but it entertains.
-
The man was capable of so much more. He was truly great in Deliverance, in Boogie Night, and in his final film.
But in that same great final film, he came to terms with his life and career. He regretted going for the easy cash in simple minded action films like this one.
There was a backlash against Reynolds' films. Mother Against Drunk Drivers pointed to him as the worst example of films promoting reckless, often drunken, driving. The small town in Texas I grew up in the 70s had lots of teens trying to imitate him. That meant driving reckless when bored on the weekends.
As action or comedy, it's so so anyway. Like Dukes of Hazzard, a lot of posing as rebellious. Self destructive behavior isn't being cool. -
trickrider5 January 2003I grew up in the south as a teen in the 70's and this movie was the South at that time. It was all about CB radios. I remember when my dad got one in his 1972 cherry red Chevy Impala. He had this big ol' whip antennae on the back and his CB handle(name) was Midnight(because he worked the night shift at Pan Am airlines). I think part of the reason Smokey was such a huge hit was threefold. First off, we were going thru an energy crisis and the age of muscle cars was over and most of us were driving around in small pieces of crap like the Chevette or the VW Rabbit! The thrill of seeing a muscle car like the Pontiac Trans Am tearing across the land was a huge thrill! Secondly, the country as a whole was in a malaise of the "Me Generation"..and all the self-help crap! People were listening to soft-rock like Helen Reddy and John Denver and taking self-help courses like est! People wore earth-tone colors and sandals. So when we saw these 'real-men" like Burt and Jerry Reed in thier plaid shirts and tight jeans, taking on the establishment by disregarding the rules of the road and all that, we got excited! Finally, the sheer delight in seeing people enjoying life was a thrill we all wanted to partake in! I can see why so many people, who were bored with life in the pre-disco late 70's, really enjoyed the escapism of this simple but extremely fun flick! We wanted to be a part of it! It was late-night chocolate we never admitted to eating. It was a movie you partly felt dumb to admitting you liked! But the movie itself inspired the hugely popular TV series Dukes of Hazzard, right down to the cast. Burt and Jerry became Bo and Luke Duke..Sally turned into a Daisy(with better legs!) and Sheriff Buford T. Justice became Boss Hogg with his bumbling sidekick Sheriff Roscoe B. Coltrane! And of course the Trans Am was replaced by a true muscle car, the 1969 Dodge Charger (was thier ever a better muscle car than the 69 Charger?) What followed in the aftermath of this movie was the explosion of disco and letting oneself enjoy life again! The whole world got back into living life and having fun! Maybe Smokey had something
-
ironhorse_iv15 March 2016As a modern viewer, it's really confusing, to see an alcohol bootlegging movie, come out in the 1970s, that wasn't based in "prohibition era" America. However, that's not really a fault of the film. It makes the film, a little more unique. Made during the Convey Craze of the late 1970s. Smokey & the Bandit reeks of that era cheese. That doesn't make it, a bad movie. It just a little dated. A lot of the Citizens band radio (CB radio) lingo and slangs, really goes, over my head. It's also kinda disturbing to see the main character risk innocent driver's lives on the road, for alcohol and to see random people helping him, escape from the police. Despite that, for the most part, the film was very entertaining, even if everything in the film is so over-the-top. Directed by Hal Needham, the movie tells the story of a bootlegger runner, named Bo 'Bandit' Darville (Burt Reynolds), whom is hired to run a tractor trailer full of beer over county lines. However, he has one big problem, he's always being pursuit by foul-mounted, determinate, Texan Sheriff, Buford T. Justice (Jackie Gleason), hoping today is the day, that he will captured him and his son's runaway bride, Carrie (Sally Fields). Without spoiling the movie, too much, I have to say, this film is a bit disappointing when it comes to how it over-praise Coors Beer. It felt more like a product placement commercial, than a well-rounded movie. Trust me, Coors Beers wasn't as popular, as what this movie made it seem to be. While, its truth, that many Americans in the East Coast wasn't able to get Coors, due to the item not able to be legally sold, east of the Mississippi. However, in truth, Coors wasn't that popular, to Eastern Americans, at the time, due to how they treat their workers, during the labor strike of 1976/1977 & also the fact, that beer was only sold regional, so many people never try it over other products. Added to the fact, that Coors wouldn't go nationwide distribution in the United States until the mid-1980. It's only the seventh most popular beer at the U.S. Not number one, like this movie, makes it out to be. One thing, that was popular at the time, was car chase movies. After all, the 1970s would be describe, as the last great era of the America muscle cars. Add to the fact, that the 1st oil crisis, ended years ago, in 1973, and the fact that the next one isn't until 1979. You would see, a few of these cars, speed, back in the day. While, the stunts in this film doesn't seem, too dangerous or impressive to today's viewers. Compare to the CGI ridden car chase movies of today, this movie has a lot more realistic in its stunt work. In my opinion, it was alright for the most part. Nevertheless, the best thing about this movie, has to be the comedy and the characters. Burt Reynolds really does stand out in this film as the Bandit. I can't see, anybody else, playing, this rugged, wisecracking, Southern-type "good olé' boy, besides him. This movie really help his career, as it lead to many car comedies for him, such as 1981's Cannonball Run. I also love Jackie Gleason in this film. He's by far, the second best in this film. I love that he was given free rein to ad-lib dialogue and make suggestions. Most of the best laughs came from him. Two characters that I felt was a bit disappointing, was Sally Fields as Frog AKA Carrie and Jerry Reed as Cletus Snow. I wouldn't say, their roles was really memorable. However, Sally Fields does have chemistry with Burt Reynolds to the point that they dated after this film was made. Despite that, most of their scenes, felt a bit, too time-wasting. I really can't believe that they were able to catch up with Snowman's truck, at all, or be around each other, to the point, that they can still hear, each other in CB radio. You would think, they wouldn't be, able to make it, due to how long, the lake scene was. While, Jerry Reed's acting was mediocre, at best. Jerry Reed's performance of theme music, "East Bound and Down", was catchy. Even, if the lyrics of the song, seem low brow, and bit simpleton. I also love the fact, that this movie help influence the 1979–85 TV series 'The Dukes of Hazzard', sharing many identical settings and concepts. In the end, this movie was good enough to include two sequels, 1980's Smokey and the Bandit II, and 1983's Smokey and the Bandit Part 3. None of them, as good as the original. Then, there was also a series of 1994 television films (Bandit Goes Country, Bandit Bandit, Beauty and the Bandit, and Bandit's Silver Angel) from original director/writer Hal Needham loosely based on the earlier version, with actor Brian Bloom now playing Bandit; that was somewhat interesting, but not worth watching. Overall: This movie was a Guilty Pleasure of director Alfred Hitchcock. So is it for me is. It's not the greatest movie, but it's entertaining enough to be watchable. So, put the pedal to the metal and go see this movie.
-
inspectors714 October 2016to watch Hal Needham's festival of redneck stupidery, Smokey and the Bandit. SATB was he second highest grossing movie in 1977, only topped by Star Wars, and it's easy to see why the movie is so popular--it's simply too fun for words. Anyone who doesn't chuckle at this idiot- fest of hillbilly stunt-drivin' needs to mix a stool softener with a nice cold Coors.
Way back when, you couldn't buy Coors in big chunks of the United States. Why, I don't know, nor do I care. I had an administrator tell me about his financing his higher education at the University of Montana by driving down to Wyoming on Friday nights, loading up the old wagon, then booking it back to Missoula to sell the cases of Coors in the dorm parking lot. It went fast, but I can't see the Bandit driving a mid-fifties station wagon.
The administrator told me that the movie touched him deeply, and then he laughed at his own good luck (never got stuck in bad weather and never got busted!).
Smokey and the Bandit, itself, is a really stupid movie, with forced humor, cartoonish characters, utterly unbelievable stunts, and Sally Field looking very, very good. If you can forgive the dumbosity of this vehicular game of beer-pong, I guarantee you'll suspend disbelief-- and your common sense--and you'll wonder how much an old Trans Am goes for these days.
A Coors Light sounds really good right now. -
bkrauser-81-3110643 August 2016A pair of southern, good 'ol boy truck drivers are dared into bootlegging beer while being chased by countless police cars on the Fourth of July. Their aided by a runaway bride nicknamed Frog (Field) and cast of colorful characters running interference and keeping tabs on them via CB radio. The only way the plot of Smokey and the Bandit could be more unabashedly American is if someone stuck a firework up their a** while singing the national anthem. Did I mention that our protagonist, the infamous Bandit is played by none other than masculinity incarnate Burt Reynolds?
Bandit's main job is being the truck's blocker; i.e. the guy who scouts ahead and distract Smokeys (police) to clear a path for his reluctant partner Snowman (Reed). As such the Bandit drives a 1977 T-Top Pontiac Firebird Trans Am special edition with a painted valve covered V8 engine and a top speed of 135 miles and hour. To complete the ensemble, the Trans Am has gold rims, is painted black and features a golden firebird ascending from the top of one mean looking hood. Smokeys from Texarkana to Georgia try in vain to catch the legendary Bandit but alas the man is too slick, even for the likes of Buford T. Justice (Gleason) a Texas sheriff whose son's bride to be has been picked up by the bristles of Burt Reynold's mustache.
The events of Smokey and the Bandit play out like a live-action Road Runner (1966-1973) cartoon with Reynold's tongue firmly placed in cheek. The antics of the smooth-talking Reynolds, the rodeo clownishness of Snowman and the game-for-anything Sally Fields makes for something uniquely satisfying. Like listening to the tit-for-tat dialogue of Oscar Wilde slumming it on an episode of Dukes of Hazzard (1979-1985). It goes a long way, especially when you consider you're essentially watching a B-movie with a wafer-thin plot.
Perhaps "thin" isn't the word to use; rather it's small and maladroit compared to cheeseball truck-centric originators like Plunder Road (1957) and Red Ball Express (1952). There's not a lot of unnecessary subplots or backstory; heck even the time-clock aspect of the film is frightfully underplayed, choosing instead to focus on mythologizing the star, the car and the CB radio. Yet largely thanks to Jackie Gleason's scenery-chewing pomposity we never get the feeling that this film is anything more than a cheap and fun carnival ride. One whose trajectory is a barrel of laughs and whose ending is surprisingly layered given the time it was released.
But who cares; stuntman turned director Hal Needham certainly doesn't and neither do the throngs of fans who have made this film a populist classic. I say let the good times roll! -
james-vass15 June 2005Worthy of adding to your personal collection. Burt Reynolds plays the part of the Bandit, a heart-throb for all white-trash trailer dwelling women, to a tee. Jackie Gleason does an impeccable job of bringing to life the role of the backwards southern sheriff, one of the finest performances of his great career. The soundtrack was an instant classic, combining folk, bluegrass and country, and leaving the viewer with an urge to recite the lyrics for days after. A must see for all serious movie watchers. Sally Field portrays a talented dancer who bails out on a marriage to the son of the stereotypical "southern" sheriff. The sheriff takes this as a personal insult and a dishonor to his authority. He then treks across the south in "hot pursuit" of the runaway bride and along the way encounters his arch-nemesis, The Bandit, resulting in non-stop laughs throughout the movie. This film combines sexuality (two of the hottest stars of the '70s and '80s), laughter (Jackie Gleason, need I say more), and a great feel-good script. I almost forgot this movie's greatest contribution to humanity, the introduction of a natural star, Fred the dog.
-
karenjm19627 June 2020Yes this movie is dated - yes some of the comments are inappropriate - and YES, there is a LOT of swearing in this movie, but I enjoyed seeing it again after so many years..
-
EmperorNortonII2 October 2002"Smokey and the Bandit" may be Burt Reynolds' best movie. At least it's certainly one of his most memorable. In it, he plays good ol' boy the Bandit, the classic speed demon outlaw, driving flat out through five states and back on one wild and crazy beer run. This movie has lots of laughs and action. It also offers a look into the culture of CB radio, which was a huge craze of the day. And who could forget the Great One, Jackie Gleason's hilarious portrayal of Sheriff Buford T. Justice, the bombastic, persistent lawman from Texas. "Smokey" will always be a comedy classic, and that's a big 10-4!
-
Wuchakk30 June 2015In 1977's "Smokey and the Bandit" Burt Reynolds stars with Jerry Reed as Bandit and Cledus, two Southern truckers who take a gig hauling illegal beer from Texas to Georgia. Sally Field co-stars as Carrie, aka "Frog," a hitchhiker whom Bandit picks up in his Firebird. She's a literal runaway bride and the father of the groom, Buford T. Justice (Jackie Gleason), isn't going to let her or Bandit get away. Mike Henry, Paul Williams and Pat McCormick are also on hand.
This is fun good 'ol boy movie with Burt and Sally in their prime. Reynolds is at his smiling, wisecracking best and Field is a cutie who looks great in tight pants. It's not great like Eastwood's "Every Which Way But Loose" (1978), but it's energetic and amusing. Anyone who likes car chases, Southern accents, trucks, CB radios, redneck cops and motorhead antics will enjoy this movie. Besides the presence of Reynolds and Field, I mainly like it because it's like going back in time to the late 70s.
The female eye-candy is pretty much limited to Field, although Susie Ewing has a nice cameo as Hot Pants.
The film runs 96 minutes and was shot mostly in Georgia, but with some driving locations in California (you can always tell the difference).
GRADE: B- -
tuomoks16 November 2005It all has already said but then.. I also used to drive 18 wheelers in my previous life and this movie and the actors / actresses show nicely how it plays on road ( mostly ). So - not a great movie art but fun if you take it that way. Also already said but CB's can be useful, todays rigs have cell phones, satellite phones, GPS, etc.. but at that time it was who you know and know where you are. Sally Fields is always a delight, Burt Reynolds, Jackie Gleason, Jerry Reed, etc.. very fun acting. This movie has some old fashioned touch that is missing from too many ( assumed fun ) action movies today - also the effects are not as bad as in many todays movies, tire noise on gravel doesn't sound like tires on asphalt, stunts don't look like computer simulations and so on. Enjoy and dream driving..
-
Smokey and the Bandit is an action comedy where a speed demon outlaw named The Bandit (Burt Reynolds) accepts a dare from wealthy big shots Big Enos (Pat McCormick) and Little Enos (Paul Williams) to transport a truckload of beer from Texas in a limited time. The Bandit picks up runaway bride Carrie (Sally Ride) along the way, not knowing she was to be married to Junior (Mike Henry), son of Sheriff Buford T. Justice (Jackie Gleason). What results is a high-speed pursuit of the Bandit by the sheriffs.
While there is virtually no basic plot to the movie, Hal Needham's direction really made this movie a wild ride from start to finish with the high-speed pursuit - from The Bandit dodging police cars to Jackie Gleason's hilarious portrayal of Buford T. Justice.
It's a good old-fashion sheriff vs. bandit story, with a taste of classic Americana in the outskirts of Texas and, like IMDb user EmperorNortonII mentioned, it also offers the use of CB radio culture. The stunts were incredible and the acting was pretty good, especially that of Gleason, spewing his redneck humor and talking down to his poor, adult son whenever chance he could.
Again, it's really a plot less movie, but it offers one wild ride in one of Burt Reynolds' most iconic roles that you will never forget.
Grade B -
sddavis6318 August 2012To state the obvious, there's nothing here that's either deep, meaningful or thought-provoking - which is fine, because that's clearly the intent of the movie. It's more or less an hour and a half of a non- stop car chase as a couple of good old boys (Burt Reynolds and Jerry Reed) are pursued across four states by a red neck Texas sheriff (Jackie Gleason.) Bandit and Snowman (Reynolds & Reed) are trying to win a ton of money by transporting 400 cases of Coors illegally from Texarkana to Atlanta in no more than 28 hours. Bandit's in a black Trans-Am to throw the police off the trail and Snowman's driving the big rig. Along the way Bandit picks up Carrie (Sally Field) - a bride running away from her wedding to the son of Sheriff Buford T. Justice (Gleason), who sets himself to the task of tracking her down.
It's a wild ride. It's fun and enjoyable. The cast is likable and they all work well together and there's absolutely no thought required. You just have to watch as Bandit causes havoc for Justice and among countless local cops encountered along the way.
It's the very mindlessness of this movie that's both its greatest strength and its greatest weakness. The never-ending chases are wild and fun for a while - but to me, they run out of steam long before the hour and a half run time of the movie. By about half way through it's actually starting to get a bit tiresome just because there's nowhere for this movie to really go; there's no particular plot or story. It's just chase, chase, chase. Interesting orientation to trucker CB lingo though! (5/10)