Smokey And The Bandit [DVD]

Been a while since I last viewed this madcap affair, almost forgetting the funthe film gave to myself and the many that viewed itBo "The Bandit" Darville (Burt Reynolds) a trucker is offered $ 80,000 to illegallyhaul 400 cases of Coors from Texarkana (the closest location it was legally soldat the time) to Atlanta in just 28 hours.Well, the Bandit couldn't turn down that offer, he approaches his friend Cledus "The Snowman" Snow (Jerry Reed) to join him in the venture, the Snowman was to drivethe Coors loaded truck whilst the Bandit drove a black Pontiac Trans Am a high sppedsports car to divert attention away from the truck.|get Smokey to chase the car rather than investigate what the Snowman was trucking.From the off it worked well, however on-route The Bandit picks up a lady wearing awedding dress that appeared in distress. Sally Field as Carrie "Frog"Well this was about to comm=plicate things as unknowingly to the bandit, Carrie wassupposed to be marrying Sheriff Buford T. Justice / "Smokey Bear"s LJackie Gleason)son.Well, although having no authority in any other state the sheriff would with his son pursuethe bandit and Carrie relentlessly. Coming a poor second time after time.,This, though perhaps a little dated is still a fun action-packed ride, well worthanother glance.The restoration is pretty good on 4k format

Smokey and the Bandit is directed by Hal Needham and the screenplay is collectively written by James Lee Barrett, Charles Shyer and Alan Mandel; from a story by Needham and Robert L. Levy. It stars Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jackie Gleason, Jerry Reed and Mike Henry. Music is by Bill Justis and Jerry Reed and cinematography by Bobby Byrne.He does what he does best-shows off.Bo "Bandit" Darville (Reynolds) accepts a, illegal job/bet offer of delivering a truck load of Coors Beer from Texas across the states to Georgia. The job must be completed within 28 hours or he will not pick up the $80,000 payment for his services. Enlisting his buddy Snowman (Reed) to drive the truck, while he acts as a decoy in his Pontiac Trans Am, the Bandit must avoid capture by the Smokey (police). When he stops to pick up runaway bride Carrie (Fields), this makes him the target for one particularly vindictive laws enforcer, Sheriff Buford T. Justice (Gleason), whose son Junior Justice (Henry) is the jilted intended of Carrie.You sumbitches couldn't close an umbrella!The best of the "CB Radio" movies, Smokey and the Bandit makes up for what little it has in plot, with unadulterated fun via car pursuits, stunts and wonderfully colourful characters. Essentially one long chase movie, it was a massive box office success on it release, becoming the second biggest earner in 77 behind a certain Space Opera from George Lucas. Cashing in on Burt Reynolds popularity, and the new found interest in CB radio on the highways, film went on to influence similar films and TV shows further down the line. The memory of the poor sequels and the inferior similar films of its type has somewhat led to many people forgetting just what an entertaining movie it is.There is no way, no way, that you could come from my loins. Soon as I get home, first thing I'm gonna do is punch your momma in the mouth.Hal Needham uses his knowledge as an ex-stuntman to great effect, setting up a number of inspired sequences that sees cars jumping, crashing or going for a swim! Wisely letting his actors ad-lib where possible, film has a natural flow that's hard to dislike. The chemistry between Reynolds and Fields is warming, due to the fact that it was off screen real, while Gleason steals the movie with a hilarious portray as the manic, cussing and determined Buford. The bumpkin based music is perfectly in keeping with the mood, and the various locations used make for an appealing backdrop to the carnage and speedster thrills.Not quite as Punk Rock anti-establishment now as it seemed back then, but still utterly delightful courtesy of a damn fine cast and some special motor vehicle mayhem. 8.5/10

Smokey and the Bandit is by far one of the all time classics. Having upscaled to Blu-ray from dvd I was not very impressed. It seemed a poor attempt to upscale the quality.I really love the film so I had to get the 4k version and you can see that work has gone in to it this time. Picture is a bit sharper but very grainy however for the age of the film you have to expect that.The sound however is brilliant. That's where the difference is really noticed. The vehicle sounds, the music, everything sounds great. It loses a star for one reason. It does not have the option for the original audio unless you watch it in Spanish or French. The new audio in the movie has attempted to give the Trans am a more life like sound rather than the original roar. To me it's just not the same. To appreciate a classic you need to be able to watch the original classic. A shame the audio option was left out. That's personal views though. If you prefer the new audio then you will love this.

I grew up watching this film in the early 80's and it was one of my absolute favourites, I'm not going to review the actual film because enough has been written about this classic over the years. I've owned a copy on DVD for 15 plus years and had stopped watching it as it was a narrow screen version and this looked terrible on a widescreen TV. Decided to buy the Blu-ray (to get the widescreen version) and watched today. Totally different soundtrack and what I suspect is the original one. Whilst in my heart I really want a Trans Am to sound as loud and brash as it did in the versions I've been watching since the 80's, the reality is that they just don't sound like that. They are loud but not as the DVD version I've got and TV versions would have us believe. So whilst it was a surprise to find the the more authentic sounds for me it actually both ruined my memory of the film and enhanced it at the same time. The blu-ray soundtrack seems much more realistic. Their are a few other missing sounds such as fake dog barks from Fred and a few bits of missing music during car chases but overall it was great to watch the film as I think it was originally shown in cinemas. It's still one of my absolute favourite movies. I hope this helps others thinking of buying the film on Blu-ray.