Cours après moi shérif

"Snowman what's your 20, you got your ears on, comeback? We got a Smokey convoy on our tail moving eastbound and down, with the peddle to the metal and the thing to the floor". If any of that makes sense to you it means one of two things. Either you were a young male in the late seventies who dressed in cowboy boots and drove a trans-am... or you have seen the film Smokey and the Bandit.

Smokey sees classically trained thespian Burtrand Reynolds essay the role of the Bandit, a mythical, almost Quixotesque figure, who cuts across the American landscape in a black Pontiac firebird, the ultimate phallic representation of male dominance. The densely layered plot sees Bandit become involved in a quest of Arthurian proportions, attempting to do "what they say can't be done". As it goes, there's a drought in old Atlanta, and the fine townsfolk are gagging for some liquid refreshment for the upcoming monster-truck derby. Luckily, Bandit hears that there's beer in Texarkana, and sets out across country to bring it back... no matter what it takes.

Director Hal Needham, surely an auteur of Hitchcockian proportions, keeps the first act moving along at a steady pace, and there is always close attention paid to characterisation. However, it is in act two that things really get interesting, for no sooner has the Bandit and his ever-faithful slave... sorry, sidekick Snowman loaded up the truck with the brew... than they are set upon by a runaway bride (Sally Field), a fleet of southern law enforcers, and the formidable Sheriff Bufred T. Justice (Jackie Gleason), whose catchphrase "that sun' bitch" proved to be as lastingly funny as a dose of the clap. From this point on tension is cranked to eleven, with more jaw-dropping moments than the entire Indian Jones series combined. Don't believe me, take the scene where Bandit attempts to jump the bridge... if this doesn't have you standing on your seat screaming "go bandit go... yee-haw", then quite frankly nothing will.

Bandit is one no-nonsense jive-talker, an enduring character whose down with the kids (and the blacks), making him one fine example of a true southern gent. We never doubt our hero will fail at his mission, especially not with the benefit of hindsight, since Bandit managed to evade the law and return for the imaginatively titled Smokey and the Bandit II. Here his bounty was an African elephant that, understandably, had the hots for the moustachioed one. Then there was the third instalment, which had a script so bad Reynolds himself turned it down. Here the sh*t-kickers formula was repeated... just without the kick. Smokey and the Bandit is, admittedly, not high art. It's not even low art. But it does represent some kind of period piece, a history lesson, or the pinnacle of late seventies cinema.

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 and second-rate jokes that pepper Bandit, and its two sequels. It's easy to laugh at now, and a young audience will probably be left scratching their heads at the sight of Burt Reynolds mugging uncontrollably to the camera for ninety-minutes whilst Jerry Reed gets to 'sing' his good ol' boy theme tune 'East-bound and Down' for the one-millionth time, 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. 3/5

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!

"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!

One 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.

Enormous 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!