An American action adventure series directed by Hal Needham and Dick Lowry, starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jackie Gleason, Jerry Reed, Mike Henry, Paul Williams and Pat McCormick.
A father and son team set a challenge for a truck and racecar driver team to travel a certain distance within a time limit. A Texas sheriff and his son chase them.
I know I already reviewed this long ago, but I watched the whole series and it seems right that it should have a new review. The first film was great. It had a very clear plot and developed characters that the viewer would care about. The shot compositions were also great. It was followed by 2 lackluster sequels which did not live up to the first film's standards. There were a few repeated scenes, scenarios and jokes that I feel should be mentioned when discussing this as a series. The idea of escaping from lawmen obviously appeals to me. If you refer to my review of Gone in 60 Seconds (1974), you will see how much I enjoy the destruction of automobiles. The soundtrack style developed in the first film continues through the series, but on a downhill trend toward the last film. Another point to note is HAM radio communications with entertaining handles for each radio operator. The last point is the family name of the men who arrange the race. Although the subtitles refer to them as "Enos" through the whole series, the 3rd film has a logo with their name on it spelled "Enis". Having characters named Big Enis and Little Enis amused me quite a bit. I would still rate the first film good and recommend it for any audience. However, the sequels would only be rated adequate.
An American action romance directed by Hal Needham, starring Talia Shire.
When a national BMX race comes to town, a local boy falls in love with a female racer and competes in the race.
This is the best BMX movie ever made. The tricks are incredible and feature vintage components like framestands and forkstands. I saw Skyway mags and colored tires. Pad sets and number plates. For vintage BMX freestyle and flatland enthusiasts, this is the film to watch. It has all the cool tricks of the '80s with bouncing and spinning, body and bike contortions and balance demonstrations. The plot is admittedly not the best and characters take a back seat to bicycle stunts. The video production is really well-done. They concealed a male rider in the female costume during the bike dancing scene and composited her on the bike sitting still while the lights moved. Overall, it's about the vintage parts and tricks. It's not about acting, writing, etc... but it is about correct video recordings of BMX stunts. I rate this best because I grew up as a BMX boy.
A comedy western directed by Hal Needham, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Kirk Douglas.A beautiful woman arrives in a town to pick up her father's money and is escorted home by her father's friend. An outlaw tries to stop them and take the money.I understood the Looney Tunes style of humor, but didn't think that much of it was all that funny. The plot and characters were very good and I even appreciated the style. Ann Margret was a very good choice for the female lead and I liked her costumes for obvious reasons. The production value didn't really win me over because the sound was slightly on the terrible side. Overall, I like it and rate it good.
An adventure directed by Hal Needham, starring Burt Reynolds.
Two drivers are put to the quest of getting beer across a liquor line within 28 hours. One of them picks up a runaway bride on the way back and a sheriff looking to have her complete the marriage gets on his tail.
The plot and characters were good, the style was cool and the pacing was quick. The soundtrack was even good! I have no complaints, so I must rate it good.
