Smokey and Bandit is a 1977 American action comedy film starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jackie Gleason, Jerry Reed, Pat McCormick, Paul Williams and Mike Henry. The film is the stuntman debut of Hal Needham. It inspired several other truck films, including two sequels, Smokey and Bandit II and Smokey and Squeeze Bandits.
There are also a series of 1994 television movies ( Bandit Goes Country , Bandit Bandit , Beauty and Bandit , and Bandit's Silver Angel ) from original director/writer Hal Needham who is loosely based on previous versions, with actor Brian Bloom playing Bandit. Three original films introduced two generations of Pontiac Trans Am, and Dodge Stealth in a television movie. Smokey and Bandit is the second best-selling film in 1977 behind Star Wars.
Video Smokey and the Bandit
Plot
Wealthy Texan Big Enos Burdette and his son Little Enos are looking for a truck driver who is willing to round Coors beer to Georgia for their refreshment. At that time, Coors was considered one of the best beers in the United States, but could not be sold legally east of the Mississippi River. Truckers who have taken the previous bet have been arrested and arrested by "Smokey" (CB hose for the highway patrol officer, referring to the Smokey Bear type hat worn in some states).
The Burdettes found the legendary driver Bo "Bandit" Darville competing in a rodeo truck at Lakewood Fairgrounds in Atlanta; they offered him $ 80,000 to carry 400 Coors beer cases from Texarkana, Texas back to Atlanta in 28 hours; Big Enos has sponsored a driver who ran in the Southern Classic car race and "when he wins, I want to celebrate in style." The bandit received a bet and recruited his partner Cledus "Snowman" Snow to drive the truck, while Bandit moved the "blocker", a black Pontiac Trans Am bought with a down payment from Burdette, to distract from the truck and its illegal charge.
The trip to Texas is largely uneventful except for at least one chasing Arkansas State Trooper which Bandit dodge easily. They reached Texarkana an hour ahead of schedule, loaded their trucks with beer and returned to Atlanta. Immediately after starting the second leg run, Bandit picked up Carrie, who was eventually nicknamed "Frog" because she was "rather sweet like a frog," she "always hoppin 'around," and because she "wanted to jump" him. But in doing so, Bandit made himself the target of the Texas Sheriff, Buford T. Justice, a handsome career lawyer, but the slow boy, Junior, was Carrie's groom. Ignoring his own jurisdiction, Sheriff Justice, with Junior behind him, chases the Bandits all the way to Georgia, despite accidents causing his car to crash around them.
The rest of the film is one of the high speed pursuits, because Bandit's antics attract more attention from the local and state police in Dixie while Snowman slides into Atlanta with smuggled beer. Bandits and Snowman were assisted along the way through CB radio by many colorful characters, including a caretaker with a hearse driver and their funeral procession, an elderly lady, a drive-in maid and all her customers, a convoy of trucks, and even Madam who runs a brothel from his RV. Neither Sheriff Justice nor any other police officer has any knowledge of Snowman's illegal manifest.
The pursuit intensified as Bandits and Snowman got closer to Atlanta; moments after crossing back to Georgia, the Bandits came to the rescue when Snowman was captured by the patrol patrol of Georgia State Patrol, and state and local police increased their efforts with more cruisers, larger roadblocks, and even police helicopters to to track the movement of Bandits. Depressed by unexpected attention, and with only four miles left to leave, Bandits would surrender, but Snowman refused to listen and lead, destroying the police roadblock at the entrance to the fairground. They arrived back at Lakewood Speedway (at Southern Classic race running) with only 10 minutes, but instead of taking a fee, Frog and Bandit received a double or no offer from Little Enos - a challenge to run to Boston and bring back clam chowder in 18 hours. They quickly escaped in one of the Big Enos Cadillac convoys when the Georgia State patrol boat flooded the racetrack to confiscate the Trans Am and truck, past a severely damaged Sheriff Justice police car on the side of the road. The first bandit leads Sheriff Justice to the Big and Little Enos, but then in a respectful manner, reveals his true location and invites Justice to the chase, leaving Junior behind.
Maps Smokey and the Bandit
Cast
- Burt Reynolds as Bo Darville ("Bandit")
- Sally Field as Carrie ("Frog")
- Jerry Reed as Cledus Snow ("Snowman")
- Jackie Gleason as Sherford Buford T. Justice ("Smokey")
- Mike Henry as a Young Judge
- Pat McCormick as Big Enos Burdette
- Paul Williams as Little Enos Burdette
- Macon McCalman as Mr. B
- Susan McIver as Hot Pants
- George Reynolds as Sheriff George Branford
- Laura Lizer Sommers as Little Beaver
- Michael Mann as Branford's Representative
- Lamar Jackson as Sugar Bear
- Ronnie Gay as Georgia Trooper
- Quinnon Sheffield as Alabama Trooper
- Alfie Wise as Patrolman Alabama
- Pat Hustis as Tow Truck Driver
- Ingeborg Kjeldsen as a Fox Woman
- Ben Jones as Driver # 1
- Joe Klecko as Driver # 2
- Hank Worden as Trucker # 3
Production
Directed Hal Needham originally planned this film as a low-budget B movie with a production cost of $ 1 million, with Jerry Reed as Bandit. Only after that, Needham's friend Burt Reynolds read the script and said he would star in, that the film was intended for a more major release; Reed will now describe Bandit's friend, Snowman (Reed will eventually play Bandits on Smokey and Bandit Part 3). At that time Reynolds is the top star in the world. In the original script, Carrie is called Kate while Big Enos and Little Enos are called Kyle and Dickey. The Bandit Car is a second-generation Ford Mustang and the reward for finishing the run is a new truck rather than $ 80,000.
Burt Reynolds reveals in his autobiography that Needham has written the first draft script on legal cushioning. After showing it to his friend, Reynolds told Needham that it was the worst script he had ever read but he would still make the film. Most of the dialogs are improvised on location.
Universal Studios financed $ 5.3 million for Smokey and the Bandit, assuming it was a good risk. Just two days before production began, Universal sent the "ax man" to Atlanta to tell Needham that his budget had been trimmed by $ 1 million. With Reynolds salary of $ 1 million, Needham has only $ 3.3 million to make the film. Needham and assistant director David Hamburger spent 30 hours to revise the shooting schedule.
"Buford T. Justice" is the name of a Florida Highway Patrol known to Reynolds's father, who was once the chief of the Riviera Beach Police, Florida. His father also became the inspiration for the word "sumbitch" used in the film, a variation of the phrase "son-of-a-bitch" which, according to Reynolds, he often uttered.
Jackie Gleason was given the freedom to organize the ad-lib dialogue and make suggestions. It was his idea to have Junior along with him all over. In particular, the scene where Sheriff Justice unknowingly meets Bandit in "choke and puke" is not in the original story, but rather the idea of ​​Gleason.
Before Gleason was cast in the film, Richard Boone was originally considered for the role of Buford T. Justice.
Sally Field received only that part after his agent advised him that he needed a big movie role on his resume. Reynolds actively pushed for his casting after Universal initially refused, claiming Field was not interesting enough. Field likes to make movies, but remember that most of the projects are improvised.
Reportedly, Needham is having a hard time getting a studio or producer to take his project seriously, as in the film industry, he is better known as a stuntman. He managed to get the studio's attention after his friend Reynolds agreed to portray Bandit in the film.
The film was mainly filmed in Georgia in the cities of McDonough, Jonesboro and Lithonia. The scenes made in Texarkana were filmed in Jonesboro and the surrounding area, and many chase scenes were filmed in the surrounding area on Highway 54 between Fayetteville and Jonesboro for the majority of the driving scenes, Mill Road Mundy, Main Street in Jonesboro, Georgia State Route 400, I- 85 (Pleasant Hill exit), and at McDonough. However, the scene where they drive through the Shell filling stations was filmed in Ojai, California at the corner of Ojai and El Paseo. Most of the scenes around it come from the immediate vicinity of it. The scene featuring horse racing was filmed at Lakewood Speedway at the old Lakewood Fairgrounds on the south side of Atlanta. The roller coaster seen in the movie is Greyhound. It was not used for some time and repainted for the film. It's crashed in Smokey and Bandit II and flashback scenes in Part 3 .
The movie theme song, "East Bound and Down", was written almost overnight by Jerry Reed. He gave Needham a preview of the song, and when initially he did not get a reaction from the director, offered to rewrite the song. However, Needham really liked the song so he convinced Jerry not to change a word. This became one of Reed's greatest hits and his distinctive song.
The area around Helen, Georgia is also used for several locations. The scene in which Buford T. Justice's car had a door thrown by a passing semi truck, was shot on Georgia State Route 75, 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Helen. The tow truck driver is the owner of a local garage, Berlin Wike.
The film features customs and costumes of Niver Western Wear of Fort Worth, Texas. Niver provides many western outfits worn in the film, as well as a custom-made sheriff's uniform (64-inch waistline) that Jackie Gleason wears along the film.
Reynolds and Sally Field started dating while filming the movie Smokey and the Bandit.
While being made to take advantage of ongoing CB radio trends in the 1970s, the movie was added to favorites.
Although the film Moonrunners (1975) was the predecessor of The Dukes of Hazzard (1979-1985) television series, from the same creators and with many identical settings and concepts, the Popularity < i> Smokey and Bandit and similar movies help get the series Dukes in the air. The three actors of The Dukes of Hazzard appear in an unrecognized minor role in Smokey and the Bandit: Ben Jones, John Schneider and Sonny Shroyer (who acts as a policeman in both). In return, Reynolds describes the character of Dukes Boss Hogg (originally described by Sorrell Booke) in the film adaptation of The Dukes of Hazzard (2005). Reynolds is also referenced by names in some of the earliest episodes of the series.
Vehicles
Needham saw an ad for Pontiac Trans Am which was about to be released in 1977 and soon learned that it was a Bandit car, or, as Needham called, a character in the film. He contacted Pontiac and a deal was made that four 1977 Trans Ams and two Pontiac LeMans 4-door sedans will be reserved for the film. Trans Ams is actually a 1976 model car with a 1977 front end. (From 1970 to 1976, both Firebird/Trans Am and Chevrolet Camaro had two headlights, and in 1977, Firebird/Trans Am was converted into four rectangular lamps, while the Camaro remained unchanged.) The sticker was also converted into a 1977-inch unit, as evidenced by the size of the engine callouts in the spoon the hood was in a liter rather than cubic inch, as it had happened in 1976. Scoop spoons in these cars say "6.6 LITER" , which in 1977 will be denoted as Oldsmobile 403-equipped car or non W-72, 180Ã, hp engine version 400 Pontiac. The four cars were badly damaged during production, one of which was destroyed while jumping over a dismantled bridge. The Trans Am used for the bridge jump was dismantled with a booster rocket, the same type used by Evel Knievel during the failed Snake River Canyon jump. Needham served as a driver for action (standing for Reynolds) while Lada St. Edmund is in the same car (standing on Sally Field during the jump). At the end of the film, Trans Am and LeMans are still alive both barely walk and other cars have become part of the donors to keep them going. The Burdettes' car is a 1974 Cadillac Eldorado convertible painted in the "Red Candy" color scheme, and looks briefly at the start of the film and as Bandit, Snowman, Fred, and Frog make their escape in the final scene.
The film also uses three semi-short truck Kenworth W900A, which Jerry Reed can see driving, each equipped with 38-inch sleep. The two units are the 1974 model evidenced by the standard silver Kenworth emblem on the truck's grille, and one unit is a 1973 model as evidenced by the Kenworth insignia painted gold on a truck grille that marks 50-year-old Kenworth in business. The paint code for each truck is brown coffee with gold trim, and the 48 foot (15 m) mural trailer used is produced by Hobbs Trailers in Texas with a non-operational Thermo King Refrigeration unit. This is obvious, as there is no fuel tank at the bottom of the trailer to turn on the cooling unit, and the unit never sounds running.
Coors' legal status of beer
In 1977, Coors was not available for sale east of Oklahoma. The 1974 magazine article Time explains why Coors is so coveted that one would be willing to pay a high-priced Bandit to transport it. Coors Banquet Beer has a brief resurgence when certain people are looking for lack of stabilizers and preservatives. The article said that future Vice President Gerald Ford hid it in the trunk after a trip to Colorado to bring it back to Washington. President Dwight D. Eisenhower has a fixed supply flown to Washington by the Air Force. The article also mentions Frederick Amon, who smuggles him from Colorado to North Carolina and sells it for four times the retail price. The lack of additives and preservatives means that Coors has the potential to indulge in a week if it is not kept cool during transportation and storage at its destination. This explains a 28 hour deadline.
Soundtrack
The theme music, "East Bound and Down", sung and co-written by Reed (credited with his birth name, Jerry Hubbard) and Dick Feller. It became Reed's distinctive song and was found on several albums, including Country Legends and his live album Jerry Reed: Live Still . In 1991 it was set for an orchestra by Crafton Beck and recorded by Erich Kunzel and Cincinnati Pops Orchestra for their album Down on the Farm. Several other groups, such as US rock band Tonic, have also covered it. Reed also wrote and performed the song for the credit opening, titled "The Legend", which tells of some of The Bandit's adventures before the movie, and ballad "The Bandit", featuring several versions in the movie and on the soundtrack. Reed hit though, Bill Justis was his first name on credit for the soundtrack as he composed and arranged the original music throughout the movie. Musicians such as Beegie Adair and George Tidwell played on the soundtrack as part of a long career in music. The legendary five-legged banjar player Bobby Thompson was also clearly heard towards the end of "East Bound and Down." The soundtrack album was released in 1977 on vinyl, cassette and 8-track through MCA Records.
Track list
Reception
Smokey and Bandit is a great success at the box office. With an initial budget of $ 5.3 million (cut to $ 4.3 million two days before initial production), the film grossed $ 126,737,428 in North America, making it the second best-selling film in 1977. The global gross is estimated at more than $ 300 million.
Film critic Leonard Maltin gave this film a good rating (3 stars out of 4 possibilities) and is characterized as "About as smooth as The Three Stooges, but classic compared to sequels and many rip-offs followed."
Gene Siskel, in his review at the Chicago Tribune, gave a two-star movie and complained that the film failed to tell the audience when the clock started on beer, thus eliminating the tension throughout the film about how long it lasted for them. He also claims that Bandits have never noticed the existence of Frog leaving Junior at the altar, which is why Bandit keeps asking why a Texas sheriff is after him. However, this is not accurate: within seconds of Bandit picking her up, Frog tells her "there is a wedding looking bride", and proceeds to explain the mistaken romance with Junior, as the Bandit holds the CB mic for Snowman to hear.
The film's editor, Walter Hannemann and Angelo Ross, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Film Editing. It currently holds a "Fresh" 79% rating on the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 28 reviews.
Burt Reynolds rated the film as the movie he likes best and the most fun in his career.
The legendary filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock stated that the film was one of his favorites.
After meeting Burt Reynolds, Billy Bob Thornton told him that the picture was not considered as in the south, and considered more as a documentary.
Smokey and Bandit was released in the UK on August 28, 1977 and had great success there, garnering positive reviews.
List of the American Film Institute
- AFI 100 Years... 100 Laughs - Nominated
- AFI 100 Years... 100 Thrills - Nominated
- 100 Years AFI... 100 Heroes and Villages:
- Bandit (Bo Darville) - Nominated Hero
Cultural impact
Trans Am
After the movie debut, Trans Am became very popular with almost double sales in two years of film release, for the pleasure of General Motors; in fact, it surpassed the Camaro partners for the first time. Reynolds was given a 1977 vehicle that was used during the promotion of the movie as a gift, though the car itself never really appeared in the movie. Due to the popularity of the film and the success of the Trans Am sale, then Pontiac President Alex Mair promised to supply Reynolds with Trans Am each year. Due to financial difficulties, in 2014 Reynolds placed his collection of artwork and memorabilia for auction, including Trans Am. The high estimate for the car was $ 80,000, but it was dwarfed by the actual selling price of $ 450,000. Also for the auction is a replica of go-kart cars, which sell for nearly $ 14,000. In 2016, Trans Am Depot, a Florida-based customization company, announced that it will build 77 Trans Ams that will be modeled after Reynolds-powered cars in 1977, even though Pontiac has been discontinued by GM in 2009. This new model built from the Camaro platform (similar to that used by Firebird and Trans Am), equipped with arrows of Pontiac, bird logo and flared Bandit, as well as instrument panel, center console, and hood spoon mimicking their colleagues in 1977, and signed by Reynolds. Some of the differences include the use of a Chevrolet-sourced 454-cid (7.4-liter) supercharged engine that outputs 840 HP, and four rounded headlamps, which appeared in 1967-69 Firebirds/Trans Ams only; 1977-81 models that actually have rectangular headlights.
Diablo sandwich
The diablo sandwich ordered by Sheriff Justice at the Arkansas barbecue restaurant has entered popular culture as a small reference to the film. Although no authoritative source identifies the sandwich composition, there are several possibilities. Segments of the CMT program Reel Eats use joe sloppy style recipes consisting of beef, corn and seasoned sour cream. Another suggestion, based more closely on images of film and scene shooting locations (in the Old Hickory House restaurant in Georgia), pulled pork and hot sauce on a hamburger bun.
Bandit Run
First run in 2007 to celebrate the film's 30th anniversary, The Bandit Run is the brainchild of Dave Hall, owner of Restore A Muscle Car. A group of Trans Am owners and movie fans took part in an annual road trip from Texarkana to Jonesboro, Georgia, recreating the route taken by the characters in the film.
The Bandit Run was quickly captured and has become the most recent fixture, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the film with a special screening of the film attended by Burt Reynolds and the leapfrog recreation conducted by Bandit and Frog across the river.
1 car ad
In 2014, petroleum company Mobil 1 produced a television commercial, featuring NASCAR star Tony Stewart, who is very close to the film. Called Smoke is the Bandit playing in the nickname of Stewart, the ad features it as a Bandit versus Darrell Waltrip who plays Snowman and Jeff Hammond as Buford T. Justice. The story replaces the Coors beer with Car 1 product. The ad made fun of the movie and even featured Pontiac Trans Am and a cover version of the East Bound and Down song . The ads were produced after Stewart mentioned that the movie was one of his favorites.
Television censors and alternate versions
When Smokey and Bandit first aired on American television networks in the early 1980s, censors were faced with the challenge of lowering the raw language of the original film. To this end, they reject the offensive dialogue, which (and still, to some extent) is a common practice. The most famous change made for network broadcasting is the replacement of Buford's often-spoken "sumbitch" (contraction "bastard", usually referred to as Bandit) with the phrase "garbage dump". This phrase reached the level of popularity with children, and the 2007 release of Hot Wheels from the 1970s Firebird Trans Am has a "scum rubbish" emblazoned on its tail. TV prints of the first two Bandit movies are still regularly shown on television, although some TV stations have unreleased versions in recent years as some of the phrases (ie "(son of a)", "ass ", etc.) became more accepted on TV.
The original actors mostly redubbed their own lines for the television version, except for Gleason. Actor Henry Corden, who voiced Fred Flintstone after original player Alan Reed died, used to replace a large number of Sheriff Justice's dialogue. This is fitting, because Fred Flintstone is a parody of Gleason Ralph Kramden's honor and The Flintstones is a tribute to The Honeymooners .
In the United Kingdom, the heavily dubbed version was shown for several years, mainly by the BBC. However, in recent years, the original version has been shown (in ITV, commercial channels), usually with more powerful edited languages, often quite awkward and noticeable.
Theatrical release itself has erased a few lines, including creative editing where Sheriff Justice told a state policeman to "go." The oaths were obscured when the large rigs passing by honked. At that time, using the word 'F' will soon need an R rating and this ingenious self-censorship allows the film to avoid this rank and reach a much larger audience. However, the obscured absorbing scenes and vows are played for comedy values ​​and are written as such, with trucks passing to be a farce scenes in more ways than to avoid censorship.
In 2006, DVD re-releases were released from Smokey and Bandit featuring digitally remastered audio tracks with Dolby-compatible 5.1 surround sound. However it should be noted that many of the original sound of the film is replaced. For example, diesels start and run sequences in a movie opening sequence actually dubbed with a completely new sound. Several other examples of "substitute sound effects" occurred when Bandit took off after managing to get Cledus reluctantly involved in betting, and after he stopped screeching on the road just before taking Carrie. Some original sound effects (such as Cledus' dog Fred bark) and music (like the last chase to Southern Classic) have been removed and not replaced. (Note: previous DVD releases and 40th Anniversary Blu-ray movies have original soundtracks intact.)
Most audio 'backgrounds' have been modified with different engine sounds or tire sounds from the original movie. The latest version of the feature film sounds inaccurate for what will be produced by Trans Am or a number of other Pontiac vehicles in the film. The original film has the correct sound that is usually recorded instantly when the action occurs.
Some TV versions also feature a longer version of the scene where Cledus waded through the pond after Fred.
Spinoff
The television series that aired in 1994. The car featured was Dodge Stealth.
See also
- Bandit Run
- The Cannonball Run
- Hooper
References
External links
- Smokey and Bandit on IMDb
- Smokey and Bandit in AllMovie
- Smokey and Bandit in the TCM Film Database
- Smokey and Bandit in the American Movies Film Catalog
- Smokey and Bandit in Box Office Mojo
- Smokey and Bandit at Rotten Tomatoes
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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