If you ever wanted to see what The Fast and the Furious would look like in the 1970’s, look not further than this 1977 feature, Smokey and the Bandit. The movie is filled to the rim with cars, more cars, and even more cars. The movie also displays a good amount of vehicle destruction, which is common in the forementioned Fast and Furious series. The cars were quite impressive to look at, even though I am not a big fan of car watching. If it has an engine and a steering wheel, that is okay by me. But seeing these 1970’s models was actually pretty cool. The main car was a 1977 Pontiac Trans Am, and that is my kind of ride. So if you’re into cars, then this wouldn’t be a bad film to check out. When these cars are put into action….look out!

I desperately wanted to hate this movie. I refused to watch the movie for years because it did not seem so appealing. But my love for the Fast and Furious franchise got me curious to check this film out. Color me surprised when the credits rolled onscreen, because I was pleasantly surprised. I did not expect to be thoroughly entertained the entire film. From start to finish, I was involved with the action, and most importantly the characters. My two favorite characters were the main character named Bandit and the sheriff chasing after him, Buford T. Justice. I wouldn’t call these characters likable, but definitely entertaining.

Admittedly, the story is very silly. But then even silly stories can work sometimes if you have the right actors and the right material. Bandit (Burt Reynolds) and Cledus (Jerry Reed) are two truck drivers who decide to take a dare from these bigshot rich men. The dare consists of picking up beer from Texas and transporting it to Georgia. After they pick up the beer, Bandit decides to pick up a runaway bride named Carrie (Sally Field). Her husband-to-be’s father happens to be the Sheriff Buford T. Justice (Jackie Gleason). When Justice realizes what is going on, they begin a pursuit of Bandit, his new lady, and his beer. Sounds silly, right? But my gosh, I was incredibly entertained. I also learned a fact, believe it or not, from this plotline. The famed Coors beer brand was actually illegal east of the Mississippi River during this time. So even high-profile people such as Dwight Eisenhower or Gerald Ford had to smuggle the beer from the West.

The characters helped elevate the mediocre, silly story into something that was entertaining. At the time, Burt Reynolds was a movie superstar. I was impressed at his tough-guy performance in the 1972 drama, Deliverance. He brings more of that persona into this role, but with a sense of humor. His character was actually funny at times in the midst of the action that is occurring. He is also portrayed at times as a drunk and a womanizer, but compared to people he is dealing with, I’d consider Bandit a hero. I also loved the character of Sheriff Buford T. Justice. His high-speed pursuit ended up in failure most often, but one thing his character is known for is his foul mouth. (He actually gave credence to the term “sumbitch”) I also thought Sally Field turned in a strong performance as Carrie. This is one of her early roles, and she gained instant fame because of this role.

Smokey and the Bandit turned out to be a much better film than I could have ever anticipated. It’s not an all-time favorite, but it is a solid, serviceable action film. Watching Bandit escape dozens of cops was entertaining for me. There are plenty of car chases, cool stunts, and enough characterization to give any action junkie a rush of adrenaline. There is also a good sense of humor. I particularly loved the scenes between Cledus and his dog. They were funny, but it helps there was a cute dog. I would hesitate to call the movie a classic as some people do. This movie may be silly and over-the-top at certain points, but I was incredibly entertained.

My Grade: B+

A cultural revolution. That is what perfectly describes Star Wars: A New Hope. Movie historians have longed said that Steven Spielberg and George Lucas gave cinema a rebirth. The early 70’s were a period for American and arthouse films, but these two men allowed movies to become fun again. According to Lucas, who created THX-1138 and American Graffiti, the purpose for this movie was just for movies to become fun again. What he did for cinema today, well we have this man to thank for it. This small low-budget sci-fi film spawned six more movies with many more to come. Star Wars has now spread across three generations, three generations of love. I love hearing stories from people who saw this when it came out in 1977. They tell me how much this cultural phenomenon impacted their lives. My father is a mega Star Wars fan, and it’s safe to say this is one of his favorite movies. How could such a small movie impact the movie business the way it did? Well, it helps that it’s a fabulous movie. The movie features an iconic villain named Darth Vader who is known for his deep breathing noises. We have two incredibly memorable heroes in Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia. The two most famous robots in movie history are C-3PO and R2-D2. We have everyone’s favorite scoundrel in Han Solo, the pilot of the Millennium Falcon and his favorite sidekick Chewbacca, a bear-like Wookiee. So what I’m trying to stay here, is the film has instantly memorable characters. This film pushed new ground with visual effects. Luca’s own company, Industrial Light & Magic worked very hard in creating never-before-seen effects from the humming of the lightsabers to the robotic language of R2-D2. The film looks impressive for a 1977 feature, and that could have attracted scores of people. Most of all, this is a fun movie. It’s simple story of good versus evil set in a space setting, and many people were looking for such a feature.

Lucas, who is the director of the film, wanted to engage the audiences in a fun, space-filled adventure. Believe it or not, the production of this film was nearly a disaster. The honest fact is Lucas is not a great director, and he had a hard time keeping the cast in line. Lucas lost the support of nearly everyone, and he suffered from anxiety issues. The cast hardly took their jobs seriously, and they often called the movie a joke. Harrison Ford, who plays Han Solo criticized a princess who has her hair in a bun and he called Chewbacca a giant, hairy monkey. The film also went over-budget and nearly over-schedule. An eight-million dollar budget ended with ten-million plus by the end of shooting. Post-production also was troublesome for Lucas. Lucas wanted an opening scrawl, which was very unconventional for its time, and everyone was against that idea. His company had to create special effects that would normally take over a year to make in just six months. The film was originally scheduled for a 1976 release, but it had to be pushed to a May 1977 release, which would end up as a godsend for the movie. With all these troubles and then some, it just amazes me how great this movie turned out to be.

Why do I love this film? Firstly, it’s a very engaging story. A simple one, but an engaging one. I love science fiction films, so this film would be in my wheelhouse. Maybe it’s because of Star Wars that I love sci-fi so much. George Lucas had to go through so much to bring his vision to cinema. He had his ideas early as 1971, but it look many years to get Alan Ladd Jr. of Twentieth Century Fox studios to back his vision. Despite the lack of great direction, the performances were still sharp as I will discuss later. Memorable performances from everyone. I mentioned in earlier reviews on this site that composer John Williams is my favorite composer. Well just listen to this mighty impressive score and you’ll see why. The movie was fun to look at and to listen to and it enhances the story in a very positive way. The planets and their landscapes are wonderful to look at. I was impressed with the scale of the desert on the planet of Tatooine. There is a scene located at an intergalactic bar and it’s just amazing how good practical effects looked with all of these aliens together. (This bar also happened to be where the controversial scene where you wonder who shot first. Han Solo or the bounty hunter, Greedo?) Believe it or not, I hated Star Wars as little kid. Luckily, that has changed as the years went on.

So without further ado, let’s go into the story of the film. It’s a very simple, but well-defined story. The characters are simple ones, but they are given such deep characterization. This film follows a young man named Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) as he sets out with his older, wiser Jedi mentor named Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) and a scoundrel pilot named Han Solo (Harrison Ford) as they set out to rescue the Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) from the evil second-in-command of the Empire, Darth Vader. (David Prowse, but famously voiced by James Earl Jones). They also must destroy the Death Star, a moon turned into a planet-destroying weapon, if they have any chance in stopping the Empire. See how wonderfully simple this story is? It’s incredibly easy to follow, but there are layers to everything in the story.

Which such a wonderful story, there has to be good performances right? Of course there are amazing performances! Career-defining performances in fact. Harrison Ford later stated it was because of Star Wars that he had such a great career. Shoulda not talked thrash about this movie during filming Harrison, huh? Well, despite Ford talking crap, he delivers the goods as Han Solo. I loved his cocky attitude, but deep down he was a man who is caring (if you count his love towards Leia) and someone who had no love for the Empire.  Mark Hamill is great as Luke. His performance is shaky at first, but he grows as the film moves on. Carrie Fisher is great as Leia. A powerful heroine, which is something not seen in many 70’s movies. Alec Guinness added a veteran presence as Obi-Wan and he truly embodies his character. Of course then there is Darth Vader. He is played by David Prowse, but is voiced by James Earl Jones (an iconic voice for the villain). Wonderful performances all around, even from the robots. The first thirty minutes of the film is mainly R2 and C3 wandering around in the desert. These scenes were very fun to watch, even if the pacing became ploddingly slow at times during the beginning.

So to sum up my feelings about the movie, I just about loved it. I have this movie to thank for giving me my undying love for the science fiction genre. I appreciate what this film did to change the way movies were made. Starting in 1977, summer blockbusters were going to be very prominent. Star Wars is a series that will live on forever and ever. This is something that everyone loves. But way beneath the implications, the film is a low-budget sci-fi film that only wanted to deliver fun to audiences worldwide. It certainly did that. One of my favorite movies of 1977. Thank you, George Lucas, for creating Star Wars.

My Grade: A

Annie Hall was 1977’s Best Picture winner at the Oscars. I don’t think it should have been. It was a solid movie for sure, but I couldn’t buy the movie as the best film of 1977. While Woody Allen’s Bananas was a screwball comedy, this film does mark Allen’s most mature film up to this point. The comedy is still there, but the movie is deeper than in Allen’s previous efforts. Allen cited advancing age for his more philosophical views (as he turned forty in 1975 which gave him strong opinions about death.) These philosophical views involves what it means to be romantic, Jewish heritage, the ideas of getting older, the banality of life, and of course as in most Allen’s film, a love story to the great city of New York. It also has been told that the movie resembles the personal life of Woody Allen. I wouldn’t find that surprising because he did date the star of the film, Diane Keaton at one point. I thoroughly enjoyed the philosophical views that Allen had in the film.

That also comes to the crux of my problems I had with the film. All the philosophy is fine and dandy, but people don’t realize how much this film is talking. People call this film a masterpiece, but they fail to see that this film is 121 minutes of talking and walking. I was mesmerized by Allen’s incredible dialogue, but eventually the talk wore me out (which is hard to do). This is a major issue, but luckily for the film it was the only issue I had. Too much talk, but the words were incredibly fluid thanks to the thoughtful script by Allen. There are some memorable monologues, and I liked how Allen spoke to the camera. It is rare for a movie to have an actor speak to the camera in a successful way, but Allen made it work here. He created a romantic comedy that made people laugh, and also made people cry. It represented more of a mature side to him that people seldom saw before this. Sure his screwball antics are still here, but his maturity level was elevated by several notches.

Alvy Singer (Woody Allen) is a neurotic stand-up comedian who reflects on the demise of his last relationship. He dated a woman named Annie Hall (Diane Keaton) who was an aspiring nightclub singer. Alvy reflects over the good times and bad times over the course of their relationship and also on factors that caused this relation to happen. He talks about growing up near C0ney Island, how he had sexual desires from a very young age, and how he always felt guilty about his Jewish heritage growing up.

I’ve seen this movie twice. The first time, it took awhile for me to appreciate Woody Allen’s acting in this film. This time, I was instantly brought in to the story by his inner monologue. Allen is essentially playing himself with lots of rapid intellectual dialogue. But I enjoyed watching him piece out the information on why his relationship failed. I really did like how be added depth to his character. He may be funny, but it’s not all about the comedy this time around. Diane Keaton, whom we know from The Godfather, does very well in her role. Her character is somewhat based off herself she admitted. Her character is shy, insecure at times, but she’s sweet and honest. There are some good supporting roles here too. We get to see a young Christopher Walken as Annie’s brother Duane. We see two other women that Alvy got into relationships with and they were performed decently from Carol Kane and Shelley Duvall. Also, there are two blink-or-you-miss cameos in the film. Keep any eye out for Jeff Goldblum and Signourey Weaver!

Overall, I enjoyed watching what is probably Woody Allen’s most personal movie. He later admitted he was not happy with the film because it was not the film he intended to make. But that didn’t stop critics and audiences alike all around the world from calling Annie Hall the best movie of 1977. Unfortunately, I do not share that sentiment. I do, however, think this film is a good watch. It’s funny at times, but it is also a thoughtful film. I would even call it a semi-experimental film. It’s a film that you need to pay utmost attention to or you’ll be lost. The story is not linear because there are mnay flashbacks spread throughout. Only Woody Allen could create enough witty and strong dialogue where you wouldn’t need action to complement those words. For that reason alone, this film is deserving of its Best Screenplay Oscar win. This movie is a solid watch thanks to a strong, intelligent screenplay and very strong performances from Woody Allen and Diane Keaton. However, it falls short from the masterpiece everyone claims it to be.

My Grade: B