The “Great One” did a great job and it remains totally unappreciated for it by critics pretty much beyond myself. At the time of the film, he was a literally huge entertainment personality in the twilight of his career when he signed on for this one. Yet, I remember most being blown away with the film’s showcase of comedy by the legendary Jackie Gleason. “Bandit” and “Burt” are cinematic synonyms. You can’t say “ Smokey and the Bandit” without saying “Burt Reynolds.” As that goes, I guess you also can’t say “Burt Reynolds” without saying “the Bandit.” ( NOTE: I expanded and reorganized this review with some additional opinion and trivia and the updating of links on July 22, 2017. ( 1977 96 minutes rated PG directed by Hal Needham and starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field and Jackie Gleason)īURT’S THE ‘BANDIT,’ BUT DON’T FORGET ‘THE GREAT ONE’ Still, “ Smokey and the Bandit” is not Burt’s best Burt-being-Burt film (I’ll save that designation for “ Hooper” – click here for my review), but he is and always will be the “Bandit.” And, remember, it’s always tough to beat “iconic” in film. Hey, “ Smokey and the Bandit” was even nominated for an Oscar – best film editing and it didn’t win. The film was so influential with fans that General Motors could tell by the spikes in Pontiac Firebird Trans Am sales when “ Smokey and the Bandit” was on TV for a rerun (remember, those were the days before streaming video, DVD kiosks and 500 cable/dish channels). “ Smokey and the Bandit” is arguably the signature action comedy of the 1970s and for decades in reruns kept Burt Reynolds alive as his career ebbed and flowed.
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