The car, the hat, the ‘stache, and the attitude. All iconic. All worked perfectly for Smokey and the Bandit. Burt Reynolds portrayal of the Bandit proved to be a formative movie for many a young car enthusiast. Hell, watching it as a 38 year-old adult leaves me with a strong desire to find a Trans-Am and an empty stretch of highway.
Of course, Reynolds had plenty of other great titles to his name but it’s Smokey and the Bandit that serves as the standout for me personally.
Today, at the age of 82 years old, Mr. Reynolds passed away. Join in on the Last Call commentary party and raise a toast to the Bandit.
Last Call: Eastbound and Down
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7 responses to “Last Call: Eastbound and Down”
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Hoon cars, make a movie. Respect.
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Most of the freeway chase scenes were filmed on Georgia 400 before the highway was opened. Probably one of the first big movies filmed mostly in Georgia. Guy I used to work with, his aunt got her mailbox smashed by the Snowman I believe for the movie. Now days Georgia is running a close second to California.
RIP Bandit. Hammer Down 10-24. -
I loved this movie as a kid, and I think that it still stands up as just a fun movie. Being real stunts counts for a lot.
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It’s a dumb car chase movie, but done well, and importantly, knows it’s a dumb movie, much like other 70s/80s screwball action comedies like the Gumball Rally, Cannonball Run or the Blues Brothers, which are almost played in a winking breaking the fourth wall sort of way with no contrived nonsense about revenge plots or speeches about the importance of “family” delivered without a hint of irony.
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This was the first movie I can remember ever seeing – my folks took me to it at the drive-in. When it was over I cried – sobbed even – because the movie was over.
I figured the opening chase scene in The Longest Yard and Burt slinging thatuglyiconic Citroen SM around was more in-line with the more eccentric vehicular leanings here at the ‘Verse (minus the cocktail of course)-
I’m thinking a movie entirely featuring a hotrod ambulance, Lamboobies, and a semi-open Cadillac with a monkey chauffeur resonates here more than a Franco-Italian that has two minutes of screen time in a football movie.
https://i.gifer.com/YRiY.gif
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You know, it was quite spooky. On Thursday night, before the sad announcement of Mr Reynolds’ passing came in the morning, I was home alone and struggling to decide which DVD to watch. I couldn’t make my mind up on Smokey or Cannonball Run.
I ended up watching Robocop instead.
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