Customer Reviews

Smokey and the Bandit: Pursuit Pack: The Franchise Collection

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Three stars overall, five stars for the first film, 3 stars for the second, two stars for the third and 0 stars for Universal skimping on extras.

Part of Universal's "Franchise Collection", this collects all 3 "Smokey and The Bandit" movies on one double sided DVD at a reasonable price.

I'm one of those people who don't automatically run to see a sequel of a movie that was wildly popular, especially if it was of one I enjoyed, for I'm in fear of being let down. "Smokey and The Bandit" was one of those movies. I let my friends see the sequels and give me their one sentence reviews. Usually they'd reply with a long drawn face and say it wasn't as good as the first one. That was good enough for me.

The first "Smokey" was a true classic as well as being a big money maker for Universal. The second highest grossing movie of the year 1977 (something called "Star Wars" was first), it was pure fun with Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jackie Gleason and Jerry Reed and a few chases and wrecks. It's still fun and fast paced today and has aged quite well. It's a true 70's movie though with the hairstyles, the cars, the wardrobes and CB radios. It's worth owning just for this movie.

It was with hesitation that I sat down and watched the two sequels. "Smokey and The Bandit II" was a bit darker especially with Burt Reynolds' character. Dom DeLuise was a good addition to the cast, the story was ok although I wasn't fond of ALL of Jackie Gleason's characters and I wasn't happy with the ending. Still, a decent follow up.

"Part 3". Shame on Universal for trying to eke out the last bit of money from the public on this one. Jerry Reed - I think you're great, but not in this one. You were no Bandit, and that mustache. If you're a Jerry fan, try "Concrete Cowboys" for something a bit more fun. This was recycled scenes, recycled bits, and even recycled dialogue. The Sally Field role played by Colleen Camp was excruciatingly painful. Not even Fred the dog was around too long! Not even any songs by Jerry Reed in this one! I kept watching this movie for something good and the saving grace was being able to watch Jackie Gleason take the spotlight. And that's how I'll remember this last of the trilogy, with the Great One making one more great stand.

Kudos to Universal for the widescreen and the best available sound and for a decent price. Boo hiss to Universal for no extras (except for trailers for the first two films). I know I'll watch the first one again, and if I'm in a Jackie Gleason frame of mind, maybe the third installment. And I'm happy to be able to have some outstanding stunt work directed by Hal Needham in my collection. Now if they'd only release the soundtrack to "Smokey and The Bandit" on CD!

THE GOOD: Smokey and The Bandit was one of the most successful moneymakers of the 1970s, although critics panned it. There are those who love Smokey and The Bandit, as I do, and those who hate it, but most folks loved it when it was first released in 1977 and it continues to win people over to this day. Heck, even Alfred Hitchcock thought it was one of the best movies he'd seen at that time. (This movie alone is the only reason I'd give the "pursuit pack" a rating of two stars.)

THE BAD: Smokey and The Bandit 2. As much as I enjoyed the first Smokey movie when it came out in theaters, I was really bummed out about this sequel a few years later. Smokey 2 is simply the result of Hollywood's cold math: "even if this picture stinks, it will make at least a quarter of the first movie's profits on name recognition alone, and that's a heck of a lot of money, so let's do this turkey." Watching Burt Reynolds & Co. phone it in (Reynolds reportedly made $5 million from this picture) is painful, but seeing the Bandit as a drunken lout really bogs the movie down. Not to mention the fact that there's really no joy here. Gone is the fun and action and sense of spontaneous humor from the first Smokey flick; this one will leave you feeling cold and disappointed. (The only vaguely positive thing I can attribute to Smokey 2 is that my pre-teenage sister developed a mad crush on Jerry Reed after seeing this movie.)

& THE UGLY: Smokey and The Bandit 3 was the sequel nobody asked for. It's hard to imagine there was an actual screenplay written for this aBOMBination...and if there was a screenplay, it must have been written on a cocktail napkin. Smokey 3 is a lazy retread of scenes from the first two Smokey movies (including an opening "remember when" sequence which merely pads the film to an 80-minute running time) and not even the great Jackie Gleason can save this mess. Originally titled "Smokey IS the Bandit", Gleason played both roles of Sheriff Buford T. Justice and The Bandit. Test screenings (predictably) flopped; the film was reshot and sliced and diced until voila....you have Smokey 3, a disaster which never should have been given the green light in the first place. Burt Reynolds only appears in a brief, tacked-on scene at the end of the film; perhaps he was contractually obligated to do so?

All three "Smokey" movies are on this single (double-sided) DVD, and the price is not too shabby. Image quality is very crisp, although there are no extra features whatsoever. However, I'd recommend buying the standalone DVD of the first Smokey movie and skipping this set, as two of the three movies in the "pursuit package" should not be pursued, but given the deepsix.

How can you go wrong, three "Smokey And The Bandit" movies for one great price! You get "Smokey And The Bandit", "Smokey And The Bandit 2" and "Smokey And The Bandit Part 3" on one disc. Granted the original "Smokey And The Bandit" released in 1977, was and always will be the best of all the "Smokey" movies. "Smokey And The Bandit 2" released several years later was good but didn't do justice to the original. "Smokey And The Bandit Part 3" released in 1983, is okay, nothing great and features "Jerry Reed" as The Bandit. The picture quality is excellent and is the widescreen format. Note: "Smokey And The Bandit" and "Smokey And The Bandit 2" are on the regular disc play side, while "Smokey And The Bandit Part 3" is on the flip side. If you enjoy car chase movies then this is one collection you gotta have.

The original film is one of my all-time favorites and is also one of the funniest films I've ever seen. The second film was a disappointing follow-up, with The Bandit turning into an embittered egomaniac and some truly silly and dumb plot twists. For example, The Great One, Jackie Gleason, playing more than one role. I personally prefer the third film to the second, despite it being universally panned by most critics. I found the third film, while not in a league with the original, to be very funny, especially given that Jackie Gleason has more screentime than in the first two films. His scenes with his son, Junior, are the best things about the film. It was also, sadly, one of Gleason's last films. The only thing I don't like is the double-sided DVD. Other than that, despite no extras whatsoever, for Jackie Gleason and Smokey fans like me, it is still a bargain and is well-worth the money.

The original SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT (1977)was a fantastic film. The forumla was perfect: low budget, simple script, CB radios, car chases, country music, and Hollywood stars. There is a lot of talent in this film. Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jackie Gleason, and Jerry Reed head the cast of this CB chase through the Bible-Belt. All of these factors put SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT in league with the top grossing films of 1977. The movie is fun to watch. The dialogue is funny. The soundtrack, primarily written and performed by Jerry Reed, goes along perfectly with film. In fact, the picture's last scene hints at a sequel.

About the only drawback with the first film was its low budget. The continuity between camera shots and scenes is lacking. Trans Am on an interstate highway one moment -- driving on a two-lane road by a cornfield the next. Sunny blue skies in one shot and moments later confronted by an overcast threatening rain. After watching the movie again I noted there was good reason for Burt Reynolds to wear a cowboy hat as it blocked the camera's view of vehicles in through the rear window of the Trans Am.

On the other hand, the budget kept the production honest. The story was simple and uncomplicated. Additionally, Jackie Gleason reportedly crafted most of his own dialogue for this movie.

Unfortunately, SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT II (1980) followed. The only redeeming feature of this film is that the original cast was reunited. The storyline is horrible. Jackie Gleason's character was the only individual to show some sort of continuity between the two films. The Bandit, we find, has become an alcoholic. Carrie leaves Junior at the altar a second time to seek fortune with the Bandit. Cletus has apparently abandoned his family in search of truck driving adventures. Big and Little Enos Burdette are up to their old tricks. This time it is personal as they bribe the Bandit to smuggle a quarantined elephant from Florida to Texas. What follows is a series of loosely connected car chases and crashups. Burt Reynolds' crony Dom DeLuise joins the cast for seemingly no reason. With the exception of Jerry Reed's opening song, TEXAS BOUND AND FLYING, this movie is a bomb.

The majority of BANDIT II was filmed in Florida, and it looks like Florida. Unlike the first movie that was lensed primarily in Georgia (with additional footage shot in Ojai, California), with the exception of the desert confrontation with dozens of police cars, ala BLUES BROTHERS, the film never makes its way out of Florida.

If the film carries at all it is certainly because of Jackie Gleason's strong performance. If you missed the nostalgic significance of Sheriff Justice driving a bus at the end of BANDIT II, go back and watch an episode or two of THE HONEYMOONERS.

It came as a surprise that SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT III made its appearance in theaters in 1983. There was very little advertising afforded this third installment of the BANDIT series. The main characters have been reduced to Sheriff Buford T. Justice, Junior, Cletus, and Big and Little Enos Burdette, though Burt Reynolds also makes a cameo dream sequence appearance at the end of the film. Even the gaudy tractor trailer was not included in this picture.

The Story: Big and Little Enos are obsessed with the Bandit and Sheriff Justice. As such, they contrive yet another contest to draw Justice out of retirement and into competition with the Bandit. The Bandit is not available, so Cletus decides to fill the role.

If you thought BANDIT II's elephant premise was dumb, then BANDIT III's icon is down-right stupid. Justice and Bandit spend the entire movie stealing a plastic shark from each other. The winner is the person who is able to deliver the life-sized fish to the Burdette ranch. The film becomes a cliche of earlier films. There are car chases, a bizarre speed boat chase at Silver Springs, Florida, and the usual recycled Buford T. Justice dialogue. Jackie Gleason once again carries most of this movie.

The picture would have been better had the Bandit been cut from the film entirely. In fact, the original concept for SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT III was for it to be a Jackie Gleason film with Gleason playing dual roles as both Smokey and the Bandit. Note that the original cinema poster features Sherif Justice as the central character. The original Gleason film did not fair well when shown to test audiences and the movie was altered with Jerry Reed added as the Bandit. It is too bad that the original Gleason version of movie has yet to surface on DVD.

On the other hand, buying this set is your opportunity to acquire the original BANDIT at a price that is less than I originally paid for the solitary DVD.

I'm glad that they finally decided to release a Smokey and the Bandit 3 Pack cause it was about time when they would do it, I only wish that the movie would have more features like theatrical trailers, interviews and the deleted scenes from Smokey and the Bandit 3.

On the original Smokey and the Bandit the Enoses made a bet with the Bandit (Burt Reynolds) and Cledus (Jerry Reed) to go deliver lots of beer from Texarkana, Texas to Georgia and back within' 18 hours, I think that this movie is one of the best movies ever made and there are so many classic moments like high speed pursuits, police wrecks and good one liners from Buford T. Justice (Jackie Gleason), plus the Bandit falls in love with Carrie (Sally Field) and she was supposed to marry Buford T. Justice's dimwitted son Junior, the highlights of the movie is when the top of Buford's car comes off or when Junior's hat falls off and Buford tells him that he hopes that his head was in it, what a good father he is.

Now onto Smokey and the Bandit 2 the Enoses have another bet up their sleeves and they want the Bandit and Cledus to deliver the elephant from Miami to Dallas within' 3 days but unfortunately the Bandit is at a cheap motel drinking heavily cause Carrie left him and she went onto marry Junior again and she leaves Junior once again cause the Bandit needs her, plus we get to see a new character in the movie who is a Italian doctor known as Doc (Dom Deluise), but however the Bandit wasn't as a happy person like he was in the original movie cause he was acting more obnoxious and Carrie leaves the Bandit again due to his attitude, the highlight of the movie is when the semi trucks crash into the Canadian police cars or when Junior has to use the bathroom and he gets his zipper stuck, but I'm not going to tell you what happens next cause it is hilarious and I won't spoil it, overall I didn't think that it was as great as the original although it does have some good moments but it's a bit too dramatic for me in some parts.

Now we get onto the flip side of the DVD for Smokey and the Bandit 3 and I wonder why people come down really hard on that movie, I don't think that it is as good as the original but I do think that it's better than Smokey and the Bandit 2 cause the third one is funnier, I think that the people come down hard cause Burt Reynolds wasn't the Bandit in the movie (although he does have a cameo appearance) but I think that this movie is Buford T. Justice's best performance and he and his dimwitted son Junior have so many good scenes together, what surprises me about this movie is that the Enoses have more screen time than the first two movies put together.

If you love the Smokey and the Bandit movies then you should buy this Smokey and the Bandit set cause you'll be saving alot of money if you do cause this DVD set cost around $15-$20 and it's a really good value.

I was 7 years old when "Smokey and the Bandit" hit theaters. My family went to see it at our local drive-in. As soon as the final frame hit the screen I knew two things:

1. I wanted to be a Truck Driver and use a CB Radio.
2. I would own a cool Trans-Am one day.

Now, 30 years later, I've done neither. Once I found out you actually needed to shift gears to drive a big rig....that left me out (do they even make Automatic transmission 18-wheelers??). And I guess if you squint really hard, my PT Cruiser might look like a Trans-Am....if its really dark...and foggy...and you have a lazy eye..maybe.

But that is neither here or there. What is great, is that I had basically forgotten about this Hal Needham flick until I stumbled upon "The Pursuit Pack" here on Amazon. You get all three "Smokey & The Bandit" flicks in one set under $20. Now I don't remember if I ever saw II or III (and after watching them...you'll see why they are easy to forget), but I was willing to plunk down the money just to re-watch the original once again. I was interested to see if my kids would like "Smokey and the Bandit" or if it would seem hopelessly dated and awful. The first film is as great as I remembered. I mean, yes, the film is dated. I don't think anyone is going to get arrested for bringing a truck load of Coors beer across state lines any longer, and while the CB Radio still exists, the national fascination with the things disappeard just as quickly as it arrived in the late 70's, but at the core of the film, "Smokey and the Bandit" is just a fun, car-crashing, car-jumping good time. Jackie Gleason as Sheriff Buford T. Justice steals the show. Everytime he appears on screen you will laugh, and the dynamic between Justice and his son is outrageously funny. Burt Reynolds in his heyday, and a perky Sally Field are fun to watch, as is Jerry Reed as Snowman with his Bassett Hound named Fred.
The movie just clicks right along with a great soundtrack. Plenty of cool slo-mo car crashes and stunts, and a chuckle every couple of minutes. Just a fantastic slice of 1970's fun. If you were a fan of this film 30 years ago, you will still be a fan now.

As for the two sequels included in the triple pack. Well, if you squint....on a dark night...when it's foggy...they may compare to the original film about as much as my PT Cruiser resembles the Bandit's Trans Am.

I love the original Smokey and the Bandit, it is definitely worth five stars. The sequel is mediocre at best. The third film is really awful, and there is no Burt Reynolds in it! I should have bought just the original film, because this Pursuit Pack does not add anything to it.

Smokey and the Bandit Pursuit pack has all 3 smokey movies. the good ones being part 1 and 2.Part 1 being the best. Part 1 has the Kenworth, part 2 the very COOL GMC GENERAL BIG BUNK SLEEPER.and 3 a Cool Pete. All 3 Have Trans Am's. The first movie T/A being the coolest. Funny and action packed.
Dom Deluise R.I.P. in pt.2 Is Funny!Jackie Gleason R.I.P. Is even Funnier in part 1. and the rest. Burt is the MAN! these movies rock!No special features. the first two on one side of disc the other on the other side of the disc. Good Bargain and nice layout for DVD CASE.

As everyone already knows, the first Smokey and the Bandit was and is the best. This is another of those movie series that suffer from the Tri-Affect, as I like to call it (Any after the initial release will usually be not as good or crap). I just bought this yesterday and laughed myself silly watching the first movie. Plenty of action in the form of car chases and crashes, and plenty of humor, mostly delivered by Jackie Gleason in one of his all time best roles. Then I immidiatly watched Part 2. Same premise, which is ok, except the Bandit that we all loved is no more. Down on his luck and forgotten by the majority of his one time fans, Bandit has taken to drinking and is a wreck of a man. And then we get to the meat of the story, about transporting an elephant to Texas. It just wasn't as fun or engaging as the first storyline with the beer. And all throughout the proceedings, Bandit seemed to be in a perpetual funk that never cleared up, unlike the free wheeling careless redneck cowboy from the first movie. Even Jackie Gleason, while still being fun, isn't as good as the first movie, using many recycled jokes and put downs to Little Justice. And then we get to the third movie, Part 3. Burt Reynolds didn't even take part in this one, save for a brief scene at the end. Jerry Reed played the Bandit. I must say, however, that this movie was a lot more fun then Part 2. Reed had grown a mustach and if not a dead ringer for Reynolds, at least looked enough like him to play the part effectively. Heck I remember when I was a kid and saw this movie on TV, I thought it was the Real Bandit (and kept wondering why the girl called him Cleatus). So, here we go:

Smokey and the Bandit: Two Thumbs up for fun and action that never gets old.

Smokey and the Bandit Part 2: So-So for being a giant leap from the fun and humor of the first movie to a darker take on a classic character (I didn't realize that they did this way back then. I though turning already established characters and shows darker was a modern phenomena)

Smokey and the Bandit Part 3: One Thumb up for being happier and more fun than the second movie, but just not quite capturing everything that was inherent in the first. But that having been said, an alright way to go out for this series.