Customer Reviews

Stick

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

While I was thrilled to hear that "Stick" was finally being released on DVD, I was less enthusiastic to hear that it was just a 'manufactured on demand' DVD-R. I had never purchased one of these before, so I was a bit worried about the picture & sound quality. However my fears were laid to rest once the disc arrived. The picture & sound quality come across as good as any other standard DVD. As reported by Robbie, there is no menu or special features, so it's just straight into the film. Thanks to Universal & Amazon for this gem of a film. Recommended.

This is one of Burt's better films from the 1980's, with a good supporting cast around him. Burt plays an ex-con who gets on the bad side of some nasty drug dealers in Miami. The movie has some comedy mixed with some romance and plenty of violence. Though I'm no expert on the subject, the video/audio transfer from vhs to dvd seems to be really good. My only minor complaint is that there is no menu or extras on the disc. A behind-the-scenes look at the filming of this movie would have been interesting, as there was a great stunt performed towards the movie's ending. Also, on the back of the dvd case, it states that this disc may not play on a dvd recorder or PC. However, when I played it on a PS3, I had no problems. Overall, a good buy.

A classic 80's action movie with perfect cheesey drug deal gone bad storyline and revenge! Besides the movie being great by itself, the soundtrack to this movie is perfect. If you are a fan of synthesizer music from great composers like Jan Hammer and Harold Faltermeyer, then this movie and it's awesome soundtrack are for you! This is a DVD-R and not a standard pressed DVD, but don't let that scare you away..the quality is exactly the same as a pressed DVD, though it may have problems in some DVD-ROM drives on computers. This is the widescreen edition of Stick, a film that belongs in any action fan's library!

Panned by the critics, but a very enjoyable movie with numerous funny scenes, in spite of the serious drama.

The DVD smelled like a rubber factory, very nasty, probably due to some substance applied to the disc by the manufacturer to "prevent copying" as it says on the outside of the case (i.e. "not playable on a computer.") It would not in fact play at all on my Dell desktop computer that's 3 years old, so I had to buy an external DVD drive by Toshiba, which worked OK.

If you like Burt Reynolds but don't particularly enjoy the level of silliness in (for example) Smokey And The Bandit etc., you might like this better, as the funny scenes here have little or no silliness in them.

I saw it mentioned that this movie might be like Malone, well it's better. This is a gritty Burt Reynolds movie akin to the likes of Sharky's Machine. A lot of action movies have no plot, and while the plot is thin in areas, at least there is one. And it's believable action, with witty humor. George Segal co-stars and is hillarious. Also co-stars Candice Bergen and Charles Durning.

"Stick" is actually one of Burt's better action movies, in my opinion on par with "Sharkey's Machine". It is certainly better than "Malone" and way better than the horrible flick "Heat". The film has some colorful characters and great action scenes. The late great Dar Robinson, one of the best stuntsmen ever, gives a memorable performance as an albino hitman. He also performs an incredible stunt at the film's end. This movie is highly recommended to all Burt's fans, and should certainly be out on DVD.

I lived in Miami in 1985 when I saw Stick at the theatre. I lived there for many years so this movie is very nostalgic for me. I know all of the scenes in the movie from first hand experience. I've visited most of the places shown in the movie and I lived specifically (for 20 years) in Coconut Grove where Chucky's office is located and where Bunny Eyes fell and missed the pool. I lived a block away from that building and drove past it every day. Now, enough about my nostalgia. This a film depicting the Cocaine Cowboy era of Miami. It's got action, romance, humor, innocence, soft mystery and suspense. It's a portrait of the 80's scene in Miami, the cool, but just a little cheezy culture, of that time. What I like best of Stick is that everything in it is real to the time and culture of 80's Miami drug dealers. The clothing and language is real and very peculiar to that era and Miami in general, today. Even the black magic is true to the genre. Stick (Burt Reynolds) is a calm and cool ex-con just out of prison. Not really a bad guy at all, just a bad decision maker. That's what got in the slam. He meets up with an old prison buddy who gets in trouble along with Stick. He's in denial about the fact that thru the movie he's on a vendetta about his friend - but realizes in the end that his "good heart" is whom he really is.

So, watch and enjoy this Miami Vice time-period film and appreciate the qualities of Burt Reynolds as an actor with all his "Burt Reynolds" nuances. Sit back and slip-back into a world known only to those who were there! I'll guarantee you'll feel good at the end.

PS. Candice Bergen makes a "hot" financial advisor, too!

Character development lacks in so many modern movies, but not with Stick. Burt Reynolds plays an amiable yet tough ex con trying to right his life after being released from prison. However things start out badly as he hooks up with his former cellblock buddies with ties to the underworld. The plot takes off quickly with a cast of colorful characters and escalates to a crecendo and a near fairy tail ending, complete with a sweet musical score by Anne Murray. OK, Burt talking hispanic is a bit of a stretch and the Katie character (Burt's daughter) was a little smarmy, but those are my only criticisms, and very minor ones at that. Bottom line is, this movie had me sucked in 2 minutes after it started, and did not let go. Two thumbs up from the peanut gallery!

While the new trend toward burn on demand DVD-R has its share of detractors, if that's the only way we're going to get long overdue catalog titles like this, I say keep them coming! The picture here is excellent (much better than poor Burt has been treated over the years on DVD with full frame disasters littering his output) and the bonus here is the sound. The back cover said 2.0 sound, but popping this in the player, it quickly turned out to be a full 5.1 soundtrack, a most unexpected bonus that helped a bit to salve a slight disappointment. The credits, oddly, read like those in the original 1984 version that was never released, with Annie Potts' name listed and Snuff Garrett as music producer. By the time it opened on April 26, 1985, Potts had been edited out and Barry DeVorzon and Joseph Conlan's great electronic score was in place. I have posters from the aborted 1984 release and the final 1985 release and verified that the credits on the back of this DVD were from the original. SO...the occasional optimist in me thought maybe a rare print had been burned to the Vault Series, but no such luck. (Anyone ever seen this elusive version?) For Burt fans, this is a fine product and another success for the series, with the exceptional sound transfer a most welcome surprise.

If you are like me and own a ''DVDR digital copy from VHS'' of that ''never-released commercially on DVD'' movie you will be curious enough to go for that Vault Series Edition. Quality of the widescreen picture is A+ perfect, much better then the full-screen version that's been sitting on my shelf for years. The annoying part is the ''no menu'' format.
To at least put a background picture with one option to play the movie would be a tremendous addition. Having a movie starting without being able to control it is extremely weird. That being said, never mind Burt Reynolds, this movie should be remembered for Dar Robinson's performance. Hopefully, a commercially released DVD will one day include the behind the scenes shooting of the final stunt (available on the documentary The Ultimate Stuntman). Simply amazing. ''If you push hard enough, you might hit the water!'' They just don't write those great lines anymore!