On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 78% rating based on 32 reviews. The truck at the shell station is actually a 75 or 76 Toyota Hilux. Ive always loved this movie. Reynolds was the top box office draw from 1975 to 1982, then his movies really started to go downhill. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. He paid $550,000 for it, likely a record for any Pontiac Firebird. The film was followed by two sequels: Smokey and the Bandit II (1980) and Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 (1983). I agree, despite people saying you sound cute, it seems like they think Ellie Mae Clapett or Jethro Bodean. Mr. Reynolds made a bunch of low budget films before this , all had wild chase scenes with cop cars crashing & going into swamps . That girl from the McCoys video probably looks like Paula Deen now. Behind Sheriff Justices Pontiac, there is a nice looking 1965 or 1966 Ford Mustang fastback and a Toyota pickup. The dubbed version isnt as bad as the Remastered Blu-ray. Gator , Stroker Ace , lots of them . That is why there are not any left. They destroyed all those cars in the films he said. Im gonna barbecue your ass in molasses., Re: The picture with 4 ladies and the wagon and van. It was something regarding distribution limits. There are an abundance of cars in this movie. A guy we knew drove his half-ton pickup from western WA to his reserve 2-week stint in his home state in California. In return, Reynolds portrayed Boss Hogg (originally portrayed by Sorrell Booke) in the film adaptation The Dukes of Hazzard (2005). For Smokey and the Bandit II (1980), Needham asked for and received 10 Trans Ams and 55 Bonnevilles with no trouble. Revisit this scene featuring "East Bound and. Smokey and the Bandit II is a 1980 American action comedy film directed by Hal Needham, and starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, . 12 A Total Of 3 Trans Ams Were Destroyed During Filming. Conversely, I could go to Paducah and be asked where up north I was from. Arguably the most iconic Pontiac Firebird in history. I am indeed a fan. Upon showing it to his friend, Reynolds told Needham that it was the worst script he had ever read, but that he would still make the movie. I never understood why dragging a truckload of beer from Colorado to Georgia was such a big deal. When it was over, I cried and cried and cried because I didnt want it to end. How did any bra manufacturers survive the 70s? Its weird how it works. At the drive-in of all places. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The three original films introduced two generations of the Pontiac Trans Am and the Dodge Stealth in the television movies. Sonny Shroyer (Enos) was the motorcycle cop who was given the 1-finger salute by Sally Field. With that in mind, Ill go with what Ive heard from my Georgia friends, to wit Sheriff Justices diablo sandwich is the Macon version, which is made with fried eggs and red hots. Thats all true. The Pontiac Firebird Trans Am from Smokey and the Bandit is one of the most famous movie cars of all time. Your email address will not be published. I thought at the time that it was a newer version of White Lightning (also with Burt Reynolds) and that Smokey would be forgotten just as soon. So, for years one, two, and three, he got a shiny new Pontiac. When Smokey and the Bandit first aired on American network television in the early 1980s, censors were faced with the challenge of toning down the raw language of the original film. The cars were wrecked on purpose to create the illusion of a high-speed chase. We just watched this with the kids the other week, along with Cannonball Run. A couple of years ago, I was sitting around on a lazy Saturday afternoon and it was on TV. I have at least 4 really good car buddies that will from time to time love popping this movie in to watch. Bandit attracts more police attention across Dixie as Snowman barrels on toward Atlanta with the contraband beer, but they are helped en route by many colorful characters via CB radio. In October 2020, a Smokey and the Bandit TV series was revealed to be in development, with a pilot written by David Gordon Green and Brian Sides and also executive produced with his Rough House confederates Jody Hill, Danny McBride and Brandon James, as well as Seth MacFarlane and Erica Huggins of Fuzzy Door.[44]. As the 1969 classic 'The Italian Job' turns 50 years old, TG.com caught up with David Salamone, the man who piloted the red Mini in . Probably the most famous TV edit of all time is I have had it with these monkey-fightin snakes on this Monday-to-Friday plane!. I own all three films on a dvd called the Smokey and The Bandit Pursuit Pack. You can see in some shots in the movie that the Bandit Trans Am has 1976 style gold honeycomb wheels instead of the gold snowflake wheels from the 1977, I think at least one of the cars used in filming was a 1976 converted with a 1977 front clip. [29] Alfred Hitchcock claimed that the film was one of his favorites. In its place was the nonsensical scum bum. The voice over actor? [5] Reynolds revealed in his autobiography that Needham had written the first draft script on legal pads. The Kenworth even achieves a trifecta of sorts, as it gave the first dent to Sheriff Justices LeMans. Needham served as the driver for the stunt (in place of Reynolds), while Lada St. Edmund was in the same car (in place of Field). One of our favorite movies. It just seems wrong to see that car in any fashion without hearing that song. 3-Smokey and the Bandit 3-A crime against humanity, not even LSD can make it watchable since you spend the whole night fighting imaginary flying cobras with Jackie Gleasons head on them. . Put one on and the lady looks like shes not wearing a bra. In fact, after Smokey and the Bandit became a box office hit, Pontiac saw a marked increase in their stock prices. I was in West Plains the other day and there is yet another variation of it there. These Furys, as well as some of the LeMans units, have hood scoops. Not everything was Pontiac, as evidenced by this 1973 Plymouth Satellite coupe (CC here). His father was also the inspiration for the word "sumbitch" used in the film, a variation of the phrase "son-of-a-bitch" that, according to Reynolds, he uttered quite often. Lets take a look at some more cars found in the movie. The original uncut sumbitch version. Jackie Gleasons Buford T. Justice character is a supposedly an amalgamation of a few characters, including the real Buford T. Justicethere is obviously the Dodge safety sheriff from the 1970s ads, Burt Reynolds father was chief of police of Jupiter Florida, and a friend of his fathers, a Florida Highway Patrol officer was actually the REAL Buford T. Justice. When Im driving the Bandit Trans Am while playing one of my many Forza Motorsport games I always put that song on. This was the lull between Gas Crisis I and II, 1976-78, and Boomers were wanting stylish cars. His personaround, dumpy, and clipping wordsreminds one of another fictional southern sheriff. Its lack of additives and preservatives meant that Coors could spoil in one week without refrigeration, explaining the film's 28-hour deadline. He enlists the help of fellow truck driver Cletus The Snowman Snow, played by country music singer Jerry Reed. Only one survived, and it's priceless. . In particular, the scene where Sheriff Justice unknowingly encounters the Bandit in the "choke and puke" (a roadside diner) was not in the original story but was rather Gleason's idea. There definitely was a halo cast around the 2nd gen F-body from its appearance in the movie, which I believe even did extend to the Camaro, which was probably the cheapest way to at least get some of the Bandit vibe, where there other factors too, probably, the 70s, disco, cocaine, mustaches and probably a bunch others.many thought that these car would be the last hurrah for anything performance oriented. Except for Gleason, the original actors mostly redubbed their lines for the television version. The remaining Smokey and the Bandit Trans Am is currently owned by Florida car collector John Staluppi. Dodge pitchman Sheriff Joe Higgins. I have since moved on from them, mainly because in stock form, they were not particularly great cars (though good enough for the times). I guess the Trans Am proved to have more staying power than the hot 71 Ford in the earlier movie. East bound and down, loaded up and truckin The original Blues Brothers movie from 1980 is a classic, and fans were excited when a sequel was announced in 1998. . Wanting to promote the aesthetically modified 1977 model, but lacking cars owing to delays in production start-up, GM modified four 1976 Trans Ams with '77 spec bodywork and decals for the film. In 1978, Pontiac delivered 93,351 Trans Ams and 93,944 regular Firebirds for a grand total of 187,295 cars. That song often pops into my head at the start of long drives. Jason, Using the words nuance, subtlety, complexity and intellect to describe this movie, is, as they say, trs amusant! However, as our heroes were successful in delivering their truckload of Coors, the writers effectively poised themselves for a sequel. The three movie cars were destroyed during various stunts, so the promo car is the only surviving Trans Am connected to this film. 2-Smokey and the Bandit II-Pretty bad, still has some funny campy crap, the Dom DeLuise Italian Dr. bit is ok, Gleason is still pretty funny, the Turbo T/A is pretty weak, but still cool to see. Other sources in East Texas (from whence Sheriff Justice hails) are familiar with the popular regional delicacy known as the Diablo Sandwich. Get ready to tear up the highway with the Bandit (Burt Reynolds), a fun-loving, fast-talking trucker who takes on his craziest haul yet - delivering 400 case. and the Dixie Dance Kings, and Burts car was a 57 [56?] [21], Smokey and the Bandit was a sleeper hit. Burt Reynolds as the Bandit can always count on the truckers on the other end of his C.B. A 1975 Pontiac Grand Prix with a Buick Electra behind it. At the time, using "fuck" would immediately require an R rating and this self-censorship allowed the film to avoid this rating and reach a much larger audience. Thanks for this, Jason. But 1978 returned sales of 93,351 examples, a jump of around 25,000 cars. I dont know if I ever saw one in real life at the time, although I was pretty young then. [12] The area around Helen, Georgia, was used for some locations. UNIVERSAL CUT THE BUDGET JUST AS PRODUCTION WAS ABOUT TO BEGIN. Apparently the engine sounds were lifted from another movie, I think two lane blacktop? you can find it on amazon.com . The value of their stock rose a startling 70 percent after the films release, and to show their appreciation to Reynolds, the president said they would give the actor a new car each and every year. That said, an uncomplimentary accent does exist. I dont know if Ive ever seen the unedited version though, so I never realized the orignal phrase was sum bitch, I always assumed it was worse. I am still drawn to the shape of these cars, and others that have that long and low look about them. The film's editors, Walter Hannemann and Angelo Ross, were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Film Editing. I ended up buying a 1969 Cadillac ambulance a year later! I'm afraid I was responsible for a good few of those. After the movie did well, Pontiac gave Burt a free Trans Am to drive for a few years. The Bandit's car was a second-generation Trans Am and the prize for completing the run was a new truck rather than $80,000. Soon as I get home, first thing Im gonna do is punch yo mamma in da mouth!. I was a junior high school age kid when this film came out. Weve got a long way to go and a short time to get there From living there for my first two decades, I noticed the accent didnt get going good until around Sikeston (not Saxton as it would seem) and it progressed as you went deeper into the Bootheel. Got Greyhound cutout decals on the rear side windows. NY 10036. The little packy there had Coors and even though it was horribly expensive, we thought it was the elixer of the Gods. The uncut version is the best. The Bandit Run quickly became a fixture, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the movie with a special 2017 screening of the film attended by Reynolds and a recreation of the jump undertaken by the Bandit and Frog across a river. Reynolds replied: We went through 12. Five-string banjo player Bobby Thompson is prominent toward the end of "East Bound and Down". [4] Reynolds said in 2015 that he most enjoyed this film, and had the most fun making it, of his career.[26]. Called Smoke is the Bandit and playing on Stewart's nickname, the commercials featured him as the Bandit opposite commentators Darrell Waltrip as the Snowman and Jeff Hammond as Buford T. Justice. Somewhere along the line, the company acquired a new president who told Reynolds: Im the new president, and I dont like your movies. And Coors itself limited its distribution to west of the Mississippi. The third film which had no involvement from either Hal Needham or Sally Field and contained only a short cameo appearance by Burt Reynolds revolved entirely around Jackie Gleason's character, was panned by critics, and was a box office bomb, earning only $7 million against a $9 million budget.[41][42][43]. Ask him to choose between a BMW M4 and an Audi RS5, and hell gladly trade both for a beat-up Cuda. [8] Niver provided much of the western attire worn in the film, as well as the custom-made sheriff's uniforms (waist size 64") that Gleason wore throughout the film. ARRGH! Always loved this movie growing up. I certainly hope the guy hired to drive that 74 Ford Torino wagon was paid well for his work. It had amazing throttle response, with a hit that either scared people, or made them giggle. Your email address will not be published. Filmmakers destroyed 230 cars in the filming of 'Furious 7.' Smokey And The Bandit: A Car-chase Classic. I really enjoyed this discussion. The cop cars with the hood scoops were ex-DeKalb County (Georgia) cruisers. Field enjoyed making the film, but remembers that virtually the entire project was improvised. In a rare public appearance, Burt Reynolds revealed how many cars they wrecked making Smokey and The commercials were produced after Stewart mentioned that the movie was one of his favorites.[39]. You want to questions bra sales, check out the youtube video of Hang on Sloopy by the Mccoys, the color version.wowza! Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). [10], Principal photography of the film began on August 30, 1976. Banzai! According to Wikipedia, the second movie was able to get away with destroying an INSANE number of brand-new Pontiac LeMans police cars because Pontiac had them sitting around in the southwest region, having been sent to a rental fleet in Phoenix without a/c. They return one minute after their time limit, but instead of taking the payoff, Carrie and Bandit accept a double-or-nothing offer from Little Enos: a challenge to run up to Boston and bring back clam chowder in 18 hours. How many police cars were wrecked in Smokey and the Bandit? Smokey and the Bandit was all realistic and non fictional, and it still was a big hit that brought a lot of money to Hal Needham and the actors, to pay Pontiac back. Earlier DVD releases and the 40th Anniversary Blu-ray of the film have the original soundtrack intact. He's a proud member of the TopSpeed team since early 2014. I was to be paid a salary plus own 7% of the profits. The film's theme song, "East Bound and Down", was written virtually overnight by Reed. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. The checker, not batting an eye, Do you want that chilled?. In 1976-78, while a high school student in Norwalk, CT, me and a few buddies would routinely drive up to Vista, NY, which was just over the state line. The man does get around. Frederick Amon smuggled it from Colorado to North Carolina and sold it for four times the retail price.[19]. [33] Reynolds was given the 1977 vehicle used during promotion of the film as a gift, though the car itself never actually appeared in the film. However, the U.S. government introduced new emission controls in 1972, and automakers had to step back. Despite growing up next to Cape, most of relatives are from the Mid-South. He had quite a few orders for Coors beer, and when he stopped in Weed, CA, on the way home, he went into the Safeway and asked for twenty-four cases of Coors. Sales almost doubled in two years, which is a very big deal given that the Trans Ams 1978 facelift was rather minor save for the front fascia. Though no authoritative source identifies the composition of the sandwich, there are several possibilities. Somebody locally is selling a Regis Plymouth Fury ex Florida Police with gasping 318 V8, he will for the right money toss in a 440 with it. Im pretty sure that the car that barks second when he takes off with Frog had to be a stick. I know that Trans Am that . Launched on the big screen in 1977, Smokey and the Bandit revolves around two bootleggers as they attempt to illegally transport 400 cases of Coors beer from Texarkana to Atlanta. It consists of any of the various Louisiana-style hot sauces on Texas toast-style bread alongside the fourth most famous product of Pittsburg, Texas (behind Pilgrim's Pride, Cavender's, and Carroll Shelby)Pittsburg Hot Links. As such, it took a lot of sweet talking by former stuntman Needham for Pontiac to cough up three Trans Ams and three LeManses. [11] The movie was primarily filmed in Georgia, in the cities of McDonough, Jonesboro, and Lithonia. I had no idea that it was going to become a 70s classic. Smokey & The Bandit Police Cars. Gleasons Justice is the stereotypical Southern sheriff, as seen in this clip. Due to his financial difficulties in 2014, Reynolds put his vast collection of artwork and memorabilia up for auction, including the Trans Am. Burt Reynolds is originally a Georgia boy. Gleason has a treasure trove of hilarious lines and it was this movie that started my love affair of cars back in the early 1980s. I recall reading somewhere that the Trans Am that did the bridge jump had a tweaked Chevy 350 in it with a stick, and of course that it was WO after the jump. He is hired by Big Enos Burdette and his son Little Enos to transport a truck load of Coors beer from Texarkana, Texas, back to Georgia in 28 hours. During a Q&A session on Saturday, filmed by ComicBook.com, a fan asked how many Trans Ams they burned through during production. I actually remember the construction of that segment of I-75, as it stopped around Tampa prior to that time. However, the scene and the obscured expletive were played for comedy value and written as such, with the passing truck being the gag of the scene more than a way to avoid the censors. The tow truck driver was a local garage owner, Berlin Wike. MN12 Thunderbirds had the same appeal to me, for similar reasons. Cledus "Snowman" Snow (Jerry Reed) drives the truck while his good buddy Bo "Bandit" Darville (Reynolds) serves as the "blocker," a fast car used to divert police attention away from payload. Heres how it works. Most of the dialogue was improvised on set. At one point in the movie, the Bandit wrecks a police car. In 2006, a DVD re-release was issued of Smokey and the Bandit featuring a digitally remastered audio track with 5.1 Dolby-compatible surround sound. At the time, it was illegal to transport Coors east of the Mississippi River and a series of other truckers had been apprehended for trying to accomplish this feat for the Burdettes. Anyone with insight is encouraged to share their knowledge on this. For Smokey and the Bandit II (1980), Needham asked for and received 10 Trans Ams and 55 Bonnevilles with no trouble. All pictures from the movie were acquired from www.imcdb.org, Fred Lives!!! A Pontiac wagon from earlier in the decade. How many police cars were wrecked in Smokey and the Bandit? Ive since read on the internet that it wasnt illegal so much as a practical thing with it being shipped in refrigerated trucks. I also own a Etrl replica of the Pontiac Bonneville Buford T. Justice drove in Smokey and The Bandit II. Let me get the popcorn for this one. After the movie came out, Firebird sales increased even more, but the Trans Am was now the most popular one.