Product Description

No description available for this title.
Item Type: DVD Movie
Item Rating: PG
Street Date: 01/20/04
Wide Screen: yes
Director Cut: no
Special Edition: no
Language: ENGLISH
Foreign Film: noSubtitles: no
Dubbed: no
Full Frame: no
Re-Release: no
Packaging: Sleeve

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5677 in DVD
• Brand: MCA
• Released on: 2004-01-20
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: 1.20 pounds
• Running time: 282 minutes

Customer Reviews

A decent collection at a solid price
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!

For Hardcore Smokey Fans Only
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.

Three "Smokey And The Bandit" Movies At A Great Price!
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.