SYNOPSICS
Sharky's Machine (1981) is a English,French,Italian movie. Burt Reynolds has directed this movie. Burt Reynolds,Rachel Ward,Vittorio Gassman,Brian Keith are the starring of this movie. It was released in 1981. Sharky's Machine (1981) is considered one of the best Action,Crime,Drama,Thriller movie in India and around the world.
Tom Sharky is a narcotics cop in Atlanta who's demoted to vice after a botched bust. In the depths of this lowly division, while investigating a high-dollar prostitution ring, Sharky stumbles across a mob murder with government ties, and responds by assembling his downtrodden fellow investigators (Sharky's "machine") to find the leaders and bring them to justice before they kill off all his partners and witnesses, including Sharky himself.
Same Actors
Same Director
Sharky's Machine (1981) Reviews
Burt Goes In For Vice
Sharky's Machine finds Burt Reynolds as a narcotics cop who after a failed buy and bust that wasn't his fault, but that got a few people killed in it, he finds himself demoted to the vice squad in Atlanta. The prestige is hardly as good as the narcotics beat, but it does have its fringe benefits. One night after a roundup of working girls where one of their books falls into their hands, the guys ask for surveillance on Rachel Ward's place. She's an expensive item, servicing both notorious mobster Vittorio Gassman and law and order gubernatorial candidate Earl Holliman. Their surveillance however records a murder and the rest of the film is Sharky and his new colleagues from vice trying to solve this prestige case. Though it's a Burt Reynolds film and those usually have some humor to them, the comedy is kept in check as the film turns as deadly serious as Dirty Harry. It was reported in fact that Clint Eastwood was offered this film. Look for some good performances by fellow vice cops Bernie Casey and Brian Keith and by Henry Silva the coked up brother of Gassman who does the dirty work of the organization and loves his job. It's not a bad film, a mixture of Dirty Harry and Laura. Why Laura? You'll have to see Sharky's Machine for that answer.
Ah, you'll die all right!
I like Burt Reynolds (Boogie Nights) playing a cop, and he didn't do too bad as a director here either. He had a great supporting cast of cops and criminals: Vittorio Gassman makes a great crime boss; Henry Silva (Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai) makes a great psychopath; Brian Keith ("Family Affair"), Charles Durning (The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas), Bernie Casey, and Richard Libertini (A Grandpa for Christmas) all make great partners; and, there is, of course, Rachel Ward ("The Thorn Birds"), who got a Golden Globe nomination out of her performance. Lots of action, superb performances, and a great story.
Arguably Burt's best.
I haven't seen every single movie that Burt Reynolds has ever made, but this one (which I've just finished watching, for the third time) may very well be his best! It suffers only from some slow stretches; Burt perhaps tried to make it more "arty" than it should have been. On the other hand, he managed to avoid many of the usual cliches in the presentation of the "tough cop" role he plays (notice, for example, the scene in which he attempts to kiss Rachel Ward for the first time, or the fear he expresses just before the final showdown with the indestructible Henry Silva). In fact, Silva and those two ninja assassins are three of the most memorable villains of cop thrillers of the 80s. The film also has some offbeat touches, a surprising amount of humor, a brutal and gripping fistfight and many well-directed shots. (***)
Tight story, great period soundtrack and entertaining morality play. Character actor extravaganza!
The jazz soundtrack makes this seem like a Clint Eastwood movie. In fact the whole thing strikes me as Burt doing Clint. The story is good and the movie is full of one liners that I carry with me to this day. (Reynolds to bad guy: I'm gonna pull the chain on you pal, because you're f'n up my town. And you wanna know the worst part? You're from outta state!) Highlights: The Technics 1500B reel to reel is nice set dressing for audiophiles! Charles Durning coming unglued while listening to wiretap tapes of prostitutes having (sort of) phone sex. (You'd have to see it, trust me, it's hilarious.) Brian Keith plays against type as a tough guy. (And does it well!) Bernie Casie's preoccupation with Zen. Rachel Ward. WOW! (Where'd she go?) Doc Severinsen and the Tonight Show band play their rears off as usual. (Joe William's guests on vocals. Manhattan Transfer re-recorded "Route 66".) The soundtrack lends class to the whole affair. Need I say more? It might be Reynold's best film ever. (Yeah, he plays himself, as usual, but it works!) Enjoy!
One of the best (if not the best) films Reynolds ever made
Superb, brutal, hard-boiled crime drama starring Burt Reynolds as a burned-out Atlanta cop transferred to the absolute slime hole of Atlanta's vice department after a drug deal turns sour. He's assigned to watch a high-class prostitute (Rachel Ward) and eventually gets caught up in some political double-dealing. Superb action and a serious performance by Reynolds make this one a winner. It's also a complete change from the silly, lighter stuff that Reynolds had been doing for years prior to this. His performance was waning somewhat and this was a great way for him to prove he still had it. One of the things I love about this movie is the texture of grit and sleaze. It really feels like a brutal, hellhole world that these guys live in. At the same time, the film finds ways to interject humor at the coolest moments. Henry Silva's villain is another strong point. There is a moment near the end where you see his gasping and wheezing silhouetted form, rasping out Sharky's name. It's a hard image to shake from your mind.