John P
Fantastic opening sequence, Reynolds at his peak, great story, Rachel Ward WOW, killer theme song, plenty of great one liners, Brian Keith priceless, I could go on. If you haven’t seen this new classic do it, you won’t be disappointed!
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
06/02/24
Full Review
Steve D
Some of it hasn't aged well but overall it is still an interesting thriller.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
03/11/23
Full Review
Audience Member
I've always been a Burt Reynolds fan. His 70's - 80's series of crime films were really fun, and none more then Sharky's Machine. I like Henry Silva too, and he was great as Billy Score. There was nothing fancy in this picture, which Burt also directed; just a bunch of washed up detectives who fell into a murder case. Vittorio Gassman, Earl Holliman, Rachel Ward, and Charles Durning were all great. A fun picture with Burt in the lead role.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/01/23
Full Review
delysid d
to me, this is a very special film indeed
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
12/17/21
Full Review
Audience Member
Man, when I was a kid, the only movie that I think HBO had — besides The Car — seemed to be Sharky's Machine. I never watched it back then and I totally should have, because it would have changed my life.
Yes, I know this is from The Movie Channel. I got it from https://twitter.com/ClassicHBOGuide/status/1070400413726269440
Based on the book by William Diehl, which was sent to the film's director and star Burt Reynolds by Sidney Sheldon, this was Reynold's chance to get away from the funnier movies he'd been making. He told the Boston Globe, "I figured it was time to get away from Smokey. I'd been doing a lot of comedy in recent years, and people had forgotten about Deliverance."
Reynolds wanted to make a movie like his favorite film ever — the noir masterwork Laura — and he wanted John Boorman to direct. However, he was busy with Excalibur.
A bust gone wrong has moved Tom Sharky (Reynolds) from drugs to the vice squad, the worst occupation a police officer can have. Working under Frescoe (Charles Durning), our hero discovers a high-class prostitution ring that includes a thousand dollar a night girl named Domino Brittain (Rachel Ward) who is connected to governor candidate Donald Hotchkins, who is owned by Victor D'Anton (Italian star Vittorio Gassman).
One evening, while conducting surveillance and falling for Domino, Sharky watches her get blasted in the face with a shotgun by the evil William "Billy Score" Scorelli. Let me tell you, if you think Henry Silva was great before, this is perhaps the best I've ever seen him. He's a force of complete terror and mayhem in this and I couldn't love him any more after the ending of this film, which features the highest free-fall stunt ever performed from a building for a commercially released film.
As everyone thinks Domino is dead, she suddenly shows up and tells Sharky that it was her friend that ate the blast to the face. Now, she could bring the entire conspiracy down, if everyone can just stay alive.
Tough cop movies only wish they were a sliver as good as this movie. I mean, you have Bernie Casey and Brian Keith as cops, you've got bad guys slicing off Burt's fingers and you have a Doc Severinsen-orchestrated theme that Tarantino took for Jackie Brown.
Supposedly, when Clint Eastwood made Every Which Way but Loose, Reynolds said, "Clint, you're getting into my territory and if it's a success, I'm going out and make Dirty Harry Goes to Atlanta!". When this film went into production, Eastwood sent a telegram to Reynolds saying, "You really weren't kidding, were you?"
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/06/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Great detective movie.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/05/23
Full Review
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