The movie Smokey and The Bandit by Hal Needham is the story of two friends who set out to “do what they said can’t be done”. With attention to detail it is easy to see how just one little event can turn everything around for the pair. Many of the scenes throughout this movie show the two friend “Snowman” Jerry Reed and “The Bandit” Burt Reynolds truck across the states to Texas to bring back booze with them in order to win a bet. What these two do not plan on is encountering a runaway bride who just so happens to bring the long arm of the law with her. With her new found association with the Bandit, the immediate pursuit is on by one determined officer of the law. These two travel all across the state from Texas back home under “hot pursuit” …show more content…
from none other that Bufford T. Justice. With the imminent heat of the law on Bandit, Snowman does what he knows best, he must make the delivery. With this being said there are so many pivotal moments during this movie where it all could’ve went south for the dynamic duo. From the very beginning just driving over and Bandit being chased through town or when they finally reached Texas and the warehouse was all closed up. This would have been two easy for these two, it would have taken more than just one small town cop and the warehouse being closed to stop them. Which leads me to the first major scene in the movie. The shot of Snowman and Bandit in front of the warehouse at first is a wide range shot capturing a view of the street as well as some of the surroundings of the town. When focusing in it is easy to see many rusted out and junk cars. Not only this, but the town seems to be empty, there are no signs of people anywhere. In a quote from the Bandit “Oh probably sit around and watch the cars rust” can show how old the town may be. This is done to help give the viewer a since of time period based upon the style of cars driven and by the old architecture of the building. It also allows the reader to possibly connect with the small town depending on where they live. As the seen progress you can see the camera pans the front of the building showing the two breaking in the warehouse then pans to all the beer inside. The reason this is done is to give the viewer and idea on how much they are about to transport illegally. It is also possible that the reason this is done is to make the audience nervous for the characters. Theses two characters always seem to be running into trouble whether that be with the law or with problems out on the road. As they start their trip own the road they run into a runaway bride. Every good movie needs a good looking woman; this is where “Frog” Sally Fields comes into play. The reason for her character in the movie was to also make it more appealing to certain audiences. Not only this, but her character seems to add a sense of contrast against the main characters. In the beginning she is very unsure of her decision to get in the vehicle with the Bandit. This is more solidified after the camera pans to her face and shows her shock after she realizes they are going 110 mph. This is to show how out of sync most people are going that fast and how much pressure they are under to meet their deadline. A seen that draws a lot of attention from the audience would be when the Bandit and Frog jump the back roads bridge during the chase. In this scene there are a massive amount of camera angles between the initial jump and the actors faces, the car flying through the air and landing. All of these angles help show the suspense throughout the entire jump. The up close angle on the faces of the main characters shows the fear in their eyes as they hit the jump and then the camera switches to a different angle capturing the car flying through the air. The helps show the audience the great distance that they two must over come. As the car finally lands back on the ground we see the camera is getting a ground shot. This helps dramatized the landing making it look as hard of a landing as possible. In the final chase scene where Snowman was initially pulled over and bandit initiated the chase allowing Snowman to escape. During this scene many things took place you had the chase, but you also had the escape and recapture. This scene uses a lot of in cab scenes for example; when looking at Snowman it is easy to tell that he is very tense. One way to tell is when the cop tells him how fast he was going Snowman replies “I didn’t know this truck would to 98 miles per hour”. From this when can assume that Snowman thought it was all over from here, that he may even go back to jail. When the Bandit arrives we see a sign of relief come over Snowman. Some ways that they makers show this emotion is through the camera angles provided. When he first gets pulled over they do an initial close up of his Snowman’s face and then again when the officer leaves showing the difference in facial expressions. As the scene progresses they start to do more close ups of the Bandit and of “Frog” Sally Fields to show the worry upon their faces as well until, they come across the convoy. On one camera angle it shows the power of the convoy as a whole. There are so many trucks and only one cop. When the Bandit says, “Safe as in your mother’s womb” this shows that there is a sense of relaxation and safety for the pair. During the convoy scene there is also happiness and joy present through the smiles and horn blown from Snowman as well as his fellow truckers. The next major scene I feel plays a major role in the movie would be at the very end where the two make the final push to the truck rodeo. This scene also includes many in cab shots as well as wide frame shots the encompass the entire chase. During the first part of the scene you just see and enormous amount of squad cars line up to chase the Bandit. As all of these car are falling in line the camera is showing a wide shot to give the viewer and idea of how much trouble they are in. Another reason behind this angle was to help build suspense. During the in cab shots we can clearly see that both Bandit and Frog have a look of hopelessness on their faces due to the enormous amount of police presence. After looking at each of these scenes we start to see a common pattern amongst all of them.
If you notice the camera angles tend to all be the same at certain times. When ever a car chase ensues the camera immediately pans to the faces of the characters to help show their emotions. Not only with the camera angles are there patterns, but there are also patterns with how the movie its self flows. When ever the duo starts to have a period of time where all goes smoothly it seems as if everything goes wrong in a flash and they are once again being chased by the police. Another example of a pattern would be in the relationship of the two friends Bandit and Snowman. This is evident due to the fact that when one gets down the other one picks them back up. An example of this would be when Snowman gets stopped by the State Trooper and Bandit is there to rescue his friend. Another example would be at the very end when Bandit is ready to give up and turn in, but instead Snowman picks him up mentally and leads them to the finish. The final pattern that I picked up on was the music that was being played during two different scenes. The song “East Bound and Down” by Jerry Reed was played during the two scenes where extra hustle was required. This shows that both characters are trying to hustle and get to their destination as fast as
possible. With everything that has been listed many ask why all of this matters. Much of what has been listed is all there for the viewer. The massive amount of different camera shots are there to help encompass the viewer and make them feel as if they are actually there. The directors do the face shots to help the viewer feel the emotions of the characters as they overcome the the obstacle’s that lay before them. It can also allow the viewer to pass their own judgment of a character based upon how they act or the emotions shown. With some of the wide screen shots it it helps portray the part of the country that they are in. It shows the environment and helps shown what kind of conditions the characters may be going through. Some of the other wide angle camera shots can show suspense or the size of something. This came into play with the convoy where the bandit finds a save haven for a minute. Many find all of this irrelevant, but in the end makes a huge different to how the story is portrayed to the viewers. Without all of these effects and camera angles and attention the little details what we view today would not have been that great to begin with in the first place.
You have two wealthy Texans, Big Enos Burdette played by Pat McCormick and his son Little Enos Burdette played by Paul Williams, trying to seek a truck driver who is willing to bootleg Coors Beer to Georgia from Texarkana, Texas for a celebration. Eventually, the Enos clan run into trucking legend Bo “Bandit” Darville played by Burt Reynolds, who is competing in a truck rodeo, with a chance of winning $5,000. The Enos men laugh at the winner’s pot, and offer Bandit to make some real money, $80,000 to go pick up 400 cases of Coors beer from Texas, and bring said beer back to Atlanta in a mere 28 hours. Big Enos breaks it down for the Bandit, “its three grand an hour, if you’re able to make it back in 28 hours.” Because Big Enos is sponsored a driver who is running in the Southern Classic stockcar race. Thus, when he wins, Big Enos wants to celebrate in style. The first funny scene of the movie is when Big and Little Enos are negotiating the fee than will cost for Bandit to haul the 400 cases back to Atlanta. After Bandit and Little Enos insult one another during the negotiations, Bandit said, “I want to see the cash!”. Little Enos pulls out the cash while cussing. Bandit replies, “I need cash for the beer, need cash for a new car!”. While Little Enos is cussing after Bandit makes his rebuttals, Little Enos is counting out the money, and Bandit tells him, “I need a speedy car”, Little Enos counts out more money, and
One might ask himself, can a videogame affect myself? Or even the people around me? Well, as we’ve read in the novel Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, Parzival had his life go upside down. He went from being nothing and having nothing, to being the best and having the most. While in the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, we have our character Guy, who is a fireman and his job is to burn books. Guy wears a helmet with the number 451, which is what the temperature of the fire is. Technology does not do much to his life, he stays the person he is, and of course, he stays confused. Even though both novels are technology related, Ready Player One had more affect on the new generation that is reading this and that is because we can relate more.
Throughout the novel The Catcher in the Rye, the movie Pleasantville, and even in real life, a theme constant is the theme of protection of innocence. The Catcher in the Rye portrays the idea of protection of innocence through the main character of Holden Caulfield. Holden is a highly troubled boy, and is constantly getting kicked out of schools. However, there is one idea he is fiercely serious about. He explains this idea to his sister when she presses him about his life choices. “Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids...and nobody’s around-nobody big, I mean, except me....What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff...I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all”(Salinger 173). This quote spoken by Holden is him
Whenever there is gentle action there is side lighting. Murder scenes have flashes of light (lightning and gunfire) which help build suspense. There are many motifs in the film which strengthen the narrative and serves as a joke on contradictions surrounding idea of hospitality. Motifs are also used to unify the narrative but also function as motivation.
Throughout the history of literature, a great deal of authors has tried to reveal a clear understanding of the American Dream. Whether it is possible to achieve lies all in the character the author portrays. The Great Gatsby and The Catcher in the Rye stand as prime examples of this. F. Scott Fitzgerald and J.D. Salinger, the authors of these titles, respectively, fashion flawed characters, Jay Gatsby and Holden Caulfield, with one vital desire: the longing to gain what they can’t have; acceptance and the feeling of belonging. Each retaining characteristics that shows their differences and similarities in opinion of the world around them.
All stories have the same blueprint structure with the same type of ending whether it be good triumphs over evil, rags to riches, the voyage and the return, tragedy, or rebirth. The thing that sets these stories apart is the message they intend to in our minds. “ The power of a story to shift and show itself to anew is part of what attracts people to it, at different ages, in different moods, with different concerns” (Auxier 7). These messages are given by the characters in the story that all have their own reasoning but in the end have one meaning behind it. Some messages give specified personal messages rather than a broad stated such as the stories The Wizard of Oz and The Great Gatsby. Blinded by the ignorance of desires, the characters
Has your skin ever tasted the scorching coldness to the point of actually flavoring death, has your stomach ever craved for even a gram of anything that can keep you alive, has your deep-down core ever been so disturbed by profound fear? No never, because the deep-freeze, starvation, and horror that Kolya and Lev experienced were far worse to the point of trauma. In the novel, City Of Thieves, author David Benioff describes the devastating and surreal situations and emotions that occurred to Benioff’s grandfather, Lev and Lev’s friend, Kolya, during WWII the Siege of Leningrad in Leningrad, Russia. Both Lev and Kolya share some similarities such as their knowledge of literature; even so, they are very contrastive individuals who oppose
To say this novel is even remotely similar to anything being read in my high school classes would be an outright lie. The philosophical themes of existential dread, nihilism, absurdism and general apathy are unlike those found in any novel. Thus, it is fortunately unlike a great number of books and ripe for comparisons. “Fahrenheit 451” and “Huckleberry Finn” come to mind, as those books have plots centered around active rebellious tendencies and great adventures. In the book “Fahrenheit 451” the protagonist Guy Montag, when presented with great danger, makes an incredible escape in order to pursue his life and his curiosity. In stark contrast to Guy Montag’s exciting escape from his inanimate doom, the narrator (his name is Meursault, left out in some translations) accepts his death sentence as an implication of the inevitable. He does not know whether his is guilty or not of his crime, only that he has been sentenced to the guillotine and that an attempt to prolong his existence is
In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) The character McMurphy as played by Jack Nicholson, McMurphy’s is a criminal who is troubled and keeps being defiant. Instead of pleading guilty, McMurphy pleads insanity and then lands inside a mental hospital. Murphy reasons that being imprisoned within the hospital will be just as bad as being locked up in prison until he starts enjoying being within by messing around with other staff and patients. In the staff, McMurphy continuously irritates Nurse Ratched. You can see how it builds up to a control problem between the inmates and staff. Nurse Ratched is seen as the “institution” and it is McMurphy’s whole goal to rebel against that institution that she makes herself out to be.The other inmates view McMurphy like he is god. He gives the inmates reason to
Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, "The Lottery", by Shirley Jackson, "The White Circle", by John Bell Clayton and "The Vigilante" by John Steinbeck all share the theme of mans inherent evil. Lord of the Flies takes place on an island in the Pacific ocean during an atomic war, and there is no adult supervision. "The Lottery" takes place in a small farming community in the present day. "The White Circle" is set in the turn of the century Virginia on a Large farm. "The Vigilante" takes place down south in a town with strong racist beliefs. Jack from Lord of the Flies is an insecure boy who leads a group of savages through injustice and violence. The Townspeople in "The Lottery" are focused as a group to keep up the traditions of their town, that include an annual stoning of a random person(Tess). Tucker, a normal boy in "The White Circle" is driven into violence after consistent torment from his neighbor Anvil. Mike in "The Vigilante" is a mild mannered southern white with racist beliefs that are carried out on a black man. Ralph who is against Jack in Lord of the Flies is being over-run by Jacks violence and bloodlust, until an officer rescues the group to find out that the boys aren’t playing and have reached the end of their innocence. The towns people gather annually to choose through a lottery the victim of a violent stoning for the harvest, when a prominent citizen Tess is chosen she tries to over turn the verdict, she is killed. Tucker is the son of a wealthy farmer and is under constant torment by his neighbor Anvil, he cracks and attempts to kill Anvil in a brutal attack with hay forks, Anvil avoids death and realizes Tuckers deep rooted evil. Mike along with the men of his village decide to take the law into their own hands against a black man, they beat and kill him then hang him from a tree. Mike realizes later how satisfied he is from this act. These violent plots all have a very important
Darry goes crazy over Johnny's death and decides to rob a convenience store. The cops chase him, Dallas fires a few shots at them with his gun.
Now with over 15 million copies in print translated into forty languages, “To Kill a Mockingbird” is highly regarded as a masterpiece of American literature. It stands strong beside bestsellers such as “The Joy Luck Club,” “The Catcher in the Rye,” and “Huckleberry Finn.” But what, one may ask, are the similarities between these chartbusters?
Few Hollywood film makers have captured America’s Wild West history as depicted in the movies, Rio Bravo and El Dorado. Most Western movies had fairly simple but very similar plots, including personal conflicts, land rights, crimes and of course, failed romances that typically led to drinking more alcoholic beverages than could respectfully be consumed by any one person, as they attempted to drown their sorrows away. The 1958 Rio Bravo and 1967 El Dorado Western movies directed by Howard Hawks, and starring John Wayne have a similar theme and plot. They tell the story of a sheriff and three of his deputies, as they stand alone against adversity in the name of the law. Western movies like these two have forever left a memorable and lasting impressions in the memory of every viewer, with its gunfighters, action filled saloons and sardonic showdowns all in the name of masculinity, revenge and unlawful aggressive behavior. Featuring some of the most famous backdrops in the world ranging from the rustic Red Rock Mountains of Monument Valley in Utah, to the jagged snow capped Mountain tops of the Teton Range in Wyoming, gun-slinging cowboys out in search of mischief and most often at their own misfortune traveled far and wide, seeking one dangerous encounter after another, and unfortunately, ending in their own demise.
The Jungle and The Great Gatsby were books envisioning the two sides of the American dream. The Jungle showed the poverty-stricken world created by the initial boom of the industrial revolution and the struggle just to make ends meet in the early 1900s. This poverty seems to be emphasized in the reading of The Great Gatsby detailing the unheard of riches held by some in the 1920s. But these two nearly polar opposites show the struggle and hollowness of truly reaching the American dream. In neither of the books are the primary characters able to reach this dream in the same way that the world has told them that they would be able to. Each character
I feel that Huckleberry Finn in a way is similar to Red Badge of Courage and not in a bad way. In this story, I find it similar because most of the focus is on Huck and in Red Badge of Courage we follow the youth for the entire novel. However, we see a change when the youth doesn't really change much and his character development stays generally flat and even the whole way through. But in Huckleberry Finn it's different we see Huck's character change unlike the youth's. Most of us toward the end or even the beginning of the novel we were itching to get out of the youth's head but in this book, I enjoy following the changes in Huck. For example, in the first few chapters, we see a rowdy kid but through living with the widow we see a change.