Sharky’s Machine (1981) Orion/Action-Drama RT: 122 minutes Rated R (strong bloody violence, language, sexual content, drug use, thematic elements) Director: Burt Reynolds Screenplay: Gerald Di Pego Music: Snuff Garrett (supervisor) Cinematography: William A. Fraker Release date: December 18, 1981 (US) Cast: Burt Reynolds, Vittorio Gassman, Brian Keith, Charles Durning, Earl Holliman, Bernie Casey, Henry Silva, Darryl Hickman, Richard Libertini, Rachel Ward, Joseph Mascolo, John Fiedler, James O’Connell, Val Avery, Suzee Pai, Aarika Wells, Hari Rhodes, Carol Locatell, Tony King. Box Office: $35.6 million (US)
Rating: ****
When I first started Movie Guy 24/7 about ten years ago, the first movie I reviewed was Sharky’s Machine, my all-time favorite cop movie. I wrote it completely from memory. Having seen it multiple times over the years, it wasn’t all that difficult. I’m not bragging; I’m merely laying out the scene for you. Recently, I’ve been combing through my archives for unpublished reviews (there are A LOT of them!) and ones that need to be revised and/or rewritten. My write-up of the 1981 action-drama can generously be described as half-assed. You see, I included it as part of my intro article to the on-line populace. Obviously, a movie this outstanding deserves better. I give you now Sharky’s Machine, take two.
Burt Reynolds, who also directs this adaptation of William Diehl’s novel, stars as Sgt. Tom Sharky of the Atlanta PD narcotics squad. He gets busted down to vice after a drug bust goes disastrously wrong. No self-respecting cop wants to work vice. It’s a toilet down there with all the pimps, prostitutes and perverts they bust. Sharky lucks out when they accidentally uncover a high-class prostitution ring run by local crime kingpin Victor (Gassman, the original Scent of a Woman). One name on the list catches their attention, a $1000-a-night escort named Dominoe (Ward, Against All Odds). When the department won’t allow them to tap her phone (she’s protected by somebody higher up), they take matters into their own hands.
Sharky and his new “machine”- veteran Papa (Keith, The Wind and the Lion), tough street cop Arch (Casey, Cleopatra Jones) and electronics expert Nosh (Libertini, The In-Laws)- set up a round the clock surveillance operation on her. He becomes infatuated with Dominoe while watching her every move, eventually developing feelings for her. It turns out she’s the mistress of gubernatorial candidate Donald Hotchkins (Holliman, Police Woman), a favorite to win the upcoming election. She sees a chance at a new life and tells Victor she wants out for good. He retaliates by sending his drug-crazed brother Billy Score (Silva, The Manchurian Candidate) to kill her.
Now for the twist, one you’ll see coming if you’ve seen the 1944 noir classic Laura. Dominoe is NOT dead. Billy killed the wrong person. It falls on Sharky to protect her as he tries to uncover the truth about a case he’s clearly not meant to solve.
Reynolds himself referred to Sharky’s Machine as “Dirty Harry Goes to Atlanta”, and while this is true in a general sense, I don’t think it’s an entirely accurate or fair description. It’s more than a routine cops-and-bad guys shoot ‘em up. While it has plenty of fast, explosive action and tough guy dialogue, it takes the time to establish its characters and their motives. It tells an intelligent, suspenseful story populated by interesting characters. Even the archetypical ill-tempered division captain Friscoe (Durning, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas) takes on fresh life with Reynolds’ deft handling of the material. He incorporates elements of noir with the obvious allusions to Laura. At the same time, he orchestrates some of the finest action sequences this side of Peckinpah. The opening chase through the busy streets of Atlanta is a real tour de force. The jazzy score by Doc Severinsen is a nice touch. Reynolds personally selected the songs used in the movie. It’s one of my favorite soundtracks. Opening with a revised version of “Street Life” by Randy Crawford is the perfect way to start things off. It sets exactly the right tone.
Sharky’s Machine was a welcome change of pace for Reynolds the actor whose name had become synonymous with good ol’ boy comedies like Smokey and the Bandit, Hooper and The Cannonball Run by ’81. It was time to remind audiences he was a fine dramatic actor too. While he occasionally lapses into Burt mode, he’s completely believable as a tough city cop out to bust some very bad guys. Writer Gerald Di Pego gives him great tough guy lines like this: (to Victor) “It feels like you’re a lump of s— lying in the bottom of a commode and I’ve got my hand on the chain just waiting to pull it.” It’s a little corny, but it works.
The supporting cast is equally terrific. Ward, in her first role in a major film (she made her big screen debut in the slasher movie Night School the previous summer), is AMAZING! She has a Lauren Bacall quality to her with her alluring demeanor and husky voice. She’s also quite gorgeous. I only knew Brian Keith from reruns of the sappy 60s sitcom Family Affair the first time I saw Sharky’s Machine (to be fair, I was 14). Afterwards, he was one of my favorite actors. I also became a fan of blaxploitation vet Bernie Casey that day. Italian actor Gassman oozes sleaze from every pore as Victor, a slimeball who’s been sexually involved with Ward’s character since she was a child. Silva is scary great as an unstable hitman with two settings, dead-eyed zombie and screaming maniac.
Frame for frame, I’d have to say Sharky’s Machine is a perfect film. It predates what would become standard as the decade wore on, the cop as a super-human one man army-type action hero. It stays within the realm of believability even when its characters stray into unbelievable scenarios. The Asian kung fu killers are a bit of a cliché, but it’s no matter. Reynolds pulls it all together nicely to form what I think is one of the greatest cop movies ever made.
P.S. If anybody remembers my first attempt at reviewing this movie, I apologize profusely. I hope this makes up for it.
