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starring: Val Avery, Bernie Casey, Charles Durning, John Fiedler, Vittorio Gassman
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786300271845
Format: Color, NTSC
ISBN: 6300271846
Label: Warner Home Video
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Warner Home Video
Release Date: April 27, 1994
Running Time: 122 minutes
Sales Rank: 32648
Studio: Warner Home Video
Theatrical Release Date: December 18, 1981
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Editorial Review:
Amazon.com:
Burt Reynolds was getting restless with the good ol' boy screen image he cultivated in Smokey & the Bandit and numerous car-chase flicks of the mid-to-late 1970s, and this brutal 1981 thriller presented the actor with an interesting change of pace. Reynolds directed the film as well, and there was a lot at stake for him both personally and professionally, so Sharky's Machine--based on a gutsy novel by William Diehl--has an urgent, no-nonsense quality that lifts it above most comparably sleazy thrillers. The plot may be sordid, but Reynolds's handling of it is not. This adds another element of freshness to the story of a demoted Atlanta vice cop (Reynolds) who pursues a personal vendetta against a crime boss (Vittorio Gassman) after falling in love with a stunning beauty (Rachel Ward) from the mobster's stable of high-priced prostitutes. The climactic shootout is violent and bloody in keeping with movies of the period (when jarring brutality was beginning to be commonplace in Hollywood films), but Reynolds doesn't go overboard. Sharky's Machine doesn't pretend to be anything more (or less) than a tough-as-nails crime movie, and it's one of Reynolds's most unusual and intelligent films. --Jeff Shannon
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - big disappointment
I bought this movie based on a couple of the reviews I read on Amazon. Well, there's no accounting for taste, but in my opinion this movie stinks. I found almost nothing redeeming about this, it's a lobotomized version of the original 'Dirty Harry'. The plot is a remake of the classic 'Laura'. There's no need or point in even expending the effort to enumerate the weaknesses of the film...it's bad (unless you like gratuitous scenes of girls jumping around in spandex body suits).
Rating:  - Visit back to the 70's
SHARKY'S MACHINE (1981) definitely has that 70's feel to it, for various reasons,
such as the technology used at the office by detectives, the large automobiles,
the immense run down sections of the inner city, with abandoned buildings from the
recession, etc. There is still the typical make up of America at that time, such as the
Caucasian, the Black and Asian, that's all, and simple. The Asian are still portrayed as
masters in the martial arts.
Another ... Read More
Rating: - Good saturday nighter, poor DVD
Burt Reynolds' riposte to Clint Eastwood encroaching on his redneck comedy turf with his orangutan comedies was to make his own Dirty Harry in Chicago-style thriller, Sharky's Machine. Originally intended for John Boorman but in the end directed by the star himself, it's an out-and-out commercial package with Reynolds a narc who gets busted down to the Vice Squad (literally - they're in the basement) who sets out to nail a mysterious crime lord who is backing Earl Holliman as the next governor. You ... Read More
Rating:  - Nobody leans on Sharky's Machine
I've seen my fair share of Burt Reynolds movies to date and several of them stay with me but none like `Sharky's Machine'. I can't help but think this is one of the best down and dirty, slick, and hard hitting crime thrillers I have ever watched. There are plenty of reviews outlining the plot so I'm going to shy away from that and just review elements of the movie itself.
As far as a plot goes, it starts out strong and exciting and carries through until the decisive end. There are quite ... Read More
Rating: - A True "Guy" flick
An entertaining and believable story about a tough-as-nails cop and his buddies. Its the perfect diverion to fill that spot between the winning field goal and dinner or between a night out with the guys and sack time.
The Atlanta setting give it a unique feel and several excellent pieces of eye-candy keep things interesting when things slow down a bit!
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