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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 9786305133438
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC
ISBN: 6305133433
Label: Warner Home Video
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
Number Of Items: 1
Picture Format: Pan & Scan
Publisher: Warner Home Video
Region Code: 1
Release Date: October 20, 1998
Running Time: 122 minutes
Sales Rank: 28194
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 typical 70's element of the picture, is simply the mature relationships
seen between women and men, light years from the juvenile deliquency seen all too
often over the past 20 years in the movies. Another 70's element brought up that
the story touches upon, is the cocaine dependency of the bad guy, (in addition to
other pills), as well as hostage taking, car jackings, the bringing up of
unfortunate perv fascinations by bit shot politicians, who the population
is jaded and cynical about, obviously, and how they need to cover their tracks once
they're in the public eye.
A remarkable aspect is the number of regular, close quarters, pistol shooting
confrontations, between the detectives and the gangsters.
A lot of the work is TV-style, as it's not widescreen, and lacks subtitles.
The positive aspects, in addition to the mature and soft spoken acting, are the musical
numbers chose, such as female crooner numbers, ... 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 Atlanta-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 can guess the rest, but while Reynolds tends to lose sight of the story at times he has a good eye for individual scenes and almost gets a performance out of Rachel Ward as the high-class hooker he falls for. The romantic subplot is unusually well developed (particularly the My Funny Valentine montage), the often naturalistic repartee with his `machine' (including Richard Libertini, Brian Keith, Bernie Casey and Charles Durning) engaging, there are a couple of good action scenes and some nice touches, such as having Vittorio Gassman's lookalike villain a mirror image of the hero or Reynolds and a killer both staking out a witness from adjacent apartments in the same building. One of the star's better films from his glory days, it's no classic but it makes for a more than efficient Saturday night special.
Sadly, Warners' Region 1 NTSC DVD is a disappointing fullframe transfer.
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 a few dark events and violent scenes and there is no shying away from an in-your-face searing experience that makes you appreciate good directing and a solid story. Mixing different elements in but not really detracting from the movie is some romance and intrigue coupled with some tragedy and even a little clever humor in certain spots. When it comes to acting, the talent was stacked here and these actors did a fine job all the way through. There is just no going wrong with names like Brian Keith, Bernie Casey, Henry Silva, Charles Durning, Vitoria Gassman, Richard Libertini, and Rachel Ward. The action scenes were choreographed well and the stunt work was great. In fact, stuntman Dar Robinson made, at the time of this movie being filmed, a record breaking highest backward, blind freefall from a structure. This is when Henry Silva's character, the assassin, is shot by Burt Reynolds in the Peachtree Tower high rise and he falls out the window and onto the roof of the lower adjacent building (at the end ... 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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