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Cannonball Run By Kathleen C. Fennesy
Like The Gumball Rally (1976) before it, former stuntman Hal
Needham's The Cannonball Run was inspired by the same real-life
cross-country road race. If The Gumball Rally was the critical
favorite, The Cannonball Run was the box-office favorite (spawning
the almost-as-successful sequel, Cannonball Run II, a few years
later). Aside from top-billed stars Burt Reynolds and Dom DeLuise (stars
of Needham's Smokey and the Bandit series) plus Dean Martin and
Sammy Davis Jr. (as horny priests), the movie features many of the same
actors (Bert Convy, Jamie Farr) that could be found on a typical '80s
episode of The Love Boat (along with the same caliber of writing).
But as the tagline notes, "You'll never guess who wins"--and
it's true. As in most road-race movies, it's the journey that counts, not
the destination. This particular journey includes cool cars (like Adrienne
Barbeau's black Lamborghini), crazed bikers (led by Peter "Easy
Rider" Fonda), hot martial arts action (from Jackie Chan as a
Japanese racecar driver), a conspicuously braless Farrah Fawcett
(recipient of a Golden Raspberry nomination for her performance), and
possibly the most egregious use of product placement featured in a movie
up until that time (one vehicle has "GMC Trucks" noted
prominently along the top of the windshield, another has "Hawaiian
Tropic" painted on the hood). As with many of the films Jackie Chan
has made for Golden Harvest, the Hong Kong-based production company behind
The Cannonball Run, wacky outtakes are included during the closing
credits.
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Share Your Memories!Is Cannonball Run one of your favorite movies? What do you remember about it? Share your stories (or your reviews) with the world! (We print the best stories right here!)
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Your Memories Shared! |
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"This has to be one of my all time favorite movies, period. The scene where Dom reaches out and tenderly "tweeks" the cops finger is a classic. Besides having an all star cast of people, it also has an all star cast of cars, including my favorite, the Lamborghini Countach. Of all the characters tho, my favorite is Captian Chaos. If you haven't seen this movie, do your self a favor and watch it. The sequel can be missed as far as I am concerned, but the origional is a classic." --amato34 |
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FILM
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|  | Director: Hal Needham
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| | Stars: Burt Reynolds, Roger Moore, Farrah Fawcett, Dom De Luise, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Jamie Farr, Jimmy 'The Greek' Snyder, Jackie Chan, Bert Convy, Peter Fonda, Molly Picon, Terry Bradshaw, Mel Tillis, Bianca Jagger
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| | Released: June 19, 1981
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| | Availability: DVD VHS | | |
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