THE CANNONBALL RUN Blu-ray Review

Normally, this isn't the kind of thing we review here, but I posted the announcement a couple of months ago, and after having watched this film on Blu-ray, I have to put my two cents in. The Cannonball Run is awesome. This update of It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World crossed with The Gumball Rally is hilarious, thanks in no small part to an outstanding ensemble cast.  HBO Home Entertainment have delivered a quality Blu-ray release here, with significant improvements in detail and color over the DVD.  There is only one extra, but the whole film is such comedic overload, that it doesn't really bother me that much. Get this one!

The Cannonball Run brings Burt Reynolds, Roger Moore, Farrah Fawcett, Dom DeLuise, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and an all-star cast to the starting line of the ultimate auto race, a mad-cap cross-country scramble that roars full-speed ahead. Hal Needham (Smokey and the Bandit, Hooper) is at the helm of this wild action-comedy inspired by an actual event: The Cannonball Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash - an anything-goes (and thoroughly illegal) competition that has grown to legendary proportions.

The Cannonball Run is one of the greatest car chase movies ever made, directed by one of the greatest stuntmen of all time, Hal Needham. Needham's previous directorial efforts included Smokey & the Bandit and Hooper, so the guy knew what he was doing behind the camera.  bringing the insane car stunts into a balls out comedy with an unbelievable cast was a stroke of genius. The Cannonball Run was produced by Raymond Chow and Golden Harvest Studios, and presented the US with their second look at Jackie Chan (after The Big Brawl).

The chemistry among the various teams of racers is so explosive, that the film could almost have run completely unscripted and been a success.  In particular, the teaming of 70's sex symbol and mustache aficionado Burt Reynolds with Dom DeLuise is just mind-blowing.  Their journey across the country in a souped up ambulance after having kidnapped Farah Fawcett to act as a patient to complete their disguise. Also appearing completely comfortable in their own skins is the team of Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr., dressed as priests while speeding around in a Ferrari. Both of these pairs are delightfully vulgar, and insanely funny.

The other racers are no slouches either.  Jamie Farr as the sheikh, Adrienne Barbeau and Tara Buckman using a Lamboghini and a lot of cleavage as their weapons, the double-barreled hillbilly shotgun of Terry Bradshaw and Mel Tillis,  and my own personal favorite, Roger Moore.  Moore's character is names Seymour Goldfarb, Jr., and is obsessed with being Roger Moore, it is the kind of reflexive humor that might seem self-indulgent if anyone else were doing it, but Moore is spot on and ready to lampoon himself at every turn.

This film is amazing, and if you haven't seen it or think you're above it, think again.  Oh, and don't forget to watch through the credits, there's gold to be found!

The Disc:

HBO Home Ent's The Cannonball Run Blu-ray starts off a little bit rough.  The opening credits sequence displays a huge amount of ugly grain, the kind of thing that is unfortunately typical of '80's film stock, however, as soon as that sequence is over, the picture improves dramatically.  There is a huge increase in detail and clarity, and the colors are just incredible. I didn't expect much from this disc, but the improvement was amazing.  The audio is sufficient, though not as much of a bump as the video.  The only extra is an audio commentary with Hal Needham and Albert S Ruddy.  The commentary is solid and Needham shares a lot of on set anecdotes about the film and personal anecdotes about running the actual Cannonball race.

I cannot recommend this highly enough!  It isn't particularly cerebral, but who cares?  It is a shit load of fun!