BURT REYNOLDS Tribute This Weekend at The Skyview Drive-In – SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT and THE LONGEST YARD

Burt is gone, but his movies live on! This weekend, the Skyview Drive-In in downtown Belleville, IL (5700 N Belt W, Belleville, IL 62226), will pay tribute to the late superstar Burt Reynolds with a double feature of two of his best films!

At 8pm is SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT

Ever wonder what the second highest grossing film of 1977 was, after STAR WARS?Redneck bad boys were all the rage in ’77. Cars were still made in Michigan and CB radios were the hot technology with phrases like “10-4 good buddy” familiar expressions and SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT captured that side of American culture as well as any film.The plot of SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT was merely an excuse for the many car chases and gags that comprised the thin story, which is about Bandit (Burt Reynolds) and his buddy Cledus (aka: “Snowman” – Jerry Reed) attempting to win a bet. They have to drive from Georgia to Arkansas, pick up four hundred cases of Coors beer, (an early example of product placement) and deliver it back in Georgia within twenty-eight hours. Along the way they pick up escaped bride Carrie (Sally Field) and get chased by the jilted groom’s father, a Texas sheriff; one Buford T. Justice, hilariously played by the great Jackie Gleason.It was the directorial debut for former stuntman Hal Needham and was the first of nine collaborations with his pal Burt Reynolds. Sally Field was Burt’s squeeze at the time and looked super-cute with her skin-tight jeans and no bra.  Jackie Gleason tossed off great one-linerslike the comedy legend that he was and former Tarzan Mike Henry was perfect as his doofus son. Jerry Reed contributed to the top-selling soundtrack and would co-star with Burt in six films. Like STAR WARS, there were two sequels, but they weren’t very good and Burt made but a cameo in the third film. Buford T. Justice was the name of a real Florida Highway Patrolman known to Burt’s father, who was at one time the Chief of Police in Jupiter, Florida.

The at 9:45 it’s THE LONGEST YARD

Hollywood veteran director Robert Aldrich (DIRTY DOZEN, HUSTLE) gave Reynolds one of his biggest hits – and best roles – in this seriocomic tale of prison life and football.  On the surface, the character of Paul Crewe is fairly despicable – he is a smartass, a drunk, and a violent malcontent not above mistreating women. But Reynolds not only makes us like Crewe, he makes us actually root for him to find redemption. With Eddie Albert and Ed Lauter as the villains, and wonderful character performances from Richard Kiel, Michael Conrad, Bernadette Peters, and many others, YARD doesn’t gloss over its portrayal of prison society. The hard life often explodes in violence, racial tensions abound, and then there’s the warden’s secretary. Aldrich, himself a gridiron fan, smartly peppered the film with many real-life ex-NFL players, such as Joe Kapp (Vikings) and Ray Nitschke (Packers). This gives the film, along with Reynolds’ natural athleticism (he played for Florida State), a tone of realism lacking in many sports- based tales.The climactic football game takes up nearly half the movie’s running time, and it is certainly one of the most brutal and exciting events – in any sport – ever put on film.  Coming on the heels of DELIVERANCE, this movie solidified Reynolds’ box office appeal. With his winning mixture of bravado and self-deprecating humor (we get a lot of the trademark laugh), Reynolds helped make THE LONGEST YARD one of the greatest sports movies ever made.

The Skyview’s site can be found HERE

http://skyview-drive-in.com/