Starring: Burt Reynolds, Jan-Michael Vincent, Sally Field, Brian Keith, John Marley Directed By: Hal Needham Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) Binding: DVD Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC Label: Warner Home Video Number of Items: 1 Picture Format: Pan & Scan Region Code: 1 Release Date: November 10, 1998 Running Time: 99 minutes Theatrical Release Date: July 28, 1978
Product Description: When it comes to life-threatening exploits they don't get any better than those of professional stuntman Sonny Hooper - until now. Although Sonny's body is feeling the effects of his very long and successful career the appearance of a charismatic rival on the scene causes him to attempt the most spectacular and dangerous stunt of his career.Running Time: 92 min.System Requirements:Starring: Burt Reynolds Jan-Michael Vincent Sally Field Brian Keith John Marley Robert Klein Running Time: 99 minutes Genre: ComedyFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: PG UPC: 085391688129
Amazon.com: The clarity of hindsight has turned Burt Reynolds's heyday in the 1970s into a time capsule of good ol' boy lunacy, and his movies remain as vital to that decade as disco and Watergate. Hooper represents the tail end of Reynolds's popularity, the last gasp before Reynolds moved on to forgettable romantic comedies and the sheer desperation of Smokey and the Bandit II and The Cannonball Run. Like those films it's harmless fun, and Hooper--conceived as a tribute to veteran stuntman Buddy Joe Hooker--benefits from the fact that both Reynolds and director Hal Needham were former stuntmen. The movie features three generations of stuntmen played by Brian Keith, Reynolds, and Jan-Michael Vincent, the last as a cocky young stunt-star who urges Reynolds to perform his greatest stunt ever: leaping a rocket-powered car over a wide gorge (a stunt inspired by the real-life exploits of daredevil Evel Knievel). What's fun about no-brainers like Hooper is that Reynolds's brand of macho mischief never really goes out of style. It's dated, but it's always going to find an appreciative audience. --Jeff Shannon
Reynolds at his gum-smacking, wise-cracking, laugh-cackling best! Burt Reynolds was bigger than big in the late 1970s and this 1978 Action-Comedy, coming off the success of Smokey & the Bandit the previous year, put Reynolds in the stratosphere after additional 70s hits like: Deliverance, The Longest Yard, Gator & Semi-Tough.
Reynolds plays Sonny Hooper, an aging, but not yet over-the-hill Hollywood stunt man being faced with the challenges of young, upstart Ski Chinski, played by Jan-Michael Vincent. The two play off one another and learn to "play together" and make nice while making life difficult for arrogant movie-director Roger Deal (a brilliantly obnoxious Robert Klein) to perform the worlds biggest car jump... ever!
This is probably Reynolds best role-- better than Bandit-- and Reynolds at his gum-smacking, wise-cracking, laugh-cackling best! Hooper is loaded with famous faces-- Sally Field, Brian Keith, then NFL Quarterback/now Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw, James Best & Adam West.
In addition to a story that still holds together almost 30 years later, are the wild & crazy stunts that precede the movies fantastic final finish.
Reynolds + Vincent = cinematic masterpiece Do you like hijinks, romance, stunts, shenanigans, kooky music and sound effects? Well i dont know about you, but i certainly do. burt reynolds and jean michael vincent star in this cinematic masterpiece. i would honestly have given this movie ocho out 5 stars...the extra three for...awesomeness. however, i am opposed to the excessive drinking and pill popping that occurs in several scenes. neverhteless, it is a good natured family film that even the most novice of film goers will like.
Raises Important Issues While on the surface, this movie may appear to be just another comedy, it raises important issues. Burt Reynolds plays stuntman Sonny Hooper. He is amongst the best in his field, but he is also at the point where age is starting to flash the caution light. Moving on, Reynolds is exposed to the younger stuntman Ski. He naturally feels somewhat threatened. (Nice reality issue. We may occupy the spotlight for awhile, but are we going to listen to the caution light of age when it flashes, and moreso, will we feel resentful when a younger person comes into the picture?) Moving forward, the comedy does continue for awhile, but in the spirit of good writing, serious issues gradually come into play. Trying to prove himself still capable, Burt Reynolds does a a stunt and jumps too high from a helicopter. Soon afterwards, his doctor warns him that all it may take now is a bad hit in the right place and Reynolds could be paralyzed for life. While Burt really doesn't want to hear it, somehow the caution of his doctor does stick in the back of our mind. Reality continues to break the comedy when Sally Fields's father gets a stroke, and Reynolds realizes that none of us are immortal. The most important issue this movie raises is the hypocrisy behind movie making. A not so nice director wants Reynolds to do a stunt that is beyond risky. This is especially scary if we realize that the reason Shakespeare's plays are here to tell the tale 500 years later is because the words and the actors were powerful enough to tell the story. More often than not, action movies are here today and gone tomorrow. The real crux of this movie is that Hollywood doesn't know where to draw the line where stunts are concerned. Furthermore, even when confronted with the issue, they don't seem to understand that: "No film is worth a man's life." Burt's finest moment is perhaps when certain powers feel the younger stuntman Ski can do the absurdly dangerous stunt, and Burt has to explain that they don't understand the stunt they are asking for, and that two people are required to do it. For the record, Harrison Ford was seriously injured in "Temple of Doom" when he threw someone off his back. So while "Hooper" starts easy going and offers generous amounts of comedy, it gradually gets more serious and raises issues that are worth thinking about. Most of us probably already know James Best as Sheriff Roscoe on "Dukes of Hazzard." But in this movie he shows another side of himself as Burt Reynolds's friend, and the voice of caution. Burt Reynolds will probably be most remembered as the Bandit, but this movie "Hooper" is really worth looking at. (SIDE NOTE: Burt Reynolds also deserves thanks for helping the type cast Adam West get a small role in this film.)
Memories The Amazon intro for "Hooper" states that 'the Burt Reynolds macho-comedies were vital to the same decade that had Watergate and disco.' Wow. And I thought they were supposed to be supportive of the film.
Reynolds remains a nystery, apparently able to do excellent work when he's willing (Deliverance; Sharkey's Machine) and like a James Patterson novel in Patterson's second decade, just mail it in the rest of the time.
Hooper is the first movie I took my son to when he was 5 or 6. He's now an airline pilot but that movie remained a point of comedic reference for us then and now.
Sally Fields (how did she get into those shorts?), Brian Keith (Dad again) round out the cast of the (not) plot driven aging gunfighter and the new kid. No, that's not it. It's the old QBack and the new rookie . . . no. Oh yeah, it's the crafty veteran stuntman and the new stupid but also senseless one on the rise, ably played by Jan Michael Vincent. Mr. Vincent who actually acted in a couple of movies, The Mechanic being one but was never briefed on the things that really irritate the fanbase so much they stop seeing your movies and opt for Roseanne Barr reruns, to wit: don't do a lot of drugs and beat girls up in public. Bad form.
Funny movie. Not very. The beginning and the end of the thespian skills of my favorite QBack, Terry Bradshaw, who actually sported a better toupee than Mr.Reynolds. I gave it 4 stars because it was a great night with my son. Larry Scantlebury
What kind of convention? A convention of a-holes? Great flick! I don't have much to say that hasn't been already (I loved the "one man Rat Pack" line!). This film is like a party; everyone seems to be in on some kind of joke (they're all obviously friends, part of the Reynolds/Needham gang). On top of that, they appear to be mildly drunk much of the time!
I too would love to see a special edition of this flick. There used to be a TV version that had a ton of extra footage, so I know it's out there someplace.
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