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The Sugarland Express (1974)
Runtime: 1 hr 49 mins
Synopsis: Shot in 1974, THE SUGARLAND EXPRESS was made by Steven Spielberg just one year before he rose to international fame with JAWS. Following in the footsteps of Terrence Malick's 1973 tale of lovers on the run, BADLANDS, Spielberg's film centers on the exploits of Lou Jean (Goldie Hawn) and Clovis... Shot in 1974, THE SUGARLAND EXPRESS was made by Steven Spielberg just one year before he rose to international fame with JAWS. Following in the footsteps of Terrence Malick's 1973 tale of lovers on the run, BADLANDS, Spielberg's film centers on the exploits of Lou Jean (Goldie Hawn) and Clovis Poplin (William Atherton). After Clovis escapes from prison, the two head off in pursuit of their child, whom they have been forced to give up to an adoption agency. Mayhem breaks out at they take a state trooper hostage along the way, with Spielberg neatly guiding the movie to a turbulent, yet satisfying conclusion. Only 28 years old at the time of shooting, Spielberg had directed plenty of TV movies prior to THE SUGARLAND EXPRESS, but this was the feature film that kick-started his glittering career. [More]
Genre: Dramas
Starring: Goldie Hawn, Ben Johnson, William Atherton, Michael Sacks, Gregory Walcott
Composer: John Williams
Producer: Richard D. Zanuck, David Brown
Story: Steven Spielberg
DVD Info
Release:
Aug 17, 2004
DVD Features:
- Region 1
- Keep Case
- Widescreen - 16.9
Audio:
- Dolby Digital 2.0 - English
Reviews
Reflecting the zeitgeist of mid-1970s America, this early Spieleberg picture is still one of his strongest, dealing with alienation, anarchy, and lack of control; Goldie Hawn gives an uncharacteristicaly forceful dramatic performance.
One of the most purely fun and slyly political films Spielberg has ever made. One of Hawn's best performances.
[W]ould be mostly forgotten melodrama if it hadn’t been directed by a kid named Steven Spielberg...
If the movie finally doesn't succeed, that's because Spielberg has paid too much attention to all those police cars (and all the crashes they get into), and not enough to the personalities of his characters.
There's no question that this is a director with a God-given talent.
Features real attention to the sort of character dynamics that would serve subsequent [Spielberg] titles.
a fine example of the fugitives-on-the-run genre, holding its own alongside Thelma and Louise, Bandits, The Defiant Ones, and to a lesser extent Badlands and Bonnie and Clyde
With this first theatrical feature, Steven Spielberg proved he had the right stuff to become America's purest and most accomplished film entertainer.
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