The Cannonball Run

I love this film. I first saw it as a kid and I'm familiar with most of the cast, so that'll at least partly explain my attraction to it. Highlights here for me... - Intro with Lamborghini police chase in desert. - Real camels in desert intro scene with the sheik. - Any scene with Roger Moore, Jackie Chan, or Jamie Farr, with their corresponding theme music. - Jackie Chan's 1st intro to mainstream America, not including his earlier Big Brawl. - A great cast of stars & neat cars, including a red Ferrari, a silver Aston Martin, and a white Rolls Royce. Kids today may actually recognize Jackie Chan & Terry Bradshaw before they recognize anybody else. Roger Moore playing Seymour Goldfarb, Jr., a guy who thinks he's Roger Moore, is fantastic to me. He along with his gadget-filled Aston Martin & near James Bond music is almost single-handedly the reason I prefer this 1st film to the sequel. In this 1st movie we also see a lot of the great Lamborghini, whereas in the sequel, the Lamborghini is ditched near the beginning due to a breakdown. I actually appreciate the humor in this. Jamie Farr as the sheik here is impressively politically incorrect, as is much of the film, but in a mainly tame way. I re-watch this a lot, with my favorite sections being the beginning to Bert Convy riding a motorcycle out of an airplane over Arizona, and then from when Jackie first enters the desert to the end of the film. These beginning & end sequences simply have the most replay value for me. In the audio commentary, the directer & producer incorrectly state that this is Jackie Chan's 1st American film. The producer later clarifies this, saying it's Jackie's 1st exposure to a broad, American audience. This is mainly true. Jackie's 1st American film was actually the Big Brawl, which was released a year earlier, in 1980. Because Cannonball Run was a huge hit, and the Big Brawl was a huge flop, it's logical that Jackie's 1st widespread introduction to America would be considered Cannonball Run. It actually was my introduction to Jackie Chan, although I didn't become fanatical about him & his movies until I rediscovered him in the mid-90's. - Product tie-ins... many brand-names are mentioned or seen here. A partial list: 7-11; Budweiser; Camel; Coca-Cola; Dr. Pepper; GMC Trucks; Goodyear; Hawaiian Tropic & the Hawaiian Tropic Girls; and NASCAR; not to mention the various main auto makers. Some people like this product placement- I think it adds a nice element. P.S. My disc is white, but newer discs may look completely different.

Can't stream this anywhere and with movie rights being bought and transferred, you never know if you will own it "forever". Now I own this classic!. Enjoyed it as an 80s kid, now even more as a middle aged adult. Everything about it, including all the actors, celebrities, and athletes were steeped in 70s and 80s culture....let's not forget, no crappy long ads with this version! Price was under 5 bucks. Delivery perfect. Played just as expected in my dvd player.

Great family show.

Funny movie!

You know, I only saw a piece of this a long time ago. Really didn’t get into it back then. But revisiting it now, it was pretty cool and quirky for a 1981 flick. Looks like the stacked cast was having some fun making it. I’m glad I bought it.

a classic. Glad to have it in the collection.

I love this movie. Recently, someone posted that Pablo Pascal and Jack Black should be cast in a remake so I had to watch it again. I could not find it anywhere to stream so I got the blue-ray and I am very happy that it is now in my collection. This movie was obviously a blast for them to make. It looked like everyone just had a great time on this one and it shows in the performances. Watch the outtakes during the end credits.

Perfect 80's allstar fun adult antics laugh and smile the whole time movie. Released June 1981.