Cheap The Sugarland Express (Video) (Goldie Hawn) (Steven Spielberg) Price

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Customer Reviews of The Sugarland Express

On The Road To SUGARLAND
It was thirty years ago this very month that Steven Spielberg made his official big-screen directing debut (his 1971 film DUEL being an excellent made-for-TV offering) with THE SUGARLAND EXPRESS. Even at this early stage in his career, Spielberg's directoral instincts were extremely sharp, and his concentration on the characters is masterful. It's amazing how people sell Spielberg short in this area simply because so many of his films seem to be all about special effects and gee-whiz heroics.

Loosely based on events that occurred in Texas in the spring of 1969, the film stars Goldie Hawn as an ex-con mother who springs her reluctant husband (William Atherton) from a prison farm so they can get their infant son back from a foster family that has refused to return custody to Hawn. But when they hijack a Texas state trooper (Michael Sachs) and force him to driver them to the town of Sugarland, they attract far more attention than they bargained for: mass media, hundreds of onlookers, and nearly half of the total number of law enforcement officers in Texas. Veteran character actor Ben Johnson is the lead lawman in this relatively slow-speed chase, occasionally punctuated by redneck sniper gunfire, who sympathizes with Hawn's and Atherton's plight but who also must still perform his duties. It all comes to a climax at Sugarland with a jarring result.

Although made for relatively little money (just three million, as opposed to the tens of millions Spielberg would spend on his films in ensuing decades), THE SUGARLAND EXPRESS was still only a modest box office hit. Part of that could be attributed to audiences' expectations of seeing Hawn in a frothy comedy following her turn on TV's "Laugh-In" and instead getting a real live actress with intensity. And part of it could also be attributed to the fact that this film's ending isn't exactly sweetness and light. Still, Hawn's performance here is arguably the best she ever gave on the big screen, and Atherton and Sachs do good turns. Equally reliable is Johnson, remembered for his Oscar-winning turn in Peter Bogdanovich's 1971 classic THE LAST PICTURE SHOW, but also as a familiar presence in the westerns of John Ford and Sam Peckinpah.

Filmed completely on location in Texas, THE SUGARLAND EXPRESS features great cinematography by Vilmos Zsigmond, taut editing from Verna Fields, and an excellent Americana score by John Williams (his first for Spielberg). It is a film that can be enjoyed many times over, as is the case for almost everything Spielberg has ever done.

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I Liked This Movie!
I remember first seeing The Sugarland Express in a movie theater on Long Island New York with my family when I was around 8 1/2 years old, and really liking this movie and I thought Goldie Hawn ( Foul Play) and William Atherton (Ghostbusters, and Bio-Dome) were really good and I was totally impressed with all of the action and adventure with those thrilling police car chases and there was one police chase that was so thrilling and amazing it had me on the edge of my seat I'm sure this movie is probably a little dated in the year 2003 but It would be interesting to watch it again especially to see those amazing chases! If I remember correctly I think I remember hearing on TV that parts of this movie were based on a true story and I think this was the first movie that Steven Spielberg ever directed.

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Might be worth a look.
Steven Spielberg;s first movie was done on a moderate budget but it shows his then growing ability as a film maker to cast and work with the best actors for the roles. Produced by Richard D. Zanuck and David Brown, First movie where the music was scored by John Williams, great camera work by Vilmos Zsigmond, and edited by Verna Fields.