{"id":42996,"date":"2019-03-06T12:32:34","date_gmt":"2019-03-06T19:32:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=42996"},"modified":"2024-06-30T12:28:36","modified_gmt":"2024-06-30T19:28:36","slug":"sugarland-express-the-1974","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=42996","title":{"rendered":"Sugarland Express, The (1974)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;No more runnin&#8217; off, no more speedin&#8217;, and no more guns. Now what do you say to that?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sugarland-Express-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sugarland-Express-Poster-196x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"196\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-43001\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sugarland-Express-Poster-196x300.jpg 196w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sugarland-Express-Poster-84x128.jpg 84w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sugarland-Express-Poster.jpg 494w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 196px) 100vw, 196px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA mother (Goldie Hawn) recently released from prison convinces her about-to-be-released husband (William Atherton) to go on the lam and retrieve their young son from his foster parents. During their escape, they take a patrol officer (Michael Sachs) hostage, and soon develop an uneasy friendship &#8212; but will the captain (Ben Johnson) in charge of the situation give Hawn and Atherton a second chance?\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ben Johnson Films<\/li>\n<li>Car Chase<\/li>\n<li>Criminal Couples on the Run<\/li>\n<li>Goldie Hawn Films<\/li>\n<li>Hostages<\/li>\n<li>Media Spectacles<\/li>\n<li>Steven Spielberg Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary writes that &#8220;Steven Spielberg&#8217;s debut film is exciting, offbeat entertainment&#8221; with &#8220;the kinetic energy and visual dynamism of Spielberg&#8217;s later films&#8221;, but &#8220;far more cynical&#8221;. He points out how &#8220;Spielberg sways us into favoring Lou Jean [Hawn] by showing us the too-old foster mother and a baby that cries anytime she holds it&#8221;, but notes he &#8220;wouldn&#8217;t want the baby to be given to Lou Jean &#8212; she is a sweet person, but she&#8217;s off her rocker&#8221;. He asserts that &#8220;people like Lou Jen and Clovis [Atheron] have no chance &#8212; they act impulsively and naively, never comprehending that they&#8217;re taking on a force that will crush them.&#8221; While &#8220;Tanner [Johnson] may feel sympathetic toward the couple&#8230; he will take only so much of their challenging the law&#8221;, and &#8220;the police will impersonally carry out their role in the drama &#8212; just as the government scientists will carry out their impersonal role in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=42105\"><em>E.T.<\/em><\/a>&#8221; He adds that &#8220;the shame is that there is no attempt to understand Lou Jean and Clovis on a personal level, so that the police could understand that Lou Jean and Clovis would never harm Slide&#8221; &#8212; but that&#8217;s not necessarily true; given Hawn&#8217;s determination to &#8220;rescue&#8221; her son and live a &#8220;normal&#8221; family life, there&#8217;s no telling what she wouldn&#8217;t do on behalf of this goal. Peary notes that while the &#8220;picture has interesting characters&#8221;, &#8220;Spielberg gives us no one who can be admired&#8221;. With that said, the &#8220;acting is solid&#8221;, the &#8220;action sequences are extremely well done&#8221;, and Vilmos Zsigmond&#8217;s cinematography is &#8220;impressive&#8221;. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Fine performances by the two leads<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sugarland-Express-Atherton-Hawn.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sugarland-Express-Atherton-Hawn.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"362\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-43002\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sugarland-Express-Atherton-Hawn.png 853w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sugarland-Express-Atherton-Hawn-128x54.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sugarland-Express-Atherton-Hawn-300x127.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sugarland-Express-Atherton-Hawn-768x326.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 853px) 100vw, 853px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Vilmos Zsigmond&#8217;s cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sugarland-Express-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sugarland-Express-Cinematography.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"362\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-43003\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sugarland-Express-Cinematography.png 853w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sugarland-Express-Cinematography-128x54.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sugarland-Express-Cinematography-300x127.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sugarland-Express-Cinematography-768x326.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 853px) 100vw, 853px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sugarland-Express-Cinematography2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sugarland-Express-Cinematography2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"362\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-43000\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sugarland-Express-Cinematography2.png 853w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sugarland-Express-Cinematography2-128x54.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sugarland-Express-Cinematography2-300x127.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sugarland-Express-Cinematography2-768x326.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 853px) 100vw, 853px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo, but it&#8217;s recommended as a well-directed chase flick with heart. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0072226\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jigsawlounge.co.uk\/film\/sugarland.html\">Jigsaw Lounge<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/21194\/the-sugarland-express#articles-reviews\">TCM Articles<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s1313suga.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thespinningimage.co.uk\/cultfilms\/displaycultfilm.asp?reviewid=1249&#038;aff=13\">Spinning Image Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;No more runnin&#8217; off, no more speedin&#8217;, and no more guns. Now what do you say to that?&#8221; Synopsis: A mother (Goldie Hawn) recently released from prison convinces her about-to-be-released husband (William Atherton) to go on the lam and retrieve their young son from his foster parents. During their escape, they take a patrol officer (Michael Sachs) hostage, and soon develop an uneasy friendship &#8212; but will the captain (Ben Johnson) in charge of the situation give Hawn and Atherton&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=42996\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=42996"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42996\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98180,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42996\/revisions\/98180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=42996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=42996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=42996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}