VividSimon
Simply Perfect
Rosie Searle
It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.
Fleur
Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.
vegfemnat
Notable for being the first theatrical release of Steven Spielberg "The Sugarland Express" definitely displays the early signs of a maverick filmmaker who would go on to entertain millions around the world and wow movie buffs with his technical prowess. In keeping with his style of creating events that take on a grand scale, this is a story of two fugitives hijacking a police car while holding the police officer hostage, that goes onto become a major phenomenon of massive fanfare and pompousness with even 200 cars following them at a time. And for the director this means setting up grand shots of outstanding complexity which are an exercise in crowd control. And Spielberg pulls them off with outstanding realism and fluidity while creating shots of striking blocking complexities. And talking of shots the movie boasts of an innumerable amount of extraordinary shots including a 360 degree pan inside a moving car which also happens to be the first ever (imagine the car attack scene of Children of Men but of lesser complexity).Other notable things worth mentioning are Goldie Hawn's comic scenes as the naive desperate mother Lou Jean Sparrow Poplin and John Williams' score.A must see for Spielberg fans along with his TV movie "Duel" to understand the birth of this unique voice and chart his growth as a director who goes onto become an industry in itself with a career spanning over four decades.
SnoopyStyle
Lou Jean Sparrow Poplin (Goldie Hawn) tells her imprisoned husband Clovis (William Atherton) that their child has been taken by Child Welfare to Sugarland. She plans to breaks him out of minimum security with four months to go. They get into a chase and kidnaps Officer Maxwell Slide (Michael Sacks). Captain Tanner (Ben Johnson) takes charge of the chase.Right from the start with the old couple, the movie is a fun ride. It needs some more jokes but it's quirky car chase movie. They certainly use a lot of cars. Goldie Hawn is a bag full of fun crazy. I prefer somebody funnier to be Clovis or Maxwell. It does have a gritty real-life edge to it which Spielberg doesn't do anymore. The ending is a downer but that's kind of interesting too.
jmillerdp
It's a well-made film by Spielberg. But, it features two not-at-all-bright criminals running from the law, putting lots of lives at risk. And, as expected, there are tons of people celebrating these two along the whole way.So, it's very difficult to care for anyone here. Ben Johnson does his always sturdy work, but they basically have Ben Johnson in the film to play his stock Ben Johnson character.Goldie Hawn's character is a screechy, pretty brainless mess who's willing to risk as many lives as possible to get her child back. And, (SPOILER) inexplicably, we find out at the end that the authorities actually let her do that after a slap-on-the-wrist prison sentence. Texas definitely does things beyond belief when it comes to the law! (END SPOILER)Vilmos Zsigmond's cinematography is excellent, as is John Williams' score. But, those two elements are by far the highlights of an otherwise routine film.****** (6 Out of 10 Stars)
JasparLamarCrabb
Steven Spielberg's first feature is outstanding. Goldie Hawn springs her husband from jail and attempts to travel across Texas to retrieve her son. The dim-witted couple are relentlessly pursued by lawman Ben Johnson. To say the movie is fast moving is an understatement. It's entertaining from beginning to end with Hawn giving a very good performance. She's very much out of her element but pulls it off. She's funny but more tragic than comic. She's well matched with William Atherton as her husband. Michael Sacks is the not so bright junior cop they take hostage. The stunning cinematography is by Vilmos Zsigmond. The movie has a lot of suspense, a lot of humor, a lot of sadness...elements found in virtually all of Spielberg's subsequent films.
