The Sugarland Express (1974)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Admirable film.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Steven Spielberg's theatrical feature film debut made at the age of 28, THE SUGARLAND EXPRESS is based on the true event happened in southern-west Texas 1969. A young woman Lou Jean Poplin (Hawn), abets her husband Clovis Michael Poplin (Atherton) to escape from his pre-release facility in Beauford H. Jester Prison Farm, and en route to Sugar Land to get their infant boy from his foster family. It is plain happenstance that they hold a patrolman Maxwell Slide (Sacks) hostage and driving the latter's patrol automobile, the three head to Sugar Land, while tailing by a parade of police vehicles led by Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Captain Harlin Tanner (Johnson).At first glance, the Poplins's plan is, from any aspects, shockingly fatuous, how on earth they can naively think the authorities will leave their son in situ under such circumstances? Without much thinking, one would realise there must be a deathtrap awaits in their final destination, yet, during their entire journey, that never occurs to them until it's too late. One might argue, that is what happened in real life, maybe the Poplins are sheer simpletons, pure white trashes, yet, we are not watching a documentary about the sensationalised story, if the protagonists are treated with such a simple-minded frame of mind, which effectively creates a sizeable challenge for viewers to relate to, ultimately the viewing experience will be all but satisfactory.Maybe, if Spielberg could lean his angle more from the perspective of Slide, who is a decent young man caught by surprise when performing his duties. The outcome would be more edifying, since the growing mutual respect is the key revelation out of this jejune act, as an outsider, Slide has the privileged intimacy to observe the couple and get a glimpse of their mindset, if there is any vestiges to keep viewers invested in their fate. However they are reckless and dull-witted, the Poplins are not the worst, Spielberg shows no relent to dress down those self-professed vigilante riflemen, a bunch of trigger-happy hillbillies who are instinctively aroused by the thrill of killing, have no wits to even make a basic evaluation about their targets before plunging into a manic fusillade, they exemplifies the bane of America's ever-controversial "gun culture", to possess a weapon of mass destruction is not for everyone, if a country cannot establish a fail-safe edict to secure the safety of the innocent, logically, this is the liberty we should uniformly forego.Mr. Spielberg manifests an acute eye for the visual splendour, there are incredibly breathtaking shots taken along the Texas highway landscape, for its sepia vastness and gorgeous sunset, although one might find it puzzling about the functionality of the cavalcade of police cars tailing along, that's not the right way to splurge tax payers' money. In a more important note, the film has officially embarked the time-honoured collaboration between Spielberg and John Williams, spans over four decades hitherto.Goldie Hawn, ups her ante to play a more straight-faced and neurotic character which is not her strong suit, irritable as ever thanks to the vacuous nature of Lou Jean, Atherton and Sacks, two fresh faces given abundant screen-time to act, are fine but no surprises, last but not the least. Ben Johnson, the Oscar-winning veteran for THE LAST PICTURE SHOW (1971), instils something decent and sympathetic in the story, being the only rational mind in that ephemeral fanfare.

n 1974, Spielberg finally stepped out of television work and into the major leagues. His first theatrical feature had a good deal in common with Duel in that it is another wall-to-wall car chase, only this time the results were far more human.Based on a true story, The Sugarland Express follows Lou Jean Poplin (Goldie Hawn) and her husband Clovis (William Atherton), whom she convinces to walk away from the pre-release program after several years on a prison stretch from which he is about to be released. She's desperate because their two-year old son Langdon has been taken by The State of Texas and has been given over to a foster family.What follows is one damned thing after another. Clovis and Lou Jean steal a car and, in a bizarre twist, end up kidnapping a good-hearted young patrolman named Slide (Michael Sacks). Meanwhile the police don't want to upset the couple since they have Slide at gunpoint. The two become national heroes to the public and prey for local gun-nuts.It takes some time to sink in, but as your watch the film you get the feeling that the themes of The Sugarland Express are ahead of their time. The idea of two fugitives on the lam on a mission of mercy whose plight captivates the public is more current now then it was in 1974. Lou Jean and Clovis become darlings of the media even though what they're doing is wreckless and unlawful.For me, while it has noble intentions, it is problematic at a very base level. Yes, it's based on a true story, but it asks us to accept fundamental flaws that keep us from really getting involved in the story. I suppose that when the movie was made, it was during a time when outlaws were seen by the public as heroes. The image of authority figures had been tainted by the police beatings of demonstrators in the 1960s and by a nationwide trucker strike in the early 70s. The Sugarland Express seems to be feeding that legacy, yet it fails to win us over because fundamentally we are not on the same page as the movie. Clovis and Lou Jean could easily have worked the system without going on the lam so their ill-advised decision keeps us at odds with their plight.Plus, the chase goes on for days and days when in reality it might have gone on for maybe a day. By this point we've seen so many police dash-cam videos that let us know how the police work in this situation that it seems impossible that such a thing could drag on as long as it does. But, maybe that's not the point, maybe this is supposed to be seen as an outlaw fantasy. I could buy that if it weren't based on a true story. This is a technically good movie with an interesting premise that just never really grabs at the heartstrings it is reaching for.

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)

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.