Sharky's Machine

1981

2h 2m

IMDb RATING

6.1/10

107

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2 Videos

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Crime

Drama

Action

Thriller

Police officer Tom Sharky gets busted back to working vice, where he happens upon a scandalous conspiracy involving a local politician. Sharky's new 'machine' gathers evidence while Sharky falls in love with a woman he has never met.

Directors

Burt Reynolds

Writers

Gerald Di Pego(screenplay by)

William Diehl(novel by)

Stars

Burt Reynolds

Rachel Ward

Henry Silva

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Videos2

Trailer
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Teaser
Watch 'Sharky's Machine' movie [02] - movie trailer-TV commercial (1981)

Photos42

Top cast

Tom Sharky

Domino

Billy Score

Papa

Victor Scorelli

Lt. Friscoe

Donald Hotchkins

Arch

Nosh

Smiley

Joe Tipps

Kitten Holmes

Barrett

Mabel

Siakwan

Pregnant Woman

Manny

Tiffany

Directors

Burt Reynolds

Writers

Gerald Di Pego(screenplay by)

William Diehl(novel by)

All cast & crew

Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

User reviews1

Review

Featured review

10/10

It was made in '81 and is actually a pretty solid police film. It's not great, it's not Chinatown, but it also is pretty far from horrible. The dialogue is absolutely fantastic, and even in the throw away moments, there is a humor that seems very human. It's Hollywood sharp and witty to the point where it's almost too good to be realistic, it's just, human. There are a lot of little throw away conversations that seem like the kind of thing you'd hear in your everyday life. And that adds a nice touch of realism to what is otherwise a cop film, and those are always pretty unrealistic. The sound track is a little dated, a little 70s Adult film in places, but that was just a trope of the era and even great films like Three Days of the Condor had that 70s had that "I expect John Holmes to walk in any minute now" kind of music... but then it also had the cliche 80s sex scene instrumentals. So it feels like the merging of two eras and, audioly, it can't really decide if it wants to be 70s or 80s. And then it has crooning that seems like it fits better in a Sean Connery era 007 film. I guess what I'm saying is that, if there is a flaw, it's the sound track. Essentially what it is though is a solid cop film that is bucking for 1970s gritty and realistic, but is still, ultimately, as over the top and unrealistic as most police thrillers. It's a very enjoyable film to watch.... despite the music.

GenerationofSwine12 Jan, 2023