Burt Reynolds directs himself as an Atlanta cop investigating prostitution ring tied to a political candidate. My favorite scene in "Sharky's Machine" came early on, when Reynolds's character gets demoted to the vice squad and walks down to the bottom floor, finding what the vice squad looks like (and showing how it reflects all the sleazy stuff that they have to investigate). That scene is merely an introduction to the slimy things that Sharky and his colleagues will come across over the course of the movie.I suspect that a lot of the scenes of Rachel Ward half-dressed will interest people, but those are more peripheral to the movie's action. The environs of Atlanta set the stage for all manner of lowlife activity. And when I say lowlife, I mean that there are some INTENSE scenes. It's not any kind of great movie but I enjoyed it.The rest of the cast includes Vittorio Gassman, Charles Durning, Bernie Casey and Brian Keith.

Sharky's Machine is one of Burt's most exciting films, and one of his best, not only that, when you consider he directed this. This glamorized piece has an exciting story, and some fantastic performances, notably from Vittorio Gassman, as a high class pimp, his psychopathic hit man brother (evil faced Henry Silva) unforgettable as is his demise in an explosive, and unforgettable finale. Burt plays Ray Sharky, who's sting operation is botched by another colleague, who provides a surprise twist of character, later on. He's demoted to vice, making friends fast with the other boys. What I really liked here was the mateship among this squad, this film one of the best examples, some deeply written characters, you really get to know, where you want to be part of it. Burt assigns them in the wake of a mob hit, involving government ties, and a high class prostitute/wannabe dancer (Ward) involved with a senator, who must be silenced. Burt bugs her place, and of course, is smitten by her. When mistaken for another pro, who buys the farm, bloodily, Burt takes Ward under his guard, and a romance blossoms, Burt first losing it with her at earlier, which was amusing. Ward's pro character, is surprisingly someone we really get to know, and is painted as a much more down to earth character, something rarely seen in pro characters, to this extent. There is some nasty 80's gore in this R rated pic, one torture scene with Burt, minus some fingers, is more implicit. SM I like for many reasons, most of all, it's the excitement factor, with a exciting story at play, where so much is going on, you kind of do feel it does lose itself. It doesn't bog itself down, with a less than more thing going on, which to it's advantage, makes this exciting film more intriguing. Durning is great as the cranky chief of the vice squad, the bleachers scene on the baseball grounds, a cool one, as is the one with Burt hatefully confronting Gassman and his stable of girls at that restaurant, where Burt's admittance of something, causing his nemesis to see red. Though the most memorable moment, is that second to last scene with Reynolds unleashing vengeance on Silva, a wonderfully shot moment, etched in your memory of this classic, where Burt really scores.

Released in 1981, "Sharky's Machine" stars Burt Reynolds as Sgt. Tom Sharky, an Atlanta cop who's demoted to the lowly vice division. Assigned to check out a high society prostitution ring, Sharky stumbles across a mob murder with governmental ties. He corrals his underdog vice team – the so-called Sharky's machine – to investigate and take down the guilty, whether mobsters or politicians. Rachel Ward plays the high-priced prostitute who fascinates Sharky, while Brian Keith and Bernie Casey play Sharky's partners, amongst others. Vittorio Gassman is on hand as the 'Godfather'-type heavy. The story, as reported, is that Burt Reynolds was friends with Clint Eastwood in the late 70s and Burt suggested that he would do a Dirty Harry-type movie if Clint did a comedy, like Burt's numerous good ol' boy flicks. So Clint did the two "Every/Any Which Way" movies (1978 and 1980) and Burt eventually did "Sharky's Machine," which he described as "Dirty Harry in Atlanta." While Burt certainly rivaled Clint as the best masculine actor of the mid-60s through the 80s (although I give Clint the edge), all five of the Dirty Harry pictures are better than "Sharky's Machine," even the heavily maligned "The Dead Pool" (1988), not to mention other Eastwood cop thrillers, like the excellent "The Gauntlet" (1977) and arguably "Tightrope" (1984). So what's wrong with "Sharky's Machine" (SM)? The first two times I tried to view it years ago I couldn't get past the 50-minute mark. How come? While SM has a decent action-filled start it doesn't outdo the beginnings of all or most of the Dirty Harry flicks (DH). Worse, soon after the first act, SM bogs down in a seemingly never-ending stakeout, which is mostly dull, although there are a couple of good dialogue sequences, like the old guy (Charles Durning) recounting killing a teen German during WWII. While SM gets better it never fully recovers from this long drag. All the DH films by comparison are entertaining from beginning to end, even their 'downtime' sequences. Furthermore, the way one of the two SM villains (Henry Silva) is scripted is sometimes eye-rolling, like the way he's always skulking nearby (e.g. the run-over-the-cop scene and the black criminal episode). If he's as addicted to drugs as the story suggests, how's he always at the proverbial right place at the right time? Then there are the cartoonish Asian martial artists that seem to come from an entirely different set. I'm not saying the DH flicks or "Gauntlet" didn't have cartoony elements, but they always pulled 'em off in an entertaining way. In SM they're just dumb. Still, the cast of SM is great, particularly Sharky's has-been partners, and it's great seeing Burt in a serious flick. He's always entertaining. I would've liked to have seen a SM series (like DH) because I think the sequels would've improved upon the solid foundation with a better story. The film runs 122 minutes and was shot entirely in Atlanta. GRADE: C+

This is a movie, like The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, that I've seen a million times, and still enjoy popping in the DVD player every now and then.It's got everything, great script, characters, film score, camera work, etc. Burt Reynolds surrounded himself with excellent people, and they created a real gem. The supporting cast in particular, are the highlight of this film. Bernie Casey is a real standout, as the detective Arch. Low key, yet memorable portrayal with lots of nuances in his character. Totally owns all of his scenes.Sharky's team of investigators, Henry Silva as the drug addicted assassin, and Rachel Ward turn in superb performances as well. Can't leave out the late great Dar Robinson either, doing the spectacular fall from the Atlanta Hyatt Regency.