The Great Smokey Roadblock Blu Ray Review (MGM)

The Great Smokey Roadblock (aKa The Last of the Cowboys and The Goodbye Run) is 1977 road dramedy film written and directed by John Leone (Tough Enough). It was produced by Allan F. Bodoh (Dogs, Acapulco Gold, Good Guys Wear Black, Go Tell the Spartans, Dirt, and Easy Prey). While in the hospital, 60-year-old truck driver “Elegant” John Howard (played by: Henry Fonda from Once Upon a Time in the West, 12 Angry Men, The Grapes of Wrath, The Ox-Bow Incident, Battle of the Bulge, and The Longest Day) gets his rig repossessed by the finance company. Deciding that it’s time to make one last perfect cross-country run, he escapes from the hospital. He steals back his truck after picking up hitchhiker Beebo Crozier (played by: Robert Englund from A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, Hatchet, The Phantom of the Opera, Eaten Alive, V, 2001 Maniacs, Wishmaster, and The Mangler). He further turns his back on the law by escorting a motley crew of people across the border as a favor to his old flame and bordello madam Penelope Pearson (played by: Eileen Brennan from Murder by Death, Clue, Private Benjamin, Jeepers Creepers, and Tales from the Crypt)!!!! The Great Smokey Roadblock is a fun late 70’s road and chase feature from first time director John Leone. It came out the same year as Smokey and the Bandit that was a little similar in it’s tone but that one did much better at the box office. This sub-genre was all over the place and very popular so The Great Smokey Roadblock should have performed bigger when it came to it’s original run but it just didn’t happen. This was perfect for the drive-in scene. The rumor is that it was already on the shelf for a few years before it was out so I’m guessing they just didn’t have any faith in it. The script is lots of fun, it deals with a truck driver that’s almost done but he’s not ready to retire despite them trying to help him with that decision by taking away his precious rig. He’s not willing to give up so he steals it back but that puts major heat on the outlaw. The legendary Henry Fonda was towards the end of his career at this point when he made The Great Smokey Roadblock. “Elegant” John Howard is still one of his best characters of all time and he gives a strong performance in this action comedy hybrid. He was mainly only getting supporting or cameo roles so he took advantage of this rare lead actor opportunity. John isn’t fully healthy but he wants to enjoy the rest of his life no matter what. They try to make him seem way younger than what he actually is and it’s honestly hilarious because he’s clearly older. Horror Icon Robert Englund steals the show as the wild Beebo Crozier. It’s one of his standout portrayals that’s not horror related. His character is super important to the story, it kinds plays out like a buddy comedy between him and Fonda for awhile during their crazy journey. Their chemistry is extremely entertaining together, you never know what’s going down next with the duo. The rest of the supporting cast includes Eileen Brennan, Susan Sarandon (Thelma and Louise), Austin Pendleton (Short Circuit), Dub Taylor (The Wild Bunch), John Byner (The Pink Panther franchise), Melanie Mayron (Thirtysomething), Leigh French (Halloween II), Mews Small (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest), Gary Sandy (Troll), Valerie Curtin (All the President’s Men), Lyman Ward (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off), and Lesley Woods (Bad Ronald). There’s a good amount of known character actors that show up in The Great Smokey Roadblock. Everyone here is just trying to make some extra cash to survive so they team up. The law is still after them while they try to hustle their way traveling the roads. It’s over the top, it doesn’t take itself seriously at all until the end. The cops are all ready to take them out at the roadblock but you just have to root for them to get past them after what they have been through. It’s an independent production with ambitious goals. They managed to pull most of it off, it has strong replay value to it. It’s one of those gets better with each rewatch, RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from MGM! This 1080p (1.85:1) transfer appears to be the exact same restoration as the 2018 Code Red home video release but this time it’s actually in its original aspect ratio. It’s still a major improvement compared to it’s original DVD and VHS versions. It has an English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track on the disc. The audio is really good but it’s not really a explosive type of feature until it’s finale. All of the dialogue is very clean, the road trip is elevated, and the music has a big boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. It has the almost 2 minute “Behind the Scenes Gallery”. Don’t let the artwork fool you, this is a pro pressed home video release and it’s not a BD-R. It’s available everywhere right now including MovieZyng.com!!!!