InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Bluebell Alcock Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

Candida It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Curt Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

Leofwine_draca THE SUGARLAND EXPRESS was the first film that Steven Spielberg made that was released to cinemas. A year later he would make JAWS and never look back, so this quirky oddity, mostly forgotten about today even by Spielberg fans, is worth a look. It's a familiar car chase caper, a genre which was all the rage back in the '70s.The film charts an odd line between intense character drama and comedy. Most of the humour comes from the quirky supporting characters and the situations in which they find themselves. The crowd scene at the climax is chaotically done and very well handled by a director in his prime. Goldie Hawn looks impossibly young as the female lead, but the real star for me is William Atherton, a decade away from his typecasting as the usual '80s baddie in the likes of GHOSTBUSTERS and DIE HARD.The film is packed with well-shot car chase scenes, the scale of which is remarkable given the obviously low budget Spielberg had to work with, although none of them are particularly thrilling or exciting. You never get a chance to feel really involved with the storyline or the characters. Some of Spielberg's cinematography is very good, and the film as a whole has a naturalistic feel to it. It's not my favourite '70s car film, but it's certainly not bad. Plus, it has an ending nearly as downbeat as the one in DIRTY MARY, CRAZY LARRY, which is very unusual for a Spielberg film.

utgard14 Based on a true story, a woman (Goldie Hawn) helps her husband (William Atherton) escape from prison so they can kidnap their child from the foster family he's been placed with. Along the way the duo takes a state trooper hostage and are pursued by police while their story gains media attention. Steven Spielberg's first theatrical film (Duel was made for TV but released in theaters later). Also his first collaboration with John Williams. It's a fun dramedy with some great performances from Goldie Hawn, William Atherton, and the rest of the cast. Especially good are the colorful supporting characters, many of which have an authenticity about them that gives the film some nice flavor. An under-appreciated gem in Spielberg's oeuvre.

Mr-Fusion "The Sugarland Express" is an altogether satisfying movie-going experience, and ably shows off Spielberg's skill as a director. He knew from the very beginning how to get great performances out of his actors (namely Goldie Hawn, William Atherton, Ben Johnson and Michael Sacks), how to ratchet the tension with clever editing as the climax approaches, and there's some interesting camera work with the continuous shots in and around cars. And the story itself is so out there that you just have no idea how this thing will end. Things move at a steadily outlandish clip, with one getaway car pursued by fifty, and our main characters even stop for some fried chicken and a pee break. Then the car lot shootout changes the mood, double-crosses start to unfold and the foreboding really sets in. Hawn's daffiness is a delight here, and really underscores the goofy ride that is most of this movie. And that snide change in tone is what really gives "The Sugarland Express" its lasting impact. 8/10

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.