Tank | | Cast : | James Garner, Shirley Jones, C. Thomas Howell | | Director : | Marvin J. Chomsky | | Studio : | Universal Studios | | Format : | Color, Dolby | | Released Date : | March 16, 1984 | | DVD Released Date : | December 28, 2004 | | Language : | English (Dubbed) | | Audience Rating : | PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | June 17, 2005 | | Summary | This was PG!? | Content
 | I am surprised that this had a PG rating. Many characters swear, and I don't mean the PG-13 stuff. Also, there is brief nudity here. In fact, the scene is a bit masochistic and some may get a pleasure from it. This film has many familiar faces from the 1970s and early 1980s. |
| Rating | | | Date | May 18, 2005 | | Summary | Never hack off a Sgt. Maj., especially one with his own tank | Content
| This film will never be remembered as great cinematic art. It will never ever be remembered as great comedy. As drama, it is fairly hokey. That doesn't matter, though. It is fun.
The story is of a Sergeant Major who accepts his last post outside a small southern town. This SGM, however has his own Sherman tank that he and his son restored. The problem is that the town and the entire county is run by a corrupt sherrif who is into liquor, prostitution and bribery. The SGM makes the mistake of hacking of this sherrif so the sherrif arrests the son on a bogus drug charge and sends him to a hellhole of a prison camp. It seems that nothing the SGM can do will help his son so he takes matters into his own hands, fires up the tank and rides to the rescue. From there, is is a chase to the state line.
Most of the elements of this movie are extremely predictable. Stereotypes abound. You almost know what is going to happen before it happens. That does not detract too much from the fun of seeing it happen, though. Some of the antics are so patently absurd as to be unworkable but they work in this movie, whether or not they would ever work in the real world. Its just silly fun.
James Garner is extremely likable as the sarge. This is by no means his greatest work but it looks like it was fun to make. Shirley Jones plays his wife and C. Thomas Howell is the wronged kid. So too are their performances less that stellar but they get the job done.
The good guys win. So does the viewer. Don't expect high art, just the fairly frequent laugh. |
| Rating | | | Date | May 05, 2005 | | Summary | I've taken sides with Neil Young | Content
| And if Lynyrd Skynyrd was to write a response song to this review I encourage them. To me this movie was alright when I first saw it when I was 17 years old, but now as an adult I feel that the movie would make me puke. I find it rather nauseating. I feel that the sherrif in this movie is a demon, and I run from demons. He's all dressed up in white, and he tries to act super holy in public that I've given him the name "Lilliwhite". However, don't let that fool you; he's pure evil as he tries to bully not only his deputy, but a young prostitute as well, and in turn the deputy bullies the prostitute. Lilliwhite feels he can do no wrong, and unfortunately I feel that this could be the wrong image of the southern man. If I'm right then I can gripe all I want, but if I'm wrong then by all means let's do it as it's mentioned in Isaiah 1:18: "Come and let us reason together." Because this is the way southern men have been portrayed to me where the father tries to act like he's God, and he bullies his sons to break, and rape thier souls, and if he(The Father) does anything wrong it's pencilled away with a "Do as I say...not as I do", or a "Let that be a lesson to you"; instead of portraying himself as a humble man he justifies his actions his motives. I feel that's no way for a father to act whether he's from the north, south, east, or west. This isn't right, and unfortuantely, the deputy only did what he learned from Lilliwhite the father figure. Anyway this is not all bad a movie because if it were it would've gotten a minus 2 star rating from me. There are some tender moments with James Garner's character, and his son as his father tries to spring him from a prison work camp where he was sentenced on a trumped up charge for marijuana possession. You see there's a difference here between 2 fathers. Garner's character owned up to not only meeting with the young prostitute, but also for decking the deputy for slapping her around in the first place, and then you have Lilliwhite who after he lost the major tug of war on a mudpile, and was arrested for corruption all he could do was slam his deputy's face into the mud. As I said this is the personification of the southern man, and how he raises his sons that he breaks thier spirit and rapes thier souls through mental, emotional, and many a time physical abuse, and that father can do no wrong for he is the only figure of God that the kids have, and so the sons grow up, and do the same thing that thier fathers did to them, and to me as I said that's not right, so that's why I gave the movie such a low rate. It's just too much to see without getting ticked off. As I said if there are any Southern men out there who want to rebuke this "Come and let us reason together." |
| Rating | | | Date | January 09, 2005 | | Summary | Tank | Content
| I really enjoy the 'movie'. I have had it on VHS for years, waiting for it to come out on DVD, to replace the VHS copy I have. However if you previously purchased the first release from Goodtimes Home Video, DON'T waste your money on this 'so-called' newer release.
Other than the picture on the box, this 'newer' release from Universal is no different than the original release of this title from Goodtimes Home Video!
The Product Details 'fails' to mention that this Universal release in the Full Frame Format, just like the version from Goodtimes Home Video. It also 'fails' to state that the Universal release is in 'Mono' just as the release from Goodtimes Home Video. So what's the difference? Both are Full Frame, both are in Mono, which the Product Description fails to mention. The only difference is the picture on the box!
In one of the reviews I read, it stated, "This movie was previously avalable from Goodtimes Home Video in Full Screen Format. As this release is from Universal Studios we can only hope it will be released in it's Original Aspect Ratio."
Well it wasn't! And again, the Product description failed to state this! Also the new release from Universal, just as the release from Goodtimes Home Video, didn't add any additional menu features included on the DVD. So again, what is the difference? They are the same exact DVD, packaged in two different boxes, with the exception that the Goodtimes release is in the 'snap' type box and the Universal is in the 'clamshell' type box. |
| Rating | | | Date | December 29, 2004 | | Summary | SHLOCKEY HOKUM FUN | Content
| Tank is not to be taken real seriously. It's a ridiculously plotted movie that has every cliche available (evil sheriff, dumb deputy, down on her luck prostitute, etc...) but the actors are good enough to lend it some entertainment value.
James GArner plays Sergeant Major Zack Carey, a career military man. When he sees a deputy Baker (james Cromwell) slapping around a prostitute (Jennilee Harrison) he steps in and saves her but now he's run afoul of the evil town Sheriff played by G.D. Spradlin. The Sheriff puts Zack's son (C. Thomas Howell) in Jail on a false drug charge. With nowhere to turn, Zack steals a tank, rescues his son and goes about demolishing the sheriffs town.
Zack will only surrender to the Sheriff in the next town and when the tank is bogged down in mud, the townfolk, who look at Zack as a folk hero, actually pull the tank though the mud and across the country or city line...
Yeah..it's all pretty 1980's cheese but the actors are so enjoyable in it, even if they are two-dimensional. It's good little escapist fun. Garner plays a much different role than the usual more suave characters were used to seeing and Spradlin always handles the role of the villian very well. |
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