Tidying up my office shelves and found a copy of the Monthly Film Bulletin from April 1982 which finished off its review of Sharky’s Machine thus:

“With the hitherto relaxed narrative pace switching gear to a climatic frenzy, the fact that Sharky’s final prey is virtually ejaculated bodily from the top of a tower block might be taken as a directorial joke on the genre’s oft-noted phallic preoccupations.”

One to rewatch then.

I haven’t seen the movie in years, but do have a copy here somewhere. I think the last Reynolds movie I revisited was Shamus so I’m overdue some Burt action. The MFB review seemed very British so I checked Variety* to see what they made of it:

Seems a tad harsh. Maybe a Sharky’s Machine / Blow Out double bill is in order…

*I have the Cover to Cover version of Rolling Stone magazine (1967-2007) and would recommend it to everyone.