Story Synopsis:
Similar to 1976’s The Gumball Rally, The Cannonball Run is a madcap, action-packed vehicle with an L.A. freeway traffic jam’s-worth of of famous movie and TV faces. It concerns an illegal cross-country, 3,000 mile road race where drivers use every method possible to elude the law and exceed the 55 MPH speed limit. The group of scofflaws include Burt Reynolds and Dom Deluise disguised as ambulance-driving hotrodders, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr. as Ferrari-driving priests, Jamie Farr as an Arab sheik in a souped-up Rolly Royce, Jackie Chan in one of his first U.S. movie roles, and Roger Moore as Bond, James Bond...sort of. (Laurie Sevano)

DVD Picture:
The anamorphically enhanced 1.78:1 DVD picture exhibits colors that are bold and vibrant, with deep blacks. Hues, however, touch over saturation at times, appearing overly red, with fleshtones appearing hot, and whites with a hint of pink at times. Images are generally sharp, but finer details are wanting, with the picture appearing slightly smeared at times. There is some apparent edge enhancement. The source element is revealing of a few artifacts and dirt, as well as a little bit of film grain. (Suzanne Hodges)

Soundtrack:
The Dolby® Digital 5.1-channel soundtrack seems to be the product of dimensional processing of the original mono audio for an adequately compelling sense of expansion. There’s noticeable panning of effects at times, and the surrounds are active throughout, sometimes delivering subtly yet fairly convincingly. Still, the original audio’s inherent distortion and limited recording quality clearly shine through. Deep bass is noticeably limited, despite the incorporation of some .1 LFE activity. This is a re-purposing effort that provides for a notable spatial listening experience, but is also based around an inherently compromised sound mix. (Perry Sun)