Tank (1984)

User Rating:

5.1/10   

Director:

Marvin J. Chomsky

Writer:

Dan Gordon (written by)

Release Date:

16 March 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Comedy

Tagline:

Sergeant major Zack Carey believed in Truth, Justice and America. Until the sheriff of a little town put his only son into jail of a crime he hadn't done. And now sergeant major Zack Carey has changed his mind. (original Finnish poster tagline)

Plot:

Zack is a Command Sergeant Major assigned to his last post before leaving the service. He is a colorful...

Plot Keywords:

Tank | Corrupt Official | Framed | Cannabis | Nipples Visible Through Clothing

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

James Garner	...	Cmd. Sgt. Maj. Zack Carey
Shirley Jones	...	LaDonna Carey
C. Thomas Howell	...	William 'Billy' Carey
Mark Herrier	...	SSgt. Jerry Elliott, 'Soldier' Magazine Reporter
Sandy Ward	...	Maj. Gen. V.E. Hubik
Jenilee Harrison	...	Sarah, Hooker
James Cromwell	...	Deputy Euclid Baker
Dorian Harewood	...	Sfc. Ed Tippet, Provost Marshal's Office
G.D. Spradlin	...	Sheriff Cyrus Buelton
John Hancock	...	Mess MSgt. Johnson
Guy Boyd	...	Sgt. Wimofsky
Dan Albright	...	TV Reporter #1 (as Daniel Albright)
Gerald A. Atkins	...	Food Server
Ron Baskin	...	Deputy #1
Keith Jerome Brown	...	Tank Motor Pool Man

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Fort Benning, Georgia, USA

Company:

Lorimar Film Entertainment

Trivia:

"Tank" was originally rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America. However, a successful appeal was made which re-issued the motion picture with a PG rating instead. The film's 1983 release predated the PG-13 rating, for which this picture would've likely been rated had it existed when "Tank" was first released.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the Sheriff lists the damage Zack Carey has done to the town, he includes "one 1974 Chevrolet". When Carey destroyed the deputy's house, he actually flattened a 1973 Chevrolet.

Quotes:

Maj. Gen. V.E. Hubik: You know, Pentagon duty isn't bad for a family.
Zack: Neither is fishing, sir.
Maj. Gen. V.E. Hubik: In your hat, Sergeant Major.
Zack: Yes sir, General sir. Three bags full.

Movie Connections:

References Gone with the Wind (1939)

Soundtrack:

SATURDAY GIRL

A reasonably enjoyable film

Not only does Tank offer varied assortments in the ways of wit, action, and humor, I believe that it also accurate portrays the periodic levels of corruption that previously and continue to plague the various small town, white-bred trailer trash communities across the nation, moreover a mild example of which I can personally relate to.

Two years ago, a similar rural community with it's own breed of laws and regulations attempted to suspend my driving privileges upon ticketing a driver for speeding that had confiscated a driver's license that I had previously reported as stolen. My attempts to explain myself only proved a fruitless endeavor, as the community encouraged me to pay up and get over it. Only after I hired an attorney and threatened a lawsuit, did the grit munching scum-suckers in question withdraw their insistence.

Within this film, a corrupt southern bred police department attempts to enslave an Army Major's son after a deputy is justifiable beaten up in retaliation to assaulting a falsely branded "prostitute". As a portion of cover, the malevolent Sheriff runs a broadly defined farm that actually qualifies as a labor camp from which to subject luckless youths to intensive brutality. After failed attempts to appease the Sheriff's fury, James Garner elects to take matters into his own hands, commandeering a personally owned Sherman Tank in which to spring his son, and demolish a few of the corrupt police department's facilities along the way.

Perhaps another reason I enjoyed this movie is the presence of the highly versatile score by the incomparable Lalo Schifrin, who employs every compositional style in the book from Jazz to traditional military marches and a highly catchy disco tune. Unfortunately, the latter becomes a subject of unwarranted contempt from the Sergeant major's redneck upbringing, as he encourages local bars to refit their repertroire to stay any unwanted coersions to "dance the funky monkey".

Overall, the film offers a highly sympathetic premise, that eerily enough seems completely plausible in today's terms, given the prevalence of small towns, isolated from the civilized world and thus prone to erect their own dictatorial policies, no matter how severe.