Burt Reynolds stars in one of Sam Fuller’s most independent productions, Shark! a.k.a. Maneater, as a down-on-his-luck gun runner marooned in a Red Sea port city. A beautiful “research assistant” hires him to dive for sunken treasure off the shark-infested coast. The only way out for him is out to sea, and they call it “red” for a reason. Fuller was a filmmaker of unrivaled intensity, and he knew where to place the camera for maximum dramatic effect. The shark attacks are some of the best ever committed to film, and the cast and crew manage to play Mexico as Sudan to surprising success. Come for the swaggering early Burt role, stay for the underwater action cinema.
“Fuller’s image-making has a passionate energy to match anything he had ever done in Hollywood.” – Richard Brody, The New Yorker
