Five Must-See Burt Reynolds Movies

Reynolds never seemed to take himself too seriously, and that was part of his charm. Image: Universal Pictures.

As I get older, the death of entertainers hits closer to home. When I was young, the famous people who died were before my time, so there was no attachment. But I’m at a stage in my life where the passing of actors or singers that I grew up watching and enjoying hits harder than I might expect. That is particularly true of the recent death of Burt Reynolds.

I grew up on Burt Reynolds movies. And I wasn’t alone. In the 1970s, Reynolds was one of the biggest stars in the world. The critics were not generally fans of his work, but what did they know? Reynolds was a stud. Men wanted to be him, and women wanted to be with him. He was handsome, athletic, tough, funny. Come to think of it, the critics who wrote him off as an action movie hack were more than likely just jealous.

There’s going to be a lot of ink spilled over Reynolds now that he is gone, and rightfully so. That being the case, I am not going to waste your time going over biographical details of the guy, his list of celebrity girlfriends, his money troubles, or any of that nonsense.

Instead, I’m going to share with you a short list of Burt Reynolds films that are essential viewing for any fan, or any movie lover in general who wants to get a better sense of this film icon. Yes, I said it. Burt Reynolds was a film icon.