Forgotten Classics seeks to change that by hopefully bringing to light a few of these films thus spurring your interest enough to go out and put one of them on your Netflix Queue.Īre you fan of Toy Story 3 or Rango? How about Cool Hand Luke, revenge flicks or anything by Tarantino for that matter? If you answered “Yes” to any of these, chances are you’ll get a kick out of this one.Ĭast: Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, and the film debut of a 6-year-old Laura Dern.īefore he was swindling alcohol over county lines in Smokey and the Bandit, Burt Reynolds was Gator McKlusky, a tough-as-nails ex-con hired by the local authorities to break up the empire of a moonshine kingpin who also happens to be the murderer of his younger brother. As a result, literally hundred of films are left at the door, only to be forgotten by a large majority of the filmgoing public. While that’s all good and fine, often times films are cited merely for their social relevance or outrageous popularity, (See: Rocky, Dances With Wolves, Forrest Gump) instead of for their merits as an expertly made piece of cinema. White Lightning is a solid action/revenge film with a strong sense of place, an excellent performance by Ned Beatty and solid work from the rest of the cast, and definitely worth a look for 70s action film fans.It is very common for budding film cineastes to scour the pages of the AFI top 100 or the BFI for a proper list of films that an y enthusiast should see. Finally, the action sequences are quite good-multiple well done car chases and some straightforward fisticuffs. Blaxpo-style “waka-chika” stuff) with some country twang pitched in, and I quite liked it. The soundtrack is a standard early 70s action (i.e. The performances of the supporting cast are mostly good, and even Jennifer Billingsley’s trashy sexpot dingbat turned out to have another side that I didn’t expect. The only downside to this is that staple of 70s action films, the sexual assault or rape as a sign of just how bad the villain is-the scene where Connors calmly crushes Dude Watson’s father’s hand in a door frame was far more original and effective. The film is grittier than it’s successors, starting with the opening sequence and running through Gator’s encounters with Connors goons. I can’t speak for the film’s authenticity, it feels like it delivers verisimilitude along with some wonderfully over the top dialog. The locations are wonderful-you get a real sense of place in the film, with its back country roads, swamps, open fields and dilapidated buildings contrasted with the prim center of town, with nearly everyone dripping sweat. Bo Hopkins is great in another of his clueless fall guy roles, and as a foil to Reynolds craftier Gator. Reynolds isn’t the laughing ham you know from the Cannonball Run films, but leaner, meaner, and tougher, although he still has the distinctive laugh at times and there are hints of where his persona would go. While the film has a few laughs, it’s not a comedy, and Connors is not a one-note joke but has real menace to him, and Beatty steals the show. While the basic formula-good old boys driving souped up cars while outwitting corrupt local authorities and getting into brawls while wooing the local bad girls-is familiar from any number of later films, White Lightning gives us the formula in its roughest form. Joe Don Baker or Burt Reynolds? In 1973 it was pretty damned hard to tell the difference. Unfortunately for Gator, Connors is every bit as crafty and mean as his reputation, and soon Gator is exposed-can he outrun and outsmart Connors long enough to get the revenge he seeks? Armstrong, The Car), the mean old bastard who runs the still. With the help of a souped up muscle car provided by the Feds, Gator works his way into the local Moonshine scene, riding with “Rebel” Roy Boone (Bo Hopkins, The Getaway) and eventually meeting up with Big Bear (R. Dude is very reluctant to help Gator, but he’s already violated probation and the Feds have him. The Feds set him up with a local mechanic, moonshine runner and demolition derby driver, Dude Watson (Matt Clark, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid). Gator is reluctant to become a federal stooge (he and his father were moonshiners) but he wants revenge, so he agrees. The Feds know that Connors is corrupt as hell and runs his county with an iron fist (in the memorable words of one character, you might as well try to go to China to take down Mao). Gator tries to bust out but is easily caught, so he reluctantly takes the Warden’s deal-cooperate with the Feds, who want Connors on the only charge that will stick-taking moonshine money. Gator McKlusky is working in the motor shop of a prison when his sister arrives to tell him bad news-his kid brother has drowned a few counties over. “Elementary, my dear Swamp Hussy, elementary”
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