White Lightning
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Movie Reviews of White Lightning
Movie Review: White Lightning
Summary: 5 Stars
Just another classic Burt Reynolds movie. It reminds me of being young. If your not a Burt Reynolds fan, you might still enjoy the movie.Movie Review: White Lightning
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of my three favorite Burt Reynolds movies of all time. If you like Burt you will love this movie.I highly recomend it.Movie Review: completely satisfied
Summary: 5 Stars
very satisfied with the order, and the time it took to arrive. look forward to getting more items in the future.Movie Review: Yee Haw!
Summary: 4 Stars
Someday in the near future, perhaps, some enterprising young scholar will write a lengthy dissertation on Burt Reynolds's storied cinematic career. I know I would like to know how an actor of such populist appeal in the 1970s could plunge into the depths of ignominy by the 1980s and 1990s. Of course Burt is in the midst of a renaissance since his turn in "Boogie Nights" a few years back, reemerging as a sort of world weary Hollywood elder statesman of the type William Holden used to be a couple of decades ago. My ponderings about the ups and downs of Reynolds's career inspired me to check out a couple of his earliest films recently, and I started with the 1973 backwoods romp "White Lightening." Why not? I've already watched "The Longest Yard" so many times that I could probably reproduce the entire script from memory. And as for "Deliverance," well, that picture is more of an ensemble effort than a vehicle for Reynolds. No, "White Lightening" is a good place to start because it develops in embryonic form the type of character Burt would cultivate to fullest effect in "Smokey and the Bandit," his most successful film and probably the apogee of his career.
"White Lightening" introduces us to Bobby "Gator" McKlusky (Reynolds), a renowned bootlegger currently serving his second sentence for smuggling hooch. Gator is doing his time in the stir the easy way, working in the shop fixing up cars and generally hamming it up with his fellow inmates and the prison staff. Everyone likes Gator and Gator tends to like everyone around him. Then tragedy strikes when McKlusky's sister shows up to tell him that their brother wound up dead in a swamp. Since their brother was a straight arrow and a college student, both are mystified as to why he would fall victim to foul play. When Gator discovers that a corrupt sheriff by the name of J.C. Connors (Ned Beatty) might have something to do with the murder, he walks out of prison with the goal of making things right. The authorities track him down before he gets very far, but his escape and the reasons for it bring in some federal agents and a dangerous offer. If Gator will go undercover and gather evidence against Connors's various illegal schemes, the feds will let McKlusky walk away from the rest of his sentence. Of course, Gator agrees to the proposal because he thinks it will allow him to seek personal revenge against Connors.
The feds tell Gator to go see one Dude Watson (Matt Clark), a parolee with a long list of liquor violations, as an in to Connors's action. Watson wants no part of Gator, however, but eventually goes along with the plan when he realizes he has no choice. It is Watson who introduces McKlusky to moonshine runner Roy Boone (Bo Hopkins), and before too long Gator is in like gold with this man and his girlfriend Lou (Jennifer Billingsley). Boone helps his new pal get work with big time liquor manufacturer Big Bear (R.G. Armstrong), a very dangerous individual who trusts no one for very long. But he comes to trust Gator, grudgingly, until a series of incidents reveal exactly whom McKlusky is really working for. Connors resorted to a little torture to divulge this piece of information, which results in the abduction of Gator and Lou by Big Bear's sweaty associates. Faced with certain death, McKlusky manages to escape (of course) and wreak his own brand of down home vengeance on the crooked cop. And he does it without the help of the feds or the state authorities. I'm not giving anything away when I say that the climatic scene involves a big car chase. You knew there would be a car chase, right? If not, you don't belong here!
I liked "White Lightening" even though the pace of the film tends to drag. Reynolds does a pretty nice job in his role, and even gets a few opportunities to show some range with in his scenes with Lou as well as in a scene where he talks about the pain of losing his brother. Ned Beatty plays the corrupt southern cop with great aplomb, letting us know his brutal nature without taking the character over the top. What really works in the film is the great atmosphere. It's obvious director Joseph Sargent shot the majority of the film in the Deep South. The dismal swamp seen in the opening credits, the gravel back roads hemmed in by vegetation, the claustrophobically small town, and the ramshackle buildings out in the boonies fairly screams "THIS MOVIE WAS FILMED IN THE SOUTH AND WE'RE DARN PROUD OF IT!" The set pieces and locations are so good you can practically feel the humidity and heat wafting out of your DVD player. And that's a good thing. It gives the film a realism lacking in other movies in this particular genre. Throw in the car chases, a few fistfights, and some southern humor and you've got all the fixings for a fun way to spend a couple of hours.
Unfortunately, the DVD version of "White Lightening" leaves a lot to be desired. The picture transfer is fullscreen, not widescreen, and the quality looks below average. How so? Scenes shot in the dark look really dark, so dark it's hard to see what's going on. Moreover, the only extra included on the disc is a trailer. While I don't always listen to (or appreciate) commentary tracks on DVDs, I would like to hear Burt Reynolds's comments on this movie. I'm somewhat of a completist when it comes to this actor's films, which in this instance means I want a commentary track. If you haven't seen it yet, give "White Lightening" a shot; it's far superior to the rather lackluster sequel "Gator" made several years later.
Movie Review: Not really a "censored" version
Summary: 4 Stars
I don't belive this new release of White Lightning has been censored for dvd, even though it does show signs of obvious re-dubbing of rough dialog. The original release back in '73 was rated PG--I have the original movie poster, so I know this for sure. I believe the dubbing was done just before the film's original release, to tone it down from an R rating to a PG. Reynolds was just becoming a huge star and the studio probably decided that they could cash in more with a larger slice of the audience to draw from--in essence changing the movie from an adults only drive-in flick into one that could play the neighborhood theatres (and those new multiplexes springing up everywhere in the 'burbs) and which any teen or kid could see.I saw this in it's original form, back in the day, in the theatres, and I am pretty sure it was just as we see it now on dvd (except it was matted). Definately a PG. With all the swearing put back in, I'm sure it would have had to be rated R back in the gentler days of the early seventies.
Still it would be cool to see a "director's cut" if such exists (or at least a widescreen instead of an open matte version). And if anyone out there knows the solution to the mystery of the missing swears firsthand, let us know! Joe Seargent--you still around?
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