White Lightning
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DVD details
Actor: Bo Hopkins, Burt Reynolds, Jennifer Billingsley, Matt Clark, Ned BeattyBrand: Sony
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; Spanish (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; Spanish (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dubbed, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 101 minutes
Published: 2003-07-01
DVD Release Date: 2003-07-15
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
DVD Reviews of White Lightning
DVD Review: Pit stains and moonshine...
Summary: 3 Stars
While watching White Lighting (1973) yesterday, I couldn't help think a more appropriate title might have been Hillbillies, Moonshine and Pit Stains, as there were copious amounts of each throughout the film...written by William W. Norton (Big Bad Mama, Day of the Animals), who also wrote the subsequent sequel titled Gator (1976), White Lighting was directed by Joseph `No Time For' Sargent (Colossus: The Forbin Project, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three) and stars Burt Reynolds (Deliverance, The Longest Yard). Also appearing is Bo Hopkins (The Getaway, Midnight Express), Ned Beatty (Silver Streak, Superman), Jennifer Billingsley (The Thirsty Dead), Matt Clark (Jeremiah Johnson, Brubaker), R.G. Armstrong (Race with the Devil, Dixie Dynamite), and Diane Ladd (The Wild Angels, Chinatown), whose real life daughter, Laura Dern, makes her first, silver screen appearance in an uncredited role as Diane Ladd's characters daughter.
The film opens with the killing of two young men (hippies college students, I suspect, given their youthful appearance and longish hair) in a remote area of the bayou at the hands of two police officers. Well, turns out one of the boys just happened to be the younger brother of Gator McKlusky (Reynolds), who's currently pulling a stint in the local penitentiary on a charge of running (delivering) illegally distilled whiskey, aka moonshine aka white lighting. Gator takes the news hard, tries to escape, but eventually finds himself in the position of making a deal with the feds, as both the gooberment and Gator have their eyes on the same target, that of Sheriff J.C. Connors (Beatty), the most powerful man in Bogan County, and also the one responsible for killing Gator's brother (the feds want Connors because he controls the lucrative flow of `shine in Bogan County). The plan is for Gator to infiltrate the `shine operation in Bogan County and collect as much information as he can, but Gator just wants a shot at Sheriff Connors (vengeance is a dish best served sweaty, in Bogan County, at least). The feds provide Gator with a souped up car and a slightly unwilling contact in that of Dude Watson (Clark), who hooks Gator up with local runner Roy Boone (Hopkins), which leads to local `shine maker Big Bear (Armstrong), and eventually Connors himself. But therein lies the dilemma...you see, Gator is a good ole boy, so the thought of ratting on his own kin, making a living doing what they've always done (distilling and selling whiskey), makes him sick to his stomach, but his desire get back at Connors for his brothers death is something that can't be denied...
If you're looking for some good old fashion, sweat stained, engine revving, tire smokin', exhaust huffing, balls out visceral entertainment, look no further. This was Reynolds initial foray into the `good ole boy' soon-to-be-his-trademark character, one that reached its pinnacle in the film Smokey and the Bandit (1977), as previous roles mainly included him playing Native American characters like Joe in Navajo Joe (1966), Red Hand in Blade Rider, Revenge of the Indian Nations (1966), and Yaqui Joe Herrera in 100 Rifles (1969). Many consider this to be his finest on screen performance (I was always partial to his role as Paul Crewe in the 1974 film The Longest Yard), one that certainly agreed with him as he revived the character a few years later in the film Gator (1976)...this was also the start of his `quipping' in films...you know, that thing where he makes a smarmy joke, and then he's usually the only one who laughs? I think my favorite scene in this film is the one with Gator and Dude in Gator's car, and the pull up to Sheriff Connors in town for a first meeting (for Gator, at least). Gator knows the sheriff had something to do with his brother's death, so he comes off in sort of an antagonizing way reviving the engine of his hot rod while Dude nervously makes small talk with the sheriff. Beatty's character gives the unknown man a good, long look as if to say, "I'm the law, and I don't know you, but I've got my eye on you."...either that, or he was hot for him...another great scene features R.G. Armstrong getting whacked upside the head with a boat oar...I felt that one myself...probably the most painful sequences involved Reynolds emoting in character about the loss of his brother, and trying to comprehend the reasoning why...I questioned this particular plot aspect of the film, but then realized it was necessary because Reynolds would have needed that extra motivation to force his character to work with the feds, going against his own peoples...that way he doesn't look like a complete sh*t...in this effort, they also had to make the villain, Beatty's character, incredibly vile as to draw away from Gator's betrayal of his people (I guess it wasn't bad enough he was a killer). This is illustrated in numerous scenes, like when the sheriff is interrogating (torturing) Dude's father by shoving the old man's hand in a doorframe in order to get some information, letting his deputies manhandle Dude's wife, played by Diane Ladd, the way they did, or his derogatory comments about minorities and hippies. One thing this movie has a lot of is exciting and well exercised car chase sequences. When done right, the viewer can almost feel the pull of the gravitational force taking a turn at 40 mph and smell the rubber burning as the accelerator is punched to the floor. And the stunts, for the most part, weren't over the top crazy, but strong, solid, and believable (the one where Gator partially lands his car on a garbage scow might have been the one exception). One thing that seemed really strange about this movie was the obvious removal some of the dialog through post-production dubbing (they took out the swears). I think this was done prior to the original release as to get a PG rating...I'm unsure if any scenes have been shortened in terms of removing violence or nekkidness in a further effort to satisfy the rating requirement, but I'd probably say yes...
One thing that annoyed me most of all about this release, and the reason I'm going three stars instead of four, is that there is only the full screen, pan & scan (1.33:1) version available on this DVD. Why they couldn't include both is beyond me, but I guess the studio was just trying to save a few bucks and figured we wouldn't care...I noticed the same treatment for the film Gator, which I won't be buying unless they decide to re-release it with both formats. The picture quality on this DVD does look decent, but, as someone else mentioned, it does appear a little too dark, especially during the shadowy or nighttime scenes. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono comes through well enough, and in terms of special features, there's only a trailer for the film.
Cookieman108
By the way, if'n you're ever in Bogan County and someone wants to take you out on the lake, check the boat for cinder blocks...
Description of White Lightning
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