“The good, they die young!”
WHITE LIGHTNING from 1973 is my favorite Burt Reynolds flick. Sure, DELIVERANCE and BOOGIE NIGHTS may be better movies, but WHITE LIGHTNING is the film that best showcases that special Burt magic. I saw it at the theater at least twice when it was new and it was a TV perennial for a while but a couple years back, I got the hankering to watch WHITE LIGHTNING again and was disappointed to find it had never had a DVD release. Now Kino-Lorber has rectified that with a fantastic new Blu-ray release – but with one major caveat.
WHITE LIGHTNING is full of booze, broads, car chases, corruption and revenge — all the things that make life worthwhile! The moonshiner has been a staple of the movies since Robert Mitchum made ‘em eat dust in THUDER ROAD in 1958. WHITE LIGHTNING was a tough country melodrama in which hard-driving Bogen County, Arkansas moonshiner Gator McCluskey (Burt Reynolds) is paroled from prison in order to get the goods on a thoroughly corrupted sheriff (Ned Beatty) who is not only taking graft but also murdered Gator’s kid brother. Crisply directed by Joseph Sargent who manages to instill the proceedings with both atmosphere and pace, the fragmented story of rough backwoods codes is punctuated by several high-powered car chases that keep the dust swirling on those backcountry roads (the stunts were coordinated by Hal Needham who would go on to direct Burt in SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT and CANNONBALL RUN). While the 1976 sequel GATOR was more a comedy, WHITE LIGHTNING has real authenticity in its look at the American South of the early 1970s. Ned Beatty (one of Burt’s DELIVERANCE mates) is truly black hearted as the mild-mannered but hateful sheriff Conners, who kills Gator’s brother because he looks like a hippy commie. He’s the opposite of the buffoonish cartoon lawman that Jackie Gleason would play opposite Burt in the later Smokey and the Bandit films. There is some tough suspense and some genuinely moving scenes in WHITE LIGHTNING, which was a huge hit in 1973, paving the way for Reynolds place in the superstar strata throughout the 1970s. R.G. Armstrong, Bo Hopkins, Diane Lane, and Dabbs Greer all lend able support and watch for a young Laura Dern in a small role, her film debut.
I ran out and bought the WHITE LIGHTNING Blu-ray from Kino-Lorber and was disappointed to see that it’s cut !!! The scene where Jennifer Billingsley shows her naked backside before she jumps off the dock into Burt’s arms is missing. Some of the bloody shootings seem to be snipped and some of the language is dubbed. This Blu looks fantastic but it was clearly taken from a TV print. WHITE LIGHTNING is still a great movie, but after waiting so long for this film to be presented in HD, this is a disappointing development.
The image looks very clean, free from dirt and wear, and film grain is evident. The colors are bright and vibrant and the blacks are deep, with occasional crush in the darkly lit sequences. The focus is frequently sharp, revealing clear details and textures, which Mr. Reynolds will appreciate since this was in his pre-toupee days.
The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix is fine – the squealing of tires from Burt’s 1971 Ford Galaxie Custom 500 never sounded better. The other ambient sounds are handled with accuracy.
The Extras are a trailer and a current interview with Burt
I wish this blu was the uncut film. WHITE LIGHTNING was rated PG in 1973 when I was 10 and my dad took me to see it at the theater twice so it wasn’t a particularly adult film. That problem aside, I still recommend purchasing Kino-Lorber’s WHITE LIGHTNING blu.
