White Lightning (1973)

Lack of good storyline.

An action-packed slog

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

I've gotta admit, "White Lightning" wasn't at all what I was expecting. You see the words, "Burt Reynolds", "car" and "South" and it evokes the awesomeness that is "Smokey and the Bandit". Just how it is. But this is more serious. Reynolds still wields the good ol' boy charm, but he also seethes as he seeks to avenge his brother's senseless death at the hands of a corrupt sheriff (Ned Beatty, one of the great fascist lawmen).There's something about this movie that works. The sweaty southern time and place, the long-ago political climate, the brooding protagonist. There's just enough fun here with the car chases to balance out the bitter injustice.7/10

I will watch this movie over and over one of Burt before his mustache era lol. But seriously its a great movie. Action,racing fast cars, fast women and my favorite line of all time came from this movie...shaky pudding pie lol that I still use to this day. Im 52. Bo Hopkins plays a really cool shine runner and his women is hot also. Matter of fact she is the one with the line ,shaky pudding pie , my kind of gal lol. Ned Beatie is also in it as a sadistic sheriff and he plays the part very good. He is cool talking southern boy that has the twang in his voice as well. Its the first in a line of two movies that are both great. So if you have seen this movie you really need to watch the second one. Back to back if possible. Well that's my small take on this film that I just had ta keep talking about it for 10 lines lol.

Burt Reynolds is a good old boy joking and shoveling his way through his second stint in an Arkansas prison when he hears that his brother, a recent college graduate, has been murdered in Bogan County. He makes a deal with the despised federal authorities. If they let him out, he'll work undercover to become part of the whiskey-making machine in Bogan Country in an attempt to bring the corrupt sheriff to justice. Reynolds doesn't care much about the sheriff and his white lightning. That's a business with which he's had some prior experience. His goal is to find out who killed his brother and the girl who was with him. It becomes apparent that the sheriff is behind not only the illegal booze business but the brutal harassment and murders of kids like Reynold's idealistic brother. Justice is served -- despite local apathy -- and its instrument is Reynolds.All the iconography of the small-town South is here -- the hopped-up cars, the pursuits at high speed, the lawmen who smile even as they reach down your throat and rip out your pyloric sphincter, the swamps in which sweaty people swim nekkid, the guns, the contempt for federal authority, muscles, tatty dresses, garages, the dusty unpaved roads, the sexy sluts.It sounds as if it were written for the drive-in movie trade and maybe it was. In the print I saw, all the expletives were deleted. Guns are okay but allusions to the Allmighty are not. But the thing is enjoyable too.Burt Reynolds is always reliable in a low-key way, with his casual handsomeness, his biceps, and his high-pitched haw haw. He might have been a good actor -- still COULD be -- if he'd had more ambition and chosen his roles more carefully.The others turn in passable performances in their mostly stereotyped roles, except that Ned Beatty as the mild-mannered, murderous, troglodytic sheriff is more than that. He's outstanding. The script gives him a good case for marketing white lightning. Instead of paying twenty dollars for a fifth of liquor, his poor townsfolk can buy a pint for a few dollars. What's the harm? He makes it sound like a charitable enterprise. (They even deliver to the back door of churches.) All in all, a pleasant enough way to waste an hour and a half.

Gator McKlusky who's serving time in an Arkansas prison, finds out his younger brother is murdered by the corrupt town Sheriff J.C Connors. Wanting revenge, he agrees with the terms of going undercover as a moonshine runner for the feds and informing them of any important information to put away Connors. However it's Gator's personal quest of his brother's death, which pushes him to test the boundaries and power that Connors owns.Quite likable, and truly a thick southern slice of crudely good ol' fun and rousing mishaps. Burt Reynolds' charismatic appeal was specially made for the part, and along side him is a terrifically well-served cast including the despicable Ned Betty, glorious Jennifer Billingsley, amusing Bo Hopkins, twitchy Matt Clark, live wire Diane Ladd and a rigid R.G Armstrong. Splendid line-up, but Reynolds was the real scene-stealer. The story might be a simple revenge tale with some currents involving racism and narrow-mindlessness, but it's a exhilarating pot boiler that's neatly drawn up with plenty of flesh hanging off it, and its zips onto one scene after another with burning conviction. Look out for an enjoyable reference to Don Siegel/Clint Eastwood's southern thriller "The Beguiled (1971)". The authenticity of the sweaty southern setting is beautifully captured with Edward Rosson's sharp photography doing the trick. Be it during the quiet moments, or the well-engineered, gut-busting brawls and blistering car chases. Even Charles Bernstein's wonderfully flavoured and titillating music arrangement dominates and goes a long way to cementing the film's potent personality. Director Joseph Sargent rapidly, rough n' tumble style, goes down well the tautly wry script and delivers the action with the right intensity. Amongst the tough suspense and sweet fooling, there are some genuinely moving scenes. Always compelling, and one of Reynolds best performances.