Macon County Line

Directed by Richard Compton
USA 1974

Alan Vint and his brother Jesse form an agreeable duo, playing roistering brothers on a spree in Macon County, Georgia, in the '50s. They pick up a girl, fool around some, and run up against a redneck cop (Baer), who warns them on their way, then mistakenly goes on the rampage after them when he finds his wife raped and murdered. As the film moves from rompish comedy into something altogether darker, its moral tone becomes more overbearing, and the blood-spattered ending (the script is based on fact, but fails to prepare its ground adequately) seems to come from a different movie altogether.

Excerpt from TimeOut Film Guide located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: August 8th, 1974

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

DVD Review: Warner Home Video - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC

DVD Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Warner Home Video - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC
Runtime	1:28:12
Video	1.85:1 Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.54 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate:
Audio	English (Dolby Digital mono)
Subtitles	English (CC), French, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Warner Home Video Aspect Ratio: Original Aspect Ratio 1.85:1 Edition Details: • none DVD Release Date: May 6th, 2008 Keep Case Chapters: 9

Comments:

Anchor Bay released this hillbilly-justice drive-in flick in February of 2000. I have no idea why Warner is issuing this single-layered edition. In fact, I have no idea why I am reviewing it - 'cept that I had to sit through it. It looks fairly muddy (it is listed as an Indie film - made for $200K - brought in 30 million and 'that's a heap of cipherin') and has no extras. The, now out-of-print, Anchor Bay had an audio commentary with director Richard Compton (admitting it was NOT based on a true story) and a featurette; 'MACON COUNTY LINE 25 Years Down the Road'.

The image captures below give you an idea of the visual quality of this pragmatic release. It is anamorphic and progressive - coded for regions 1 thru 4 in the NTSC standard. There are optional English subtitles to augment the weakish mono audio. Even at less than $12, I can't recommend unless you are keen on this 'genre', Jethro's foray into film production (co-writer and producer) - he tried a few afterward - directing a couple. I suppose it might have some nostalgic appeal, but I'd rather see Elly May.