EDDIE MACON'S RUN (1983)
Label: Mill Creek Entertainment
Region Code: A
Duration: 95 Minutes
Rating: PG
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Jeff Kanew
Cast: John Schneider, Kirk Douglas, Lee Purcell, John Goodman, Tom Noonan, Gil Rogers
Eddie Macon's Run (1983) teams-up screen legend Kirk Douglas (The Fury) with current TV star John Schneider, the latter of whom was smack dab in the middle of his popularity on the hit TV show The Dukes of Hazard (1979-1985). In it Schneider plays the titular character who after physically assaulting his payroll skimming boss Mr. Herbert (John Goodman, The Big Lebowski) is sent to prison for what seems a bit excessive for a little dust-up. When we catch-up with Eddie he's been incarcerated for a few years already, and we're show through flashback - there are a lot of flashbacks - that Eddie has already managed to escape prison once, attempting to get back to his wife Chris (Leah Ayres, The Burning)and their little boy Bobby. During which he was captured by bounty hunter Carl 'Buster' Marzack (Kirk Douglas, Paths of Glory), but not before knocking the bounty hunter upside the noggin leaving a scar.
As this film opens Eddie's incarcerated in Texas and is partaking in a prison rodeo event, where we find him sneaking aboard a departing cattle truck where he lays low for a few hundred miles away, eventually getting off at a designated spot in Texas where he recovers a bag full of street clothes, a pair of running shoes, and a map of the Texas desert. It's revealed, again through flashback, that he and his wife have been plotting this second prison escape for awhile now, with Eddie reading up on survival techniques and mapping out a route to Mexico in the prison library. His plan is to literally run across the Texas desert into Mexico, where he will be reunited with his wife and child and they will presumably live happily ever after South of the Border.
When the aging bounty hunter hears news of Macon's latest escape he takes a personal interest in the re-capture, interviewing his cell mate and checking out his reading list at the library. Now he has a good idea of where Macon's headed and he plans on intercepting him, still smarting from that knock upside the head. Macon sleeps during the day and runs cross-country at night, but occasionally he finds trouble, like an angry cottonmouth snake during a river crossing, and then a pair of vigilante cattle ranchers who mistake him for a cattle rustler,
menacingly played by Jay Sanders (My Boyfriend's Back) and Tom Noonan (Manhunter), not to mention their nut-job girlfriend (Lisa Dunsheath, The Prowler) who cannot wait to hang the fugitive as soon as possible, she is absolutely ecstatic at the notion. He manages to escape, but just barely, and only after gravely injuring the demented brothers after they try to hang him.
Later on during his fugitive journey Marzack seems poised to have the felon in his sights, literally, but gets thrown a curve ball when Eddie intervenes to stops a rape in progress. He saves a woman named Jilly (Lee Purcell, Necromancy), who turns out to be the niece of a Texan politician, initially taking her as a hostage, but along the way she makes it quite clear that she's gonna help him get where he needs to go, even getting him off the hook when they are pulled over by a cop. This new relationship with Jill is a bit complicated, she is clearly sexually attracted to him, and he to her, but he makes it clear that he's married and in love with his wife, so I give him a lot of credit, Purcell is a smoke-show stunner with eyes that just pull you in, Eddie is definitely a principled man with a strong will, if it had ever been in doubt now we know. This dynamic was some of the best stuff in the film in my opinion, way better than any of the stuff with is wife, they have a lot of chemistry together.
As the steadfast formula goes the bounty hunter eventually catches up with the fugitive in Laredo and there are a few heated encounters, culminating in a car chase through a cemetery with cool car turnover. How it all pans out is a bit on the predictable side, I saw it coming early on, and it's as saccharine as I'd expected, but it's still a solid watch.
It's no surprise that Kirk Douglass is so damn great, I love his exaggerated
facial expressions, he's funny but also a bit of gruff asshole who is willing to work outside the colored lines with multiple shades of gray, it's great stuff. The guy was ancient back then, but still spry, and only died recently at the vintage age of 103, he truly was the Charles Atlas of Hollywood. The real takeaway for me was how great John Schneider was, he was terrific as Clark's dad on TV's Smallville, but I am surprised that he did not a bigger movie career after this, he had good range and had the looks for sure. It was also great to see a very young John Goodman, this is even before he appeared in C.H.U.D., playing a piece of shit oil rig boss, it's a small but pivotal role.
Audio/Video: Eddie Macon's Run (1983) arrives on Blu-ray from Mill Creek Entertainment licensed from Universal Pictures. It's great see these minor catalog title get a Blu-ray. It does look like this is coming from a dated existing master, but it's solid. The source is in good shape and colors are fine, black levels are solid, though it doesn't have the nuance a newer scan would have afforded it.
Audio on the disc comes by way of an English DTS-HD MA 2.0 with optional English subtitles. Everything is crisp and clean, dialogue and the score are well balanced, and there were no distortions I picked-up on. The film has a score from Norton Buffalo (Blood Beach) and Mike Hinton, including a few country songs sung by film's star John Schneider.
There are no extras, just a static menu with the option to turn on the English subtitles. The single-disc release is housed in a standard keepcase with a sleeve of artwork featuring the original movie poster, the disc itself features an excerpt of the same key art. The spine is a bit busy-looking with images on the top and bottom portion of the spine, surrounding a bunched-up logo.
Eddie Macon's Run (1983) is not the sort of catalog title that gonna burn the house down but it's cool to see it arrive on Blu-ray. I'd never seen it before and thought it was an engaging watch with a solid cast, it's a cool fugitive thriller, well worth watching if you're a fan of either Kirk Douglas or John Schneider, or just a fan of forgotten gems.
More Screenshots from the Blu-ray:
