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Released by: Mill Creek Entertainment
Released on: April 7th, 2020.
Director: Jeff Kanew
Cast: John Schneider, Kirk Douglas, Lee Purcell, Tom Noonan, John Goodman, Mark Margolis, Jay O. Sanders, Leah Ayres
Year: 1983
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Eddie Macon's Run - Movie Review:
Eddie Macon went to prison for committing two crimes. The first? He punched out his new boss (John Goodman) on the first day of his new job in Texas for wanting a cut of his paycheck. The second? He got busted by the cops for driving with a beer in his hand. He pled guilty but the judge didn't take it easy on him and sent him to the slammer for five years. This was bad in and of itself, but it meant that Eddie left on the outside his wife, Chris (Leah Ayres), and their young son, who needed expensive treatment for his blood condition.
So when the opportunity for Eddie to break out, with some help from Chris, arrived, he took it, sneaking out of the prison rodeo in a cattle transport vehicle and hoping to make his way to Mexico to meet up with his family. What Eddie didn't count on was Carl 'Buster' Marzack (Kirk Douglas), a cop who was kicked off the force in New Jersey who is now working in Texas. He's a real hard ass, the kind that likes to shoot first and ask questions later and who has no problem bending the law to enforce the law. He decides to track Eddie across Texas and hopes to bring him in before he can meet his family south of the border. Along the way Eddie is almost killed by the Pott family (Tom Noonan, Jay O. Sanders and Lisa Dunsheath) and saves a young woman named Jilly Buck (Lee Purcell) from a rapist. All of this winds up leaving clues for Marzack, armed to the teeth and becoming increasingly obsessed with getting his man.
It won't be easy for either one of them.
Directed by Jeff Kanew, probably best known for directing Revenge Of The Nerds a year after this picture, Eddie Macon's Run is pretty entertaining stuff, and stronger than you might expect for a movie that has a PG rating title card in front of it. Kanew paces the movie well, opening with Macon's clever escape from the rodeo, which is quite tense, and then filling us in on his backstory by way of a few flashbacks. This winds up making Eddie sympathetic enough for us to side with him during all of this, and Schneider (who, of course, contributes a couple of songs to the soundtrack) does a good job of keeping that aspect of his character front and center in all of this, which is important when he winds up shooting people!
The supporting cast is pretty solid here too. Mark Margolis, of Breaking Bad (and The Opening Of Misty Beethoven!) has a bit part as the owner of a sleazy strip club, and Tom Noonan and Jay O. Sanders are both quite good as the hard drinking, gun totting ranchers who wind up on Macon's bad side. A baby-faced John Goodman has a small but important role as the man who indirectly starts all of this and Lee Purcell of Valley Girl is quirky and fun as Jilly Buck, Macon's only real friend in all of this. Douglas, however, is the best of the bunch. He's really well-cast here as the crotchety old cop with something to prove, lying his way through witnesses, bitch-slapping cell mates and more than happy to shoot anybody who gets in his way. It's a really fun performance from Douglas, who is reason enough to want to give this one a watch.
Eddie Macon's Run - DVD Review:
The AVC encoded 1080p 1.85.1 widescreen transfer on this 25GB Blu-ray disc looks decent, with the feature taking up just under 23Gbs of space it has a decent bit rate. It does look like some mild to moderate digital noise reduction has been applied here as there isn't much in the way of noticeable film grain and close up shots show faces that are suspiciously devoid of pores. Detail, depth and texture still best standard definition, however, and colors look quite good here. There isn't any noticeable print damage here at all and black levels are just fine.
The 24-bit DTS-HD 2.0 Mono track, in the film's native English, sounds pretty decent. The levels are nicely balanced and the track is free of any hiss or distortion. The score has good range, the effects have some decent punch behind them. No problems here at all, it sounds just fine. Optional subtitles are provided in English only.
There are no extras on the disc (not even a trailer) save for a static menu screen.
Eddie Macon's Run- The Final Word:
Eddie Macon's Run is a more than decent crime picture. Schneider is okay here but it's Douglas and the supporting cast that really stand out. It's well-paced and, if a bit predictable, very solid entertainment. Mill Creek's Blu-ray provides a cost effective option in decent quality, though it is sadly devoid of extras.
Click on the images below for full-sized Eddie Macon's Runscreen caps!
