Search - Macon County Line on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Violence, Adult Situations, Not For Children, Adult Language Movie Release: 1974 DVD Release: 02/08/2000 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV,Pan and Scan Audio Tracks: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 28 mins Studio: Anchor Bay Members Wishing: 3 Genres: Crime, Crime Thriller See Also: Macon County Line

Two guys looking for a good time find more than they bargained for in this low-budget action story laced with comedy. Chris Dixon (Alan Vint) and his brother Wayne (Jesse Vint) are originally from Chicago, but when the two are scheduled to go into the Army together, they decide to spend their last two weeks before reporting for boot camp drifting through the South, chasing girls, drinking beer and raising a little hell. After picking up a pretty hitch-hiker, Jenny Scott (Cheryl Waters), who has tired of small-town life and has eyes for Chris, a busted fuel pump strands the brothers in Macon, Georgia, where Sheriff Reed Morgan (Max Baer, Jr.) makes it clear they're not welcome to spend the night. Meanwhile, a pair of ex-cons on a crime spree have arrived in Macon, and they ransack Morgan's house and murder his wife while the sheriff is picking up his son Luke (Lief Garrett) from military school. When their car breaks down again, Chris, Wayne and Jenny spend the night in a nearby barn; what they don't know is they've ended up on the sheriff's property, and when he comes home and discovers his house is a crime scene, he assumes the worst after he finds Chris and Wayne. Max Baer, Jr., who plays Sheriff Morgan, also produced Macon County Line and co-wrote the screenplay; the movie was a major box-office success on its original release in 1974 and sparked a new career behind the camera for the former Beverly Hillbillies star. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Cheryl Waters - Jenny
Joan Blackman - Carol
Sam Gilman - Deputy
Jesse Vint - Wayne Dixon

As low budget as Macon County Line was, it's nice to see it receive such a nice transfer from Anchor Bay. The image is very clear, with only spots of grain; any problem with the picture quality is more than likely due to the limited resources that went into the making of the film. Anchor Bay has used an anamorphic transfer, which only serves to improve the image. This dual-layer disc also has a full-frame transfer that gains image on the top and bottom. The sound, a two-channel mono track, is hardly spectacular, but this too is probably due to the sparse source material. Dialogue is generally clear, though it does sound tinny in certain scenes. The film lacks any subtitles or captions, which should be a standard feature on all discs.
The additional material for this disc is fairly impressive. The main point of interest is a scene-specific commentary (though there are some gaps throughout the film) by director Richard Compton. He is joined by director William Lustig (Maniac, Maniac Cop, Relentless), who seems to be there for no other reason than that he's a real fan of the film. Still, his comments, along with some vital information from Compton about making the film, add up to a wonderful track that really adds insight into the making of a low-budget independent film. The disc also features a short but interesting featurette on the making of the film, "Macon County Line: 25 Years Down the Road." This documentary was put together by Lustig and has interviews and comments from the cast and crew. Rounding out the disc are biographies and filmographies for both Compton and actor/producer Max Baer plus the theatrical trailer. ~ Trent Fordham, All Movie Guide