Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

Eddie Macon's Run Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 6, 2019

Jeff Kanew's "Eddie Macon's Run" (1983) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Swiss label Explosive Media. The supplemental features on the disc include a vintage American trailer for the film, promotional materials, and more. In English or German, with optional English and German subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The man from Florida

During the annual Huntsville Prison Rodeo in Texas inmate cowboy Eddie Macon (John Schneider) finds a way to outsmart the guards and get on a big cattle trailer. Hundreds of miles away from the event he gets off the trailer at a rest area, where he easily finds a bag full of civilian clothes, a pair of running shoes and a map. It is all part of a plan that will reunite him with his wife Chris (Leah Ayres) and their boy Bobby. Now all Eddie has to do is run, real fast, and get to Laredo, from where the three will cross the border and begin a new life in Mexico.

But back in Huntsville a large posse of bounty hunters begin tracking down the fugitive, and when the news about his escape reaches veteran detective Carl ‘Buster’ Marzack (Kirk Douglas) he quickly joins the party. Unlike the bounty hunters, however, Marzack is not in for the money, he wants to get Macon to settle an old score.

Despite being prepared for the run to the border, Macon quickly becomes exhausted. He continues his run but nearly gets killed during an unexpected encounter with a couple of drunken ranchers (outstanding Jay Sanders and Tom Noonan) and a genuinely deranged female (Lisa Dunsheath). With Marzack right behind him, Macon then takes hostage Jilly Buck (Lee Purcell), a wild gal with connections, who against all odds decides to help him reach his final destination.

Director Jeff Kanew relies on a number of flashbacks to reveal what actually becomes quite obvious without them, which is that Macon is a good family man in trouble, not a bad man trying to get back to his old ways. The crucial flashback where Macon’s life spins out of control has footage from an oil rig where the young man is working extra hours to save for the medical treatment his son needs but gets cheated by a very nasty supervisor (John Goodman) and loses his temper. After he beats the cheater, the state troopers pick him up and a lousy judge throws him behind bars. Then in another flashback Macon has an argument with Marzack and leaves him with a large scar on his aging face, which is the reason why the old is after him -- it is very personal for him.

The most enjoyable moments come after Macon meets Jilly, who quickly realizes that he is exactly the type of stand-up guy that she has wanted to meet and fall in love with. Instead of getting clogged up with melodramatic clichés, however, the film becomes funnier and a lot more energetic, making it even easier for the two unlikely partners to appear natural together. Because of their great chemistry the action becomes more attractive as well.

The old pro, Marzack, should have been played by a younger actor. Douglas looks a good ten years older than he should have been to convince that he can be a threat to Macon. The footage from the hotel, for instance, looks quite weak. On the positive side, the big chase at the end of the film is really well shot and looks very authentic. (This was the type of action that American films from the ‘70s did exceptionally well).

Schneider sings two great songs that are heard multiple times throughout the film, “It's Gonna Be All Right” and “Forever More”. Macon was his first major role in a feature film.

Eddie Macon's Run Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Jeff Kanew's Eddie Macon's Run arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Explosive Media.

I used to have this film on LD, but I don't remember ever logging a DVD release in my catalog. Universal Pictures produced this DVD release as part of its Vault Series in 2011, but I did not pick it up and cannot comment on how it compares to the Blu-ray release.

The film has a dated appearance. Some of the indoor close-ups can look decent, but the rest of the footage has the type of flat appearance that Charley Varrick does. What this means is that depth isn't optimal and the darker footage has plenty of native nuances that are either crushed or lost. If you have a larger screen or project, you will also notice that some edges tend to pop up quite a bit (see creencapture #3). To be perfectly clear, this isn't one of those harsh masters that makes it impossible to enjoy the film -- large sections of the film actually look decent -- but it does not have solid organic qualities and on a bigger screen it shows. Colors are fine and stable, but a new master will bring better saturation levels and wider ranges of healthier nuances. Image stability is excellent. Finally, there are no distracting large debris, cuts, damage marks, or stains to report. My score is 3.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to access its content regardless of your geographical location).

Eddie Macon's Run Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and German DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English and German subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The lossless English track is really, really good. I was actually quite surprised because it appears that the people at Universal that prepared the current master cleaned it up and made sure that is perfectly balanced as well. There isn't even a whiff of the type of distortions that pop up on older tracks. Dynamic intensity is excellent as well.

Eddie Macon's Run Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• U.S. Trailer - a vintage American trailer for Eddie Macon's Run. In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 1080p).

• Promotional Materials - a gallery of original promotional materials for Eddie Macon's Run from around the world. With music. (2 min, 1080p).

• Original Menu Trailer - a music video from the main menu with John Schneider singing "Forever More".

Eddie Macon's Run Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

John Schneider had his first big acting role in Eddie Macon's Run. It is a small but very enjoyable '70s action thriller with some terrific performances from the supporting cast. I used to have it on LD, but I don't think that I ever saw it on DVD in America because I never upgraded it. I would love to have a local Blu-ray release, perhaps from Kino Lorber since now they add so many older gems to their catalog, with the film redone at least in 2K because the current master that Universal Pictures has available for licensing is rather underwhelming. However, at the moment this Region-Free Blu-ray release is quite easy to recommend because it is very attractively priced and obviously preferable to the Vault Series R1 DVD. RECOMMENDED (but with reservations).