The Last American Hero

Classic Thriller

Second Sight

R2 DVD

The film is a reissue of the classic 1973 car racing film telling the true story of Junior Jackson. Young Jackson started out a moonshine runner delivering moonshine whisky from his father’s still to customers around the backwoods area. The moonshine makers had a rather relaxed attitude to paying revenue on their product so the full force of the law was set in motion against them. With the local lawmen and the revenue men after him Junior had many close escapades in his hotted up car. Moonshine running developed his driving skills for what was to come.

When his father was finally caught and the still blown up, Junior had to make money to keep the family going and to pay his father’s legal costs. He hit on speedway racing. Now the careful building and setting up of his car was worthwhile. He started to win races, supported by a group of friends as his pit crew. It was a shoestring operation and the inevitable happened – the car crashed and was not repairable. Junior had to swallow his pride and ask to race for a local promoter.

As a member of the racing group Junior had to learn new tactics and team cooperation. This came hard to a previously independent young driver but he succeeded. He moved into the lucrative NASCAR series.

Junior was played surprisingly well by a young Jeff Bridges whose natural backwoods good looks really fit the part. A young and rather plump Valerie Perrine makes a short appearance as Junior’s temporary groupie girlfriend and Gary Busey makes an early appearance as Junior’s brother. Regardless of who acts in the film, it’s the cars that star. There’s something about an American V8 thundering its head off and the film looks and sounds superb – a real window-rattler.

The film has cleaned up well for its age. Even if you’re not a racing car fan it is still a good piece of drama.

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