Walking Movie Reviews

I simply enjoyed each and every DVD out of the 5 DVDs.
It is a must have box set. I loved the part when BBC
production sensored the mating scene among primates. I can
watch the box set with my sons.

OK, if you are reading this you must know how incredible these programs are. But one thing is necessary to say: the show must go on! After watching these BBC series all you want is MORE, MORE, MORE! I also would like to thank every man/woman who were involved in this big project. You guys did a great job! So, when comes the next? Many dinosaurs and other prehistoric beasts are waiting for their "special programs" too. And so are we, dino lovers.

Brilliant is an understatement to describe the best produced/animated "history" of the planet's prehistoric inhabitants. Vividly real creatures populate a landscape of constantly changing proportions.

And the makers of the series have even given the animals "personality" as they go about their daily struggles for survival in harsh and developing times.

This is a set for those that want their science informative and entertaining; in other words, a must-have for the student and the teacher.

Walking with Dinosaurs is an interesting series for lovers of natural history. I have not seen the Discovery Channel version with Avery Brooks narrating, but only the DVD-version with Kenneth Branagh.

One should think that someone who does Shakespeare well should be able to get a dinosaur show done right, but it's obvious that dinosaurs are not Kenneth's passion, and both in WWD and Walking with Prehistoric Beasts one sometimes hears that he is reading a badly-rehearsed (and occasionally poorly-written) script. Sir David Attenborough with his authority and enthusiasm would have been perfect for the job, and I was a bit surprised that such a major BBC fronting didn't feature his legendary voice and employed his singular talent in writing nature show narrations.

That aside, I enjoyed it both visually and from the educational point of view, even if many elements of such a show naturally soon becomes dated as calculated guesses are disproved by more recent findings.

I saw this program when it aired on the Discovery Channel, and I loved it. Now my kids love it, too. They love it so much, I'm buying the DVD to replace my poor worn-out tape of the Discovery airing. The only thing that makes me sad, is the narrator. Avery Brooks gave the narration a certain flair that, no offense to the man, I do not think Kenneth Branagh can.
I've seen some really bad reviews of this program here, and i have to say, they are dead wrong. Is "Rancor" high? Hey, buddy, unless you lived there, you don't know anymore about the dinosaurs then anyone else. Also, what the heck is this "anit-reptile/bird, pro-mammal bias" he's talking about? The last time I checked, we were mammals and the dominant species. Survival of the fittest, sir. Besides, it was proven years ago that dinosaurs and birds were in no way related. Put down the crack pipe and pick up a book.
Anyway, this documentary is a must-have for anyone who has school-aged children or who just loves dinosaurs. Take it from someone who falls into both catagories.

After reading alot of these reviews it becomes quite clear that this series is both education AND entertainment. People have a right to there opinions. If they want to criticise the use of puppets, disputed claims, minor inaccuracies(disputed), excluded details... (you get the point), I believe they have every right to do so. All I can say is THANK GOD FOR THE BBC!!! If the "Experts" had made this series we'd get to watch them argue over how the Diplodocus REALLY performed bodily functions!! Let's face it, if they made this series showing the "real" day-in-the-life of a dinosaur, we'd all turn the channel (and certainly not buy the DVD) after watching them eat grass and leaves for 2 hours. This series was designed to do 2 things:

1. ENTERTAIN YOU.
2. EDUCATE YOU (no, not you "Vertibrate Paleontologist", the average person).

Without 1, 2 does not happen. That's the reallity of it. I learned more from this series (or ever needed to learn)about Dinosaurs than I'd ever imagined. The details about Dinosaurs will always be disputed, but the fact that this series (DVD) is great educational entertainment can not. I highly advise anyone who is not a Vertibrate Paleontologist to add this DVD to your collection. YOU will not be disappointed.

DISCLAIMER:
(Vertibrate Paleontologist have been known to enjoy this series from time to time. They just get a little picky about Dinosaurs like it was there JOB!!)

Walking with Prehistoric Beasts is an interesting series for lovers of natural history.

One would think that someone who does Shakespeare well should be able to get a nature show narration right, but it's obvious that paleozoology isn't Kenneth Branagh's passion, and both here and in Walking with Dinosaurs one sometimes hears that he is reading a badly-rehearsed (and occasionally poorly-written) script. Sir David Attenborough with his authority and enthusiasm would have been perfect for the job, and I was a bit surprised that such a major BBC fronting didn't feature his legendary voice and employed his singular talent in writing nature show narrations.

That aside, I enjoyed it both visually and from the educational point of view, even more so than Walking with Dinosaurs as this is a period of time that we, due to the dino craze, have heard far too little about in the major public channels before (would a film called Eocene Park be a great hit?).

I particularly enjoyed learning more about the origin of whales with the incorporation of the recent fossil findings of the ambulocetus.

Recommended!

With the enormous success of "Walking with Dinosaurs", it was only natural that Framestore and the BBC would follow-up that series with the age after the dinosaurs. "Walking with Prehistoric Beasts" is that series. In fact, this is the series that Executive Producer Tim Haines wanted to do, even more than "Walking with Dinosaurs".

My first experience with this series was in London with the episode "Whale Killer". I knew then that this was something I wanted to see when it came across the "pond", and it was something I wanted to buy. It was a little disappointing that Stockard Channing, not Avery Brooks, narrated the Discovery Channel version, but she does a fair job. However, one would be better off buying the video version than taping the series off Discovery.

The video version is the original version that aired in the UK, with Kenneth Branagh's original narration. As with "Walking with Dinosaurs", Branagh's narration is greatly superior to Channing or Brooks', though one has to remember that Branagh isn't working with a script written for a version that is chopped up to accomidate the slighty stricter US censors and commercial time. And the video has the *complete*, uncut episodes from the original BBC airing. The animation continues from "Dinosaurs" and appears just as realistic, despite the added difficulty of rendering fur and feathers!

Although this is a excellent series, there are certain flaws that prevent the series from getting five stars. The animatronics continue to be, IMHO, of a lesser quality than the animation; they still look like rubber puppets. This is perhaps at it's most glaring in the fourth episode, with the early humans. The humans in that episode, despite more than adequate animation, just don't "feel" real, either animated or animatrionic. In fact, in my opinion, the primates featured in this series look more like animated characters than real animals. Only the Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon humans have any semblance of realism, and only because they are portrayed by actors.

The extras featured in the DVD make this series even more worthwhile. Included on the second disc are the two "Making of..." hour-long episodes. Also on the disc are interviews with the creators of the series, stats on the animals featured in the series, and various images of the animals.

All in all, "Walking with Prehistoric Beasts" is an excellent follow-up to "Dinosaurs", despite the technical flaws. Once again, Tim Haines proves why Framestore is to televison what Industrial Light and Magic is to movies. I hope that Haines and company will follow up this series with episodes of the animals from *before* the age of dinosaurs, though, from the previews I've seen, I hold no hope for "Walking with Cavemen"!

I really LOVED "Walking with Prehistoric Beasts," and cannot recommend this documentary enough! This show will appeal to fans of nature documentaries who would like to view a researched but (fictional) account of the lives of ancient mammals. This series starts off at about 65 million years ago with the demise of the dinosaurs, and ends about 30 million years ago, with the demise of the Neanderthals. The animation and animatronics are so well done, so detailed that at times I forgot I was watching computer animation and animatronics. In particular, I loved the scenes with the saber-toothed cats, the hyeanadons and the ancient whales. Oh, and who can forget the andrewsarchus?

The narrator does an excellent job of describing each era, the animal life, the flora and fauna, and the climate change and how it impacts the animal populace. Creatures spring to life on the screen eating, drinking, fighting, dying, and yes even (mating).

Caveats: First: I wish the documentary had gone into a bit more detail with early homo sapiens and Neanderthals. I felt the impact of these early humans on their environment wasn't fully explored. Second: About the only scenes I saw where the animation was left than perfect, was where/when the animals fed. The chewing and eating motions didn't seem quite right. The early chimp-like humans were picking nits. But the nits never seemed to quite make it INTO the mouths. Etc.

Finally, one word of caution, while this did not bother me, some sensitive viewers and young children, might have trouble with repeat scenes of graphic violence, and animal death. Even though its animation, it is very realistically portrayed and no punches are pulled. This is not a movie intended for young children( although mature children will love it). As an example: my mother was quite distressed at the scene in the beginning where the trapped baby chick was being devoured alive by the giant ants (!) As a result, she refused to watch anymore.

Overall, an excellent film, sure to delight those who enjoy speculating on what things were like in the world of prehistory.

This movie dead man walking is a very controversial but impressive movie.It has a lot of different views invloved you get to see both sides of the story and feel both sides as well.It proves that we are all human and that we all all bleed the color red.It proves that love overcomes anything and that faith still in fact does exist.It also deals a lot with hope and pain.If you really want to watch a movie that makes you think and feel then I definetly reccomend this one its a dead winner!!!

"Dead Man Walking" is a drama that analyzes the death penalty from two angles: the perspective of the accused, and the perspective of the families of the victims affected by the loss of a beloved one. The movie stars Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon, both nominated to the Academy Awards for this movie (Sarandon won the best actress award), also the director Tim Robbins (Susan Sarandon's husband) was nominated.

Sister Helen Prejean (Susan Sarandon) is a teacher and an activist for the human rights. One day she receives a letter from Matthew Poncelot (Sean Penn), a prisoner accused of the rape and murder of two teenagers, and now sentenced to death. Matthew asks Sister Helen her help to get the pardon of the authorities and stop his future execution, claiming that he is innocent.

Through "Dead Man Walking", Sister Helen tries to save Matthew's life, but every day that passes seems more difficult to achieve it, so eventually she invites Matthew to search for his inner peace and to regret for his crimes. The movie shows the pain provoked to the families of the victims, as well as the pain inflicted to Matthew's family.

"Dead Man Walking" doesn't try to say if the death penalty is right or wrong, its only intention is to present the consequences of that penalty. An interesting drama with very good performances, particularly the Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon performances.

The Dead penalty is a babaric act.
In my humble opinion God is the only one that is allowed to give and to take live.
The state killing a person, independent of how cruel he or she may be or may have been, is not God's Justice. It is the work of man that also can make mistakes.
In my understanding innocent persons have been killed(This is not the case in the movie, but it happens in reality).
People on death row are almost always black persons without money to hire a decent lawyer(With was mencioned in the film).
A dangerous person you have to put in jail forever if this is necessary for the safety of society.
This was also what i saw in the movie.
It really touched me and made me cry.
Of course the suffering of the victims is horrible and this was also shown realy good in the movie.
I am a religous person and it is my conviction that one day all suffering will belong to the past and all souls will be saved.

The movie makes you think and touches your hart.

This movie dead man walking is a very controversial but impressive movie.It has a lot of different views invloved you get to see both sides of the story and feel both sides as well.It proves that we are all human and that we all all bleed the color red.It proves that love overcomes anything and that faith still in fact does exist.It also deals a lot with hope and pain.If you really want to watch a movie that makes you think and feel then I definetly reccomend this one its a dead winner!!!

"Dead Man Walking" is a drama that analyzes the death penalty from two angles: the perspective of the accused, and the perspective of the families of the victims affected by the loss of a beloved one. The movie stars Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon, both nominated to the Academy Awards for this movie (Sarandon won the best actress award), also the director Tim Robbins (Susan Sarandon's husband) was nominated.

Sister Helen Prejean (Susan Sarandon) is a teacher and an activist for the human rights. One day she receives a letter from Matthew Poncelot (Sean Penn), a prisoner accused of the rape and murder of two teenagers, and now sentenced to death. Matthew asks Sister Helen her help to get the pardon of the authorities and stop his future execution, claiming that he is innocent.

Through "Dead Man Walking", Sister Helen tries to save Matthew's life, but every day that passes seems more difficult to achieve it, so eventually she invites Matthew to search for his inner peace and to regret for his crimes. The movie shows the pain provoked to the families of the victims, as well as the pain inflicted to Matthew's family.

"Dead Man Walking" doesn't try to say if the death penalty is right or wrong, its only intention is to present the consequences of that penalty. An interesting drama with very good performances, particularly the Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon performances.

The Dead penalty is a babaric act.
In my humble opinion God is the only one that is allowed to give and to take live.
The state killing a person, independent of how cruel he or she may be or may have been, is not God's Justice. It is the work of man that also can make mistakes.
In my understanding innocent persons have been killed(This is not the case in the movie, but it happens in reality).
People on death row are almost always black persons without money to hire a decent lawyer(With was mencioned in the film).
A dangerous person you have to put in jail forever if this is necessary for the safety of society.
This was also what i saw in the movie.
It really touched me and made me cry.
Of course the suffering of the victims is horrible and this was also shown realy good in the movie.
I am a religous person and it is my conviction that one day all suffering will belong to the past and all souls will be saved.

The movie makes you think and touches your hart.

This dramatic narrative follows the life of actual Allosaurus, Big Al, from an egg to the corpse of a fierce hunter. Even though the filming skips about Al's life, the flow of the production is hardly damaged. The research for the film is impressive; even the Allosaurus fight has some evidence from Al's fossils. Superb computer graphics and animatronics create the believable dinosaurs. There is suspense,action and tradgedy,as well as humor and fun woven into the story.One negative comment is with the location of the filming. It is filmed in Utah and Arizona,which do not look quite accurate,but the extensive research and realistic dinosaurs balance it out. This good short film lets the viewer experience how a dinosaur may have lived.

When I was a little kid, I used to dream of a world teeming with dinosaurs. I used to imagine what it would have been like when those skeletons I saw on exhibit lived, and how someone needed to play tour guide to that realm and how I should twist the handle. Sadly, no matter how I tried that doorway, it always remained closed, my time machine not quite working the way I would have intended, and dinosaurs were left either in bone formation or in the movies as monsters.
There was never an in-between.

With the creation of the Walking With Dinosaurs series, however, everything began to change and I, still that boy with an interest in that hobby, found myself addicted. The key that separated this series and made it "unique" - a word I try to use sparingly - is in the way the dinosaurs, our main actors and actresses, are portrayed. Instead of turning then into a depiction of a colossal, toothy menace or dryly discussing their lifespan in the way one discusses ancient relics, the series showcases dinosaurs by allowing one to walk with them through their terrain. From the flora and the fauna, the insect life and dinosaurs themselves, a depiction of CGI effects, prosthetics, and of "dinosaur knowing" comes to life. Here, you see the landscape the way it would have been, the animals roaming free and observed naturalistically, and the experience is incredible because it looks so vibrantly realistic.

In Allosaurus: A Walking With Dinosaurs Special, the Allosaurus "Big Al" is showcased as he struggles from the cradle while trying to grow into something fearsome. In sixty minutes, the fifteen years from the egg to the eventual demise it faces are depicted, showing a person that going to the head of the class wasn't easy in that age. Here, other dinosaurs walk as well, and the efforts of one of the top predators of its age seem a tad on the hard side - making me rethink the allure of being the biggest kid on the block. Survival while growing, it is dramatic and enlightening experience, and its pretty interesting how harrowing an introduction can be and how brutal it can be.

For anyone that has yet to watch this series, I'd recommend tuning in as soon as possible and catching up on all those moments you missed out on. I would recommend starting with Walking With Dinosaurs, however, and moving on from there. Still, that is far from being a bad thing. Besides this video that focuses on Big Al and a few of species, other DVDs house other forms of life that are entrancing. Wonderfully fast predators, Megladons swimming the high tides and eating enough to be interesting, and other strange species await you. And they, all the DVDs released thusfar in this series, simply look fantastic.

The "seventh" episode of the spectacularly successful "Walking with Dinosaurs" series, "Allosaurus" - better known as "The Ballad of Big Al" outside the US - is a extraordinary follow-up to that series. It also served to whet many fans' appetite for the later "Prehistoric Beasts" series.

In "Allosaurus", we followed the life of "Big Al" literally from birth to the grave. Life wasn't all "blood in tooth and claw" for the top predator in Jurassic America, as we're shown. As a baby, Al had to watch for predators, especially his own kind! He had to literally teach himself to hunt, and some prey was just too big to take on without help. And mating was no pinic either; Al needs more than flowers to win a female's heart.

As a sequel of sorts to "Walking with Dinosaurs", "Allosaurus" does quite well. We're treated to the same CGI and animatronic effects seen in the previous series, and while the puppetry still needs a little work, IMHO, the CGI is top notch. All of the dinosaurs featured in the episode "Time of the Titans" - Diplodocus, Brachiosaurus, and Stegosaurus - return here. Three more dinosaurs are added to the cast; Dryosaurus, Othnelia, and the famous Apatosaurus. As with "Dinosaurs", there is a "Making of..." episode, included on the VHS, giving us insight into the research of what is one of the most recognizable predatory dinosaurs, second only to Tyrannosaurus and Velociraptor.

While "Allosaurus" is a wonderful series, I do have one little complaint. Surely the Framestore and BBC teams could have added a few more dinosaurs to the episode. They didn't need to have added more sauropods; three is enough. But what about Ceratosaurus, or Camptosaurus, both contemparies of Allosaurus? Surely both these dinosaurs could have been included, especially since its likely Ceratosaurus could have competed with Allosaurus for the same food source.

Despite this "flaw", "Allosaurus" is a fine follow-up to "Dinosaurs". Part of the continuing "Walking with..." series, which now includes "Prehistoric Beasts", "Chased by Dinosaurs", and now "Walking with Cavemen", "Allosaurus" definately belongs in anyone's collection. And here's a message to the folks at the BBC: please, *please* do something about the time *before* the dinosaurs.

As you may have watched in the recent "Lovely and Amazing" movie by the same director, she chooses to focus on the truth in relationships, instead of presenting what's fake and flowery. Amelia is best friends with Laura. They grew up together, lived together, and shared a cat together. Now, Laura is getting married to her live-in boyfriend, and Amelia takes it hard. She is trying to put a handle on this, and at the same time, be single in New York. It seems that she has no other friends really, except for Andrew, a recent Amelia stalker victim, who she once dated. In fact, everyone she dates, she ends up obsessing about for a little while.

This movie is not too well known or accessible, but I have always liked it for the fact that Amelia, played by Catherine Keener, is so real, with her tangly brown hair, and hilarious facial expressions. Although I haven't really been a fan of Anne Heche, she nails the part. She is interesting to watch with her cynical personality, who can be kind of abrasive, though sometimes sweet. She is trying to accept getting married, and wondering whether she wants to be there.

Walking and Talking is fun, depicting a couple at night, stating, "You want to play around?" then grabbing a Boggle game from under the bed. Liev Schreiber, who has boyish charm and a machine-gun laugh, plays Andrew. He has a need for "adult videos" and stimulating phone conversations with women, he hardly knows. In addition, Todd Field, before directing, "In the Bedroom," always has that sweet, calm demeanor. The characters are hard to forget. Although the story is very simple, it still holds true with healthy and dysfunctional relationships. Anyone who wants to understand women and how they deal with each other should watch it!

I can't stand Anne Heche. I know this is an earlier film, but that woman irritates me in every single film she is in. I would give this movie 5 stars if she were not it. So, let me talk about the ones who made the movie great Catherine Keener and Liev Schreiber. Their timing together is wonderful and I was far more interested in their relationship than the one Anne Heche was in. Well, I thought Anne's fiance was very nice and well played, but she was in them and, well you get the drift. This movie is funny and very moving. I liked it a lot.

This movie catapulted Holofsen into the top ranks of movie directors in my book. The acting is superb all around, not show-offy or coy but real & many-layered. I've watched this movie several times & never grown tired or bored of watching Heche & Keener - they are fine musicians playing complex elegant intricate duets. The range of emotions that play over their faces is awesome. What this movie reminds me of the most is the films of Eric Rohmer (whose work I have enormous admiration for). The only other American film of recent years that came close to it was Joan Micklin Silver's Chilly Scenes of Winter (AKA Head Over Heels), another of my favorites. Curious too that Anne Heche who played Laura in this reminded me of Mary Beth Hurt who played Laura in that.

Some rare movies are a true snapshot of a certain time & a place. This movie is one of those & will be a classic in decades to come.

Buford Pusser (Joe Don Baker), has just become an ex-wrestler and goes back home to Tennessee with his wife, daughter and son. His Mom and Dad are happy about his decision along with his own family. Now they can settle down and live like normal people out in the beautiful Tennessee countryside. But, of course, that's not how it turns out. He goes into town and runs into an old football buddy from high school who takes him just outside town and introduces him to one of the new businesses, "The Lucky Spot". Here there is plenty to drink, gambling in the back room, and ladies of the evening that will entertain you in trailors parked off to the side. His buddy blows a 10 spot at the craps table and Buford loans him more. But Buford decides to bring a halt to this and get his money back. Naturally, this is met with resistance. After taking on about 5 or 6 guys Buford is finally restrained and they "show this bastard who runs things around here". Buford is dumped on a lonely road and left to die but he survives, recovers and decides to settle the score. This sets the tone of the movie. Buford runs for sheriff and gets elected and decides he's going to clean up the place and naturally, this also meets with resistance. Brenda Benet (Lu Ann) is one of the girls who works at the Lucky Spot. Women don't get any sexier than Brenda. She helps Buford out because she has a soft spot for "big, strong, good lookin' ex-marines". Based on the real life of sheriff Buford Pusser and played well by Baker, the real Pusser was killed about a year after this show came out, under suspicious circumstances.

As I watched this film again recently, I reacted to it almost the same way I did when I first saw it 30 years ago: Joe Don Baker's performance as sheriff Buford Pusser dominates it from beginning to end. There really are no "gray" cats in the small town in Tennessee's "alley" as Pusser reacts creatively, at times violently to the widespread corruption around him. Because he is such a serious threat to those responsible for the corruption (within and beyond the town), he is constantly in harm's way, as are his loved ones and the honest men who "walk tall" with him. This time around, however, I appreciated even more Elizabeth Hartman's understated (hence more credible) performance as Pusser's wife Pauline. This is one of the most influential of modern (i.e. post 1960) Good Guys versus Bad Guys films. There is absolutely no confusion about who is which. Like Willie Stark in an earlier film, All the King's Men (1949), Pusser gains public office to oppose more effectively the evil he observes around him. Unlike Stark, he is uncorrupted by it. Director Phil Karlson manages to walk a fine line between drama and melodrama (at least most of the time), allowing Baker's commanding presence to guide the narrative to its powerful conclusion. This time around, however, I found the quiet moments in the film to have much greater impact. For example, the scenes in which the Pussers has a family picnic, later when Pusser meets briefly with Callie Hacker (Rosemary Murphy) before she leaves town, and then when his son walks through the hospital hallway to Pusser's room. It remains for others far better qualified than I to comment on this film's historical authenticity. (Although delighted by the attention which the film attracted to him, the real Buford Pusser was reportedly very upset by how Matt Briskin's screenplay portrays him.) Then (1973) and now, I think Walking Tall makes some important statements about what a determined and principled person can accomplish, whatever the cost may prove to be. If some consider this film "corny," so be it. I do not.

This is a great movie based on a real-life hero Buford Pusser. I would have given it 5 stars except for one BIG problem. The cameraman on this movie must have been drunk because the boom mike comes into the top of a few of the scenes. You would think with this being the digital age and all, that someone could digitally edit the mike out of the picture. Should a copy of the movie be released with the mike edited out, my rating will be 5 stars.

Buford Pusser (Joe Don Baker), has just become an ex-wrestler and goes back home to Tennessee with his wife, daughter and son. His Mom and Dad are happy about his decision along with his own family. Now they can settle down and live like normal people out in the beautiful Tennessee countryside. But, of course, that's not how it turns out. He goes into town and runs into an old football buddy from high school who takes him just outside town and introduces him to one of the new businesses, "The Lucky Spot". Here there is plenty to drink, gambling in the back room, and ladies of the evening that will entertain you in trailors parked off to the side. His buddy blows a 10 spot at the craps table and Buford loans him more. But Buford decides to bring a halt to this and get his money back. Naturally, this is met with resistance. After taking on about 5 or 6 guys Buford is finally restrained and they "show this bastard who runs things around here". Buford is dumped on a lonely road and left to die but he survives, recovers and decides to settle the score. This sets the tone of the movie. Buford runs for sheriff and gets elected and decides he's going to clean up the place and naturally, this also meets with resistance. Brenda Benet (Lu Ann) is one of the girls who works at the Lucky Spot. Women don't get any sexier than Brenda. She helps Buford out because she has a soft spot for "big, strong, good lookin' ex-marines". Based on the real life of sheriff Buford Pusser and played well by Baker, the real Pusser was killed about a year after this show came out, under suspicious circumstances.

As I watched this film again recently, I reacted to it almost the same way I did when I first saw it 30 years ago: Joe Don Baker's performance as sheriff Buford Pusser dominates it from beginning to end. There really are no "gray" cats in the small town in Tennessee's "alley" as Pusser reacts creatively, at times violently to the widespread corruption around him. Because he is such a serious threat to those responsible for the corruption (within and beyond the town), he is constantly in harm's way, as are his loved ones and the honest men who "walk tall" with him. This time around, however, I appreciated even more Elizabeth Hartman's understated (hence more credible) performance as Pusser's wife Pauline. This is one of the most influential of modern (i.e. post 1960) Good Guys versus Bad Guys films. There is absolutely no confusion about who is which. Like Willie Stark in an earlier film, All the King's Men (1949), Pusser gains public office to oppose more effectively the evil he observes around him. Unlike Stark, he is uncorrupted by it. Director Phil Karlson manages to walk a fine line between drama and melodrama (at least most of the time), allowing Baker's commanding presence to guide the narrative to its powerful conclusion. This time around, however, I found the quiet moments in the film to have much greater impact. For example, the scenes in which the Pussers has a family picnic, later when Pusser meets briefly with Callie Hacker (Rosemary Murphy) before she leaves town, and then when his son walks through the hospital hallway to Pusser's room. It remains for others far better qualified than I to comment on this film's historical authenticity. (Although delighted by the attention which the film attracted to him, the real Buford Pusser was reportedly very upset by how Matt Briskin's screenplay portrays him.) Then (1973) and now, I think Walking Tall makes some important statements about what a determined and principled person can accomplish, whatever the cost may prove to be. If some consider this film "corny," so be it. I do not.

This is a great movie based on a real-life hero Buford Pusser. I would have given it 5 stars except for one BIG problem. The cameraman on this movie must have been drunk because the boom mike comes into the top of a few of the scenes. You would think with this being the digital age and all, that someone could digitally edit the mike out of the picture. Should a copy of the movie be released with the mike edited out, my rating will be 5 stars.