Product Details

• Actors: Barry Corbin, Sam Huntington, Caroline Goodall, Charles Robinson, Amanda Brooks
• Directors: William Katt
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Celebrity Video Dist
• DVD Release Date: July 7, 2009
• Run Time: 94 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000MEYKG4
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #38,094 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "River's End" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Clay Watkins (Sam Huntington, Superman Returns) is a big-time rebel in a small-time Texas town. His mother (Caroline Goodall, Schindler's List) is a mess, unable to control his confrontational behavior. His grandfather (Barry Corbin, Wargames) is the local sheriff, who spends most of his time bailing Clay out of all kinds of trouble. When he finally goes too far (yet again), Granddad Watkins makes a deal with the boy take a trip, all by himself, down the 60 miles that make up the regional river, and he'll square away everything with the judicial system. Initially, Clay balks, but after a bit of somber soul searching, he decides to give it a try. Of course he hates it at first, but it's not long before the pierced punk begins enjoying his time in the wilderness. Elsewhere, the sheriff is sniffing out a local drug ring. When a couple of the criminals escape his roadside sting, they carjack a vehicle and head out into the desert. Unbeknownst to the hoods, they've inadvertently kidnapped a local gal (Amanda Brooks, Flightplan) and they soon make a beeline for the same river Clay is canoeing down. Obviously they are headed for a spectacular showdown, with the felons ready to fight for their freedom and our hero hoping to prove his maturing mettle. It will all come down at the River's End, a place where you never quite know what's going to happen. It starts after only 15 minutes. You can see it written all across the screen. It's as if screenwriter Glen Stephens and director William Katt (yes, The Greatest American Hero himself) used the knotty notion as part of the very celluloid fabric they're working with. Call it inherent nobility or purposeful decency, but River's End is overloaded with good intentions. You know the kind of motives I mean. This is a film just busting at the seams with wholesome happenstance and life lessons via character-building basics. In the persona of sage Sheriff Buster; Watkins and the stilted swagger of his minor metrosexual grandson Clay, we are supposed to see the daily dichotomy that exists out in the real world - hard-working honor vs. IPod-inspired unembellished laziness. The combination, in conjunction with lots of your standard classroom bullying and harried home life, leads to the discovery of inner strength and the overcoming of obstacles. All that's missing is the Jesus is Lord pronouncement and some choir singing Amazing Grace. Thankfully, River's End avoids the Go with God designs and instead tries to make human beings responsible for their own unnecessary rebelliousness. By learning the messages that a body of water can teach you and helping to save a kidnapped girl along the way, you can reverse decades of pro-punk swagger and bad experiments with hair gel. But that's beside River's End's rather routine point. Basically, this movie argues that if you stop being an alt-rock reaming wuss, man up and take responsibility for your own shortcomings, and stick a scorpion or two down a dope peddler's boot, you'll wind up with the hottest chick on campus and a ball sack overflowing with freshly minted machismo. You'll forgive your late, lamented Dad, appreciate your overburdened single mother, and finally understand the lure of a canoe and a cooler filled with authentic longhorn beef jerky. It has to be said that River's End is not a bad movie. It delivers its many wholesome messages with directness and emotional honesty. If you are one of those people who laments the lack of cinematic choices for the whole family from wee ones to the elderly, smug adolescents to needing-a-bit-of-a-break adults, River's End will service your unexceptional entertainment needs. It's rather routine, but acquits itself by never growing boring while covering those basics. --Judge Bill Gibron - DVD Verdict

Product Description

With blue-tipped hair, black nail polish and multiple piercings, Clay (Sam Huntington - Superman Returns, Fanboys), is out-of-place in his small Texas community. Bitter over the death of his Father, the angry seventeen-year-old invites trouble by acting recklessly, committing vandalism, aggravating his friends, and ignoring his teachers. His grandpa, Buster (Barry Corbin - The Closer, One Tree Hill, Northern Exposure), decides to pick up the reins, and break this rank colt. Buster, the tough-as-leather county sheriff, uses cowboy logic and tough love tactics to straighten out his angry grandson. He gives Clay a choice: Face the judge and take his punishment of possible jail time, or go on a 60 mile, survival boat trip down the rugged Pecos River - where he just might discover what he is really made of.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good One!, February 24, 2008

By	BJ "Brett Starr" (East Peoria, IL United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: River's End (DVD)

Finally, I found it. I first saw this movie at Blockbuster, I didnt rent it! Oops, one week later it was gone, they said it was sent back! I looked everywhere for it, finally found it on Ebay.
Its a coming of age story, the wild teen who is set out on the open water to survive. I liked the actors/actresses in this one, rent it if you can, its definitely worth watching!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This one's worth watching, and buying..., December 10, 2009

By	classicflicks (St Lawrence Seaway, MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: River's End (DVD)

There are many movies made where a grandparent (usually a grandfather) is forced to step in and make a difference in the life of a grandchild who has a bad attitude. Generally in these stories, something traumatic has happened to the grandchild, usually the death of a parent. An animal, an experience - in this movie it's a river trip - is the crux that somehow gets through to the grandchild, sets him or her straight, and makes the aggravation involved worthwhile for all.

Although there are a couple others I could recommend in this category, I'm personally most impressed with this one by way of acting quality and interesting storyline. Definitely worth a watch, and after watching twice as a rental, I'm buying it!