Customer Reviews

Walking Tall Trilogy Boxed Set [VHS]

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I have waited for a long time for the Walking Tall Trilogy to be released on DVD but was not over joyed with the DVD set. First I have to say is that the movies are all outstanding and can be watched over and over aging without loosing their excitement. But, it looks like Rhino did not use a master print but a copy of the video tape. The print they used I think is a very poor print. Walking Tall part 1 has alot of what I call "video tape lines' runnig through it, the Final Chapter is real dark in some scenes, and over all the video quality is not what you expect out of a DVD. It looks like you are watching a video tape. Rhino, you did Bufford Pusser an injustice! And I have to agree with the other reviewer; Where is the TV series at??? Release them pleaseeeee.
Over all, for the movies sake I give it a 5 star plus. On Rhinos part, 5 stars for releasing the movies on DVD, and 2 stars for their transfer. Go back to the master prints, thx them, re-do a new release to DVD including a release of the TV series.
If you like Walking Tall and Buford Pusser at all, this is a DVD set you will wnat to own

This set gives what it promises. It provides videos of the 3 movies from the 70s about Sheriff Buford Pusser. It does little else. There are no special features to speak of; its just the movies.

If you like the movies and don't care for the frill, you will like this set. If you want more, you will be disappointed.

Synopses of the individual films appear below:

Walking Tall

The Original is still a Classic

Joe Don Baker plays the part of Buford Pusser, a.k.a. Buford the Bull, a pro wrestler who is disenchanted with the crooked sport and who decides to settle down in his home town in rural Tennessee. Home is not the way he remembers it, though. There is a hint of corruption in the air.

This does not matter overly much to Buford until it affects him personally. When the local thugs, working for the local moonshiners and madam, work him over and leave him for dead, he decides that he has had enough. He doesn't get a gun, his wife does not like guns. Instead, when he recovers, he gets a big piece of oak, heads over to the roadhouse where all the problems are and proceeds to kick everyone's collective butt. That lands him in jail.

When the trial comes about, it's a pretty open and shut case. Even Buford admits that he did the violence. It looks like he is going to be convicted until he fires his lawyer, makes an impassioned plea on his own behalf, shows the jury his scars and promises that if he is acquitted, he will run for sheriff and clean up the town. He gets off and then proceeds to clean things up.

The problem is that the crooks don't want to be cleaned up. They fight him and even threaten his family. That makes it personal for Buford. He cleans them up anyway but has to endure a fair amount of grief in the process. Throughout it all, he relies only on speaking softly and carrying a BIG stick.

This is not highbrow. Its just a simple good versus evil story. Buford is the good guy and he is likable.

Walking Tall Part 2

Vengeance in Mine Sayeth Buford

Near the end of the Original WALKING TALL, Sheriff Pusser's wife is killed while the mob is attempting to kill him. Now it is time for payback. There are a few changes, though.

Bo Svenson replaces Joe Don Baker as the likable sheriff. He does a creditable job but, under the circumstances, he is less concerned with the niceties of exactly following the law.

He's still effective, though. He is so effective that the mob is desperate to get him and hires a variety of hit men to do the job. One of the mob leaders, in particular, is just as obsessed with getting the sheriff as the sheriff is with getting them. That leads to an intense conflict and no concern for niceties. That means violence and mayhem.

Even with his proclivity for violence, the sheriff is concerned for his people. He is still a "nice" guy unless you are one of the people who is responsible for the problems. He still manages to get most of the small fry but the big fish still elude him.

This is not a bad movie as sequels go but it is not as good as the original. Anger can only take you so far in progressing the plot. It cannot make up for a lesser script and lesser story.

Walking Tall: The Final Chapter

End of the Road

The second Walking Tall ends with a notice that Sheriff Buford was killed in an auto accident. This third one picks up earlier in the story though. He is still adamant about getting the people who killed his wife and the Mob is still bent on getting the sheriff but Buford has a problem. He has lost his job as sheriff.

The job loss comes about for several reasons. In some cases, Buford is scene as having gone too far outside the legal boundaries. This happens even when his solutions make life easier for everyone, including the perpetrators. The people of his county also seem a bit jaded by continued success. Where they once cheered him, now they are not ready to support him.

The loss of his job means that Buford has to go after justice as a private citizen and he is well on his way to the poorhouse in pursuing his aims. The new sheriff is suspicious of him and is fearful that Buford might become a problem for him. It begins to look like he might have to move away with his business unfinished when he gets a lucky break.

A Hollywood producer learns of his story and wants to make a movie about him. That brings in money and a chance for achieving his goals. The mob leader with a taste for vengeance finally gets his chance and we learn the story of the end of the former Sheriff of McNairy County.

This one is better than the second but not as good as the first.

Walking Tall is one of those rare movies that when you're flipping channels in the middle of the
night and you land on it you just cant look away. I've called in drunk more than once after pulling
an all-nighter with Joe Don and the crew from the Lucky Spot.

II & III are better than expected, maybe for fans only, but Bo Svenson does a pretty good job replicating
the intensity Baker brought to the first installment.

However, Rhino has botched yet another DVD release in which appears to be a bad habit of theirs as I've
seen these negative comments before. Video and sound are subpar, and the soundtrack is downright ugly.
Come to think of it that's some of the worst music ever inspired by Hollywood and somehow Rhino has
found a way to make it sound even cheesier.

The Ghenghis Scale rates the collection 4 Stills, and breaks down this way - #1=5*, #2=4*, #3=2*.
And to the boys at Rhino..... I have a big stick carved from a 4x4, I think you know what you can do
with it. haw haw haw

I agree that the picture and sound quality should have been better. I feel better about the quality of my DVD player knowing that someone else found certain scenes in "Final Chapter-Walking Tall" to be too dark. Also disappointing are the lack of trailers and documentaries, the latter, especially disappointing since these films were loosely based on facts. The packaging is flimsy, hardly protective from dust for the discs, merely adequate. Even so, the set is still a bargain for the money. As one who had the privilege of meeting the real Buford Pusser's mother and daughter and being told the facts, I really don't like Paul Gaita's so-called review and his calling the real Buford Pusser cruel and far from scrupulous. He should at least take the time to get his facts straight before making such statements. He might also be interested to know that the real Buford Pusser did not die in an explosion, but from being thrown from a fast-moving car. His mother went to her grave believing the crash of his Corvette on August 21, 1974 was caused by his being poisoned. Officially, his death was ruled as an accident, caused by drinking and speeding. Curiously though, his mother said that she was prevented from having his body exhumed, which she said would have proven that he was poisoned. Especially strange that there was no autopsy done either, which would have been proof of his drinking or not. She also said she was prevented from having his death investigated any further. I agree that the first film is the best and most factual, but Mr. Gaita needs to get his facts straight before defaming an actual person's character and reputation.

This is a great 3-DVD collection. I have looked for a while to find these movies, then came across the 3-DVD set. All 3 of the DVD's were error free, no problems at all. The DVD collection was received 3 days early.

As for the movies themselves, they are great action movies. Watching these made me stop and think about law enforcement people and what their families go through: a lot of work with little to no appreciation.

If you want to watch a good action movie, then these are for you.

Excellent action filled drama of life involving bootlegging and vigilanteism in beautiful Tennesse. One of the best "Southern State" epic dramas ever filmed.

i like this movie set because it deplects some of the real life characteristics of Bufford Pusser. I know this for a fact because i grew up in Adamsville Tn just a few houses down from the Bufford Pusser museum and some of my family members knew him very well. My family has lived in that area along time and we know just about anything and everything about Bufford that you wont find in the movies here or in the books. If you purchase this triology and have any questions about it feel free to email me at anthony.goodman1@us.army.mil thank you and have a nice day.

The trilogy came in a nicely boxed set and I found the DVDs to be without flaw. The movies were much as I remembered them to be when I first saw them in the theatre upon their initial release lo these many years ago. I enjoyed them greatly!! If there is a downside to watching something 30 years later, it lies in the fact that we have become a much more sophisticated viewer today than when these were first released.

This movie has a wonderful story to it. The only thing you sould consider when you buy it is when it was made. It is a old movie and is not as advanced as the movies that are made today. Like I mentioned though, the story is great. I enjoyed it even more than the modern day walking tall, although that is my opinion.

I recall seeing the first "Walking Tall" movie when I was real small, back in the late '70s. I saw the last two chapters in later years, enjoyed them as well. However, not to take away from Bo Svenson's performances, I was somewhat bummed that Joe Don Baker wasn't in the last two parts. Nevertheless, I decided to buy the trilogy box set and i'm glad I did. If you're looking for a good action movie, you should get this whole series.