Bing Crosby's company produced the first Walking Tall feature, which was based loosely on Southern sheriff Buford Pusser, a former wrestler who took on organized crime in his hometown. Joe Don Baker's formidable appearance and downhome persona helped sell the filmmakers' depiction of Pusser as an average American who stood up for justice, and Baker's performance and plenty of action helped make Walking Tall a major moneymaker in 1973. Pusser's big stick was handed to Bo Svenson for Walking Tall, Part II (1975), which followed his search for his wife's killers (she died in the first film). Svenson wasn't the only change-director Phil Karlson's no-nonsense style was replaced by veteran TV helmer Earl Bellamy's colorless approach, and American International Pictures took over distribution from the bankrupt Cinemation. Pusser himself, who had served as technical advisor on the first film, had also died in an explosion. Though audiences turned out in droves, the drop in quality was obvious. The addition of action specialist Jack Starrett (Race with the Devil) as director on Final Chapter: Walking Tall (1977) was initially promising, but the result was a tired retread of Pusser's previous adventures and, amusingly enough, the making of the first film. A short-lived series starring Svenson followed in 1981, but by then, the story had exhausted itself. A new theatrical version is reportedly in production. This three-disc set compiles the Walking Tall trilogy in a no-frills package that's more convenient than collectible. [+]

Desperadoes cringed when the bullwhip cracked. Features: About Fuzzy St. John - Rare Previews - The Early Years - How To Use The Bullwhip - Plus Bonus Rare Episode TV Series "Lash Of The West".

1995 had already seen the box-office success of sword-wielding heroes in Rob Roy and Braveheart when along came this glossy revision of the Arthurian legend, in which Lady Guinevere (Julia Ormond) is torn between her love for the noble King Arthur (Sean Connery) and the passionate knight Sir Lancelot (Richard Gere). As the story opens, Guinevere's lands are under attack by the evil knight Malagant (Ben Cross), and she must choose between marriage to Arthur and the security of Camelot, or encouraging the affections of Lancelot, who has heroically rescued her from a potentially lethal attack. Anyone looking for meticulous medieval authenticity won't find it here, but director Jerry Zucker (Ghost) keeps the action moving with exuberant spirit and glorious production values. Even if you don't completely believe Richard Gere as a somewhat too-contemporary Lancelot, the performances of Ormond and especially Connery are effortlessly appealing. -Jeff Shannon.

John F. Kennedy lived long enough to see this Hollywood account of his Navy career and his heroism following a ruthless attack by a Japanese ship on his small patrol craft. Cliff Robertson is an amiable choice to play Kennedy, though one won't find a lot of the late president's mannerisms in his performance. The key battle sequence, which finds Kennedy and his crew bloodied and battered while trying to stay alive in shark-infested waters, makes a big impression on young viewers. -Tom Keogh.

Despite an irritating, tacked-on voice-over narration that somebody must have thought was necessary to make sense of the story (it wasn't), Last of the Dogmen is actually a very moving and magical film. Tom Berenger plays a Montana bounty hunter who helps an anthropologist (Barbara Hershey) search for the descendants of a Cheyenne tribe who disappeared in the 1870s. What the two find in a remote mountain stretch is an entire community of Cheyenne who have kept themselves cut off from the modern world. A Dances with Wolves parallel emerges as the white outsiders gradually fit in, but Last of the Dogmen stands up just fine without comparison to any other films. As in Kevin Costner's Oscar-winning movie, however, there are ways in which this film captures a similar sense of yearning, mystery, and loss. -Tom Keogh.

Like its predecessor Ocean's Eleven, Ocean's Twelve is a piffle of a caper, a preposterous plot given juice and vitality by a combination of movie star glamour and the exuberant filmmaking skill of director Steven Soderbergh (Out of Sight, The Limey). The heist hijinks of the first film come to roost for a team of eleven thieves (including the glossy mugs of Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Bernie Mac, and Don Cheadle), who find themselves pursued not only by the guy they robbed (silky Andy Garcia), but also by a top-notch detective (plush Catherine Zeta-Jones) and a jealous master thief (well-oiled Vincent Cassel) who wants to prove that team leader Danny Ocean (dapper George Clooney) isn't the best in the field. As if all that star power weren't enough-and the eternally coltish Julia Roberts also returns as Ocean's wife-one movie star cameo raises the movie's combined wattage to absurd proportions. But all these handsome faces are matched by Soderbergh's visual flash, cunning editing, and excellent use of Amsterdam, Paris, and Rome, among other highly decorative locations. The whole affair should collapse under the weight of its own silliness, but somehow it doesn't-the movie's raffish spirit and offhand wit soar along, providing lightweight but undeniable entertainment. -Bret Fetzer.