Back in August, Mill Creek Entertainment released the second installment of the County Line franchise on DVD, and this month they have re-released the original movie on DVD (a third film is set for release next year). The County Line movies are set in two small neighboring counties in Georgia, each with its own personality and laws. The townsfolk often hang out at the local BBQ joint, Maddie’s, which strides the county line (there’s even a blue tape line running across the the diner denoting the divide). Longtime friends Sheriff Alden Rockwell (Tom Wopat) of Maksville County and Sheriff Clint Thorne (Jeff Fahey) of York County always sit at the same table, one that straddles the line, each on their respective sides. Clint even has to order the beer for Alden as there’s no alcohol allowed in Maksville.
As the film opens, it’s election day and both sheriffs are up for reelection. While Clint wins his race, Alden loses by less than 50 votes, but with his wife dying in the hospital in hospice care and his daughter Ember (Abbi Butler) about to be deployed to the Middle East, he doesn’t want to spend time calling for a recount. Cut to a year later, and crime has gone down in Maksville under new Sheriff Preston (Grant Goodeve). However, there’s still some bad elements in York County, including mobster Zack Van Zant (Ric Reitz), who seems to be covered in Teflon because charges never seem to stick on him, and the Prattler brothers, a trio of good for nothing hooligans and thieves causing havoc in the town. After losing the election, Alden retired, but when his best friend is shot, he becomes a volunteer private investigator. He is determined to identify the shooter, but in the process, he uncovers a much larger criminal conspiracy that spans county lines. Now he, too, is in the crosshairs of this criminal element, but Alden is not going to let the fact that he has no badge and no authority stop him from bringing down the bad guys.
County Line is like a contemporary western, with Alden as the (former) Sheriff trying to restore justice and order in a small town after a criminal element moves in. He knows that Zack is a bad guy, and the two often face off against one another, with their hands at their hips with their guns ready, but he has no proof to send Zack away. The film sets up this fun world of characters, with Alden as the former sheriff who does whatever he wants to get the bad guys, not worrying about things like rules and laws. He often acts like he’s still the sheriff and the one in charge. Alden can also still brawl like the best of them if need be. This leads to some entertaining fight sequences, which are sometimes a bit over the top, but in a fun throwback kind of way. Even nearly 40 years later, “Luke Duke” has still got it. The buddy relationship between Clint and Alden is a lot of fun, and there’s also this delightful spark of a potential romance between diner proprietor Maddie (Patricia Richardson) and Alden. The overall tone of the film is light and fun, feeling like a feature-length episode of a classic 80s cop show like Magnum, P.I..
While I enjoyed the franchise’s second installment a bit more than this first entry, it’s still a thoroughly entertaining time, and a great introduction to this world and characters. I look forward to seeing what new adventures the future holds for Sheriff Alden and Maksville and York counties.
County Line arrives only on DVD from Mill Creek Entertainment (but is also available digitally in HD). While I would prefer the option of a Blu-ray, the SD picture of the DVD still looks quite good, and never detracted from my enjoyment of the film. The audio track provides clear dialogue and makes nice use of the surround channel to provide ambiance, showcases the film’s fun, tone-setting score, and puts the viewer into the middle of the action. The two downsides to the disc are that it opens with a 3-minute trailer for other INSP Films that is not skippable, and there are no subtitles provided for the main feature.
The DVD disc comes packed in a standard DVD keepcase without a slipcover. The disc includes about 8 minutes of behind-the-scenes interviews with the cast/crew, and some trailers for other INSP Films releases.
What’s Included:
Film: (1:29:32)
- 480i / Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1
- Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Digital
- Subtitles: None
Extras:
Collection of promotional featurettes
- First Look Trailer (2:47)
Stars Tom Wopat (“Alden Rockwell”), Jeff Fahey (“Clint Thorne”) & Patricia Richardson (“Maddie Hall”) discuss the premise of the film.
- Fights & Stunts (2:03)
The cast talk about filming the stunt sequences. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with stars Jeff Fahey, Tom Wopat & Patricia Richardson.
- Tom Wopat, Lawman (1:32)
Star Tom Wopat talks about playing sheriff/marshall characters.
- Who is Clint Thorne? (1:16)
Star Jeff Fahey talks about what he likes about playing this character.
- More from INSP Films
Select from trailers for Legal Action (1:43), Christmas on the Coast (2:27), Heritage Falls (1:02), Savannah Sunrise (2:33), and Christmas in the Smokies (2:48).
Final Thoughts:
County Line introduces viewers to Sheriff Alden Rockwell and the quirky residents of neighboring York and Maksville counties. Mill Creek had previously released the sequel County Line: All In on DVD, but has now re-released the first installment of the franchise. These County Line films are a lot of fun. Mill Creek’s DVD release looks and sound great, and includes a small but entertaining assortment of bonus material.
COUNTY LINE
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