Reviews & Ratings for
Moonrunners More at IMDbPro »

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12 out of 14 people found the following review useful:
It is true... this is WHAT The Dukes of Hazzard was based on, 6 March 2005

Author: TexasRedge from Kingsport, Tennessee

Very interesting .... I didn't know this movie even existed until I saw a late night showing on a cable channel ...and it's resemblance to the Dukes of Hazzard was incredible (The Dukes appeared as a T.V. show 4Yrs later) The movie even had Sheriff Roscoe and it had Uncle Jessee and they even had a dirt track race car named after General Lee's horse. They even had Waylon Jennings narrating the story.

I never knew that the Dukes of Hazzard was based on a movie, until I saw this.

To beat all ....this movie was incredibly entertaining.

I'm surprised that this movie hasn't developed a strong cult following because of it's Dukes of Hazzard connection.

9 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
Excellent!!, 20 November 2000

Author: thecat72 (thecat72@yahoo.com)

Moon Runners for some reason is almost NEVER mentioned as far as good decent 70's schlock and action movies, despite the "Dukes of Hazzard" connection. It's pretty rare - while it was shown on cable in the late 70's, it almost never shows up on TV at all nowadays. I caught it for the first time in many years early this year on cable (TNT I believe).

Grady and Bobby Lee (later to become Bo and Luke Duke) run moonshine for Uncle Jesse, who prides himself on his old-school moonshining methods, and refuses to buckle in to the 'big business moonshine' of Jake, who controls these parts for New York mobsters. Fast-paced and entertaining, as the boys continue to get their moonshine through. Some excellent car chase action, and while the chase scenes aren't on par with say "Dirty Mary Crazy Larry" and also aren't as numerous as I thought I remembered, still decent enough and forgivable since the film is just fun to begin with. Definitely a film to be seen!

9 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
Good Guys drive Plymouths, 9 November 2002

Author: knsevy from KCMO

I'd say this movie was as appealing as any episode of the TV show it inspired (Dukes of Hazzard); the characters a bit underdeveloped and the plot gets simplistic, at times, but it had enough pathos in it to hold my attention, even without the cars.

What keeps this from being just a loosely-connected string of explosions and car chases is the movie's play on the moonshine men's code of ethics. Much like the Mafia, they're shown to have some very deep-rooted traditions and rules. They seem willing to accept and forgive double-dealing and acts of aggression, so long as it falls within that ethos. I don't know if this is truth or fiction, but it does give the characters an extra dimension for their motivations.

And yes, the good guys DO drive Plymouths. The Haggs and Zeebo both run their shine in 1970 Plymouth Furys, while the bad guys chase them in 1971 Chevrolets. The primary bad guy drives a Cadillac, and there was nary a Ford to be seen. Only the borrowed '72 Chevrolet Jesse used to make a delivery breaks this pattern.

Hey, you watch movies for YOUR reasons, I'll watch movies for MINE. Catch it on cable.

4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
A southern good ole boy raised in the 70's will love this movie., 8 May 2007

Author: moviegeek71 from United States

This ain't no watered down Dukes of TV series. Moonrunners is full taste action with more cars, cursing, sex, fights, and real life. Although I will admit that the Dukes of Hazzard is more "fun" you just have to give Moonrunners a chance, it really is a good movie. I seen it yesterday for the first time and even though it is low budget it did keep me entertained, laughing several times, and the car chases/crashes were more pumped up and real as compared to the Dukes. What I mean is that in the Dukes when a car does a stunt and it is obvious that the fender was smashed but in the next frame or scene the car is all shiny and new; well that's doesn't happen in this movie, when they dent a car it stays dented. I also found Beth Ann more attractive than Daisy but that is a whole 'nother story. It is a good show that you should see if you like older car movies like Stroker Ace and keep in mind that it's very indicative of being an early 1970's movie as far as the production goes. The good ole boys are a little more rougher and tougher than the politically correct cousins that aired on television but the Uncle Jesse character is about the same and Jake (Boss Hogg) again is more real in this version, even pimping girls out of the back of the Boar's Nest.

It looks like to me if you were to take Moonrunners and re-cut it with a bit more music production, slightly better editing, and lose a few of the slower parts then it would be a hot fast-paced show... Oh wait, they did do that to Moonrunners, it's called "The Dukes Of Hazzard".

3 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Good Old Boys Havin' Good Fun, 14 December 2005

Author: buttonwillow from Centreville, Virginia

I've wanted to see this movie ever since I discovered it was the foundation for the Dukes of Hazzard TV show. I was not a die hard fan of the TV show, but I liked it, primarily for the Waylon Jennings narration. This movie has the same goofy, rollicking charm as the show. You know you're in B-movie land with low production values and no big name stars, but the movie works anyway for at least the first two-thirds anyway, then it sort of gets lost in itself. The three leads--James Mitchum, Kiel Martin, Anthum Hunnicut--easily fit into their roles, especially Hunnicut. The pretty girl they introduce early in the film is pretty much irrelevant for the remainder of the film. The TV show corrected this oversight by making Daisy Dukes a stronger presence. The gangsters from up north are another missed opportunity. They could have added a lot more danger and excitement to the latter half. But the Waylon Jennings soundtrack is divine; he gets to sing a lot and his fans will recognize most of the songs. Even with its shortcomings, Moonrunners is worth taking a look at. I've watched movies with far better reviews and enjoyed them far less.

2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
The origin of the Dukes of Hazzard, 4 August 2005

Author: stephen-lacy from United States

A nice representation of the type of life during the days of running moonshine. This movie is the precursor to the television series the "Dukes Of Hazzard". The main characters aren't named Duke and there is no General Lee. There is however an Uncle Jesse, A sheriff Roscoe P Coltrane and the Balladeer(Waylon Jennings). Ben Jones(Cooter) has a large role as a revenue agent. There are many similarities to the television series. There are plenty of car chases. It's a fun movie to watch, but may be slow in some parts of the dialog. People who watch it can see the direct relationship that it has with the "Dukes of Hazard". Definitely worth a look of given the opportunity.

Liked the film and got to be in it, 1 August 2008
Author: cutnfool from United States

I was actually involved in the shooting of Moonrunners, but in a coincidental way. I was a police officer for Clayton County, Georgia and worked security for the film. It was shot in Clayton and Coweta Counties. The scene of the chase through the small town where the Fury is stopped at a railroad crossing was filmed in Haralson, Ga. There were three streets to block and four police officers. Since I didn't have a street to block, the director let me drive one of the police cars. In the overhead shot of the car that is my elbow sticking out of the window in the stopped police car. The final scene shows a Coweta County deputy who also helped with the security, but he didn't want to drive the car. We bought the video tape of the movie as soon as it was available and enjoy watching it for the local scenery as well as the movie itself. And although it is obvious to anyone familiar with Moonrunners that it was the basis for The Dukes of Hazard, it took a court action for the makers of the film to acknowledge the connection.

Pre-Dukes of Hazard, 18 September 1999

Author: joe-394 from usa

This film as far as I can tell was the basis of the T.V. show we all knew and loved. Even down to Sheriff Rossco P. Coe (a.k.a. Coetrain) and Uncle Jesse. What you've come to expect in Hazard County is the same in this 'Hazard' County film. A must see for the 'TRUE' Dukes of Hazard fan!

2 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
This is the movie that the great "Dukes Of Hazard" was based on, 26 October 2005

Author: freeman27028 from United States

This is one of my favorite movies of all time for 2 reasons. First it is my favorite because it is the bases that got the great T.V. show The DUKES OF HAZARD started. Also a lot of people don't know that this movie and The DUKES OF HAZARD was based on the real life of Jerry Rushing who played in MOONRUNNERS and also had a part in THE DUKES OF HAZARD as the used car salesmen "ACE PARKER". I think we owe a very large "THANK YOU" to this man because without his input from his real life history of him and his brother neither MOONRUNNERS nor THE DUKES OF HAZARD would ever exist for all of us to enjoy. I know all of this to be true because he is a very close friend of mine. He is a great man,a great actor with many films, and a great friend.

2 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
One Hell Of A Good Movie, 12 September 2004
Author: hotwheelsking from Toronto Ontario

I absolutely love this movie.I watch at least once a month.Its great Kiel Martin as Bobby Lee Hag and his cousin Grady and the very sexy Chris Forbes as Beth Ann Eubanks.I have loved this movie since the day I bought it unfortunately it is seldom seen and ever harder to own.It so desperately needs to be re released.Anyway i would highly recommend this movie and I would also recommend

The Great Lester Boggs This Stuff'll Kill Ya White Lightining Gator

all excellent movies

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