The Last American Hero

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The Last American Hero

PG

1973

1h 35m

Action

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Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

75%

Tomatometer

8 Reviews

51%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

Junior Jackson (Jeff Bridges) is a Southern boy with a penchant for driving too fast along his native North Carolina backroads. But when his father, Elroy (Art Lund), is jailed for moonshining, Junior decides to go pro, if only to be able to buy Elroy a few prison privileges. With the help of his brother, Wayne (Gary Busey), he slowly climbs the ranks of the various racing circuits. Often at odds with corporate sponsors, Jackson nevertheless becomes one of the first celebrities of NASCAR.

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Pauline Kael

The New Yorker

The director, Lamonth Johnson has been able to make a hip, modern movie.

Sep 19, 2023

Full Review

Janet Maslin

Boston Phoenix

Suffice it to say that it's real good.

Oct 8, 2021

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...excessively hit-and-miss...

Rated: 2/4

Apr 3, 2021

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Lori Hoffman

Atlantic City Weekly

Rated: 3/5

Jan 25, 2006

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: B

Jun 19, 2005

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Philip Martin

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Rated: 3/5

May 19, 2005

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S R

I saw it since it was on the NYT 1000 movies list. SLC DVD. This was a good film! Showing the struggles and ambition of a young kid from rural WV. I found it entertaining and well made.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/01/25

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Audience Member

It was alright The racing scenes are exciting though Bridges is good here

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

07/28/23

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Ashley H

The Last American Hero is a decent film. It is about a young hellraiser who quits his moonshine business. Jeff Bridges and Gary Busey give good performances. The screenplay is a little slow in places. Lamont Johnson did an alright job directing this movie. I liked this motion picture because of the drama.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/05/23

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Audience Member

Good racing movie. Nothing special but worth it if you are a racing fan

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

12/11/22

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delysid d

jeff bridges made a ton of movies, but only some are great. this ones great

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/17/20

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Audience Member

I watched 'The Last American Hero' a week after the 'Justified' series finale. It was refreshing to see a movie that actually cared about capturing the verdant beauty of southern Appalachia (as well as the Carolina Piedmont). The producers of 'Justified,' a show set in the mountains of eastern Kentucky, didn't care about that at all. It was shot in California, and they didn't try to hide it. There are no burnt, bare hills and scrub in Appalachia or the Piedmont; both are lush and blanketed with trees.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

Full Review

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Lamont Johnson

Director

Jeff Bridges

Elroy Jackson Jr.

Valerie Perrine

Marge Dennison

Geraldine Fitzgerald

Mrs. Jackson

Ned Beatty

Hackel

Gary Busey

Wayne Jackson

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Synopsis

Junior Jackson (Jeff Bridges) is a Southern boy with a penchant for driving too fast along his native North Carolina backroads. But when his father, Elroy (Art Lund), is jailed for moonshining, Junior decides to go pro, if only to be able to buy Elroy a few prison privileges. With the help of his brother, Wayne (Gary Busey), he slowly climbs the ranks of the various racing circuits. Often at odds with corporate sponsors, Jackson nevertheless becomes one of the first celebrities of NASCAR.

Director: Lamont Johnson
Producer: William Roberts, John Cutts
Screenwriter: William Roberts, Bill Kerby, Tom Wolfe
Production Co: 20th Century Fox
Rating: PG
Genre: Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 18, 2012
Runtime: 1h 35m

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