Gunfighter

Starring:Pat Bourke, Robert Carradine, Dick Chaney, Cliff Davis (II), Dale Graves, Clu Gulager, Tom Gulager, Rick Haugh, Dick Jones (IV), James Laughlin, Chris Lybbert, Charlie Mariluch, Tom McDermott (IV), George Nix, James Oseland, Peter Ridet, Louis Schwiebert, Martin Sheen, Adrienne Stout
Studio: Lions Gate
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com essential video

Mel Brooks scored his first commercial hit with this raucous Western spoof starring the late Cleavon Little as the newly hired (and conspicuously black) sheriff of Rock Ridge. Sheriff Bart teams up with deputy Jim (Gene Wilder) to foil the railroad-building scheme of the nefarious Hedley Lamarr (Harvey Korman). The simple plot is just an excuse for a steady stream of gags, many of them unabashedly tasteless, that Brooks and his wacky cast pull off with side-splitting success. The humor is so juvenile and crude that you just have to surrender to it; highlights abound, from the lunkheaded Alex Karras as the ox-riding Mongo to Madeline Kahn's uproarious send-up of Marlene Dietrich as saloon songstress Lili Von Shtupp. Adding to the comedic excess is the infamous campfire scene involving a bunch of hungry cowboys, heaping servings of baked beans and, well, you get the idea. --Jeff Shannon

Description

The railroad's got to run through the town of Rock Ridge. How do you drive out the townfolk in order to steal their land? Send in the toughest gang you've got...and name a new sheriff who'll last about 24 hours. But that's not really the plot of Blazing Saddles, just the pretext. Once Mel Brooks' lunatic film many call his best gets started, logic is lost in a blizzard of gags, jokes, quips, puns, howlers, growlers and outrageous assaults upon good taste or any taste at all. Cleavon Little as the new lawman, Gene Wilder as the wacko Waco Kid, Brooks himself as a dim-witted politico and Madeline Kahn in her Marlene Dietrich send-up that earned an Academy Award nomination all give this sagebrush saga their lunatic best. And when Blazing Saddles can't contain itself at the finale, it just proves the Old West will never be the same!

Customer Reviews:

One of the funniest movies ever made.......2007-07-07

I dont know why but I cant get enough of this movie. The humour is really funny and there are so many scenes I enjoy, but none I can type down. If you enjoy comedy, then this movie is for you.

Blazing Saddles.......2007-07-03

Tastelessly ribald spoof of Hollywood Westerns packs a lot of silly madcap comedy into its 90-minute running time. Just about everyone imaginable becomes the target of Mel Brooks's shamelessly funny lampooning, and Harvey Korman, Slim Pickens, and the great Gene Wilder turn in some of the loopiest performances of their careers. Madeline Kahn is especially memorable as Lilli Von Shtupp, a Marlene Dietrich-like chanteuse. If you're in the mood for humor that's lewd, crude and unabashedly infantile, hitch your wagon to "Blazing Saddles".

Funny, Funnier, Funniest.......2007-06-18

The first movie that my wife watched in one sitting and wanted to see again the next evening. Side splitting and healthy slapstick as only Mel could make.

Classic scenes are cut out.......2007-06-10

If you like this movie, DO NOT buy this edition, as some classic scenes have been cut out of this early-DVD era release. Buy the 30th anniversary edition instead.

Enjoyable once in awhile.......2007-06-01

Frankly, I don't find Blazing Saddles to be THAT funny. It's a movie that you can enjoy watching about once every ten years or so, but not any more often. Mongo is funny, and Gene Wilder gives a fantastic dramatic performance as always. Otherwise, there's not much about Blazing Saddles that's really that amazing. It's amusing, but not once did I laugh out loud. And even though it is obviously used to make a political statement, the repeated use of the "N" word still turned me off. I know it was being used tongue-in-cheek, but like most of the bits in this movie, I just didn't find it funny. Another mark against this movie is that due to its age, many of the cameos and cultural references go over the head of people today, not even realizing who they are seeing or that certain things are being parodied. Overall, more boring than funny, even when you know what the references are.

Average customer rating:

Your Brother's Not Always Right...
I love this movie!!!
Tombstone is tops
Tombstone review
Phenomenal

Tombstone
Starring: Kurt Russell , Val Kilmer , Sam Elliott , Bill Paxton , and Powers Boothe
Director: George P. Cosmatos
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 6304711905
Release Date: 1997-12-02

Amazon.com

This Western has become a modest cult favorite since its release in 1993, when the film was met with mixed reviews but the performances of Kurt Russell (as Wyatt Earp) and especially Val Kilmer, for his memorably eccentric performance as the dying gunslinger Doc Holliday, garnered high praise. The movie opens with Wyatt Earp trying to put his violent past behind him, living happily in Tombstone with his brothers and the woman (Dana Delany) who puts his soul at ease. But a murderous gang called the Cowboys has burst on the scene, and Earp can't keep his gun belt off any longer. The plot sounds routine, and in many ways it is, but Western buffs won't mind a bit thanks to a fine cast and some well-handled action on the part of Rambo director George P. Cosmatos, who has yet to make a better film than this. --Jeff Shannon

Description

A sizzling, star-studded cast brings to life the legendary battle to deliver justice to TOMBSTONE! Kurt Russell (MIRACLE, VANILLA SKY) turns in a gripping performance as U.S. Marshall Wyatt Earp and Val Kilmer (THE MISSING, BATMAN FOREVER) ignites the screen as the outrageous Doc Holliday. Together, they team up to bring law to the lawless in a notorious showdown with the ruthless outlaws at the O.K. Corral! The all-star ensemble also includes Sam Elliott, Bill Paxton, Dana Delany, Jason Priestley, Michael Biehn, and long-time Hollywood favorite Charlton Heston. Get ready for an explosive, action-packed adventure the Wild West would never forget!

Customer Reviews:

Your Brother's Not Always Right..........2007-06-30

But he's always your brother and that's the central theme of Tombstone. I was trying to think of a way I could be a little more detached about his movie than I feel like being, but there's no point in trying to do so. The fact is that this is a wonderful film with a wonderful story line and wonderful acting. Val Kilmer's Doc Holliday sucks out all the oxygen in every scene he's in (and even a few where he's off camera). He is devoted to his best friend Wyatt Earp for many reasons but chiefly because he's one of the only friends that he has. Admittedly, this is only a semi-historically accurate portrait of Holliday but the sacrifices he makes for the Earp brothers are touching and admirable. In my mind, the gambler/dentist is the perfect embodiment of loyalty and honor. These are very politically incorrect virtues so we must be thankful that some element of pop culture decided to enshrine them somewhere. Independent of its symbolic and emotional resonance, Tombstone is just a plain old good time. Whatever you want to call it--an action pic, a western or a drama--it's superb and fantastic cinema.

I love this movie!!!.......2007-06-13

Tombstone is one of my favorite movies!!! I thought it was about time I bought the DVD.

Tombstone is tops.......2007-06-11

This movie is very close to the actual circumstances of the OK Corral. Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Sam Elliot (who is so perfect in westerns it makes you wonder if he was time shifted from 1880!!), and Bill Paxton are great! Then you see some of the actors from classic western movies and TV back as older men. Another one that we have memorized the lines to and still have to watch it each time it is on the satellite!! If you've never seen it....buy it, pop some popcorn, pour some butter on it and turn on the home theater!!

Tombstone review.......2007-06-08

Excellent movie. Hard to beat if you are a true western fan. Amazon service is great!

Phenomenal.......2007-06-05

This movie is absolutely awesome. Sure, that sounds like a young awe struck boy in its description of the film, but that is what it reduced me to. Some of the best one-liners of all-time, and a great chemistry between the always solid Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer. Kilmer is at his best as the Consumption addled (read TB) Doc Holliday. This is a novie that I have never heard a bad thing about, even though the discussions almost always involve guys. Really a fun and well-made film. One of the few movies that I can watch time and time again. A 5 star classic. Enjoy!!!

Average customer rating:

A Timeless Western
High Noon
Don't forsake me Oh,my darling
Trapped Like A Rat In A Cage...
A Dated Drama

High Noon (Collector's Edition)
Starring: Gary Cooper , Thomas Mitchell , Lloyd Bridges , Katy Jurado , and Grace Kelly
Director: Fred Zinnemann
Manufacturer: Republic Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00006JMRE
Release Date: 2002-10-22

Product Description

Gary Cooper won the Oscar for the Best Actor in this classic tale of a lawman who stands alone to defend a town of righteous cowards in the greatest showdown in the history of cinema. The film also stars one of Hollywood's most beloved and prolific actors, Lloyd Bridges, and marks the first starring role foria beautiful young actress and internationally adored screen legend--Grace Kelly.

System Requirements:
Starring: Lloyd Bridges, Lon Chaney, Gary Cooper, Katy Jurado, Grace Kelly, Thomas Mitchell
Directed By: Fred Zinnemann
Running Time: 84 Min., Color
Copyright Artisan Home Entertainment 2003.

Format: DVD MOVIE

Amazon.com essential video

One of the greatest Westerns ever made gets the deluxe treatment on this superior disc from Republic Home Video's Silver Screen Classics line of special-edition DVDs. Written by Carl Foreman (who was later blacklisted during the anticommunist hearings of the '50s) and superbly directed by Fred Zinnemann, this 1952 classic stars Gary Cooper as just-married lawman Will Kane, who is about to retire as a small-town sheriff and begin a new life with his bride (Grace Kelly) when he learns that gunslinger Frank Miller (Ian MacDonald) is due to arrive at high noon to settle an old score. Kane seeks assistance from deputies and townsfolk, but soon realizes he'll have to stand alone in his showdown with Miller and his henchmen. Innovative for its time, the suspenseful story unfolds in approximate real time (from 10:40 a.m. to high noon in an 84-minute film), and many interpreted Foreman's drama as an allegorical reflection of apathy and passive acceptance of Senator Joseph McCarthy's anticommunist campaign. Political underpinnings aside, this remains a milestone of its genre (often referred to as the first "adult" Western), and Cooper is flawless in his Oscar-winning role. The first-rate DVD gives this landmark film all the respect it deserves, beginning with a digitally remastered transfer from the original film negative. Additional features include the exclusive documentary The Making of High Noon, hosted by film historian Leonard Maltin and featuring interviews with the late Lloyd Bridges (who played Cooper's rival ex-deputy), director Fred Zinnemann, and producer Stanley Kramer. Also included is the original theatrical trailer and a special chapter stop highlighting the Oscar-winning song "Do Not Forsake Me." Offered in English and dubbed French and Spanish, with English closed-captioning or Spanish and French subtitles. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

A Timeless Western.......2007-07-09

This black and white western is just as engaging and suspensful today as it was in 1950. A best actor oscar went to Gary Cooper with fine performances by Grace Kelly and Katie Jurado. The DVD is of good quality with good optical quality. The images are sharp and the blacks are black.

High Noon.......2007-06-26

Fred Zinnemann's stark revenge tale, told in real time, packs enough intensity into eighty minutes to carry two movies. It's suspenseful in the extreme, but also a morality tale, powerful in its simplicity, about the courage to make difficult, principled choices, even when those around you take the easy way out. This offers obvious parallels to the prevailing McCarthyism of the time (writer Carl Foreman was indeed blacklisted), but symbolism aside, this remains a trim, altogether brilliant western, with veteran star Cooper creating the quintessential authentic Western hero.

Don't forsake me Oh,my darling.......2007-06-24

Don't forsake me Oh,my darling

High Noon (DVD)

High Noon (1952) might very well be the best Western movie ever made. It stars Gary Cooper as the town Marshall and Grace Kelly as his new bride.

The movie opens with the Marshall getting married and concomitantly the telegraph operator receiving an alarming telegraph. The telegraph operator writes out the message, the Justice of the Peace reads the wedding ceremony. Will the Marshall get married before the telegraph message can be delivered? The telegraph operator finishes and runs out the door toward town,. "He's moving pretty fast for a Sunday" comments a bystander The telegraph operator runs, the Justice of the Peace reads, will he make it? Yes, they're pronounced Man and Wife. Yeah!

The telegraph operator burst into the room. "Marshal, Marshal, you have a telegram" The Marshal reads that a murderer who he helped arrest just got pardoned. Probably by a` Democrat Governor. Remember Bill Clinton's pardons? The murderer, Frank is expected on the noon train. Close up of the clock, eighty-four minutes from now. Meanwhile three of Frank's friends ride into town and wait for the noon train. Pretty obvious what they're waiting for. Meanwhile the townspeople try to bundle the Marshall and his bride out of town on a buckboard. The Marshall makes it a ways out of town, then stops the buckboard and turns to his bride and says " I just can't do it" I can't run away . His bride, a Quaker, disagrees with him and wants him to run away. When they get back to town. His bride lays out an ultimatum. Choose, either leave town or lose me, The Marshall stays.

For the next sixty minutes or so the Marshal has all his "friends" turn against him, one after the other. Nobody is willing to help. It looks like it `s going to be four against one, with the Marshall being the the one. The suspense slowly builds until there is a mighty climax at the end.

You'll just have to watch the movie to see how it ends. It's worth it.

Highly recommended for fans of the old fashion Western movie.

Gunner June,2007

Trapped Like A Rat In A Cage..........2007-06-24

That's how Kane must have felt: if he runs, Miller will chase him down and kill him; if he stays to fight, the townspeople will not lift a finger to help him. His only choice is to stay and fight, hoping against all odds that he will still be alive when it is over.

As I watched the film, I could sense that Kane must have had serious doubts as noon approached. Too late to run, even if it could have done any good. The townspeople - his so-called "friends" - abandoning him in his hour of need. One minute they are grateful for all that he has done for them and the next minute, they are writing him off for dead and making plans on how to live with Miller and his gang after they kill the marshall. Okay, not ALL the townspeople turned their backs on him. There was a young boy who Kane would not allow to fight, being so young. Another was a drunk, who doubtless truely wished to help, but would have ben no real good to the marshall. There was an eager volunteer who backed-out once he realized that it would only have been the two of them against Miller and his gang. Lastly, there were a few men who did volunteer to assist Kane, only to back-out after being talked out of it by their fellow townspeople. So, in the end, Kane stood all alone on an empty street. He even watched as his wife and former girlfriend rode past him on their way to board the very same train that Miller arrived on!

Even though I knew how it would all end, having read about this film and never having seen it before, I had this strong feeling of tension as noon approached. I could even feel the twisting knot in my stomach as I saw the camera pan back, showing Kane standing alone on the street, with no one else around. Suspending disbelief, I wondered what Kane was thinking as the showdown approached.

In the end, of course, Kane was alive and as he boarded his coach to leave town for the final time, I could also feel the strong sense of disgust at the townspeople for their cowardice and I could easily understand why he dropped his badge in the dust before boarding the wagon. If just four men had positioned themselves with rifles in windows overlooking the street, the fight could have been over in seconds, with only the outlaws getting killed and no one else hurt or endangered. Despite their superiority of numbers and the fact that had superior firepower over the outlaws, if only they had utilized it, they still cowered behind their doors and waited until the end.

John Wayne's feeling towards this movie notwithstanding, this is a true American story: one man, standing alone against evil, despite all odds and having been abandoned by everyone he thought he could trust to help him.

If only we all could be as courageous as Marshall Will Kane when the time comes.

A Dated Drama.......2007-06-12

A classic western, and Grace Kelley is beautiful, but unfortunately, it didn't seem to capture the imagination of my eighth grade class who like their dramas fast paced and violent. Still, the drama is clean and pure and the line between the good guys and the bad guys is blurred in an interesting way. If you're over thirty, I'd recommend it.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)

Average customer rating:

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Wonderful picture. It looks brand new.
The West at its Best
Excellent Western
Still a winner

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
Starring: Paul Newman , Robert Redford , Katharine Ross , Strother Martin , and Henry Jones
Director: George Roy Hill
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000EXDS5M
Release Date: 2006-06-06

Amazon.com essential video

This 1969 film has never lost its popularity or its unusual appeal as a star-driven Western that tinkers with the genre's conventions and comes up with something both terrifically entertaining and--typical of its period--a tad paranoid. Paul Newman plays the legendary outlaw Butch Cassidy as an eternal optimist and self-styled visionary, conjuring dreams of banks just ripe for the picking all over the world. Robert Redford is his more levelheaded partner, the sharpshooting Sundance Kid. The film, written by William Goldman (The Princess Bride) and directed by George Roy Hill (The Sting), basically begins as a freewheeling story about robbing trains but soon becomes a chase as a relentless posse--always seen at a great distance like some remote authority--forces Butch and Sundance into the hills and, finally, Bolivia. Weakened a little by feel-good inclinations (a scene involving bicycle tricks and the song "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" is sort of Hollywood flower power), the movie maintains an interesting tautness, and the chemistry between Redford and Newman is rare. (A factoid: Newman first offered the Sundance part to Jack Lemmon.) --Tom Keogh

Description

Paul Newman and Robert Redford set the standard for the "buddy film" with this box office smash set in the Old West. The Sundance Kid (Redford) is the frontier's fastest gun. His sidekick, Butch Cassidy (Newman), is always dreaming up new ways to get rich fast. If only they could blow open a baggage car without also blowing up the money-filled safe inside... Or remember that Sundance can't swim before they escape a posse by leaping off a cliff into rushing rapids... Times are changing in the west and life is getting tougher. So Butch and Sundance pack their guns, don new duds, and, with Sundance's girlfriend (Katharine Ross), head down to Bolivia. Never mind that they don't speak Spanish - they'll manage somehow. A winner of four Academy Awards (including best screenplay and best song), here is a thoroughly enjoyable blend of fact and fancy done with true affection for a bygone era and featuring the two flashiest, friendliest funniest outlaws who ever called out "hands up!"

Customer Reviews:

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.......2007-06-27

At the close of the sixties, Paul Newman and up-and-comer Robert Redford would make the evergreen "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," the first of two hugely popular collaborations with director George Roy Hill. (The other was "The Sting.") No standard western, "Butch" romanticizes the true story of the infamous "Hole in the Wall" gang, creating the ultimate buddy picture, and (thanks to William Goldman's brilliant Oscar-winning screenplay), a movie that's by turns lyrical, hilarious, and tragic. An eternal crowd-pleaser.

Wonderful picture. It looks brand new........2007-06-21

I have loved this movie since I saw it at the drive-in when I was a kid. I watched it on t.v. over the years and felt sad as the film seemed to age.
The dvd was such a pleasant surprise, the picture was great/the colors were crisp. Even the sound seemed clearer and more brilliant. The interviews were so wonderful-I was so absorbed in all of the splendor.
As a kid, I decided that my favorite scene was the mountain scene (when Butch and Sundance are being chased by the law). I always laugh when Butch says, "The fall will probably kill you!" and then they both jump.
I am the author of-Dreams in August: Life, Love, and Cerebellar Ataxia

The West at its Best.......2007-06-08

Among all Western movies,old or new,this ranks among the best.It is a classic:funny,sad and beautiful.And what beutiful phtographie of Utah landscape!

Excellent Western.......2007-05-31

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a modern western. It is more exciting and has more action than the typical slow western. Paul Newman and Robert Redford are an excellent duo. A great story with an even greater cast.

Still a winner.......2007-05-16

The movie itself hasn't lost anything with age--still funny and sad and amazingly beautiful. The special features are outstanding; it's hard to imagine what the movie would have been with Steve McQueen as Butch and Paul Newman as Sundance, but that was the original casting. How it fizzled and why the studio fought so hard to find someone--anyone--in place of an unsuitable fill-in named Robert Redford are only a few of the inside stories packed on the features disc.

The Wild Bunch - The Original Director's Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition)

Average customer rating:

Bloody eye candy
The Wild Bunch
It's all been done before.
Not As Advertised-
Much more than just a violent film...

The Wild Bunch - The Original Director's Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Starring: Alfonso Arau , Ernest Borgnine , Elsa Cárdenas , Albert Dekker , and Emilio Fernández
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000BT96CS
Release Date: 2006-01-10

Amazon.com essential video

One of the best action movies ever made, in a cleaned-up print restoring crucial parts of the story. No cavalry ever rode in with more epochal impact than the Wild Bunch in the legendary opening scene. Their steel-eyed leader, Pike (William Holden), and his robbers in stolen army uniforms help an old lady across the street, and then spark a massacre led by Pike's old crony Thornton (Robert Ryan), sprung from jail to hunt down his old gang. In just a few minutes, Sam Peckinpah sets the scene--a dusty Texas town in 1913--sketches a dozen vividly individualized characters, and choreographs one of the most realistic, influential, brilliantly photographed shootouts under the pitiless sun. The cast is superb (even Ernest Borgnine!), the dialog crackling, the bitterly ambiguous moral of the story hard-earned. It's the deeper, dark flip side to 1969's Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Consider buying the letterbox Wild Bunch, the review collection Doing It Right, and the Peckinpah bio "If They Move... Kill 'Em!" --Tim Appelo

Description

Outlaws on the Mexican-U.S. frontier face the march of progress, the Mexican army and a gang of bounty hunters led by a former member while they plan a robbery of a U.S. army train. No one is innocent in this gritty tale of of desperation against changing times. Pump shotguns, machine guns and automobiles mix with horses and winchesters in this ultraviolent western.

Customer Reviews:

Bloody eye candy.......2007-07-03

This bloody extravaganza made Sam Peckinpah's reputation. A kind of fantasy of machismo set along the Texas-Mexico border around 1913--yes, very late for a Western--The Wild Bunch has thrilled adolescent boys and twentysomethings for almost four decades. The slowmo shots of horses falling awkwardly, of bodies squirting blood as they fall off of roof tops or cliffs, of tough hombres talking tough while they grab loose women and bottles of booze replete with numerous other bits of acrobatic mayhem amid some fantastic scenery makes this a non-cerebral feast for the eyes. The stars, William Holden (Pike Bishop), Ernest Borgnine (Dutch Engstrom), Robert Ryan (Deke Thornton), Edmund O'Brien (Freddie Sykes), etc. are first rate and on form. The plot is a variant of the old "one last job" story which begins with Pike's not-quite over-the-hill gang doing one last bank robbery.

Needless to say something goes wrong. Interspersed between the opening credits we see Pike's gang ride into town dressed as members of the US Army Calvary. On roof tops are some rascals and scallywags with rifles, missing teeth, and murderous gleams in their eyes. They are led by Deke Thornton, who it turns out is working for the railroad. What follows is a good old fashioned shoot 'em up of rather unlikely proportions as Pike's gang exists the bank with bags of loot, dodging and slinging bullets with abandon.

Turns out...well, no I won't say because I don't want to spoil the surprise. Suffice it to say, they need to do another job, this one a good old-fashioned train robbery with a few tricks and extras, like blowing up a bridge and running a locomotive at full throttle backwards. And then across the border into Mexico and some fun and games with Mexican generals, senoritas, banditos and such.

Been there, done that. But Peckinpah's colorful yarn has a few things you might not have seen before, and some of those things that you have seen, he did first and better. The Mexican color with a lot of authentic-looking extras doing authentic-looking Mexican activities was good. The fact that the Spanish spoken was not translated (and didn't need to be translated) was good. General Mapache (Emilio Fernandez) as the drunken, power-hungry warlord bandito was good. The kids feeding scorpions to the ants and then burning them was good. Edmund O'Brien as a degenerate Gabby Hayes kind of character was a hoot and a holler. But mostly this was about grim-faced men, toughened by long hours in saddle under the hot sun who, after decades of outlawing, finally ride gloriously into that last battle. Next stop: boot hill.

I watched the "original director's cut" that runs 145 minutes. At no time was my brain involved, but my eyes couldn't stop watching.

The Wild Bunch.......2007-07-02

Maverick director Sam Peckinpah released this blood-soaked western ballet in 1969, at the height of the Vietnam War, igniting protests over his graphic depiction of violence. Yet some images, like the opening sequence of children watching a nest of fire ants attack a scorpion, have a cruel poetic force. Boasting a powerhouse veteran cast and virtually non-stop action, this mesmerizing film is not for the squeamish, but fans of pure western action and gunplay should cherish this pounding, hard-edged film.

It's all been done before........2007-05-27

The Wild Bunch (Sam Peckinpah, 1969)

I will readily admit that my confusion over the prominence of The Wild Bunch in the annals of film criticism probably stems from my having bought into the hype. When I hear people wax poetic about the movie, one thing always comes to the surface sooner or later--the previously unheard-of level of violence in the movie. Here I was expecting something... different; even the tamest giallo lords it over The Wild Bunch in terms of violence. Mario Bava was doing it years before. What makes Peckinpah's opus so special? Not the violence.

The other thing that seems to come up often is that Peckinpah's version of the west is decidedly different than that which had been offered before, but again I head back to Italy, and this time flog the dead horse of Sergio Leone, whose westerns were riddled with grey areas long before this.

Okay, so Peckinpah was the first guy to do it in America. And it got John Wayne pretty mad. (But, really, he was already mad at Clint Eastwood for the Leone movies.) But from every other standpoint--plot, characters, pacing, cinematography, direction--Peckinpah has done better. (The pinnacle came three years later with Straw Dogs.) It's not bad, but don't go into it expecting one of the greatest films of all time, or you're bound to be disappointed. ***

Not As Advertised-.......2007-04-20

For the third time in 10 years, I have purchased another copy of "The Wild Bunch". And for the third time in 10 years, I have been utterly disappointed. I don't know what all of these other reviewers watched in 1969, but what I watched was a much, much wilder bunch with much more grusome footage at the old Majestic Theater in downtown Dallas. Someone, apparently do gooders, had the film cut back to the bland piece of work that you see in this DVD. Someone should sue Warner Bros. for false advertising. I am still looking for the original film and would pay good money for it, if it even still exists. In the killings in the original film the bodies struck by bullets, immediately went to slow motion as a stream of blood shot from the bullet hole in the beginning murderous scene. There is only one brief shot of this type and the rest, a least a couple of dozen were cut out and are still cut out. Save your money, if you think your getting the original.

Much more than just a violent film..........2007-04-06

This is one of the greatest Westerns ever made. Most people talk about its violence level. The violence here is incredible, and it's still strong and potent today. It shocked the living hell out of everyone back in 1969. It made some people vomit because it was so intense. However, while I do like the shootouts of this film, it's the depth that the characters have that really make this film stand out for me. Some of the speeches Pike gives are quite good, stressing that you stand by a man, and if you don't, you're like some animal, you're finished. Pike and the Bunch lived by these words, and in the end, they died by these words. They lived in a time where your word and your honor meant something, and you lived by a certain code that you tried to stay true to. Nowadays, this kind of message is seen as old fashioned and made fun of mercilessly. It shouldn't be. Despite the Bunch being criminals, they retain their sense of dignity at the end. Even Robert Ryan, Pike's former friend who is now chasing the Bunch, has a dignity as well, keeping his word to the bastard railroad men. But when he's finished with the posse, he stays in Mexico with the locals instead of returning to the US. You don't hate Ryan for what he's doing, and Pike doesn't hate him either. They each just want to live, and they got a job to do. The ending is one of the more poignant and brutal endings ever filmed. The Bunch got their bounty, and are whooping it up with the local whores. Angel had made a deal with them to keep one case of guns for his village, and they agreed. They told the general Mapache that they lost it on the trail. Mapache didn't believe them and accused Angel of stealing it, so the Bunch let him keep it. While the Bunch are drinking and partying, they stop and realise what they have to do. They go back and rescue Angel, not because they have to, but because they need to. They didn't want to abandon their friend. They probably knew they would be killed, and they didn't give a damn about it. I find this extraordinarily moving and quite powerful. After a decade of smug "irony", things like dignity and honor are punchlines. I don't think they are, and I never will. I really like the message of brotherhood and honor here, and I think this is a masterpiece....

Average customer rating:

Points To Ponder
When westerns were westerns
No enemies ... alive.
Magnificent!!!
Fantastic Entertaining Western! One of the Best ever made!

The Magnificent Seven (Special Edition)
Starring: Yul Brynner , Eli Wallach , Steve McQueen , Charles Bronson , and Robert Vaughn
Director: John Sturges
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000059TFW
Release Date: 2001-05-08

Amazon.com essential video

Akira Kurosawa's rousing Seven Samurai was a natural for an American remake--after all, the codes and conventions of ancient Japan and the Wild West (at least the mythical movie West) are not so very far apart. Thus The Magnificent Seven effortlessly turns samurai into cowboys (the same trick worked more than once: Kurosawa's Yojimbo became Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars). The beleaguered denizens of a Mexican village, weary of attacks by banditos, hire seven gunslingers to repel the invaders once and for all. The gunmen are cool and capable, with most of the actors playing them just on the cusp of '60s stardom: Steve McQueen, James Coburn, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn. The man who brings these warriors together is Yul Brynner, the baddest bald man in the West. There's nothing especially stylish about the approach of veteran director John Sturges (The Great Escape), but the storytelling is clear and strong, and the charisma of the young guns fairly flies off the screen. If that isn't enough to awaken the 12-year-old kid inside anyone, the unforgettable Elmer Bernstein music will do it: bum-bum-ba-bum, bum-ba-bum-ba-bum.... Followed by three inferior sequels, Return of the Seven, Guns of the Magnificent Seven, and The Magnificent Seven Ride! --Robert Horton

Description

Spectacular gun battles, epic-sized heroes and an all-star cast that includes Academy AwardÂ(r) winners Yul Brynner* and James Coburn**, together with Steve McQueen, Eli Wallach and Charles Bronson, make The Magnificent Seven a legend among westerns. Spawning three sequels and a successful television series, and featuring Elmer Bernstein's OscarÂ(r)-nominated*** score, thisstunning remake of The Seven Samurai is "a hard-pounding adventure" (Newsweek) and "an enduringly popular" (Leonard Maltin) cinematic classic. Merciless Calvera (Wallach) and his band of ruthless outlaws are terrorizing a poor Mexican village, and even the bravest lawmen can't stop them. Desperate, the locals hire Chris Adams (Brynner) and six other gunfighters to defend them. With time running out before Calvera's next raid, the heroic seven must prepare the villagers for battle and help them find the courage to take back their town or die trying!

Customer Reviews:

Points To Ponder.......2007-04-24

First-rate film, it easily makes my list of the Top 10 westerns. Here are a few points to ponder:

"The Magnificent Seven's" score by Elmer Bernstein received a 1960 Oscar nomination but the award that year went to "Exodus"; which "featured" something called "The Exodus Song" (with lyrics by Pat Boone!!). 45+ years later there is not even a CD release of "Exodus" while the score from "The Magnificent Seven" is one of the most recognized pieces of music ever written. If anyone needs proof of the staggering lameness of academy voting this is the most obvious of countless examples.

The score was further popularized in the late 1960's as the theme for Marlboro cigarettes. An odd bit of irony given that Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, and Jorge Martinez de Hoyos all died of lung cancer; Horst Buchholz and Charles Bronson of pneumonia, and Brad Dexter of emphysema.

In the film, only two (Brynner and McQueen) of the seven leave the village alive (Buchholz survives but stays behind). In real life these two actors were the first to die, preceding the others by about 20 years.

The other four deaths (only Robert Vaughn is still alive) occurred over just a nine-month period (James Coburn in Nov 02, Brad Dexter in Dec 02, Horst Buchholz in March 03, and Charles Bronson in Aug 03).

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

When westerns were westerns.......2007-03-30

It is nice to see the good guys come together to help the ones who need it with being paid for it. No dirty language, sex or any of the really violent themes. Just the good guys doing their job and winning.

No enemies ... alive........2007-03-12

The Special Edition in widescreen Panavision with color by De Luxe is gorgeous from landscapes to big action scenes. The camerawork, whether a tracking shot of the galloping Forty Thieves, or just a set piece looking up the long bordertown street to Boot Hill, is inspired. The score by Elmer Bernstein in Dolby is well, magnificent!

The individual vignettes with Wallach, McQueen, Coburn, and Bronson are little classics. And yet, and yet ...

I first saw TM7 in a theater when it was first released and grew up watching the Marlboro Man on TV so I was looking forward to seeing TM7 again in its orginal glory. But as I watched, I found myself thinking: Had Horst Buchholz really been this annoying? Were the villagers always such wooden actors? Wasn't there more interaction among the Seven? Weren't there more gunfights in the original? In short, it is a very good movie, but it isn't THE Magnificent Seven - the one in my memory for 46 years.

But I'm rating it for what it is, not for how I remembered it, and not because it isn't in Japanese, and it still comes up 4 stars ... plus one more star for the interviews and commentary features on the Spec Ed.

If you wonder why a Russian and a German were cast as leads in an American Western, watch the documentary feature, "Guns For Hire." Or, if you wonder why the Mexican farmers speak perfect English (better than Brynner or Buchholz) and always wear sparkling clean white clothing (while the Americans are always sweaty and dirty), watch the feature. Which one of the Seven actually got married on the set during the village fiesta? Yep, it's in the feature.

Magnificent!!!.......2007-01-30

I haven't seen the original "Seven Samuri", so this is has no conparisons. As a western, this might be one of the best I've seen. Yul Brynner's presence on screen is commanding. I can see why he was later chosen for the sci-fi film, "Westworld". His supporting cast is just as outstanding. It reads like a who's who list (McQueen, Colburn, Bronson) of action films. With a powerful cast, a entertaining villan (Eli Wallach), an intriguing storyline and a beautiful Elmer Bernstein soundtrack (It makes me want to have a Marlboro cigarette, afterwards.), everything comes together. It's an unforgetable western that continues to live its reputation as one of Hollywood's finest films.

Fantastic Entertaining Western! One of the Best ever made!.......2007-01-10

A true Classic! Excellent story, fast paced yet, slow enough for the viewer to learn character development. In my opinion, it has one of the best director's of westerns, John Sturges, with a musical score composed and directed by the best man ever to develop a musical score for a western, Elmer Bernstein. His music lends to the story and captures human emotion in every secene. The acting is superb by a veteran cast of the best actors to be assembled for a film, Yul Bryner, Steve McQueen, James Coburn, Charles Bronson, to name a few.

The interviews are interesting and captivating on the second disk, and give you a good a idea of what it was like to work on this film.

Believe me, you won't regret buying this two disk version. An excellent edition to a film library. A great film that you can enjoy over and over again.

John E. Matty, Springfield, VA

Average customer rating:

LOVE IT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Very Surprising for a Kevin Costner Film
Open Range
Open Range~`When character meant something
Bringing back the western

Open Range
Starring: Patricia Benedict , Annette Bening , Abraham Benrubi , Kim Coates , and Diego Diablo Del Mar
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B0000TANUI
Release Date: 2004-01-20

Product Description

Packed with epic action, OPEN RANGE is a powerfully gripping story that's never been told until now, and stars Academy Award(R) winners Robert Duvall (1983 Best Actor, TENDER MERCIES) and Kevin Costner (1991 Best Director, DANCES WITH WOLVES), and Academy Award(R) nominee Annette Bening (1999 Best Actress, AMERICAN BEAUTY). A group of free grazers, four men trying to escape their past, are driving cattle and living off the land on the open range -- a place where nature makes the only laws. When a ruthless, evil rancher tries to run them out of town, the men's peaceful existence takes a tumultuous turn and ends in the grittiest, most explosive gunfight on film as two men battle a town for honor, justice, and a way of life that's quickly disappearing.

Amazon.com

Released almost exactly 11 years after Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven, Kevin Costner's Open Range proved yet again that the Western is the classic American genre. While it lacks the thematic impact of Eastwood's masterpiece, Costner's first film since 1997's ill-fated The Postman returns the actor/director of Dances With Wolves to the open prairies of America--in this case the free-range frontier of 1882--where legal "free-grazing" cattle drives were falling prey to empire-building land-owners. In the wake of territorial murder, free-grazing cowboys Boss (Robert Duvall) and Charley (Costner) seek vengeful justice against the ruthless rancher (Michael Gambon) who threatens their law-abiding survival. A feisty ally (the late Michael Jeter, in his next-to-final film role) and a doctor's sister (Annette Bening) offer support during climactic shootouts, masterfully staged with the shock and suddenness of real-life gunfire. Rich in character development and thick-hided humor, this handsome production redeemed Costner's directorial career with a well-told story (by Craig Storper, based on Lauran Paine's novel The Open Range Men), flawless performances, and stunning Canadian locations. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

LOVE IT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.......2007-06-11

This has become our favorite film...we have watched this every time it came on TV and now at least one or two times every week....It is very well done and there are no lags in it, and was cast very well.

Very Surprising for a Kevin Costner Film.......2007-06-09

I'm really not a big fan of Costner movies, especially when he gets involved with the production/direction of the film. Dances with Wolves - Extended Cut (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) is probably an exception but Waterworld and The Postman were just plain bad productions. Over blown and over written. So here comes "Open Range" and even though I'm a huge western fan I'm questioning if I want to chance it.

I was surprised on so many levels. Of course the cast is exceptional with Robert Duval and Annette Benning staring with Costner. But the story was great, the flow of the film kept you interested, and the look of the movie was outstanding. Costner took the time for character development in his main characters, making each into complex people. Add a great musical score and what else could you hope for.

The story is your basic mean cattle baron trying to wipe out a good-hearted but smaller outfit. In this case the smaller herd is a "free-Grazer", an outfit that travels from range to range. Robert Duval is perfect as Boss Spearman, the tough but fair owner of the herd. Costner plays Charley Waite, his top hand. Along with their two other hands, Mise Harrison & Button, they pitch camp on a range claimed by the local rancher who hates free grazers. After the rancher attacks the camp, killing Mose and severely injuring Button, Boss and Charley decide they must defend their outfit and their way of life. Along the way we discover that Charley used to be a gunfighter. The story builds to the normal Expolsive ending but not before we get to look into each of the main characters and discover their inner-most secrets.

Again, this was such a surprise. As soon as this film came out on DVD I ran right out and bought it. If you are a western fan do not pass this up.

Open Range.......2007-06-02

This is the very best Western movie that has come along in recent times.
There are no frills or cliched dialogue to disrupt what is a gutsy plot and the actors are all at their best in the rolls they play. Authentic costumes and period gear add to this well filmed motion picture.
I recommend it highly to all western buffs.

Open Range~`When character meant something.......2007-05-13

Excellent movie- I saw it on AMC and had to have it.
It reflects the simple method of confronting wrong doers directly, no explanations of why they were evil and wrestling with their motivation. Face them and eliminate the threat. The movie and characters demonstrate that fact throughout the movie and some politicians and the media would do well to emulate this proven methodology.

Bringing back the western.......2007-05-07

If you like westerns, this movie is for you. According to the narration in the "extras", a great deal of thought was done on the sound in addition to the visuals. That is extremely apparent during the first few scenes done in a thunder storm. I actually jumped at one thunder crack. The audio during the final "shoot out" was recorded at a higher volume. As explained inthe narration, that guns like these were really loud. All in all, a good story wrapped up in a good western.

Average customer rating:

Eat it!
grim reality without humor.
The best western
"It's a hell of thing, Killin' a man."
No reason to review this, EVERYONE already knows its AWESOME!

Unforgiven
Starring: Beverley Elliott , Frances Fisher , Tara Dawn Frederick , Greg Goossen , and Gene Hackman
Director: Clint Eastwood
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: 0790729644
Release Date: 1997-03-26

Amazon.com

Winner of four Academy Awards, including best picture, director, supporting actor, and best editing, Clint Eastwood's 1992 masterpiece stands as one of the greatest and most thematically compelling Westerns ever made. "The movie summarized everything I feel about the Western," said Eastwood at the time of the film's release. "The moral is the concern with gunplay." To illustrate that theme, Eastwood stars as a retired, once-ruthless killer-turned-gentle-widower and hog farmer. He accepts one last bounty-hunter mission--to find the men who brutalized a prostitute--to help support his two motherless children. Joined by his former partner (Morgan Freeman) and a cocky greenhorn (Jaimz Woolvett), he takes on a corrupt sheriff (Oscar winner Gene Hackman) in a showdown that makes the viewer feel the full impact of violence and its corruption of the soul. Dedicated to Eastwood's mentors Sergio Leone and Don Siegel and featuring a colorful role for Richard Harris, it's arguably Eastwood's crowning directorial achievement. The digital video disc offers standard and widescreen formats and a remastered soundtrack. --Jeff Shannon

Description

Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman play retired, down-on-their-luck outlaws who pick up their guns one last time to collect a bounty offered by the vengeful prostitutes of the remote Wyoming town of Big Whiskey. Richard Harris is an ill-fated interloper, a colorful killer-for-hire called English Bob. And Best Supporting Actor Oscar winner Gene Hackman is the sly and brutal local sheriff whose brand of law enforcement ranges from unconventional to ruthless.

DVD Features:
Production Notes
Theatrical Trailer

Customer Reviews:

Eat it!.......2007-07-03

This is a great western. With Clint and Gene at the helm on this one, nobody can deny the quality film that this movie became. I am an avid fan of Clint's and many other amazing western films and this is up there in the top ten. People who gave this film less than 5 stars do not know what a good film is...and can go on complaining about quality films because their bad taste blinds their senses and minds to the truth that is the greatness "Unforgiven". And truly you will not be forgiven for your bad taste.

The vengeance is epic...true to old spaghetti westerns...this is a very good film.

grim reality without humor........2007-06-18

Not a fun western. Much brutishness and grimness. No wisecracking colorful sidekick to provide comic relief. No promising union of hero and maiden at the end. No pat on the back for riding the community of desperados or crooked big wheels. No indian conflicts, dramatic train or bank robberies, nor exciting gold strikes. No wagon train hoedowns nor other pleasant social events. No Mr. nice guy whose tough when he has to be. The women are all mindless abused plain-looking whores, not glamorous dance hall queens, and are ultimately responsible for all the violence in the film. This is a message film. The main point seems to be to present a more realistic picture of life and violence in the wild west than the typical western and to deglamorize shootouts and gunslingers. Another message is that alcohol(and by extension, some other psychoactive drugs) makes certain men violent or abusive. Eastwood's character was such a man.

The plot surrounds conflicting ideas of the just punishment for the face slashing of a prostitute by a cowboy customer whose manhood she insulted. The saloon owner nearly decides to shoot the cowboy, but then decides to defer to the authority of the sheriff, "Little" Bill. Bill initially suggests a whipping as being appropriate for the cowboy and his friend, who helped hold down the prostitute. But this doesn't satisfy the Madam, who demands a public hanging. The saloon keeper now demands a fine, payable to him, for damage to his "property". Bill finally decides on a fine alone. The prostitutes are incredulous at this sentence. To them this says the legal system regards them as mere property, equivalent to slaves or horses. Most viewers would probably regard a death sentence as too harsh, but a fine as too light. Perhaps Little Bill's original suggestion of a whipping would have satisfied the prostitutes after they witnessed it and there would not have been any more violence connected with the incident. This "mistake" left the prostitutes as well as most of the other town's people unsatisfied, and would ultimately cost Bill his life. The prostitutes offered a bounty for the heads of the 2 cowboys so as to achieve their idea of justice, and this initiates the rest of the action of this film. In a broader application, the complications surrounding this incident serves as a warning that even domestic insults and assaults can sometimes result in a cascade of revenge and legalistic injuries, jailings and murders, sometimes involving people quite unrelated to the original incident.

This film showcases the injustices and ambiguities of vigilante justice and its perpetrators. The reformed ex-gunslinger drunk(Eastwood), who initially took up his weapons again only to make some money to help support his children and to satisfy the revenge wishes of others, eventually tranforms himself temporarily into a drunk vigilante who murdered those not involved as well as those involved in the death of his long time partner. This is but one of several incidents of unjust killings(including at least one of the cowboys involved in the slashing).

However, we have to balance this against the frequent shortcomings of legalistic justice, including the expenses involved, frequent mistakes, the influence of money, status, race and corruption, the frequent inability to identify, capture or convict perpetrators, the endless appeals and frequent dissatisfaction with sentences as too lenient or too harsh and being carried out far too long after the crime is comitted. Both have their pluses and minuses. The popularity of films where the hero eliminates the villain in a vigilante fashion suggests that vigilante justice, when done appropriately, is acceptable to many people and often preferable to legalized justice. However, the legal establishment is reluctant to legitimize it, except perhaps in self-defense cases, which are often subject to interpretation. It recognizes the gave dangers of too frequent use of vigilante justice, besides the fact that this seriously undermines its authority.

The best western.......2007-05-15

Unforgiven is definitely my favorite western of all time. Clint directs and stars in this film. This is a must watch for any western film fan.

"It's a hell of thing, Killin' a man.".......2007-03-30

When talking about westerns you couldn't begin to muster a word without first mentioning Clint Eastwood. Eastwood didn't start the most popular genre in American cinema but he helped to romanticize the idea of a gunslinger with a heart of stone to people the world over with his "man with no name" series directed by Sergio Leoni. My personal favorites of all the spaghetti westerns were his. He continued this tradition when he stared directing westerns of his own like High Plains Drifter, Pale Rider, and the Outlaw Josie Wales to name a few. He began to come into his own as not just an actor on screen but as a storyteller to.

The Unforgiven is Eastwood at his peak as a storyteller and his first real master piece as a director. He sheds his badass, no fear, bent on revenge gunslinger persona that he made famous behind for a character with more depth. A man with more demons and layers upon layers of baggage, fears and insecurities. In this film Eastwood Plays William Muddy, an ex outlaw turned family man and pig farmer from Missouri. William has a bit of a past that he has long left behind, mayhem, gambling, boozin' and of course killing folks. His long dead wife cured him of those evils and he is just a simple yet inept farmer. William has two youngins that he is struggling to provide for when a young gunslinger wanna be comes riding in, looking to team up with Muddy, to collect on a reward offered by a whore who was disfigured by two cowboys.

Muddy who is flat broke with children to tend to feels he has no choice and agrees to help find and kill these men but only if he can also team up with his old partner, Ned (Morgan Freeman). The three men soon find out this bounty has many more obstacles to over come besides just finding and killing these men. The biggest being the Sheriff of Old Whiskey, Little Bill (Gene Hackman). Little Bill keep a tight hold on what goes on in his town and outlaws all fire arms in city limits. He has little respect for assassins and hired guns and enforces his law with the most brutal of measures.

The thing that makes this film so different that the other Eastwood films is the depth of the characters, mainly Muddy played by Eastwood himself. In the beginning he is old, out of shape and soft spoken farmer who hasn't even held a pistol in a decade. He has lost all taste for killing and wants to leave the past where it belongs, in the past. Muddy is not only regretful and ashamed of his past but has become fearful of it as well. On the servace he almost looks like a coward... but no, he's no coward. Muddy is afraid of letting out the monster he was in his youth, knowing full well there is no turning back, if your gonna kill someone you have to be all in or all out. His partners learn this the hard way when you set to kill a man, a bit your own soul dies with it.

The progression and transformation this character takes is amazing done and explodes in the films climax. Eastwood took a huge chance gracing the film for an hour and a half before ever giving what the true fans want. When Eastwood finally delivers with the goods its well worth the wait and you find out that he is meaner, nastier than you could have ever dreamed. This film has superb directing, writing, acting and pacing, nothing in this movie is off in the slightest and each character is more fleshed out and deep than any other western that I've ever seen.

This movie is about more than just badass gunslingers, this movie has a message about what killing does to a man and how few people have the stomach for it. Even the badest of them all is kept awake at night from the horrors he's inflicted on others.

You will not find a better modern day western. Even if you're not a fan of this genre you will enjoy this film immensely and walk away feeling satisfied.

The title of this move sums up Eastwood character to a tee...Unforgiven. Not just by others but himself as well. You can change yourself all you want but something you do in life will follow you and haunt you for the rest of your days. One of the best lines of Eastwood's in the movie that really sums up what it's about is when the kid said that they had it comin' to `em, and Eastwoon responds, "We All have it comin' kid."

No reason to review this, EVERYONE already knows its AWESOME!.......2007-03-08

One of the best movies of all time.

It's gritty and its not afraid to show it.

It's much more realistic than the typical draw in a millisecond and shoot ten guys in the eye at 1000 yards kind of movies.

It showed that not all heros are perfect and that there is weakness in even the strongest of men. It even showed that even scumbags have a likeable side. And, it even showed that sometimes a tough guy image is just a cover to hide vunerabilities.

This certainly wasn't Hollywood's typical lets make some big explosions to hide our weak story line kind of movies.

Average customer rating:

John Ford and John Wayne's eighth and penultimate Western together, an elegy for the passing of the Old West!
the man who shot liberty valance
Best Western Ever!!
"When the legend becomes fact, print the legend"
John Wayne at his best!

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Starring: John Wayne , James Stewart , Vera Miles , Lee Marvin , and Edmond O'Brien
Director: John Ford
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00005ASGG
Release Date: 2001-06-05

Amazon.com essential video

"When the legend becomes fact, print the legend." That's more than the code of a newspaperman in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance; it's practically the operating credo of director John Ford, the most honored of American filmmakers. In this late film from a long career, Ford looks at the civilizing of an Old West town, Shinbone, through the sad memories of settlers looking back. In the town's wide-open youth, two-fisted Westerner John Wayne and tenderfoot newcomer James Stewart clash over a woman (Vera Miles) but ultimately unite against the notorious outlaw Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin). Ford's nostalgia for the past is tempered by his stark approach, unusual for the visual poet of Stagecoach and The Searchers. The two heavyweights, Wayne and Stewart, are good together, with Wayne the embodiment of rugged individualism and Stewart the idealistic prophet of the civilization that will eventually tame the Wild West. This may be the saddest Western ever made, closer to an elegy than an action movie, and as cleanly beautiful as its central symbol, the cactus rose. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews:

John Ford and John Wayne's eighth and penultimate Western together, an elegy for the passing of the Old West!.......2007-07-07

The critics panned THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE when it was first released in April 1962, Not least because it went over much of the same ground explored in FORT APACHE (1948). But the general public thought otherwise and the test of time has proved the latter right. Shot in black and white, with two obviously over-aged stars and mostly studio-bound the only concession to its day was the wide-screen aspect! Gene Pitney also had a huge hit with a song of the same name released at the same time but omitted from the soundtrack because John Ford was said to have hated it!

This dark-tale is of the Old West versus the advancing 20th Century. A train draws into the small western town of Shinbone the only passengers to get off, are Senator Ransom Stoddard (James Stewart) and his wife Hallie (Vera Miles) they are accosted by local reporter for `The Star' young Charlie Hasbrouck (Joseph Hoover) followed by his editor Maxwell Scott (Carleton Young). Stoddard reveals that they are in town for the funeral of an old friend Tom Doniphon (John Wayne). In the funeral parlour they find Doniphon's coffin guarded by his faithful black servant Pompey (Woody Strode). Scott persuades the Senator to give his account. Meanwhile ex-town-marshal Link Appleyard (Andy Devine) takes Hallie on a buckboard ride out to Toms burnt out old house, here they find masses of cactus roses in bloom, Link steps down and picks one for her.

Now back in Shinbone the story is then revealed in flashback - A gang led by Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin) ambushed Stoddard's stagecoach. He tries to defend a fellow female passenger but suffers a savage beating in the process and is left for dead. Tom Doniphon brings him to his girl friend Hallie Ericson at PETER'S PLACE (a venue for home cooking) at Shinbone after finding him on the trail! On discovering who attacked him Doniphon told Stoddard "Liberty Valance's the toughest man south of the Picketwire [River] - next to me". Stoddard is a lawyer by profession and is determined to bring Valance to justice he elicits the reluctant help of Marshal Link Appleyard and Shinbone Star founder and editor Dutton Peabody (Edmund O'Brien) in the meantime he helps out washing dishes and serving tables at PETER'S PLACE, he also runs a class teaching people to read and write, whilst telling them that `the pen is mightier than the sword'. One night Valance and two of his henchmen Floyd (Strother Martin) and Reese (Lee Van Cleef) burst into PETER'S PLACE hijack a table and generally causing trouble, Floyd gleefully points out to Valance, that he has spotted Stoddard waiting on tables. Valance trips Stoddard causing him to drop Doniphon's steak dinner on the floor. Doniphon and Valance square up for a gunfight after Doniphon ordered