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Post by TheGoodMan19 on Dec 30, 2018 0:51:26 GMT
Damn, I forgot what an amazing western this is. If i was to make a personal "Mt. Rushmore" of my favorite classic film actors, neither Randolph Scott or Joel McCrea would be there. Good, solid but not my personal favorites. But they were great in RTHC. Especially Randolph Scott. He should have received an Oscar nod. My only problem was the over the top "white trash" at the miners camp but that's like squeaking about the frame on the Mona Lisa. Always fun the see Warren Oates and John Anderson. And Mariette Hartley was very good. And the scenery. One of the great final scenes in movie history. This one should be in the Pantheon of the truly great Westerns, but rarely is.
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Post by wmcclain on Dec 30, 2018 1:32:51 GMT
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Post by politicidal on Dec 30, 2018 1:35:53 GMT
It was a fitting end to two veteran western performers.
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Post by OldAussie on Dec 30, 2018 2:50:29 GMT
The last 5 minutes are my favourite 5 minutes of ANY western - maybe any movie.
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Post by petrolino on Dec 30, 2018 3:26:09 GMT
Superb western.
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Post by mattgarth on Dec 30, 2018 3:31:02 GMT
The last 5 minutes are my favourite 5 minutes of ANY western - maybe any movie. Director Peckinpah expressed it well: "Those two guys had the best 'walk' in Western movies."
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Post by bravomailer on Dec 30, 2018 15:09:53 GMT
I like the end-of-the-Old-West theme. Also depicted in Butch Cassidy and The Shootist.
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Post by pimpinainteasy on Dec 30, 2018 15:12:35 GMT
the scene where the woman is passed around by the horny men was quite disturbing. a disturbing western.
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Post by mattgarth on Dec 30, 2018 15:14:38 GMT
I like the end-of-the-Old-West theme. Also depicted in Butch Cassidy and The Shootist. And two other films that same year of 1962 had a similar theme as COUNTRY: THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE LONELY ARE THE BRAVE
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Post by hitchcockthelegend on Dec 30, 2018 15:52:52 GMT
A special Western, a must for genre fans.
Revisonist splendour as Peckinpah starts his thematic osession.
"All I want is to Enter My House Justified"
Sam Peckinpah's second feature film is today standing up as a must see and must own for those interested in the Western genre.
The film sees ageing lawman Steve Judd land a job of escorting a gold shipment safely to a bank in Hornitos. After running into old friend, and fellow aged lawman Gil Westrun, he hires both he and his young sparky sidekick Heck Longtree to hopefully see the job through to a successful conclusion. Yet Gil has other ideas, for where Steve is upstanding and adhering to the values he has lived his life by, Gil sees this as one last chance to actually get a big payday. The journey takes a further twist as the three men meet and then save Elsa Knudsen from a brutal marriage, it's an incident that puts them all on a collision course with the Hammond brothers.
What we have here is Sam Peckinpah's first film dealing with men who have outlived their time. We witness some emotionally poignant stuff as the two main protagonists know that they have aged beyond their world, yet as alike as they are, they have different ideals in how to deal with the advent of time. The masterstroke here is the casting of genre legends Joel McRea & Randolph Scott as Steve & Gil respectively. It's evident from the off that both men are identifying with their characters, with both men hitting top emotional form to fully realise the thematic heart of the story. Mariette Hartley makes her film debut as Elsa, and she fits in nicely with the quality on show behind and in front of the camera. Lucien Ballard's cinematography is gorgeous as the various California locations envelope the protagonists in a sort of elegiac way, and Peckinpah directs with his heart as well as his head.
Bookended by two heart-achingly super sequences, of which the finale has rightly passed into Western genre legend, this really is a strong and beautiful film, one that simultaneously shows a truly great director was at work. For here he was left alone, and the final result is a quality Western beating far more than just a cowboy heart. The supporting cast is strong, notably Edgar Buchanan, L.Q. Jones & John Anderson, while the undervalued George Bassman provides a narratively fitting tonal music score. If there is a criticism? it's that Peckinpah doesn't let the younger characters breath, but given the film's core focus on aged men in an aged passing era, well it's easily forgiven. A precursor to The Wild Bunch for sure, but while the theme is the same for both films, this one impacts in a very different way. Highly recommended, not just for the Oater crowd, but for fans of classic cinema too. 9/10
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Post by kijii on Dec 30, 2018 15:55:51 GMT
I think you just sold me on this movie that I always resist recording. Was this a re-make of another western?
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Post by Captain Spencer on Dec 30, 2018 15:56:32 GMT
One of my favorite Peckinpah films. Beautifully done.
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Post by teleadm on Dec 31, 2018 17:12:59 GMT
Great western!, and a great screen farewell to/from Randolph Scott!
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Post by mattgarth on Dec 31, 2018 17:32:22 GMT
Great western!, and a great screen farewell to/from Randolph Scott! Like Randy, Joel planned to retire after COUNTRY as well.
But he did return a couple of times:
-- once at the request of a producing buddy
-- and once to help out his son Jody get a film project off the ground.
When it came right down to it, McCrea valued loyalty more than legacy.
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Post by teleadm on Dec 31, 2018 17:42:13 GMT
Great western!, and a great screen farewell to/from Randolph Scott! Like Randy, Joel planned to retire after COUNTRY as well.
But he did return a couple of times:
-- once at the request of a producing buddy
-- and once to help out his son Jody get a film project off the ground.
When it came right down to it, McCrea valued loyalty more than legacy.Joel never retired from the public, like Randolph, Joel even did involountarely a This is Your Life, and appaeared at the First Night of a 100 Stars 1982
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Post by vegalyra on Dec 31, 2018 23:35:44 GMT
Not my favorite Randolph Scott film (Seven Men From Now and The Tall T are up there), but definitely tied with Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia as my favorite Peckinpah film.
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