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(428) |
185 |
1773 |
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(154) |
66 |
640 |
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119 |
1133 |
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Plot:
Ride the High Country is the one Sam Peckinpah movie about which there has never been controversy--save at MGM in 1962, when a new studio regime opted to dump this beautiful, heartbreakingly el...( read more 
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Recent Reviews
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MCT:July 26, 2008
WIDESCREEN. Muy buena, pero el la escena del duelo clímax tiene cierto aire de irrealidad que molesta. / Very good, but the scene of the climactic showdown has an air of unreality that annoys.
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MCT:July 25, 2008I really need to see more Sam Peckinpah.
This is the movie that is argued over which represents the death of the classic Western. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is claiming that it is the last classic Western. I guess that makes Ride the High Country the first of the new formula. I think that there's a bit of truth to that. This movie gets into far darker theme than the simple shootout. This is a movie about rape, greed, and betrayal and that's not something I'm really used to seeing in my classic Western.
I have to applaud Sam Peckinpah for stepping out of himself so much to view his work as something outside of time. He knew what his movie was going to be compared to and he cast two old favorites for the two lead actors. Joel McCrea is one of my favorite older actors. He's always been this figure of respect and morality while still having that tough guy feel. He's playing an older character. It really is like watching a sequel of those old movies with a gap between the first movie and the second movie. We get to see a character who has gone through a lot and still has that sense of morality, but that morality is far more fine tuned and realistic than simply the good guy standing out against the backdrop of the West. Then paring them up with a younger man and woman just makes that contrast all that much more present. The younger characters have that ignorance and naivite' of youth and these gentelman are aware of that, but have a new kind of morality. A morality full of grey (hair) and questionable decisions.
The movie doesn't really pick up to the heavy stuff until the second half of the film. Really, the introduction of the brothers goes into a fairly dark place. We have this very innocent girl who just gets fed to these brutes who are, in all essence, rapists. They use the law to their own advantage and manipulate this girl to the point of a breakdown all brought on in the span of twenty minutes. Peckinpah really develops the character of this girl as someone vibrant and full of life who seems to be sheltered from the real world to someone who is broken and disillusioned to what is right and what is wrong. We see the true nature of rape and violence and what it can do. This girl is scared for her life and she feels like she has no one protecting her. Then the three people who protect her are the old man who is noble, the old man who is a crook, and the young man who follows the crook. This isn't the bunch of people that we've seen in the previous Westerns and it is really very obvious. While the A-story may follow where this money is going to go, her B-story is far more interesting and I believe eventually replaces the A-story.
On some level, this is a morality play. We see the breakdown of two lifelong friends. Their age (I can't stress this enough) is what makes this movie all the more important. These are young, foolish friends who split. These are friends who would previously die for one another breaking company. There is a deep trust that is broken and it is a powerful choice. The end works very well with this theme. You feel the darkness that begins to lift and you know that the world is a generally good place, despite the events of the movie. I think that's the perfect ending for this movie and, although not unique by most cases, I do think it fits really well into this movie.
Finally, I'd like to point out Warren Oates in this movie. He plays one of the more minor characters, but he's fantastic. He plays a creep scoundrel so well that you actually kind of want to see him succeed just so he can get more screentime. -
MCT:July 21, 2008
Western adventure directed by Sam Peckinpah who went on to direct The Wild Bunch and Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid.
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MCT:April 19, 2008
Scott and McCrea are both excellent in this film, and they both retired from film after this movie. It was a wise move, because I don't think they could have ended on a higher note.
Excellent Peckinpah. -
MCT:March 17, 2008love peckinpah,but not a huge fan of this.mainly due to the cast.apart from joel mccrea,who is excellant,everybody else was either miscast or crap at acting.good story though.
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MCT:January 15, 2008
Beautiful wewstern from Peckinpah. Ride the High Country touches on alot of themes Peckinpah would later refine in The Wild Bunch and others. But he does it best in The Wild Bunch. Thats not to say Ride the High Country isnt without merit. Its a damn good western and one of the best for its time. Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott kick major acting ass here. Iam not that found of Mariette Hartley, but she was pleasent enough in this. Highly recommended to all Packinpah fans.
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MCT:October 1, 2007
First of the classic westerns from Peckinpah, also the swan song of Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott. Beautiful westerm with a meditative and nostalgic touch, where Peckinpah already imposes his usual themes that will show up all along his career, minus the violence.
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MCT:September 7, 2007
Well, I've already discussed my general lack of exposure to westerns (outside of my youth where I thought they were all boring and too brown and tan in colour palette for someone like me who likes colour.)
So, here we are. The first and earliest of the Peckinpah films in the box set. As I had read and thus rather expected, it was a fairly "normal" western (the "AMERICAN" style I previously referred to) but quite the good one. Morality was very, very grey, and there were some truly nasty people running about.
Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott are two aged gunmen who are hired to transport gold down from the mine it is coming out of to a bank in town. They bring along a more youthful and energetic gunman (played by Ron Starr) and run across a young woman along the way who wishes to escape her overprotective father.
On the whole it was very interesting as a film, with some pretty great lines and well acted and written characters. The main titles of the film were beautiful, but the score often did what I hate American western scores for doing--overly intrusive and loud and inappropriate at a few times (at one point it very suddenly cuts off as well, which felt very awkward). But, still, the filming in terms of colours and locations and framing was absolutely beautiful; McCrea and Scott--especially Scott--managed to come off as some seriously tough hombres (née badasses) during the film, despite their age and the fact that their age was playing into the characters. The final gunfight, truly was amazing.
A strange thread of sexism and near-misogyny on the part of many characters though...I imagine, as a result, that Sam has a reputation as a misogynist as well, between this and Straw Dogs...(3/6/06) -
MCT:January 23, 2007My favorite Western. Fitting last films for screen legends Scott and McCrea in a true two man Wild Bunch shootout with psycho hillbillies. Peckinpah caught lightning in a bottle with this little seen screen gem.
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MCT:October 19, 2006
This is a fitting swan song for Randolph Scott and a great early directorial effort for Sam Peckinpah. In a genre that can sometimes seem repetitive, Peckinpah has delivered almost a tribute to the stars of the past with his handling of the two lead characters and both their strengths and weaknesses. Many conflicts abound as they try to carry out their task of transporting some gold as well as protecting a young and confused runaway bride. This is one of the best westerns that I have seen, it is right up there with "The Outlaw Josey Wales" and "The Searchers".
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MCT:April 28, 2006
I had never seen a Joel McCrea movie before so I had never heard of him. My Grandma says that he was really famous
back in the day. I really loved the story of this because I like the idea of three cowboys going on a mission. That to me makes a perfect movie. Anyway I thought this was beautifully made and kind of sad at the end although seemed very inspiring to me. I would have to say that this has to be on the top 20 of the best westerns ever made.
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