Search results for query: *

I'm going to end my marathon for this year early, since I have to spend the next two months balancing reviews here and some additional work at my family's business due to a national fabric event our store is participating in. But I couldn't walk away without sharing my thoughts on the last entry...

March 27: The Wild Bunch (1969; Sam Peckinpah): 5 out of 5 (Warner Bros. Blu-ray) When a bank robbery goes horribly wrong in 1913 Texas, Pike Bishop (William Holden) takes his motley crew of aging outlaws - including Ernest Borgnine and Warren Oates - south into Mexico and get entangled with...

March 24: Duck, You Sucker (AKA A Fistful of Dynamite/1971; Sergio Leone): 4 out of 5 (Kino Blu-ray) For Sergio Leone's last western, this one pairs a gold-hearted Robin Hood bandit (Rod Steiger) with an Irish explosives expert (James Coburn) in many adventures in Mexico, including saving...

March 22: Untamed (1955; Henry King): 4 out of 5 (Twilight Time Blu-ray) Mix plot elements from Cimarron and Gone with the Wind together and move the setting to South Africa and you have this unique western from veteran director Henry King. Beautiful cinematography - in Cinemascope! - by Leo...

March 20: Once Upon a Time in the West (1968; Sergio Leone): 5 out of 5 (Paramount UHD) Another Paramount title I've upgraded from Blu-ray during the Barnes and Noble sale of Paramount titles. Again, there's not much more that I can say about the movie that hasn't already been said. Except for...

March 18: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966; Sergio Leone): 5 out of 5 (Kino Blu-ray; theatrical cut) Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Eli Wallach, Sergio Leone directing and an iconic Ennio Morricone music score. Need I say anything more? March 19: Waterhole #3 (1967; William Graham): 3.75...

March 16: Bandolero! (1968; Andrew V. McLaglen): 4 out of 5 (Twilight Time Blu-ray) Outlaw brothers James Stewart and Dean Martin are pursued by Sheriff George Kennedy and a posse, with Raquel Welch as the captive. The chase heads deep into Bandolero country in Mexico, where both outlaw and...

I took a breather on the 13th, but I'm back with these two westerns: March 14: Straight Shooting (1917; John Ford): 3.25 out of 5 (Kino Blu-ray; 1st time viewing) Interesting as the 1st feature length western directed by the legendary John Ford. Harry Carey, who would become a key part of...

March 12: Death Rides a Horse (1967; Giulio Petroni): 3.5 out of 5 (Kino Blu-ray; 1st time viewing) After witnessing the brutal murders of his father, mother and sister 15 years ago, gunslinger John Phillip Law goes after the 4 men responsible with only memories of the distinctive features...

March 11: Journey to Shiloh (1968; William Hale): 3.25 out of 5 (Kino Blu-ray; 1st time viewing) A group of seven young Texans known as the Concho County Comanches - led by Buck Burnett (James Caan) - are heading east to Richmond to join the Confederate Army at the outbreak of the Civil War...

March 10: They Came to Cordura (1959; Robert Rossen): 4 out of 5 (Kino Blu-ray; 1st time viewing) During the US Army's expedition into Mexico to stop Pancho Villa and his army of bandits in 1916, a group of 5 soldiers (Tab Hunter, Dick York, Van Heflin, Richard Conte and Michael Callan) are...

March 9: The Tin Star (1957; Anthony Mann): 4.5 out of 5 (Arrow Blu-ray) When the sheriff of a town is killed, young deputy Ben Owens (Anthony Perkins) finds himself in charge and having difficulty asserting himself in the role. Enter veteran bounty hunter Morgan "Morg" Hickman (Henry Fonda)...

March 8: Catlow (1971; Sam Wanamaker): 3.5 out of 5 (Warner DVD - Louis L'Amour Western Collection; 1st time viewing) Once friends during the Civil War, now Jed Catlow (Yul Brynner) and Ben Cowan (Richard Crenna) are on opposite sides of the law. Yet, their past together will come in handy when...

March 7: Gun for a Coward (1957; Abner Biberman): 3.5 out of 5 (Kino Blu-ray - Western Classics II; first time viewing) Rancher Will Keough (Fred MacMurray) is the oldest of three brothers, with the reckless Hade (Dean Stockwell) and gunshy Bless (Jeffrey Hunter) running the family ranch. Bless...

March 6: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962; John Ford): 5 out of 5 (Paramount UHD) I didn't originally plan on viewing this movie for the challenge, but since I picked up the UHD Blu-ray of this for half off at Barnes and Noble's sale on Paramount titles, it felt like a great excuse to do...

March 5: Blazing Saddles (1974; Mel Brooks): 5 out of 5 (Warner Blu-ray) In 1874, the railroad is planned to go through the peaceful town of Rock Ridge and the Attorney General Hedley LaMarr (Harvey Korman) wants the town's land by any means necessary. To accomplish this, he persuades Governor...

March 4: Garden of Evil (1954; Henry Hathaway): 4.5 out of 5 (Twilight Time Blu-ray) In the mid-19th Century, three men (Gary Cooper, Richard Widmark and Cameron Mitchell) bound for the California Gold Rush are waylaid in Mexico when their ship encounters engine trouble. However, they take up a...

Since I spent yesterday focusing on the Oscars, today was a double feature of one true western and one on the edges of the genre. March 3: Edge of Eternity (1959; Don Siegel): 4 out of 5 (Twilight Time Blu-ray) I debated whether or not to include this, as it doesn't neatly and completely fit...

March 1: Johnny Reno (1966; R.G. Springsteen): 3.5 out of 5 (Paramount DVD) Once an outlaw, Johnny Reno (Dana Andrews) is now a United States Marshal tasked with bringing peace and justice to the Wild West. While riding in to the town of Stone Junction, he comes across the Connors Brothers...

Placeholder! March 1: Johnny Reno (1966; R.G. Springsteen): 3.5 out of 5 (DVD) March 2: None (Oscars Night) March 3: Edge of Eternity (1959; Don Siegel): 4 out of 5 (Blu) & Chuka (1967; Gordon Douglas): 3.25 out of 5 (DVD) March 4: Garden of Evil (1954; Henry Hathaway): 4.5 out of 5 (Blu) March...