Description

The Old West comes to life in this taut, searing bloody tale of crime and vengeance starring Sam Elliot (Mask, Sibling rivalry) as Conagher and Katharine Ross (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Graduate) as Edie. Year: 1991 Director: Reynaldo Villalobos Starring:Sam Elliot, Katharine Ross, Barry Corbin ... Read more

Reviews (18)

Saddle Bum
When Louis L'amour suggested to Sam Elliot that he should read Conagher, a novel he wrote, I doubt he ever envisioned it would result in becoming an instant classic western. Sam Elliot befriended Louis L'amour while filming The Sacketts, a movie based on another L'amour novel series. Unfortunately, L'amour died before Conagher was filmed; I'm sure he'd have been pleased with the results.

After reading this novel as well as viewing the movie several times I would surmise that they are both equally extraordinary, but I like the movie better. It is a very rare occasion when a movie can hold up to the book it's based on; much less surpass it in quality and interest.

Conagher (Sam Elliot) is a drifter, working wherever enough money or a warm bed and a meal can be had. His job with the stagecoach and fate brought him to Mrs. Teal (Katherine Ross), but it was something else that kept bringing him back. Through his drifting, he made a few enemies of folks who swayed to the other side of the line between good and bad. He was always true to the brand he rode for though, and sometimes his honesty caused him to be outnumbered, but never outfought.

When something, like this movie, has so many good parts that make up the whole, a resulting masterpiece can often not be avoided. Elliot, the greatest living western actor, was able to co-script this movie, based on his friend Louis L'amour's novel, and star opposite his wife Katherine Ross (whom he finds love with in the story). The movie is a perfect balance of drama, action, and love blended beautifully into an accurately portrayed frontier western.

Excelent Western, Sensitive character study,
Sam Elliot has been in a lot of junk movies, but he himself is a GREAT actor, as intense as DiNero and as subtle as meryl Streep, when the writing is solid and the role actually gives him Something to do.This is a story about 2 sensitive people coming to terms with each other on the frontier. The chemestry between Katherine Ross and Sam is amazingly nuanced, no doubt a tribute to a very happy marriage.Her stoic lonliness and his sensitive reticence is heart breaking. The writing is solid, with no flaws. It's films like this that allow both of them to exercize their substantial talents, its a shame Sam is not in more Sam Elliott vehicle films that maintain the nuanced finesse and literary merit of this film. Too often he's dropped into a pop cult machine made mediocre action film as a macho icon: he has great moments in almost every film he's in, but he needs to be in more handcrafted, literary vehicles, and work with directors like Altman & Scorsese. Connagher is Sam's best film to date. the supporting cast is quite fine, Sam & Kathryn are brilliant.

"You couldn't hurt Conagher with an axe."

Format: Color
Studio: Warner Home Video
Video Release Date: May 11, 1994

Cast:

Sam Elliott
Katherine Ross
Gavin O'Herlihy
Daniel Quinn
Barry Corbin
Ken Curtis
Cody Braun
Anndi McAfee

Conagher was written by Louis L'Amour (Lamoore) about life in the West around the end of the 19th century, with trouble with the Indians, rustlers, and a widow woman (Katherine Ross) tryimg to raise her children on a hard scrabble farm. Conagher comes to their aid.

L'Amour was a student of Western history. He understood the common man, having worked as a cowboy, circus roustabout, merchant seaman, boxer and served in the U.S.Navy. He was also a prolific writer of Western fiction, among other things.

This is not the first L'Amour story that Elliott has played in. He also performed as Tell Sackett in The Sacketts, which was an amalgamation of several of Louis's stories in that series on that family.

This story of Conagher was one of his good stories, which you will find typical of L'Amour's writing...good entertainment.

Joseph (Joe) Pierre

author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance
and other books

A lover of Western American history
Only a few westerns have become true favorites of mine over the last 40 years. Conagher ranks with the best of them. Why? The movie was not filmed in a movie lot specially made for movies, like Universal Studios or Old Tucson. But rather, you could say it was filmed 'on location' in a rugged, true-to-life environment that honestly represents what it was really like in the Old West. The Teal cabin and the surrounding country, the ranch of Seaborn Tay, the town - all have that authentic realism that lend excellence to the movie. Often in the film the lighting in certain scenes appears lacking as compared to other films in the genre. But actually, this is what gives the film a special feel, a special ring of realism. It's because you feel as though you are really there as a bystander, watching this drama play out right in front of you in the same way it would appear in real life. The direction of the film by Rebaldo Villalobos is superb and the performances by the actors are absolutely memorable. The musical score couldn't have been better because the selections chosen for the soundtrack apply perfectly and leave an indelible impression on the viewer. I don't know what Sam Elliot would think about this, but I believe this film is his best, most memorable performance of his career, bar-none. His rendition of Conn Conagher imprints Sam Elliot on my mind for all time - he IS Conagher. I don't think he has played characters in any of his other films that have struck me the way that Conn Conagher has in this one. But this is not to detract from the other performers in the film: Catherine Ross, Gavin O'Herlihy, Daniel Quinn, Barry Corbin, Ken Curtis, Cody Braun, Anndi McAfee, and the rest - they've all portrayed believable characters that make for a very enjoyable, memorable film that you will want to watch again and again over the years because it brings something special to the heart. Don't pass up the opportunity to see Conagher if you haven't seen it yet - you'll never regret it.

TALL IN THE SADDLE
IT APPEARS OUR ONLY HOPE FOR THE FUTURE OF GOOD WESTERNS LIES IN THE HANDS OF SAM ELLIOTT AND TOM SELLECK. I HOPE THEY DONT TIRE OF MAKING THEM BECAUSE THEY ARE BOTH IDEALLY SUITED FOR THIS GENRE.
THIS IS A SIMPLE STORY AS ALL GOOD ONES ARE. CONAGHER IS AN OLD SCHOOL COWHAND LOYAL TO HIS EMPLOYER AND TO HIS OWN TRUE BLUE MORALITY.
HE SIGHNS ON TO RIDE FOR A SMALL RANCHER EXPERTLY PLAYED BY THE LATE KEN CURTIS. A COMPETING OUTFIT WANTS TO KILL THE OLD MAN AND STEAL HIS STOCK. CONAGHER WONT ALLOW IT AND GIVES THE RUSTLING COWBOYS A TASTE OF THEIR OWN MEDICINE.
HE ALSO TAKES A SHINE TO A WIDOW WOMAN, MRS. TEAL PLAYED BY ELLIOTTS REAL LIFE WIFE KATHERINE ROSS. THE LONELY WIDOW WRITES HER THOUGHTS DOWN ON NOTES AND ATTATCHES THEM TO WANDERING TUMBLE WEEDS. CONAGHER FINDS SOME OF THEM, NOT KNOWING TEAL IS THE AUTHOR. CONAGHER HAS TO CHOOSE BETWEEN HIS NOMADIC COWBOY LIFESTYLE OR TRUE LOVE AND FAMILY LIFE. ONLY HE FEELS UNFIT TO PURSUE THE LADY. LOUIS LAMOURS STORIES ALWAYS HAVE A MORAL THROWN IN AS ALL GOOD WESTERNS DO. ELLIOTTS CHARACTER STANDS HIS GROUND, RIDES FOR THE BRAND AND SHARES HIS PHILOSOPHY OF DOING 'THE RIGHT THING' TO YOUNGER TIN HORNS.
IN THE END HE WHIPS THE BAD GUYS,.... BUT DOES HE OPT FOR ROMANCE OR HIS WEATHERD WAY OF LIFE? HAVE TO SEE THE MOVIE TO FIND OUT. THE MUSIC IS GREAT IN THIS ONE. IT IS SWEET AND SIMPLE LIKE THE FILM ITSELF.

ELLIOTT IS TODAYS QUINTESSENTIAL COWBOY AND SITS THE SADDLE WELL. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Frank Capra's 1938 populist spin on the George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart play about a family of happy eccentrics is a great deal of fun, though it significantly rewrites the original work and doesn't represent Capra (Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington) at his best. Jean Arthur plays a member of the blissful Vanderhof household who falls in love with a rich man's son (James Stewart) and brings him into her nutty home. Lionel Barrymore, who played such a bad guy eight years later in Capra's It's a Wonderful Life, is the wonderful Grandpa Vanderhof, who addresses God during the dinner prayer as "sir" and speaks plainly and beautifully of why it's good to be alive. Capra took this opportunity to rail against big business and champion the common man, but the overall tone of the film--typical for the director's comedies--is buoyant and snappy. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (37)

Frank Capra + Moss Hart & George Kauffman = ??
A fine Frank Capra comedy featuring Jimmy Stewart at his most boyish and gangly, and Jean Arthur as the girl of his dreams. It's a comedy of mismatched lovers: Stewart plays the son of a cold-hearted business tycoon (Edward Arnold) who looks forward to the coming world war as a way to make a killing on the stock market. In the path of Dad's capitalistic machinations lies a family of carefree bohemian kooks, whose open, life-affirming attitude holds together the neighborhood where Arnold hopes to build his next munitions factory. And guess what? Surprise...!! Jean Arthur's character also just happens to be the object of his son's affections. Into this "Dharma & Greg"-like scenario, add Lionel Barrymore as her saintly, eccentric father, who was once a businessman but then dropped out and now spends his days smiling at life, following his passions, and encouraging others to do the same.

In all honesty, although the film is charming, it isn't Capra's best work -- adapted from a stage play by George Kauffman and Moss Hart, it shouts out its kookiness, and has the feel of an off-Broadway production gone awry. The scenes that are meant to show how wacky her family is often play out too broadly, with shouting and grand gestures and a flurry of chaotic action -- dancing, xylophone playing, cooking, painting, newspaper rustling, fireworks going off -- and all of it happening at once. It's too obvious and dramatically weak... Plus, Stewart really hasn't found his feet yet as a star actor. On the other hand, both Barrymore and Arnold give delightfully strong performances, and Jean Arthur is *always* easy on the eyes. Even when slightly muddled, Capra is still better than practically anything coming out comedywise from Hollywood today. A charming 'Thirties comedy.

Classic Capra Comedy!
The rich young son of an esteemed banker (Jimmy Stewart) falls in love with his secretary (Jean Arthur). His family disapproves, but graciously agree to meet with his girlfriend's family. Jean Arthur wishes to plan the meeting as an elegant dinner with her family's eccentricities somewhat constrained. When her boyfriend and his parents show up on the wrong day, all hell breaks loose. Jean Arthur's wise grandfather and patriarch of the family (Lionel Barrymore) helps sets things aright with his harmonica and a little sound advice. This hilarious classic pits an eccentric middle class family against their snobbish upper-crust potential in-laws. You'll roll on the floor laughing at Stewart's "scream" scene, the Russian ballet teacher, the jail-cell and courtroom sequence and more. One of Frank Capra's best!

Great film, Poor DVD
First of all, this film is great, and deserves to be owned by any classic movie fan. It has some of the greatest stars that have ever been on-screen, together! This is easily a favourite of mine, with Jimmy Stewart, Jean Arthur, Lionel Barrymore AND Frank Capra, you cant go wrong with watching this.

This film easily deserves the 5 stars, but I take one away because of this very disappointing release from Columbia on DVD. Many of Columbia's releases of classic movies on DVD have been poor ('Awful Truth' comes straight to mind) while others have great releases ('It Happened One Night' for an example).

I will start with the picture quality. It is full of scratching, throughout the film, and in all honesty, it does kind of look like a video. Still, saying this, it is actually watchable, but what a poor effort.

Now for the sound. Ok, this is the real problem. The sound is really quite bad. It is full of hissing, and becomes annoying. Its listenable, but oh, they could have done a lot better here.

The extras. Well, there isnt much to say really, is there? There are nothing for you on this disc.

This DVD is worth getting, but I only say this because of the film itself. What a poor release for such a wonderful film. Hopefully, Columbia will re-release this soon, with a better print, better sound, and some decent extras. If only this could have been more like their release of Capra's other classic, 'It Happened One Night'.

Dont avoid this DVD, but just dont expect much.

PLEASE NOTE: Since I am in England, I own the Region 2 release. It appears to be no different to this Region 1 release though.

very good movie
I'm playing a character in the play that this movie is based on, and so I watched this DVD to get a hint of what it could look like. First, the story is excellent! Do what you want in life; don't work your whole life doing something you hate! That is basically the Sycamore family's philosophy. But when the younger daughter in this household falls in love with the son of the wealthy Kirby family, trouble brews, landing the Kirbys and Sycamores both in jail! In the end, Kirby Sr. learns that maybe the Sycamores have something and gives the young couple his blessing, leaving everybody happy. The play is a little different from the movie, but with the addition of a simple harmonica, the movie is able to give the viewer a wonderful feeling in the end and reinforces the fact that everyone should do what makes him or her happy in life! I will say that the quality of the movie is not the greatest at times, but that's to be expected since it is an older movie. Other than that, it's great!

Warm & Wonderful
This is a gem of a movie. It's all madness & mayhem on the surface, and warm & cozy underneath. Like most of Frank Capra's movies, this is a morality play. The filmaker continues his favorite theme, downplaying the materalistic and embracing the things that really matter, love, both romantic & platonic, friends & family. This type of material might be a preachy bore in the hands of a person less skilled than Frank Capra, but he makes it work. Not only does it work, but the movie is hilarious. The cast is excellent, starring Lionel Barrymore, I would say at his best, but I never saw anything he was in where he wasn't great. Jimmy Stewart plays one of his nice guys here to the max & is terrific also. The rest of the cast is excellent as well. I especially loved the "mad Russian" played by Mischa Auer. Eddie Anderson steals every scene he's in whether he's speaking or not.
All in all, it's a fine ensemble cast, everyone is very good. Do yourself a favor, if you have an opportunity to see this, please do! ... Read more

Reviews (17)

Good, Clean Fun For The Whole Family!
This is one of the funniest movies I have ever seen!!! I am an avid fan of The Andy Griffith Show, but even if you're not, you'll love this movie. Andy plays a backwoods hick that is drafted into the Air Force. When he meets the tough, rules and regulations world of the Air Force, all sorts of hilarious situations arise. Buy this movie, its one for the whole family.

Funny Air Force Comedy("I'm P L O!")
This is one I have had in my collection for years. Great fun from start to finish. Griffith is funny, but so are the co stars(Adams, McCormick, Knotts, etc.). Inspection scene is classic as is the pyschiatrist sketch. McCormick is hilarious as the tired old Air Force Staff Sgt. who assigns Griffith job as permanent latrine orderly(PLO!). Andy Griffith show fans will recognize that this was the first on-screen teaming of Knotts and Griffith. This one is full of memorable lines such as Pvt. Whitledge(Adams) telling Stockdale(Griffith)"Honest, Will, sometimes I wonder why they took ya in the draf at all!". Fans of MASH will recognize a young Jamie Farr in latter half of film. This film came out during a post Word War II and Post Korean War America and there is even a subplot thrown in involving the Yucca Flats testing site. I have never seen the tv version or the broadway play, but this film is just downright funny and all fans of Griffith or anyone that has been in the military should watch this one.

No Time for Sergeants
Great family movie. Shipped very quickly.

DVD, Please!!!
We have watched this movie many times. In fact this video is what turned our kids onto the "old" movies that they now like so well. Please tell me there are putting it on DVD!!! Kids love it. I love it. We pop it in any time we just want a good, healthy laugh.

one of the greatest
I have remembered this as one of my favorite films of all time. This is one of the most hilarious movies that Andy Griffith has has ever made. It is funny, sweet, tender, kind, and has all of the good things encountered in the best movies. I highly recommend this film and wish it would come out on DVD. ... Read more

Amazon.com

What can two little mice possibly do to save an orphan girl who'sfallen into evil hands? With a little cooperation and faith in oneself,anything is possible! As members of the mouse-run International RescueAid Society, Bernard and Miss Bianca respond to orphan Penny's call forhelp. The two mice search for clues and, with the help of an old cat namedRufus, track Penny to the clutches of the evil Madame Medusa in adilapidated ship in Devil's Bayou. It turns out that Medusa is using Pennyto locate and retrieve the Devil's Eye Diamond--a stone she'll stop atnothing to possess. With a cunning plan, courageous acts, cooperation fromlocal animal life, and lots of faith, Bernard and Miss Bianca helpPenny find the diamond and escape from Medusa. The result of theiradventure is that Bernard and Miss Bianca become close friends and Pennygets adopted. This somewhat dark, classic 1977 animated Disney film is based on MargerySharp's The Rescuers and Miss Bianca, and features the AcademyAward-nominated song "Someone's Waiting for You." Voice talents includeEva Gabor as Miss Bianca, Bob Newhart as Bernard, Geraldine Page as MadameMedusa, and Jim Jordan (radio's Fibber McGee) as Orville Albatross. Followedby the sequel The Rescuers Down Under. (Ages 5 to 11) --TamiHoriuchi ... Read more

Reviews (38)

Nero!!...Brutus!!....Stop that making that noise in there!!!
The Rescuers is one of my all-time favorite Disney films to watch. I saw this movie when I was 6 years old and now that I'm 21, I still love this movie.
The story begins when a little girl named Penny is kidnapped by a evil woman named Madame Medusa who forces Penny to search and find a large diamond called the Devil's Eye, thats hidden in a underground cove called Devils Bayou. Penny, however, manages to send messages in bottles to get help from the outside, and the R.A.S. Rescue Aid Society, the secret organization that's composed of mice from around the world answer Penny's call for help and they send two mice Bernard, who's the janitor, and a agent from Hungray named Miss Bianca. The only way to get to Devil's Bayou is the Albatross Air Service that's ran by Orville, a bumbling, wise-cracking albatross who's the pilot, flight annoucer, and the plane.
When they do get to Devil's Bayou, Bernard and Bianca witness a escape attempt made by Penny, who get snatched by Medusa's two bumbling pet alligators, Nero and Brutus.
My favorite scene is where Nero and Brutus are trying to catch Bernard and Bianca when they're trapped in a pipe organ, and while Nero is playing the organ, Brutus trys to catch them when the air comes up through the pipes.
If you want a good family classic to watch, give The Rescuers a try, I love it.

I didn't know
I didn't know that Disney was planning are releasing this movie on dvd, until today. And I watched this movie tonight. I had a vhs copy of this movie around. And I think this was the first Disney movie to have a sequel, and this movie was out about 13 years, before the sequel to this movie was made. It tells a story about 2 mice, 1 a janitor and the other a lady on a mission to save a young girl named Penny that was kidnapped from an orphanage. As the movie opened, Penny (Michelle Stacey) drops a bottle that is a cry for help, and the bottle finds its way to New York, where a couple of mice discovers it, and the Recure Aid Soceity calls to order, a meeting. A janitor mouse named Bernard (Bob Newhart) brings ladder (that is really a comb), cames the comb, and goes inside, manges to get the message out of the bottle, but keeps falling back to the bottom of the bottle. The message is all watered out, and a mouse named Miss Bianca (Eva Gabor) manges to make out some of the message, including Penny's name. Miss Bianca decides to ask to take the misiion, even though Bernarnd doesn't think it is a good idea for Miss Bianca to go alone. So the chairmouse, decides for Miss Bianca to selct a co-agent to go with her, and she has a lot of vanletters, which makes it hard for her to chose, and she picks Bertand.

Theatre Gem
I remember my parents taking me to see this gem of a film in the theatre. I was captivated by the cute girl Penny and the two mean gators. This film was a fun Disney film. It seemed weird when they released "Resuers Down Under" WAY before this one?!?!? But now you can complete or expand your Disney collection with this piece of Disney Gold!

Cool film!
Although this film doesn't particularly follow the same story line as the forgotten Margery Sharp classic, I have to admit that the film is better in it's own way. To start, in the book, the rescuers, janitor Bernard, Lady Miss Bianca and sailor mouse Nils go into the Black Castle to rescue a Norweian poet, but this is just some no-one who you really don't get to know that well, since he comes at the end of the book and barely even speaks, you can't feel for the character, however, Penny is filled with charming personality, and you learn to love her as you watch the film. Nils was a very charming little mouse in the book, too bad he wasn't in Disney's film. Then Madame Medusa is a great villain compared to the boring jailers and gate keepers in the book, since they do nothing to stop the young poet from scaping. In Disney's film, Madame Medusa has held Panny captive for months because she needs her to find the world's largest diamond, and the rescuers are flying into a journey to her rescue. Lovable film, pretty disappointing DVD, hopefully Disney will give us another, better edition.

There unconfirmed rumors that a new sequel, The Rescuers III: Journey to the Black Castle is in the works, and this time, little cute Nils would be joining us, I would loooove to see that!

R-E-S-C-U-E, Rescue Aid Society....
When a young girl's plea for help it found via bottle in the ocean, Miss Bianca of the Rescue Aid Society, along with her partner Bernard, go on an action packed adventure to rescue her.

Young Penny had disappeared from Morningside Orphange one day and no one has seen her since. With a tip from the Orphange's wise old cat, the two mice track down a pawn shop run by Madame Medusa. She is the one, along with her goofy sidekick Snoops, who kidnapped Penny and is holding her hostage deep in the bayou on a rundown Riverboat. Time after time Penny attempted to escape, only to be tracked down and brought back to her prison by Medusa's two pet crocodiles. The only reason Medusa is holding Penny hostage is because Penny is the only person small enough to fit down into the cave where Medusa's greatest desire, the Devil's Eye diamond, is at.

With the help of Miss Bianca, Bernard and some of the swamp's resident critters, Penny manages to bring Medusa her coveted diamond, outsmart her crocodiles and escape back to the orphanage and, ultimitly, unite Penny with the family she so yearned for.

A touching tale. I can see why this is considered a classic! ... Read more

Reviews (13)

The best Tom Sawyer i ever saw.
This movie was playing at Radio City Music Hall back in the days of the movie/stage show formt. It was also presented in 70mm on that huge Radio City screen. I remember how impressed i was with that opening scene with the steam boat going down the river and you see Tom running thru the field and the music builds more and more. Wow,,,,what a great movie!I've seen many versions of "Tom Sawyer" but this one seems to be the best ever brought to the screen. Maybe because it's a musical. Whatever made this so successful back then you will not be disappointed by it's gradure and scope. A must for ever American kid and adult too. This is as red, white and blue as it gets and now must be the most politically incorrect movie ever made. (hehe) Buy it before some group puts a ban on it. Which should want you to buy this for the kids even more. They don't make them like this anymore.

Energetic, sunny adaptation
Made at a time when the inclusion of songs was all but compulsory for a family film, this musical adaptation nonetheless manages to translate the best aspects of Twain's book to the screen. The movie does an impressive job of creating a dramatic shape out of Twain's material. The book is a collection of episodes which form a composite portrait of Tom's character, and, for adult readers, offer a glimpse into a lost world; but there really is no narrative drive. The murder and Tom's subsequent dilemma about testifying in court are simply two episodes unconnected to the other events. In the book, the boys simply decide one day to form a gang of robbers and go live on the island. In the movie, the retreat to the island arises out of the boys' fear after having witnessed the murder, and it is only the guilt they feel while spying on their own funeral that makes them return home. The songs are not especially memorable, but harmless enough. The performances by the supporting adult cast are strong, particularly that of Celeste Holm as Aunt Polly. A splendid scene at the dinner table is a masterful fleshing-out of Twain's prose. Full of nice photography and beautiful scenery, this movie sparkles with joy and youthful optimism.

A national treasure! Please release on DVD.
I just re-watched this film and wow, what a treasure of a film!

With songs written by the famous Sherman Brothers (the brilliant Disney songwriters who did "Mary Poppins" et al.) and the charm of Johnny Whitaker as Tom Sawyer (1970's tv show"Family Affair") this is the best version of the classic Mark Twain tale I've ever seen on film. You really feel like you're right there in Hannibal, Missouri.

Great casting all the way around and a fantastic musical as well.

I originally saw this when I was about nine and it completely caught my imagination both then and now. I'd never forgotten several catchy songs from the film, such as "Free Bootin.' Great stuff all the way around.

My only complaint is that this film is not currently available on DVD, as I'd love to see and hear this treasure of a film in full visual and audio clarity.

whatever
this movie is like so the not so awesome.we are watching it in school(me go to mater dei academy)and when i go home my ears hurt so much from all the... singing.i wish it only had like no singing and like what is up with the charectors dos man it is like way out there if ya know what i'm sayin.so i would not like refer this to anyone.if yall wanna watch tom sawyer watch the one with jtt.

Jodie Foster is GREAT! The music is terrible.
I fast-forwarded through the really bad songs in this would-be musical. It is a lot of fun. The character of Tom Sawyer is great. He is both a bad kid and a great guy at the same time -- a mix not so common in America's world of truly evil and absolutely saintly characters. Not particularly deep, not particularly inspiring, but fun. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Shot back-to-back with Back to the Future II, this final chapter in the series is less hectic than that film and has the same sweet spirit of the first, albeit in a whole new setting. This time, Michael J. Fox's character ends up in the Old West of 1885, trying to prevent the death of mad scientist Christopher Lloyd at the hands of a gunman. Director Robert Zemeckis successfully blends exciting special effects with the traditions of a Western, and comes up with something original and fun. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (50)

The End Of A Brilliant Trilogy
This 1990 sequel was shot back to back with Back To The Future 2. Again, it was directed by Robert Zemeckis, and starred Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd. In this, the third and final chapter in the series, Marty McFly(Fox)is transported, thanks to the delorean, to the year 1885. The Old West. There, he tries to save Doc Brown(Lloyd)who is to be shot and killed by a mad gunmen. Is it any surprise that the guy who is supposed to kill Doc Brown is a relation to Biff?. No, it isn't. But there are a few other problems as well. On his trip to 1885, the delorean gets a hole punctured in the fuel tank. They are trapped there. The other, is that Doc has fallen in love with a sweet school marm(played by Mary Steenburgen). Doc is conflicted between leaving and saving his life, or staying and being with the woman he truly loves, and face the chance of getting shot. The two find a way to gain enough speed to get the delorean in motion and send them back to 1985. If you haven't seen it, I won't say how. This chapter in the brilliant series is a real fun, crowd pleaser. However, it lacks a lot of the punch the first two had. The effects and everything are mild and tame in this one. Not as exciting as the previous ones. Still, it is a wonderfully made and put together film. It is thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable. A very satisfying end to the whole saga. Fox and Lloyd are, as always, top notch. Thomas Wilson as Biff's ancestor is, well, he's still Biff. Would we want him any other way?. Probably not. Steenburgen does the best with what she's given. It's too bad that Lea Thompson, who had such an important and prominent role in the first and second, was relegated to almost 'cameo' status in this one. Oh well. In the end, a good romp for the whole family. Watch and enjoy!!!.

Weak way to end the trilogy but still lots of fun
Picking up right where the second movie leaves us Marty McFly learns that Doc has ended up in the old west of Hill Valley and now its up to Marty to get back to him to save his life. With the help of the Doc of 1955 Marty is able to get to the past and take on an old west thug nammed "Mad Dog" Tannen. Besides taking on that gun slinging criminal , Doc has fallen in love with a school teacher named Clara who he has to tell the truth to about where he is from. If things weren't bad enough, the DeLorean has no gas and now they have to figure out a way to get back to the future again by getting the time machine to 88mph. Its a true wild west romp and it ends the trillogy in a decent mannor.

This movie sorta slows down the pace a bit , and unfortunatly I think a bit to much, when you look back at the two previous to this installment. It lacks the fun and newness of the first and the action and story of the second and pretty much turns into a second rate western with Back to the Future characters in the roles, with them trying to relive the idea of a kid from the 80s trapped in another time period like in the first film, but it just doesn't work for a 1880's setting. Bottom line, while it is a good movie at points, the fun just isn't here as it wants to be.

While not as good as the other two it does have its moments. The fun of seeing Doc's lab at the begining in 1955 which has a lot of the hidden jokes from the first within. Some good western jokes like him taking the name "Clint Eastwood" and a very exciting climax with a huge locomotive pushing the DeLorean on traintracks, all make this movie still worth it and a good one to watch. Just don't expect the fun time traveling and characters that were in the other two. They stay trapped in the west for most of the movie and the amount of things that just seem to not make sense are very high in this movie. A lot of contradictions show up at various points to things that were well established in other movies (IE Not remembering who put Marty in the tacky clothing he winds up wearing). It is still a must have for anyone that is a fan of the Back to the Future series especialy as it just isn't complete without knowing how it ends or even a fan of a good movie to pass the time. Just don't expect to much as it doesn't deliever like the other two did with flying colors. It does end the trillogy on an up note and something that will make you smile and still want more. It will also make you wish they had more going on in 1985 at the end then the quick rushed ending they seem to come up with. A fitting end none the less, just could have done much more then they wind up doing and at times it may even leave you unfullfilled.

a fitting end to a wonderful trilogy
A film by Robert Zemeckis

"Back to the Future Part III" is the third and concluding chapter to the "Back to the Future" trilogy. For many years this was my least favorite film in the trilogy, but watching it again for the first time in years I have new appreciation for it. "Back to the Future Part III" is a satisfying and worthy end to this trilogy.

At the end of the second movie the DeLorean is struck by lightening (which we already know provides the necessary 1.21 gigawatts of energy required for time travel) and Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) is sent somewhen in time. Marty (Michael J Fox) is stuck in 1955 Hill Valley, but just after Doc and the DeLorean disappears a letter arrives for Marty. The letter is from Doc and was written in 1885. It was left as the post office with the instructions to be delivered on that particular date at that particular time. The letter says that Doc is alive and well in 1885 and under no circumstances is Marty to try to go back and rescue him.

Marty returns to the 1955 Doc Brown and enlists his help to recover the DeLorean which was left in a cave for 70 years. While recovering the DeLorean Marty discovers a tombstone with Doc's name on it...and the date that Doc died was only a week after he wrote the letter! The tombstone reads "shot in the back by Buford Tannen (Thomas F Wilson) over a matter of $80". There is no way Marty is going to let this happen, so he puts gas in the DeLorean and travels back in time to 1885 to help Doc. Of course, if it was that simple, we wouldn't have much of a movie, so complications evolve. The DeLorean ruptures its gas line, so that it leaks gas and can no longer be driven under its own power. Part of the movie is Doc and Marty trying to get the DeLorean back up to 88 miles per hour, but there is also the matter of Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen who still intends to shoot Doc over that matter of eighty dollars...or will history change and will Marty's name on that tombstone? This final installment also introduces a love interest for Doc Brown in the person of Clara Clayton (Mary Steenburgen), the new school teacher with an interest in science.

This movie is much more of a straight forward action/adventure/comedy (whatever) movie. The time travel serves to get Marty in the past and back to the present, but there isn't as much playing around with time travel as there is in the second movie. I still think this might be the weakest of the movies, but it is a very fun ride. While this movie will never reach the "classic" status that I feel the first one will, this is a very enjoyable movie and is a fitting end to the trilogy. Good stuff.

The Best of the Back to Future Films
This is the best of three in the Back to the Future trilogy. It was set in the past and in the west during the times of cowboys, indians and especially gun sliggers. I loved all of the reference to past events, and the humor it brought to the film. This is a film I can watch over and over again, unlike the first in the trilogy. Unlike the second film in the trilogy this film kept my attention, and wasn't so off-the-wall that it was unbelievable. This is one that will be in my home collection.

Love Story?
This is the final part of "Back to the Future" trilogy...now Marty has come back to the year 1955 where is the young Doc who has sent him just back to the year 1985. At first Doc can't believe his eyes when he sees Marty...but after seeing the letter which his older self sent, he understand. He's now...or was in 1885 in old west but then they found a history book where is told that he will be killed just after being a week there. Marty has to go and save Doc's life. He travels again with time machine and finds Doc...but then he must fight with Tannen, who is a bad boy...they have to get 88 mph somehow but how? Well, watch this film, the same actors again...but there's also a teacher Clara Clayton who has a great role in this story...a happy end or...? ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

This 1980 film by director Robert Zemeckis gives no indication of things to come in his career(Contact,Forrest Gump), but it is representative of a certain cynical humor he shared early on with writer-partner Bob Gale. Kurt Russell and Jack Warden star in a sketchy comedy about competing used-car salesmen who resort to outrageous tactics to lure customers away from each other. The jokes, like the characters, are intentionally recycled, self-conscious comic fodder from a baby-boomer's lifetime (such as Gale's or Zemeckis's) of immersion in pop culture. That makes Used Cars more pastiche than original (the film's title itself suggests that), but as such it has some good, if vaguely familiar, laughs in it. Russell, particularly, is very funny as a practiced con man.--Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (58)

Hiliarous movie!
This movie is incredibly funny! It's a movie that pulls no punches, and will hit you square onto your funny bone. Kurt Russell's best role, starring as Rudy Russo, a used car salesmen who's ambition is to run for congress. Rudy works for a guy named Luke Fuchs, who owns the used car lot. His brother, Roy Fuchs, owns another lot directly across the highway. There's one thing Rudy must do before going to the Capitol Building - he first must protect the used car lot he works at before Roy claims the property, which would ultimately be used as part of a new new highway, which would increase business for Roy's lot. Roy will stop at nothing, even murdering his own brother! The script is amazing, the plot is original, and you'll finally know the schemes a used car salesman will employ to get you to buy a total klunker. Toby the dog is a riot! The dog, alone, had me rolling on the floor. Jack Warden puts on a great, great dual-performance as the rival brothers. 'Lenny' and 'Squiggy' from "Laverne & Shirley" star as friends of Rudy's. Al Lewis, the beloved 'Grandpa' from "The Munsters", stars as a mean, tobacco chewing judge. If you are into great movies, don't rent this one... *BUY IT* as part of your video collection!

Buckle up for a great ride down a cheap highway
"Used Cars" is the mother, or ugly stepmother, of great American bathroom humor. Long before the politically-correct craze of "Forrest Gump," director and co-writer Robert Zemeckis spit up "Used Cars" with a little help from executive producer Steven Speilberg. Not quite sweet enough for 'Gump-isms,' "Used Cars" explores the seedy world of the car lot and the stereotypical husslers running the joint. With gags that include strippers atop automobiles, reeling a customer across a busy city street with $20 hooked to a fishing line and a commercial jammed during a presidential address, "Used Cars" rips apart middle America to the tune of 50,000 laughs per second. Kurt Russell shines as the cheeseball in charge in one of his first post-Disney era films. Russell gets plenty of support from an ensemble cast that includes Gerrit Graham, Frank McRae, Joe Flaherty, Deborah Harmon and David L. Lander and Michael McKean (better known in the early 80s as Lennie and Squiggy). However, the real salesman is veteran actor Jack Warden who easily handles a dual role of twin brothers with competing car lots. Although not likely to appear on Zemeckis's or Speilberg's Oscar-winning resumes, "Used Cars" is hilarious, sharp and clever. I consider this vehicle one of the greatest comedic rides ever made. Trust me.

A gut busting classic!
BEHOLD! PERHAPS THE GREATEST COMEDY EVER MADE,USED CARS IS A MUST HAVE ON DVD.I DONT UNDERSTAND WHY THE BONUS FEATURES ARE NOT LISTED ABOVE SO HERE THEY GO:VINTAGE ADVERTISING GALLERY,AUDIO COMMENTARY:ZEMECKIS,GALE,RUSSELL, OUTTAKES,RADIO @ TV PROMOS,PRODUCTION NOTES AND A COOL THING FOR TRUE FANS OF RUSSELL,A TV AD FOR THE ACTUAL CAR LOT,WITH THE REAL OWNER INTRODUCING RUSSELL WHO THEN GIVES A SALES PITCH FOR A CAR ON THE LOT!

one of my favorite movies
"well i don't wanna look inside". "ohhh, just get in the motherf_ckin car". i lose it everytime that part comes on. this movie is such a riot. if you havent seen it, check it out.

Hilarious Movie - Great DVD
Where do I start? "Used Cars" is one of those "movies for guys who love movies". I have watched it who knows how many times, but I still get a kick out of certain scenes almost 25 years later. But there is an added bonus now if you buy the DVD, an hilarious commentary track with director Bob Zemeckis and actor Kurt Russell along with Bob Gale, who co-wrote the screenplay with Zemeckis.

The movie features Russell as Rudy Russo, a used car salesman with absolutely no morals (OK, most used car salesman don't have morals, but Russo takes it to another level). Jack Warden takes on dual roles as twin brothers trying to win the battle of used car lots at the same corner. Garret Graham plays Russell's sidekick Jeff who tries to help Rudy move the cars through illegal television commercials, which are absolutely hilarious. Other performances of note are those of Deborah Harmon, the daughter of one of the twins who wins Rudy's heart, Joe Flaherty from Second City as an unscrupulous lawyer and Michael McKean and David Lander (of Lenny and Squiggy fame) as techno wizards who assists Russell and Graham in their illegal activities.

All of the above are great, but the two who steal this movie are Frank McRae, who plays Jim the Mechanic and Toby the Beagle. McRae may say less than 200 words in the whole movie, but he may have the highest laughter to words ratio in movie history. Toby pulls off some funny stunts as well and is a memorable dog in movie history as well.

The movie is great and the DVD commentary of the three principal parties is hysterically funny. I think the three must have stopped at the local brewpub before the taping and slammed a few because they are giddy, but they let you in on on some interesting facts about the movie. There are also some outtakes as well as a real used car lot commercial that Russell shot in Arizona in Russo character.

Rent it or buy it, you won't be sorry. As Rudy Russo would say "Trust Me!" ... Read more

Reviews (10)

More in common w/Joseph Campbell than Bob Hope
It's easy to overlook the societal importance of "Shakiest". Most academics consider it a vapid re-make of a "superior" Bob Hope film. However my consensus is that Hope's movie simply Overemphasized the comedic aspects of the story and downplayed the sociological importance and mythical underpinnings of it. I don't fault Hope since his comedic talents are such that only his fully grasping of the genre and paradigm in its epistomological sense would allow him the proper frame/reference to "dim" his comedic talents enough to let the nuances of the story's deeper meanings emerge. Not so with Don Knotts. His performance is neo-subtle in the sense that he draws attention to the pre-Scorsesian templates of story entwined with yet seperated from, meaning, by overexagerating Hope's performance to a Vonnegutian level. Example; his performance as Painless Jesse in the film's opening sequences underscore the relationship of Man the Creator with Man the Destroyer and Man the Dentist. In Barb Rhoades we see an equal but lesser voice representing tenets of Post-modern imperialism as well as Proto-Schwarzeneggerian grandiosity. Yet, it is Knotts, initially passive who redeems himself in the end, triumphing over Rhoades and all she symbolizes as well as echoing the pan-universal theme of the hero transformed by "plumbing" his own depths. This is shown particularily in the mine scene, where we read "mine" as "Subconscious Id". Simply put, not sense "The Incredible Mr. Limpett" has Knotts blended Transformational Mythology with Wellesian Cinematography and Jerrylewisian slapstick. BRAVO!

The Shakiest Gun In The West is classic Don Knotts comedy.
No one can shake like Don Knotts and he is at his shaky best in this movie. For those of us that like his brand of slapstick ( and there are many of us) this movie about a ninny dentist gone West is a real treat. The scene with the line "hands run in my family" makes this movie worth the price. Yeah it's corny...I say bring on the corn !!

Great re-make of Bob Hope film Paleface!
Re-makes are not always good, this one is great! First Bob Hope did this in Paleface, now Don Knotts takes over the roll with his own slant on the character.

Unless you own the Laserdisc or saw it at the theaters, this will be your first experience of the full impact of this WIDESCREEN movie. Pans and cuts seen on television, or the previous VHS tape, will be replaced with single shots that include everything from side to side.

THE GHOST AND MR.CHICKEN was Don's only other WIDESCREEN movie for Universal.

Great slap stick humor
I think this is a great Don Knotts film. He acts so utterly stupid and pathetic in this film but it's done in a way that's so utterly hillarious. I had lots of laughs all through the movie. Barbara Rhoades is the straight one in the pair and she does a great job as well. The looks on her face during the times she has to deal with Knotts are funny in themselves.

If you like silly slap stick humor I think you'll enjoy this movie.

Shakiest Gun in the West
Very funny and wholesome.
This is a must see for commedy and/or Don Knotts fans! ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

At one point in the filming of this flawed epic, actor Charlton Heston (in the title role) got so mad at director Sam Peckinpah that he charged him on horseback with a cavalry sword and Peckinpah had to escape into the air on the camera crane. Yet Heston offered to give up his salary to get the studio to let Peckinpah finish the film. As it turned out, this story--of a headstrong Army professional who goes slightly crazy chasing a band of Apaches while shepherding a group of Confederate prisoners--was taken away from Peckinpah in the editing room and recut, so that much of the character development was eliminated from the crucial central section of the film. Still, it offers solid outings by Heston and Richard Harris (as his prisoner) and gives a hint of things to come in Peckinpah's next film, The Wild Bunch. --Marshall Fine ... Read more

Reviews (12)

A flawed western.
They say this movie was cut to ribbons by order of overanxious studio execs, and it certainly shows. The movie starts out great with Major Dundee (Heston), a Federal cavalry officer who has seen his career plummet from fighting in the battles of the Civil War to a POW camp warden, being forced to recruit Confederate POW's to help him track down an Apache raider. Unfortunatly, the movie eventually loses focus and just meanders along. It seems disjointed and, at times, just patched together. Part of the fault was the studio execs decision to cut it down and part of it was Peckinpah's who started filming without a complete script much to Heston's dismay. The result is a flawed film with some good performances, especially Richard Harris, and some great action sequences which were a Peckinpah specialty.

Mangled to pieces
Despite being ripped apart in the editing room, Major Dundee still manages to be a very entertaining western. Supposedly the movie was supposed to clock in at just under three hours, but the editing cut it down to just over two hours. It is a shame that it was mangled so badly since it has a lot of potential.

Major Dundee stars Charlton Heston as Amos Dundee, a Union officer banished to the west for a mistake he made in the heat of battle. Richard Harris co-stars, he steals many scenes, as Confederate officer Benjamin Tyreen, an old friend of Dundee who was betrayed by him at a court martial hearing. Dundee organizes a ragtag bunch of Confederate prisoners, black Union infantry, frontiersman, and Jim Hutton as the bumbling artillery officer, Lt. Graham, assigned to the cavalry, to pursue Sierra Cheriba, a renegade Apache. Dundee's troop runs into the Apache as well as French lancers in Mexico amidst many well-executed action sequences. The final battle in the river should not be missed.

The movie does leave a few parts with no conclusion, but overall the film is well worth the watch. Great supporting cast with James Coburn, Ben Johnson, Warren Oates, L.Q. Jones, Slim Pickens and Senta Berger. Great action with good storyline. Too bad the movie got mangled since it is very good even mangled as it is. To all you Peckinpah fans out there, go out and get this movie!

Wrong Turn
Sam Peckinpah's bungling of this film and his discharge from "The Cincinnati Kid" nearly terminated his directorial career, and "Dundee" gives a hint of the self-destructive inclincations that eventually put him out of business for good. The disciplined creator of "The Rifleman" and "The Westerner" TV series and director of the masterpiece "Ride the High Country" went completely haywire on "Dundee," much to the shock of the studio backing it, and although Peckinpah tried to shift the blame, it was his alone for mounting a disastrously disorganized production of a thoroughly idiotic script. His principal reason for pushing the project apparently was his desire to film in Mexico, a country for whose women he was devloping an all-consuming passion. That and his incipient alcoholism were having severe personality repercussions and giving an ugly cast to Peckinpah's works that he never shook completely.

This story of a Union POW camp officer using Confederate prisoners to cross into Mexico to hunt for Apaches has no basis in historical reality whatsoever and there isn't a single believable scene as a consequence.

BRAVO!!!
Definitely a great Western and one of my personal favorites, Major Dundee, brings to the screen such heavyweights as Charlton Heston and Richard Harris, whose performances are outstanding, making this movie one of the best of its kind. The acting, the battles and the costumes are all wonderful!
Major Dundee is a movie about honor, bravery, and heroes from a time long gone.
A great movie indeed!

Greatest western/civil war drama of all time.
This movie is a classic which inspired many that followed. The cast is incredible and they all give the performances of a lifetime. Charlton Heston is in his prime. Full of confidence and conflict. Cast includes Richard Harris, James Coburn, Warren Oates, Slim Pickens and many others. All give great performances. I have watched this movie many times and enjoy different aspects each time(there are many themes still relevant today). This is a must see film. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

A great story from Hollywood's first "brat pack"
A lot of people forget that there was a stable of youthful actors during the late '50s/ early '60s, which co-stars Troy Donahue and Connie Stevens were were part of here. This film deals with the Conneticut tobacco planting industry, a woman (Colbert) who is hired as governess for one of the planters' daughter, her iconoclastic son (Donahue), his girlfriend (Stevens) the region's largest landholder who wants it all (Karl Malden) and his personable sweet-natured dauhter (Sharon Hugueny). There are family struggles in this film which are a lot like later TV series like "Dallas" and "Dynasty". Another point of interest is the work songs sung by the migrant Jamaican workforce; "There's a wheel spinnin' round and round/ puttin' tobacco in the ground", and other such chants. This is no Oscar winner, but it's a lot better than just about any other generation-cult film.

Parrish-The genius of Delmar Daves and Max Steiner
My wife and I saw this film at a drive in central coastal caif.when first released.I believe the musical scores of Daves films lifted them higher than the scripts alone would allow.Each character or relationship had it's own theme music which would swell as a new scene faded in from black, it was very subtle,but very effective.It put the audience back in contact with the characters without using additional dialog.In the first viewing you may not even be aware of what Daves and Steiner are doing.The same thing happens in A Summer Place,Rome Adventure,Susan Slade It really adds to the enjoyment of the film.Of course it only works when someone of Max Steiners talent scores the films.Delmar Daves,best known perhaps as a director of westerns certainly had the touch to direct romantic films with a message.The skill to get the best performances out of young and inexperienced actors,and the most beautiful visuals and photographic work of that or any other era.His films leave you feeling good,a smile on your face,and your faith in mankind restored.THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT!

Not yet on DVD?
I consider this movie a classic for it's time period. I am astounded it's not yet on DVD and that we have to "vote" to convence the studio to release it. Ever bit of nonsense that's newly relased makes it to DVD. It's a shame such movies as Parrish and Splender in the Grass are not available.

The Characters Have Depth, Nothing Was Spared In Its Making
Max Steiner's musical scoring, the brilliant performances by the entire cast, and the great directing and editing will put this film in the Gone With the Wind category. I recommend it highly to those who want to see filmmaking at its best.

Parrish
I was a kid when my mom took me to the "burning of the barn" scene and the scenes in Old Saybrook. Then i saw the finished product and even today i still watch that film. Even though now it does seem a little corney, it's just plain fun to watch. I also was a big Troy Donahue fan and saw all of his other movies. "Rome Adventure", "Summer Place", and "Susan Slade" which for some reason was never transferred to tape, at least i have never been able to find it. Of course the music by Max Steiner is the greatest and it's a shame that we do not have any composers like Max anymore. Parrish is and will always be a great classic in my eyes. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

"Home From the Hill" is a must see!
My parents enjoyed this movie enough that they named me (their daughter of 23 years) after George Hamilton's character, Theron. I love the movie too! It's a good one.

I liked this movie!!!!
And I disagree with JT Boyd's review, partly because it is inaccurate. Robert Mitchum's character had an affair with a tramp, producing illegitimate son, George Peppard, which caused his estrangement from his wife, Eleanor Parker, who was the mother of his legitimate son, George Hamilton. I do think that Hamilton's part was way overplayed, but liked the movie, regardless, and George Peppard surely got my attention.

Not too close to home from the hill
After reading the book 3 times, I was disapointed in the movie script. The Captain played by Robert Mitchum was assumed to have many children in the town (due to the many town kids who had his trademark coal black wavy hair) His wife was homely and was of high moral fiber. His own son Theron was strong, smart and very athletic. His mother doted on him and his father taught him how to hunt. Theron got Libby pregnant and Libby's father thought it was the Captain and shot him to death. Theron disapeared in the woods and was never found and the Captains wife died a broken woman who never knew her husband's love. If the movie would have followed the book, it would have been a far better movie!

Earthy melodrama
Robert Mitchum stars as Wade, the big-shot in town; he is rich, conceited, a good hunter, a phillanderer, and a bad husband and father. His wife (Eleanor Parker) has been holding a grudge against him since they were married. It seems Wade fathered a child, Rafe, (George Peppard) out of wedlock. Wade's legitimate son, Theron (George Hamilton), is bit of a wimp and a disappointment to old Dad. Add to this mix the young and pretty Libby (Luana Patton), who likes both Theron and Rafe, and the stereotypical Texas good 'ole boys who stir up the plot, and you have a great story.

Although Mitchum is typically charismatic and macho in this movie, it is George Peppard who emerges as the real star. He is very handsome and appealing as the sexy he-man who wants to be acknowledged as his father's son. George Hamilton looks too old to play 17-year old Theron, but he is suitably awkward and self-conscious. (The role would have been better with a young Anthony Perkins.) Willful and stubborn Eleanor Parker is a good match for Mitchum; I would have liked to see even more of her.

This film is long and frequently melodramatic with plenty of angst to go around. That said, the script is good, the actors are all likeable and handsome, the score is lovely, and all the loose ends are neatly tied up in the end. While considered somewhat spicy in its day, "Home From the Hills" is now an involving character study that has inspired me to read the novel by William Humphrey.

They don't make them like this anymore
This wonderfully acted movie, is a must see. George Hamilton gives an outstanding performance. I never realized what a talented actor he is, until I saw this movie. Robt. Mitchum always the best.

This is the story of a Texas family torn apart by bitterness, adultery.

After watching the movie, now I want to read the novel. ... Read more

Description

Film adaptation of Gordon Parks's autobiographical novel about his youth in Kansas. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Great movie but waiting for DVD format.
This movie made a very striking and lasting impression on me, I first saw it when I was about 12 years old. It's a movie that both my Grandmother, who is nearly 81, and I, who am 28 years of age now, can both enjoy because it's a drama based on history. It's a learning experience for those who cannot begin to fathom what it was like for blacks in America during those racially charged earlier days in American history.

A true classic in African American cinema.
The story was based off of Gordon Parks real life story. A very good depiction of life in the early part of the century.

Compare this with "To Kill a Mockingbird"
I rank this right up there with "To Kill a Mockingbird"
(which, I admit, I haven't watched for a few years).
I suspect this film is better at showing what life was like for
Blacks and has a better balanced cast of good, bad, and mixed
characters. This probably didn't catch on as much since the
sex was less politically correct for the time (e.g., white boy
gets black girl pregnant), there are onscreen shootings, and
there is minor onscreen nudity.
Extremely appropriate for high schoolers and up interested
in a strongly moving view of the black experience by a very
major artist and writer (Parks).

The Learning Tree?
I reluctantly watched this movie because i was waiting for my mom to finish with the VCR. Anyway, the first time I watched "The Learning Tree", I thought that it dragged on and on. The second time I watched it, however, the story seemed very moving to me. I was really impressed with how good the story is.

A Missed Opportunity
This could have been a great movie. I found the story interesting. The film depicts growing up as an African-American in rural Kansas of the 1920's. Unfortunately, the film is marred by a mediocre script and poor acting. This movie is a missed opportunity to take a memorable story and make of it a moving film. Instead the film falls flat. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

One of the landmark films of the 1960s, Bonnie and Clyde changed the course of American cinema. Setting a milestone for screen violence that paved the way for Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch, this exercise in mythologized biography should not be labeled as a bloodbath; as critic Pauline Kael wrote in her rave review, "it's the absence of sadism that throws the audience off balance." The film is more of a poetic ode to the Great Depression, starring the dream team of Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway as the titular antiheroes, who barrel across the South and Midwest robbing banks with Clyde's brother Buck (Gene Hackman), Buck's frantic wife Blanche (Estelle Parsons), and their faithful accomplice C.W. Moss (the inimitable Michael J. Pollard). Bonnie and Clyde is an unforgettable classic that has lost none of its power since the 1967 release. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (73)

The original Natural Born Killers!
Rarely has a film been as widely influential as director Arthur Penn's crime spree masterpiece. Single-handedly spawning the psychotic-lovers-on-the-run sub-genre (Badlands; Natural Born Killers; True Romance; SFW etc.) and simultaneously breaking the envelope in its frank, realistic depiction of violence - see this movie for a pre-Wild Bunch usage of exploding blood satchets in an equally elegiac gunshot death sequence - Bonnie and Clyde decisively consigned all vestiges of 50's Hollywood to the scrapheap of the 60s and signaled the start of the most creative, daring and satisfying decade in Hollywood history, the Seventies. Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway are at the peak of their powers as actors and pop culture icons and blister across the screen with their volatile, unpredictable and ill-fated relationship. One of the first movies to be decidedly anti-Establishment, its jaundiced view of family, town, country and violent confrontation with authority and tradition is obviously not for the Norman Rockwell crowd, although the authenticity of time and place is impeccable. With gorgeous golden rural landscapes, gorgeous golden Faye Dunaway and some of the best costume design ever put to screen, this is one film you need to have on DVD. Even the best VHS version is too grainy to do this movie aesthetic justice. An essential for collectors of crime movies and those interested in historically significant movies. But it also works on the simplest level as well: a well-paced exciting story, skillfully and violently told.

"We rob banks!"
Criminals became a whole lot more glamorous with the release of Arthur Penn's "Bonnie and Clyde." They were now slim and fit and not hunchbacked or overweight. They had beautiful faces that were not marred by scars or eye-patches. This was Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway looking their best and being as bad as they could.

Clyde Barrow (Beatty) rescues Bonnie Parker (Dunaway) from her uneventful life back home and promptly plunges her into a life of crime. In a country where despair has become a way of life thanks to the Depression, the bank robbers become heroes to the common folk who have been victimized by the instruments of capitalism. Relying on their wits and a touch of good fortune, the young lovers evade the law while basking in their newfound fame but their luck eventually runs out and they meet their end in a hail of bullets.

"Bonnie and Clyde" is infamous for introducing a new level of graphic violence to cinema by way of its final shoot-out. However, that one aspect of the film tends to overshadow its other accomplishments. The moral ambiguity running throughout the film distinctly separated it from the "white-hats-and-black-hats" characterizations of past Hollywood heroes and villains. This problematic approach to morality was a byproduct of the upheaval society itself was undergoing in the late-Sixties as it was discovering how difficult it was to distinguish between the good guys and the bad guys in the real world. The film also went to great pains to appear as realistic as possible. Difficult themes in film were often satirized or exaggerated to soften its impact on the audience, but Penn created such an authentic feel to "Bonnie and Clyde" that the line between fantasy and reality became uncomfortably blurred. Throw in solid supporting work by Estelle Parsons, Gene Hackman, Michael J. Pollard, and Gene Wilder to complement the film's other aforementioned accomplishments and what you have is milestone work whose impact on the medium has been far-reaching.

More Hollywood garbage
Hollywood has a track record of turning vile, murdering cowards and criminals into folk heroes. This piece of trash is among the winners. What a load of pure hogwash. When it first came out, the critics went into ecstasy about the sexual message all through the movie, using handguns as a phallic symbol. More Freudian dribble!!! The police are the villians here while the gang are the heroes. (The scene with Denver Pyle playing Texas Ranger Frank Hamer sneaking up on the bloodthirty duo is pure bilge. If the real Capt. Hamer had had his way, B&C's crimewave wouldn't have lasted any length of time.) The real Bonnie Parker was absolute trash. She blew a policeman's head off point blank with a sawed off shotgun! And she's a HEROINE ? More like she was on HEROIN. If you think this is a "Robin Hood" tale of robbing from the rich and giving to the poor, you live in a fantasy world. The small businesses that Barrow and Parker robbed were "mom and pop" stores. And the poor certainly didn't benefit. The only redeeming part of this film is seeing these two thugs riddled by gunfire by the law. A fitting end.

We Rob Banks!
To me, the best film of 1967 (above the other landmark film of that year, The Graduate), and one of the most startling films ever made. I think that the "modern era" of moviemaking begins with Bonnie and Clyde." It's really about a "family" of bankrobbers who owe much of their success to the press; the newspapers make it seem as if they intend to terrorize every small town that has a bank to begin with. And so the Barrow gang becomes legendary during the depression, and heroes to some because they are against the government that is taking so much away from the "little people." Although much praised, "Bonnie and Clyde" was controversial in its day, partly because of the considerable bloodshed and partly because audiences felt bad for the two criminals. As one character says, "they're just a bunch of kids!" This is one of the rare films in which the violence punctuates the story--it makes the viewing experience more powerful. Because of it, one watches much of the film in a state of apprehension.

Natural born killers
Trust Hollywood to turn two common criminals into two American folk heroes. Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker were two small-town young people drifting aimlessly during the Great Depression of the 1930's; she's bored out of her gourd, and he's a felon who had killed fourteen men by the time he met his end at the ripe old age of twenty-four. They meet, fall sort of in love, and embark on a petty crime spree. At first it's all good-humored fun; they steal a couple of cars, hold up a couple of stores, and in a moment of hilarious insanity, Clyde attempts to rob a bank that went bust a week before, much to the amusement of the banker and Bonnie, who's collapsing with laughter over the steering wheel. But then a storekeeper takes offense at Clyde attempting to hold him up, and is pistol-whipped by Clyde in his frantic efforts to escape. Once the batterer storekeeper ID's Clyde's photo to the cops, things turn serious.

As Clyde's posse expands to include a lowlife neer-do-well named C.W. Moss and Clyde's brother Buck and his sister-in-law Blanche, their crimes get bolder and the violence spirals out of control. A bank robbery in broad daylight (while C.W. manages to get their getaway far stuck in a too-tight parking space) goes off almost without a hitch; but when Clyde shoots a pursuing cop in the face and his head explodes all over their back windshield, the fun stuff is over. They're wanted criminals being chased from Arkansas to Oklahoma and back to Louisiana. As their notoriety spreads, so does their audacity. In one of the funniest scenes in the film, they capture a sheriff who was about to sneak up on them and handcuff him while Clyde snaps pictures of Bonnie holding a gun on him. But their fame comes at a terrible price; they're wanted outcasts, alienated even from their own. When Clyde meets Bonnie's mother and tells her they'd like to live within three miles of her, Mrs. Parker tells her daughter, "You try to live three miles from me, and you won't live long, honey."

From the scene where Buck expires in a hail of police bullets to the slow dance on the killing ground in Louisiana, the film takes on a somber tone in stark comparison to the lighthearted opening sequences. Once the cascading violence has turned brutal, the movie becomes darker and more foreboding as well. But as bad as they are, we can't help but like them. Maybe that's the difference between Hollywood and real life. One wonders how many people who came across Bonnie and Clyde actually liked this pair?

The tension between Bonnie and Clyde helps keep the movie on edge. Arthur Penn's superb direction, assisted by knockout performances from the cast, helps keep the movie on a razor edge balanced between laughter and revulsion. Warren Beatty was never better than in his title role as Clyde Barrow, and Faye Dunaway makes a perfect Bonnie to his Clyde. Michael J. Pollard is winning as the doofus C.W. Moss and Gene Hackman is wonderful as Buck, torn between his loyalty to his brother and his love for his ditzy wife. But Estelle Parsons, as that ditzy wife, almost runs off with the film; her hysterics during the shootout between Clyde's gang and the cops has the viewers in equal hysterics rolling in the aisles. The cinematography is great; we feel all the heat, dust, and emptiness of Depression-era America, and the foot-stompin' banjo music by Flatts and Scruggs helps anchor the movie to its time and place. "Bonnie and Clyde" has become an American classic, one of the best films to come out of the 1960's. ... Read more

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Sweet Bird of Youth has the Tennessee Williams penchant for provocation and Southern depravity--although at this point, the bloom is somewhat off the hothouse flower. Paul Newman is a cad who dreams of glory; he's returned to his hometown towing a dissolute, over-the-hill Hollywood star (Geraldine Page re-creates her Broadway role), certain she'll be his meal ticket. He's ruined the only girl he really loved (day-dreamy Shirley Knight), who just happens to be the daughter of the town's boss (Ed Begley, in an Oscar^®-winning role). The play's more shocking elements have been euphemized, in the custom of the era's Williams movie adaptations. Director Richard Brooks handles it with intensity, and Rip Torn (who was married to Page) has some wicked moments, but the movie is bound to its theatrical roots and its inability to mention racism, syphilis, or castration. And that's Tennessee Williams without the hot sauce. --Robert Horton ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Censorship didn't stop anything.
Based on the hit Tennessee Williams play, this exciting drama stars Paul Newman as a slick young opportunist who returns to his home town with an ageing movie queen(Geraldine Page), but runs head-on into trouble with the town's corrupt boss(Ed Begley in an Oscar-winning performance). As is the case with his 1958 film version of Tennessee Williams' CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF, director Richard Brooks was forced to clean up this Williams play for the movies. But those blasted censors didn't hurt anything. Like CAT, SWEET BIRD OF YOUTH is still a gritty, powerful, and brilliant film. Every one of the performers delivers a top-notch portrayal. But the film ultimately belongs to Geraldine Page whose funny and touching portrayal of the fading star is, quite simply, one of the greatest performances ever captured on film.