I like quite a few of his westerns to be honest. My favourite is definitely Bandolero, which has brilliant performances, plenty of action and a great soundtrack. While not exceptional films by any means, I did enjoy The Last Hard Men, The Undefeated and Cahill quite a bit. There’s a few that I need to revisit like Something Big since I remember having mixed feelings. The Shadow Riders wasn’t too bad, either, even if it’s a typical TV-style western but I liked the cast.
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I agree, hate that film!
Forgot Bandolero, that is a solid western. A contender for his best film. I don’t think I have seen The Last Hard Men.
Django the Bastard 7/10
The Grand Duel 7/10
Two very diffrent movies but I like them just as much, I do really appreciate diversions of style in SWs. The Grand Duel has grown on me alot since my last watch… I used to think that it is too American but now I find that it has a nice balance and stands out as one of the better American-looking Spags.
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I think the use of flash backs, shadows and smoke, are quite film noir. Grand Duel is a stylish affair. The exposition LVC gives at various points of the film reminds me of Dick Powell’s voice over in MURDER MY SWEET/FAREWELL MY LOVELY.
To be fair I do remember Bandoleros as being one of his better films but it’s been a while since I watched it and can’t really remember anything about it except Raquel Welch which may have been what I liked about it back then anyway.
And this may well be my problem with McLaglen. He always struck me as being more of a TV style director. Efficient, competent but lacking in imagination and style.
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I think The Shadow Riders was made for TV.
For me I’m the same. The actors in his films and their performances come to mind rather than the visual aesthetic of his films. That cursed CHISUM definitely felt like a TV movie! I think the most Visually striking one was CAHILL UNITED STATES MARSHAL. Just the angles and lighting and stuff.
Oh Shadow Riders was made for TV.
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Done watching Django Strikes Again for a 2nd time. Not as memorable as the first one nor is its soundtrack. However it doesn’t mean it’s a bad movie, in my opinion its a very fine western with a unique plot and location.
Watched Django the Bastard aka The Stranger’s Gundown again. It seemed better to me this time around. Steffen’s presence is ominous and eerie.
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Have that one on order. I snobbishly dismissed it as an inferior High Plains Drifter. The second time I saw it was a bad print on TV. This time I got into it more and really enjoyed Steffen’s performance.
I am now a big Steffen fan and am sure I will really appreciate it.
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Dead Man’s Burden (Moshe / 2012)
After enjoying The Ballad of Lefty Brown recently and having previously really like his documentary on Roger Corman I thought I might give Jared Moshe’s only other directorial outing a try. It’s another western and I think is a good example of how to make the most of obviously limited resources. On a budget of “low six figures” Moshe keeps the cast small, the locations rural and the special effects minimal to non-existent. But the story is good and the acting solid and although it is pretty low on action, what there is is high impact.
I liked it.
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Some of the best films ever made (Fistful of Dollars etc.), were made on a shoe-string, with limited resources, relying on imagination, and adopting a ‘make do and mend’ mentality - rather than ‘spend, spend, spend’ mentality, which has led to catastrophic box-office failures that lost millions.
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Well said. It is the reason a lot of the films I own are classed as B movies. Some do feature less than solid acting though! The big budget CGI laden blockbusters are really passé. How many more times to we need to see the world wide destruction?
My wife is a big fan of The Asylum studio, which does escape me at times. But Mockbusters are usually so dodgy they are more entertaining than the real thing.
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Hit the [Saddle] - Mack V. Wright (1937)
which is beautifully focused on the horses, one horse in particular as the main character;
I quattro dell’Ave Maria (Ace High) - Giuseppe Colizzi (1968)
which I find to be a bit rambling
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The Outlaw Josey Wales (Eastwood / 1976)
A re-viewing in honour of the big guy’s 90th birthday. Classic Clint.
Still remember the first time I saw it at the Harlow Odeon when it was first released.
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The Outlaw Josey Wales was one I watched often as a kid and it’s still my favourite of all Clint’s American westerns.
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‘FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE’, (1965) …to celebrate not only Clint’s 90th birthday, but also the film’s 55th anniversary. The viewing experience was just as good as when I first watched it…
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I concur!! I did illustrations of it at college.
My favourite Leone movie. Hands down! The music, the scenery the chemistry between the actors I just love it!