Really good film


I discovered this film via a newspaper review from a critic called Tim Robey. He wrote:

Every great Western is a unique statement on them all. Consider how many of the best examples are about how the West was lost, not won - and how they like to blur the binary sort of morality we might associate with gunfights at dawn. Andre de Toth's mesmerising 'Day of the Outlaw' keeps redefining everything it's saying: what heroism might mean, what an outlaw is, how best to deal with one ... 'Day of the Outlaw' depicts civilisation as a line in the snow ...


The characters of Blaise Starrett and Captain Jack Bruhn were fascinating as were their interchanges. Both were haunted in different ways by their deeds and how they morphed into antagonists. Does Bruhn show consideration to the townsfolk of Bitters because he wants to avoid another slaughter, or because he wants to feel within himself the better man he once was? I thought that Starrett was offering himself up for death when he started the icy journey across the mountain but he survived.

The bar/dancing scene was so well done that I found it difficult to watch. The way in which the women, especially Helen Crane, were being mauled was awful. So well done by the director and actors. I loved the snow setting; atypical for a Western. 9/10 from me.
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The review you reference by Tim Robey is a great write-up on this amazing film. Truly one of the best westerns I've ever seen and one that I've recommended to countless people since happening upon it. Robert Ryan is one of my favorite actors and of all his great performances, this one may be the best.

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Tim Robey's review for this, and other films, was great. It gave me a real taste for the film and I was not disappointed when I watched it. He seems to have moved on from the Saturday Telegraph as a film reviewer, which is a shame.

I loved the film because it was stark and brutal. I watched another snowy western recently, Track of the Cat with Robert Mitchum. Not quite as good as this but still brutal. I'm not familiar with Robert Ryan as an actor. Any recs on which films to watch next, given how much I liked this and appreciated him in it?

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Some other films with good Robert Ryan performances: Men in War, The Naked Spur, The Iceman Cometh (1973 Frankenheimer version). As for other westerns you might like, I would recommend another de Toth western, The Indian Fighter, and those of Anthony Mann (in particular the aforementioned Naked Spur, Winchester '73, Man of the West and The Man from Laramie).

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Thanks Disardor.

I give my respect to those who have earned it; to everyone else, I'm civil.

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Robert Ryan is 1 of my all time favorites..often not playing the lead, but in conjunction with another star giving excellent performances..The Naked Spur..with Jimmy Stewart and Lawman with Burt Lancaster shows the scope and range of his ability..completely different roles but excellent..as he is in this role which is 1 of my favorite movies..

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Good thread. Terrific movie. 9/10 for me.

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It's one of the best westerns I ever saw. It's excellent.

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