this film for me is one of the most underated westerns along with the tall men with clark gable.most of the `my favourite western` lists i have read involve the usual suspects like the magnificent seven,the searchers,high noon,the wild bunch,shane etc.all of which are great westerns and which i love watching but rarely the lists include ride the high country..i just wonderedif anyone else had noticed this and think its a greatly underated film.
shareI agree.
For some reason, this film is rarely put on "favorite" lists. But, it really deserves to be there.
Yep definitely agree as well. Though it may not be the best candidate for most underrated, it should definitely on the list.
shareAs a director, Sam Peckinpah is mostly known for graphic violence in his films, at a time when it was not all that common. He received negative publicity for that, with some reviewers and plain movie fans thinking that it was gratuitous and uncalled for.
Ride the High Country shows us that Sam was capable of being more than just a "one-trick pony"!
E pluribus unum
It's one of my favorites. I've seen it referred to as the "first modern Western." I can kind of see that. It literally changes from being a traditional Western in the beginning with that dopey fight scene in the Chinese restaurant (the only part of the movie I don't like) to a modern Western with the introductions of the Hammonds and the callousness of the brothel. There were plenty of clans and brothels in Westerns before, but I don't recall any as dark (and thus, realistic). This movie really begins for me with the Hammonds, comprised of a perfect mix of character actors.
It is, but some lists get it right. I've got a magazine from the editors of Wild West that's the 100 Greatest Westerns and they put Ride the High Country way up at #4.
Here it is: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls006622672/
All this machine does is swim, and eat, and make little sharks. -- Matt Hooper, JAWS
I'm with you, very underrated. Well, not 'underrated' so much as simply 'underseen'. Those who have seen Ride the High Country tend to think very highly of it.
This is my kind of western, though, one of the economical, efficient ones, much like the kind that Randolph Scott did with Budd Boetticher like The Tall T, Ride Lonesome, Commanche Station, and Seven Men from Now. Some of those ones barely crack 70 minutes!
I know this is a completely generation, but it's one reason I am looking so forward to Tarantino's The Hateful Eight. Western characters tend to be economical in that they say, men of action rather than speech, then they are dropped into these epic locations. The Hateful Eight seems to take a bunch of such 'quiet' characters, lock them in a room, and MAKE them talk. Should be interesting.
And nothing at all like Ride the High Country.
Never defend crap with 'It's just a movie'
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What did you think of "The Hateful Eight"?
shareI liked it.
For me, the trick is to not go into a Tarantino film expecting 'story', but rather a gallery of odd characters speaking wonderful dialogue, and in that regard The Hateful Eight delivered. He tends to provide an 'experience' more than a plot.
It seems some people really didn't like it, but to me it was Tarantino doing what he always does, for better or worse. What did you think of it?
With Tarantino, even if I don't like what he does, I never feel cheated in terms of value for money - he always gives you a great night out at the movies. Except for Death Proof.
Never defend crap with 'It's just a movie'
http://www.youtube.com/user/BigGreenProds
I thought it was great. There are some tidbits I didn't like, such as the stagecoach looking and sounding fake compared to the scenery. You never know if Tarantino does these things on purpose or not, like the musician who misses a note but keeps going.
The atmosphere is very real and, as usual, the dialogue is amazing. Both Russel and Jackson are at their best and really bring this film to life. I didn't care for Roth's acting, it was super fake and annoying.
I've seen the movie twice and plan on seeing more.
It sure is. There are so many great one liners in this movie and the scenery is breath taking!
shareIt made my top 1000 films, and therefore my top westerns, 37 of which made the list - not many, but there were too many average ones.. the classics are there, but also this one, The Big Country, The Claim, The Proposition, Meek's Cutoff, The Far Country and another underrated classic, The Naked Spur, best of the Anthony Mann ones
My only regret in life is that I'm not someone else - Woody Allen
Possibly.
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