I just read RE's review of this movie and disagree about the final half hour. He complains that the villains "are deaf, never turn around, etc." I don't think the villains EXPECTED anyone to come after them, so why should they be on the defensive? I like ALL of the movie. Even the last 30 minutes.
"Hey, I should be mad at YOU . . . now turn around"
Roger Ebert is a buffoon.
Bruce Dern: "Hey guys... stay alert, we have a buncha little boys with no guns that might hunt us down!... be sure to keep looking behind you rather than where you are going!".....
LOL
the problem with roger ebert is that he has never ridden on a cattle ride before. I have worked as a ranch hand in ks and co, and until I did, i doubted the movie, too. Then, when I was working with the cattle, I realized that I recognized my fellow workers by the shape of their hat, the colour of their horse, or in the way that they rode.
So, then, the next time I saw the movie, and I saw them take off their hats, and put on the bad guys hat and jacket and mount his horse, I understood, and realized that the writer was absolutely correct. You wouldn't recognize a bad guy from the good guy at more then 15-20 paces.
Roger Ebert is the bleedingest of the Bleeding Hearts. He hates any movie that shows anything resembling old school values, or the theme of boys becoming men. He was probably the only critic who hated Dead Poets Society. He hated the Dukes of Hazzard remake solely because of the Confederate flag on the car.
He's a by-the-book, far-left liberal with an agenda, and frequently judges movies based only on his politics. It's practically a given that he'd pan a John Wayne film.
John Wayne's career lasted into the 60's and 70's. The right-wing, conservative Wayne right in the middle of the counter-culture / baby boom era. He worked long enough for dorks like Ebert to take shots at him. It's interesting that he made True Grit earlier, featuring, guess who? Dennis Hopper!
"We got a job"
"What kind?"
"The Forever Kind"
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Gee, I guess the truth hurts, doesn't it?
"We got a job"
"What kind?"
"The Forever Kind"
[deleted]
Bleeding Heart Liberals like you love to attack anyone who disagrees with them.
"We got a job"
"What kind?"
"The Forever Kind"
[deleted]
Wow, it seems you are a trying to make up for the fact that John Wayne, unlike many Hollywood liberals like Henry Fonda, didn't bother enlisting during WWII. This is something John Ford (who enlisted in the Navy) never let John Wayne forget.
sharewah wah wah. He was in his mid-30's and had 4 kids when the war started. If they wanted him, they knew where he was.
shareAnother reason he did not serve is that they did not want big stars to be in the war and maybe get captured by the enemy. It would raise a lot of grief that they could not save someone like that who was captured and held by the enemy. They just did not want that kind of propaganda problem. Also add to that he wasn't young, had injuries from sports and he started out as a stuntman in the movies....the movie companies covered up a lot of the injuries John Wayne sustained to keep his image intact.
shareWay to turn a movie review topic into a political agenda push. Typical from types like you.
shareIt's practically a given that he'd pan a John Wayne film.
Not only did he say all that about those fine movies, he actually only really had a problem with the ending of 'The Cowboys' and liked the movie and awarded it good marks:
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-cowboys-1972
Formerly KingAngantyr
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Yeah, there are a bunch of posters here who just mouth off ignorantly and try to turn this person or that into a liberal boogeyman. The fact that Ebert did not care for the final half-hour of The Cowboys may or may not constitute a flawed perception of narrative and historical setting, but it has absolutely nothing to do with some spurious dislike of John Wayne, some political agenda, or any other such nonsense.
shareEspecially moving 1500 head of cattle, the trail dust would have clouded most of their vision. Secondly, to cover that many cattle they would have to be spaced out considerably. Third, 1500 head are not exactly quiet which would mean sneaking up on somebody would be plausible. Fourth, working cattle as you have pointed out takes a lot of attention and they don't have time to check on each other.
I think Roland Emmerich got it right when he spoofed Siskel and Ebert in the movie Godzilla (NY city mayor Ebert! and sidekick mayoral aide Gene!)
Who cares what a toad like Ebert thinks? The only reason that he knows a bad movie is because he wrote "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls", one of the worst movies ever.
shareActually, that's a cult classic! Although Russ Meyer gets most of the credit for it.
Stacy - "We got a job"
Uncle John - "What kind?"
Stacy - "The Forever Kind..."
Ebert's a huge Wayne fan--just go read his reviews of the Searchers, Red River, or True Grit. He met the man, interviewed him, grew up on his flicks. Trust me. He was a fan.
I haven't read those reviews, but if you're right, you're right. Of course I still disagree with his review of The Cowboys. One of my favorites.
Stacy - "We got a job"
Uncle John - "What kind?"
Stacy - "The Forever Kind..."
I haven't read those reviews, but if you're right, you're right. Of course I still disagree with his review of The Cowboys. One of my favorites.
I thought Roger Ebert was dead. Hum, oh well.
shareThe Duke never fought in WW2 because they made him stay stateside so he could keep making movies promoting the war effort. He was far more valuable to the country as a propaganda tool than he would've been had he gone overseas.
You may walk on the beach, you may swim in the ocean... under SWAT team surveillance, of course.
Also, he had a bad knee from his college football days. But haters will hate, just for the sake of being contrary @$$holes. Leave 'em be, says I.
"It ain't dying I'm talking about, it's LIVING!"
Captain Augustus McCrae
''Also, he had a bad knee from his college football days. But haters will hate, just for the sake of being contrary @$$holes. Leave 'em be, says I.''
True. There are rumours that the Duke also had flat feet. Whatever the case, the military would never take him. He tried to enlist but he just wasn't eligible.
Formerly KingAngantyr
"Duke" Morrison's lack of service in WW II is complicated, like most real life stories. The brief version is that he had a legitimate justification for deferment that his studio strongly encouraged him to use and appears to have used for him without asking his opinion. He could have enlisted had he really wanted to, but if he had he almost certainly would have been assigned to make movies in Hollywood, as was "Dutch" Reagan and as they tried to do to "Slim" Stewart. After all, Mr. Morrison's primary skill was acting and had no other specialized skills to offer. John Ford recommended that he stay out and take advantage of Hollywood's need for A-list actors who weren't "in the war."
Mr. Morrison appeared to have second thoughts the rest of his life over his choice to not enlist. None of his friends in the business showed any indication that they ever questioned his decision. Only those who disagree with his politics and want an excuse for an 'ad hominem' attack attach any importance to his choice to remain a civilian.
''Ebert's a huge Wayne fan--just go read his reviews of the Searchers, Red River, or True Grit. He met the man, interviewed him, grew up on his flicks. Trust me. He was a fan''
I'm an old school, cynical, Hammett-esque Marxist (whereas Ebert is merely a liberal), hence my screen name, and I am a big John Wayne fan too and many of the movies he starred in (especially those by John Ford - by far one of my favourite directors) are amongst my all time favourites. Politics doesn't really matter when it comes to classic Western movies!
And you are right, Ebert was a John Wayne fan too, and despite his criticism of the ending, he liked 'The Cowboys' and gave it a good rating. The knee jerk reaction to a misunderstanding of Ebert's review of this movie is ridiculous.
Formerly KingAngantyr
"Cult classic" is simply an euphemism for "something so freakishly horrible that we have to get cataclysmically stoned to like and *beep* understanding a kindergarten level plot. It's ART after all!"
shareWho is Roger Eber?
"Draw from your past, but do not let your past draw from you" -Master Bra'tac, Stargate: SG-1
There is also the fact that when the boys went after the rustlers they did it quiet at first. No shooting of guns til the big fight at the end. So how would the bad guys know that someone was after them already? They would have expected the boys to run for the sheriff and by the time they got back with him and a posse the rustlers would probably have been long gone.
shareNot to mention Ebert is dead now, after a heroic fight with devastating cancer. Like his reviews or not, let's show him a little _personal_ respect, huh.
shareRoger Ebert is a critic you cannot take seriously. I hate to speak ill of the dead, but his reviews were always a joke. He hated The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly when it first came out, then years later, claimed he loved it. He also gave Phantom Menace 3 out of 4 stars, which is a joke.
shareYou sir are an idiot
shareI liked Gene Siskel much better.
shareCritics aren't infallible, and Ebert wasn't the only one to rate The Phantom Menace. However, I can - and do - value Ebert's opinion, even if I don't always agree with him. The same is true of Kim Newman, Leonard Maltin and Mark Kermode. Who are all articulate, knowledgeable and passionate lovers of cinema. And I like that. But there are plenty of moronic, tabloid-minded critics whose corner-case opinions are about as limited as their knowledge of film. And love of the movies. But I disagree with Ebert on The Cowboys. Which is a wonderful movie, in my opinion.
NOW TARZAN MAKE WAR!
''Critics aren't infallible, and Ebert wasn't the only one to rate The Phantom Menace. However, I can - and do - value Ebert's opinion, even if I don't always agree with him.''
Agreed, and people often don't understand film criticism. Critics don't have to like the movies you do or the majority does. They can like films the majority hate or love any film that the mob loves, but they have to present their opinion well, with passion, enthusiasm and dignity. Ebert and many other critics did that, whether you agree with them or not.
Formerly KingAngantyr
Ebert had a lot of interesting viewpoints during his career. But, he also had a massive ego, treated many as lesser than himself, and had little ability to not preach in his reviews.
I. Drink. Your. Milkshake! [slurp!] I DRINK IT UP! - Daniel Plainview - There Will Be Blood
But, he also had a massive ego, treated many as lesser than himself, and had little ability to not preach in his reviews.