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Man of the West
Price: $32.98 Prices subject to change.
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Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786302032192
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
ISBN: 6302032199
Label: MGM (Video & DVD)
Languages: English (Original Language), Analog
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: MGM (Video & DVD)
Release Date: September 01, 1998
Running Time: 100 minutes
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
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Editorial Review:
Western auteur Anthony Mann and aging Western icon Gary Cooper team up in this stark tale of a trio of train passengers stranded in the middle of the desert after a railway holdup. Taking responsibility for his helpless compatriots (Julie London as a sad-eyed prostitute and Arthur O'Connell as a garrulous but cowardly banker), craggy-faced Link Jones (Cooper) takes them into a veritable viper's nest in a desperate gamble. It turns out the respected town elder is a former member of the outlaw gang that robbed them, and he's welcomed back by patriarchal gang leader Dock Tobin (Lee J. Cobb) like the prodigal son. The other bandits are not so forgiving but humor the old man while plotting to unmask Cooper as a devious traitor in a battle of wits and wills. Mann returns to his favorite themes of family and betrayal with a dramatic twist and wrenches up the jagged conflict with the most spare imagery of his career: the trio hiking down an endless horizon of empty track, a lone ramshackle shack on the arid plains, the desolate ghost town where Tobin's planned bank heist turns out to be a pathetic fantasy. Mann's taut direction creates a tension that hangs in the air like the sword of Damocles over the stranded travelers and explodes in cruel, raw violence. Reginald Rose (12 Angry Men) wrote the literate if sometimes overly symbolic script, and John Dehner, Jack Lord, and Royal Dano costar as Tobin's angry gang members. --Sean Axmaker
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - One of Coop's last Westerns
This under-rated classic along with "The Hanging Tree" which came out a year later, was one of the last westerns that Gary Cooper made. Unfortunately, it was dismissed upon its first release but the French, particularly Francois Truffaut lauded praise on it and it is now one of the many classic westerns that Anthony Mann has made. It's plot really foreshadows that of Eastwood's "The Unforgiven" in many ways though I do lean more to Clint's western classic than this one. But don't let that deter ... Read More
Rating:  - A Word About the New DVD
Just to let you know, the new DVD is anamorphic widescreen. On top of that it has been remastered and cleaned up quite a bit. Its a great transfer of a great film.
Its a shame there isn't any special features about this landmark western, however regardless of that fact, this DVD is a must own for any fan of the genre.
Rating: - Well Hello Link!
This Western stands far above 95% of the other films in this genre. Why? Great direction, flawed and therefore interesting characters, quirks, twists, classic conflicts, Julie London at the height of her mythic beauty, memorable dialogue, enigmatic situations, wonderful actors and performances. This is most definitely not a formulaic picture. When is the last time you saw a fight in a western where one guy rips the clothes off of another, just for humiliation sake?
Gary Cooper is topnotch ... Read More
Rating: - MUST SEE WESTERN CLASSIC
A classic western and one of Mann's greatest films [film noir or western, and perhaps best thought of as a film noir stuffed into the mold of the western]. Great script, wide open scenery, widescreen Cinemascope photography, great soundtrack, a 'narly Gary Cooper, and assorted nasty character actors. View it not only as a straight ahead western narrative, but also as a metaphor for any man seeking redemption from a twisted past.
The Tobin gang is Link's "family" [he is literally the link ... Read More
Rating: - An overlooked Western that deserves another look.
Why was this film not liked by alot of people when it came out? Lee J. Cobb is one of the best leaders of a band of outlaws I have ever seen in movies. Gary Cooper is great, definitely not on par with his masterful perfomances in "FRIENDLY PERSUASION", "HIGH NOON", or "THE WESTERNER", but he is very good. The rest of the cast play their roles wonderfully. Royal Dano plays a mute, but he usually did portray either a very quiet character or a somewhat different character, so he is alright. John Dehner is ... Read More
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