Customer Reviews

Bravados [VHS]

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

THE BRAVADOS is a moody, brutal piece of work that in many ways predates the cynical moods of later Westerns of the 60s and 70s. Gregory Peck stars a man bent on revenge against the four men who raped and murdered his wife. The outlaws (Stephen Boyd, Albert Salmi, Henry Silva and Lee Van Cleef) are in jail in Rio Arriba waiting to be hung, and Peck is there to witness the deed. The prisoners escape, however, and Peck becomes an obssessed member of the posse sent to hunt them down. This is another fruitful collaboration between Peck and director Henry King, who also made THE GUNFIGHTER and TWELVE O'CLOCK HIGH together. This is NOT the Gregory Peck we know and love! He is moody, sullen, full of anger and relentless in his pursuit of the villains. The brutality of the film may come as a shock to viewers even now, but its harshness makes it a precursor to the Sergio Leone/CLint Eastwood films nearly a decade later. (The fact that Lee Van Cleef has a major supporting role makes the connection even stronger.) There is also a mean but logical twist in the tale that makes THE BRAVADOS one of the most entertaining of 1950s Westerns.

An excellent film with an unusual and dramatic canyon background, which requires widescreen. Yet again, we have a great film listed without any data on aspect ratio. I don't know whether Amazon is becoming negligent or the studios are remaining devious, but there seems to be a recent epidemic of this and I would defer purchase until the disc details are made public.

There's going to be a hanging in Rio Arriba, and Jim Douglass (Gregory Peck) has ridden a hundred miles to see it. You see, the four men - Stephen Boyd, Albert Salmi, Henry Silva and Lee van Cleef - about to be hanged committed a great crime that changed Douglass's life forever, and he's there to see justice carried out. When the condemned men escape, Douglass makes it his personal mission to deliver justice to the bad guys.
I love revenge movies, and the premise of Henry King's THE BRAVADOS holds great promise. One avenging angel - Gregory Peck - versus four scurvy killers. The best revenge movies go to the chase as soon as possible, and reveal character and motivation through the chase. Unfortunately THE BRAVADOS takes forever to kick into gear. The movie spends a good half hour in Rio Arriba, an eternity in movie time, introducing characters and establishing motives. Some of the characters don't really belong in the movie, either. It's in Rio Arriba that we meet Josefa Velarde (Joan Collins), a beautiful young Elizabeth Taylor type who met, loved and declined Douglass's proposals a half-decade or so ago. Collins wasn't a terrific actress, and some of her high emotion scenes in this one are painfully amateurish. Even a talented actress wouldn't redeem the role, though. Every time Josefa appears the movie grinds to a halt. THE BRAVADOS prove the rule that women and action movies don't mix.
On the trailer Gregory Peck tells us that THE BRAVADOS is `a big story with a big impact.' I'd call it a potentially big story that never gets on track. We learn a big surprise or two near the end, ones that should have taken our breath away. Instead they kind of limp over the line, somewhat naked in their improbability. Peck proves capable of doing justice to a revenge-ridden protagonist. It would have been fascinating, and probably would have resulted in a much better movie, if he could have spent more time exploring the dark side of his character.
The double sided dvd contains both full screen and widescreen versions of the movie. I watched the widescreen version, which was in very good condition. Extras include a trailer for the movie and a couple of very brief - under a minute per - period newsreels.

This DVD is two-sided, presenting the movie in its proper 2.35:1 aspect ratio on one side, and cropped to full-screen on the other side. The colors, sound, and overall transfer are fine. Peck is strong as a man on a grim mission of vengeance. Boyd is frightening as a psychopath, and Van Cleef, Salmi, and Silva are good as his disciples in evil. Collins is attractive and convincing as a rekindled former love. What Peck's character does is dramatically satisfying and morally justified, prior to a final specious message that is the film's only false step.

The 50's and early 60's in my opinion brought forward some of the
best of the pychological (or thinking man's) westerns and this Fox
entry into the genre never really got the respect it deserved upon
it's release but has recieved more respect among modern collectors
of older style shoot'em ups Gregory Peck plays that of Jim Douglas
who rides into a town with no reason other than to witness hanging
of four men whom he has never met before for a crime he knows they
commited only to hunt them down one by one after they break out of
jail with a hostage. And what cast with ever lovely Joan Collins as the girl from Jim's happier past who could have been his wife
and Stepen Boyd,Lee Van Cleef,Albert Salami & Henry Sylia as the
the titled "Bravados" In answer to one reviewers concern,yes the
disc contains both the wide and Full screen versions of the film
and the sound is excellent quality to promote that great opening title soundtrack.

The Bravados is not only an excellent western, but a very interesting character study of how one mans' quest for vengeance does not turn out quite as he expected. Gregory Peck is sublime as the main character/hero and reminds the viewer of a day gone by when there were REAL movie stars. The story is very compelling and is aided well by the top notch musical score by Lionel Newmann and Hugo Friedhoffer.( I have the cd soundtrack and it is beautiful) The supporting cast is great, with a very young Joan Collins, Stephen Boyd, Albert Salmi, Lee Van Cleef, Henry Silva, Andrew Duggan and Gene Evans. Their performances are very capable and you will particularly remember Stephen Boyds' character of Zachary: pure evil with no redeeming qualities. This contrasts very well with Henry Silvas' character as we see that he is basically a good man who fell in with the wrong group. The camera work/scenery of the beautiful canyons and countryside is another plus for the film. The story has a great jolting twist at the end as Peck discovers the truth about his actions towards the group of outlaws he believes responsible for his wifes' rape and murder. ( Incidentally, the film is quite violent and graphic for 1958. Although not actually shown, a rape is strongly implied and is very disturbing.) The Bravados will become one of your favorite films after you have seen it: almost 50 years later, it still makes quite an impression.

Although production values have definitely gotten better, this 1958 western revenge story is still very tightly directed by any standards. I think it is one of Gregory Peck's best roles. It casts (a new) Lee Van Cleef and Stephen Boyd as villains; Boyd is chillingly psychopathic. Albert Salmi and Henry Silva (I remember him best as the dope fiend in Sharky's Machine) are "good" bad guys as well. The ending is terrific and packs as much of a whallop as I remembered.

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment present "THE BRAVADOS" (1958) (98 mins Color), under director Henry King , producer Herbert B. Swope, Jr., novel by Frank O'Rourke., screenwriter Philip Yordan, musical direction by Bernhard Kaun, music score by Lionel Newman . . . . .cast includes Gregory Peck (Jim Douglas), Joan Collins (Josefa Velarde), Stephen Boyd (Bill Zachary), Albert Salmi (Ed Taylor), Henry Silva (Lujan), Kathleen Gallant (Emma), Barry Coe (Tom), George Voskovec (Gus Steinmetz), Herbert Rudley (Sheriff Elroy Sanchez ), Lee Van Cleef (Alfonso Parral ), Andrew Duggan (Padre), Ken Scott (Primo), Gene Evans (Butler), Curly Joe DeRita (Mr. Simms), Robert Adler (Tony Mirabel). . . . . . . our story has a great script with a top notch veteran cast under the baton direction of Henry King, has Gregory Peck hot on the trail of four men who are outlaws Stephen Boyd, Albert Salmi, Henry Silva and Lee Van Cleef...Peck believes these men raped and murdered his wife...the scene changes inside a jail where the men are going to the gallows in the morning...the tables are turned when the outlaws escape and Peck is hot on their trail again with the towns blessing...a shocker and a real twist in the final scene not inclusive of your usual suspects. . . . .much of the success of this film is due to the direction of Henry King (born: 24th January 1886 in Christiansburg, Virginia - died: 29th June 1982 in Toluca Lake, California) was an American film director...before coming to film, King worked as an actor in various repertoire theaters, and first started to take small film roles in 1912...King directed for the first time in 1915, and grew to become one of the most commercially successful Hollywood directors of the 1920s and 1930s...King was nominated for the best director Oscar twice, but did not win on either occasion...his films include "Alexander's Ragtime Band" (1938), "Jesse James" (1939), "The Black Swan" 1942), In 1944, he was awarded the first ever Golden Globe Award award for best director for his film "The Song of Bernadette", based on the novel of the same name by Franz Werfel..."Captain from Castile" (1947), "Prince of Foxes" (1949), "12 O'Clock High" (1949), "The Gunfighter" (1950), "David and Bathsheba" (1951), "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" (1952), "King of the Khyber Rifles" (1953), "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing" (1955), "Carousel" (1956), "The Sun Also Rises" (1957), "Tender is the Night" (1962)...Henry King was one of the 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which awards the Oscars every year, King directed over 100 films in his career.

Specal footnote, actor Gregory Peck was not only a wonderful actor but a great human being, of his own movies, "To Kill a Mockingbird" (1962) is Peck's favourite, his character from "To Kill a Mockingbird" (1962), Atticus Finch, was voted the greatest screen hero of all time by the American Film Institute in May 2003, only two weeks before his death (beating out Indiana Jones, who was placed second, and James Bond who came third)...Brock Peters delivered his eulogy on the day of his funeral and burial, June 16, 2003. In To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), Peters played Tom Robinson, the black man accused of raping a white girl that Atticus Finch (Peck's character) defended in court....on his 1962 Oscar-winning role in "To Kill A Mockingbird", "I put everything I had into it, all my feelings and everything I'd learned in 46 years of living, about family life and fathers and children, and my feelings about racial justice and inequality and opportunity."

SPECIAL FEATURES:
BIOS:
1. Gregory Peck (aka: Eldred Gregory Peck)
Date of birth: 4/05/1916 - La Jolla, California, USA
Date of death: 6/12/2003 - Los Angeles, California
2. Joan Collins (aka: Joan Henrietta Collins)
Date of birth: 23 May 1933 - London, England, UK
Date of Death: Still Living
3. Stephen Boyd (aka: William Millar)
Date of birth: 4 July 1931 - Glengormley, Northern Ireland, UK
Date of death: 2 June 1977 - Northridge, California
4. Henry King (Director)
Date of birth: 24 January 1886 - Christiansburg, Virginia
Date of death: 29 June 1982 - Toluca Lake, California

Want to thank 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment for releasing "Bravados" (1958), the digital transfere with a clean, clear and crisp print...looking forward to more high quality releases from the vintage era of the '40s & '50s...order your copy now from Amazon or 20th Century Fox Entertainment where there are plenty of copies available, stay tuned once again for top notch wonderful character actors of the cinema brought back so many wonderful memories of the times when film makers cared about you who purchased a ticket and came back for more...just the way we like 'em.

Total Time: 98 mins on DVD ~ 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment #2227268 ~ (5/24/2005)

It is impossible to tell if "The Bravados" is being issued in Widescreen or (yecch) Full/Standard screen format. Amazon normally now makes it a point to NOT SAY what the screen format is if it is a Full Screen version. So I am assuming that's what this one is. This is an increasing use of dishonesty by Amazon rather than telling buyers probably the most key piece of information about a DVD. A couple years ago, the aspect ratio was usually clearly stated.

I give The Bravados 3 stars unless it's in widescreen, then 4 stars. Numerous interesting actors, some in their first screen appearances: Stephen Boyd, Henry Silva, etc.

The Bravados is an excellent western with a great cast and a good twist towards the end. Jim Douglas is a rancher who has been tracking the four men who raped and murdered his wife. Coming upon a town, Douglas discovers the four men have been captured and are to be hung the next day. The night before the hanging, the gang escapes town with a hostage. Rancher Douglas and a town posse must go after them to try and bring them to justice. This is a very exciting western that suprised me a bit with the twist ending, but it works here. The movie is beautifully shot although I'm not sure where it was filmed. For a western with a good cast and excellent shoot-outs, the Bravados is well worth a watch.

Gregory Peck is excellent as rancher Jim Douglas who relentlessly pursues the men who he believes killed his wife. This reminded me of his performance in The Gunfighter to a certain extent. Joan Collins is pretty good in a small part as a townswoman who takes an interest in Douglas. The gang who murdered Douglas' wife is played by Stephen Boyd, Henry Silva, Lee Van Cleef, and Albert Salmi. The movie also stars Kathleen Gallant, Gene Evans, and Joe DeRita of Three Stooges fame. The VHS is in standard format. The Bravados cries out for a widescreen DVD release since it is such a beautifully shot western. DVD release or not, the Bravados is an excellent western with a very good performance by Gregory Peck and well worth a watch.