Customer Reviews

I Walk the Line

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I remember seeing I WALK THE LINE a year or two ago in a John Frankenheimer retrospective at New York's Film Forum. I saw it frankly because the movie seemed like the runt of the litter -- underappreciated, only screening for one day -- and because I needed an excuse to listen to a bunch of Johnny Cash songs I already knew too well.

Well, my hunch was right. This movie is a quiet pleasure, full of illicit love, melodrama, and great music. Apart from a patch near the end that looks so bizarre compared to the rest of the flick that it had to have been reshot later in a studio, the natural photography is great and sets a lyrical mood.

One can see why this movie has been neglected, because it's simple and not showy, but it's a well-told tale, and hopefully DVD will bring it to a new audience.

I don't know what Amazon has against this film. This was another spur of the moment buy, and again I wasn't disappointed. The acting is excellent--everyone is terrific in their role, especially Weld and Peck, who each play off the other's hidden agenda quite well. They're both manipulative and decitful, but she's the more "honest" in only trying to help her family. On the other hand, Peck's character is just downright creepy, with some deep-seated control freak issues that just compresses him more and more. You can see him treat her as a person less as the movie progresses, and by the end, you're hoping she gets away with her family.
A well-constructed psychological drama, with great buildup of tension as the noose seems to close in on all sides. Don't really know what all the talk was for on that 'bedroom scene'. It was really quite chaste by today's standards.

Not to be confused with the much lauded-and righly so-Johnny Cash biopic "Walk the Line" this is a gritty slice of downbeat country noir that has much going for it but ultimately becomes a rather gruelling exercise for audiences

Gregory Peck stars as dour but honest Tennessee backwoods sheriff Henry Tawes ,stuck in a routine marriage and feeling his life slipping by .He falls head over heels in love with nubile teenager Alma McCain (Tuesday Weld)a decision that proves to have disastrous consequences .Her father -played by Ralph Meeker is the local moonshine baron ,and he ruthlessly exploits Taws obsession with his daughter to compel him to turn a blind eye to his moonshine operation ,and to make sure the Federal agents do the same thing .Things escalate when McCain senior murders Peck's deputy (Charles Durning)and forces Peck to help cover up the crime .From there things move to an ending marked by the type of inevitability associated with Greek tragedy
The movie is superbly well acted and all the principals acquit themselves splendidly .I must single out Tuesday Weld for special mention however .In my opinion no actress ever has suggested amorality and sensuality so well in US cinema and it is a pity she never really brought this unique gift to more mainstream roles .She nails the accent to perfection as she does the dumb innocence and the sensuous somewhat amoral creature lurking beneath this veneer .Special mention also to Estelle Prsons as Tawes' pathetic and clinging wife and strong cameos from Durning and Bellamy add weight to proceedings ,backing up Peck' sterling work in the lead role
Johnny Cash contibutes 5 songs to the soundtrack and they help establish the bleak ,haunting mood of the piece and form an emotional commentary to events on screen .The whole movie feels and looks authentic in its sobriety and grittiness ,and yet herein lies my chief caveat .It is just too downbeat to be actually entertaining and even the bleakest peice needs some lightening of the mood which we sismply do not get here ,It is as if the makers of the movie have ignored the need of spectators to be entertained and for this reason I mark it down slightly.It is still a powerful and emotional piece of work -country noir as bleak as the best country songs are and conveying a similar emotional kick

This is an excellent drama and love story.I have been waiting for this release on dvd for a long time.As it has been stated by my fellow reviewers,You could end up getting the wrong version of i walk the line.I just had to reorder the other walk the line.I ordered both titles,but i got two of the johnny cash's i walk the line.i should be getting the correct version soon.Well i give both movies 5 stars and i highly recommend this movie with gregory peck!!!!! I thank you Stewart L.

This is one of my favorite movies of all time. Not just about temptation but about longing for a life (even if unattainable) that does not so much resemble the hell that is your own. To me, it's about someone who is emotionally dead (peck) trying desperately to live again thru his impossible dream of running away with a moonshiner's daughter who is probably just using him. Weld's performance is, in a word, haunting. No matter how many times you see this film, you never REALLY know what she is thinking. Is that the character? I think not. That is the mystic of Tuesday Weld. A must see, I'd say. But very misunderstood. NOT A SECOND RATE LOLITA!!!!

For those of us that never really had a girlfriend in high school there was always Thalia Menninger to dream about, just like the love smitten Dobie Gillis in "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis." Tuesday Weld knocked us out with "Pretty Poision", released a couple years before this film, and she was the pefect girl for the role opposite Gregory Peck in this film. I'm sure some credit should go to the Johnny Cash soundtrack, along with the other actors, but for me, it's hard to be objective, any movie with Tuesday Weld in it is worth having in the collection. "Pretty Poision" is my #1, but "I Walk the Line" is very close!

The movie, I Walk the Line, was not well known for many years. I tried for 25 years to obtain a tape of this movie, but it was not available. Finally, a few years ago, it became available on DVD.
Fine acting by all the characters. You get a sense quite early that the ending will not be a happy one.
This is a "must-see" film for any fan of Johnny Cash. His background singing is excellent, and each song reflects the mood of the scene.

I can't believe that men are still having affairs when the vast majority of the time only hurt and sadness for all concerned happens in the end.This movie should be required viewing for every little boy so that maybe just maybe so much pointless suffering could be avoided.

This is a fine movie. Beautifully photographed in the backwoods of Tennessee with great direction by John Frankenheimer. The actors are remarkable with a superb character performance by Charles Durning in one of the central roles. Gregory Peck and Tuesday Weld are sterling and Tuesday Weld is ravishing. I also love the use of people who live in this rural area of Tennessee to create authenticity and texture. Terrific score by Johnny Cash. No tricks just a finely crafted movie with great dialogue examining an obsessive relationship with a great ending. Much to think about.

A powerful movie, I saw it years ago and I still remember it. You won't forget it either.