Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Rape And Revenge In Arizona, August 24, 2004
Easily one of the least-known western movies in history to pair two great actors against one another, THE LAST HARD MEN is a painfully underrated sagebrush saga that at first might seem old-fashioned but turns out to be a very timely meditation on the final days of the West. It is on video now through Unicorn, but this 1976 film deserves to be released by its original distributor, 20th Century Fox, on video and DVD in its uncut form. It only runs 97 minutes here; in its uncut form, it was 105 minutes.
Based on the 1972 novel "Gun Down" by Brian Garfield, who also wrote "Death Wish" and is a western enthusiast, THE LAST HARD MEN stars Charlton Heston as an aging lawman who had once been a proud member of the Arizona Territorial Police but now in 1908 has now turned the reins of law enforcement over to a reform-minded younger man (Michael Parks). He laments about how the railroad changed the makeup of the West--that and, as Parks points out, the auto, the telegraph, and the telephone.
But before Heston can really call it quits, he has to contend with a vengeful half-breed outlaw (James Coburn) whom he put away fifteen years earlier for a train robbery near Santa Fe that killed Coburn's wife. Coburn is out to settle the score with Heston; and to force Heston into a fatal confrontation, he kidnaps Heston's daughter (Barbara Hershey) and allows his sadistic gang to rape her. The result is a jarring and frequently violent pursuit through the Arizona mountains and deserts.
Surprisingly, even though the film was directed by Andrew V. McLaglen, who worked with John Wayne on several of the Duke's later westerns and who normally modelled his directing style off of John Ford, THE LAST HARD MEN has the hard edge of a Sam Peckinpah film, right down to the themes of the demise of the Old West, unchanging men in changing times, and jarring bursts of bloodshed and violence sometimes rent in slow-motion (hence the 'R' rating). McLaglen nevertheless directs the proceedings with professionalism. Coburn makes for an absolutely chilling main villain, and his gang, which includes Jorge Rivero, John Quade, and Robert Donner, rank right up there with the bounty hunters of THE WILD BUNCH and the sadistic rednecks of DELIVERANCE for sheer nastiness. Heston, meanwhile, gives probably the best performance of any that he gave during the 1970s as the aging lawman forced to put on the badge one more time. Christopher Mitchum also does well as Hershey's soon-to-be husband.
The score by Jerry Goldsmith, though it is cribbed from his scores to the 1966 remake of STAGECOACH and 1969's 100 RIFLES, is flavorful enough (Leonard Rosenman was supposed to have done the original score). Filmed entirely on location near Tucson, Arizona, THE LAST HARD MEN deserves to be seen, as it is a worthy, if frequently violent, saga, but hopefully it will one day be seen in its original 1976 cut.
|
|
|
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Violent revenge Western, November 6, 2007
James Coburn plays a violent mixed race outlaw who escapes from Yuma prison as part of a chain gang along with a group of other equally thuggish types .He persuades them to join him by recounting tales of a hidden cache of gold that will make them all rich men ;his primary motive is to use tham to help him gain revenge on his nemesis ,a retired lawman (Charlton Heston)responsible for his incarceration..He lures Heston away from town by feinting to rob a gold shipment being conveyed by train and while the lawman is engaged on this wild goose chase rides into town at the head of his gang and abductes Heston's daughter (Barbara Hershey).There follows a sadistic ,violent denouement involving rape and a great deal of rather gloating violence
This is well acted by the stars and supporting cast .It has an excellent score and the photography is exemplary .The themes of violence and retribution are punched across with some vigour but for many the stumbling block here will be the lip-smacking violence and rape which feature heavily in the storyline .This is sad in a way because there are some thoughful elegaic moments as we witness the passing of an era -the trains have refrigeration and an automobile features prominently in one scene .This strain of the story gets lost in the scenes of slow motion death and protracted revenge
This is strong meat and for me tipped over into the pornography of violence rather too often for comfort but many will not be troubled by this ansd will enjoy the spectacle of two considerable actors in a strong drama
|
|
|
|
Video On Demand ~ Stacy Keach
Video On Demand ~ Rutger Hauer
Video On Demand ~ Raquel Welch
Video On Demand ~ Russell Crowe
Video On Demand ~ Morgan Freeman
Video On Demand ~ Gregory Peck
Video On Demand ~ Charles Bronson
Video On Demand ~ Martin Scorsese
Video On Demand ~ Charlton Heston
Video On Demand ~ Charlton Heston
