Customer Reviews

One-Eyed Jacks

5 star:		(48)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

Can't say enough about this movie. It is a favorite of mine. Brando's portrayal of the old western gunfighter is classic. This transfer on DVD is the worst I have ever seen. You dont buy a DVD player to watch movies like this. Better transfers are out there. Cable has aired crystal clear versions of this film in letterbox format, another weakness of this rendition. The video store was kind enough to refund my money. Buyers beware, if you haven't already you will soon discover not all DVDs are created equal. You may think 10 bucks is a steal for a DVD movie only to find when you get home the video tape is much better. I am still waiting for the definative DVD rendition of this film from Paramount.

One-Eyed Jacks is a very good movie. Unfortunatly it is a very poor DVD. I have actually bought this film twice. The first time I bought it on VHS and I was very disappointed with the picture and sound quality. When I found it on DVD I should have realized that the inexpensive price meant another poor version, but I thought since it was on DVD it must be remastered. It is not and was not. In fact this is the worst DVD I have ever seen it terms of picture and sound quality. It is too bad because Marlon Brando, in the only picture he ever directed, has created a film worth seeing. Hopefully some company will realize this and give us films fans a version we can enjoy.

This review refers to the BCI Eclipse(Brentwood Home Video) DVD edition of "One Eyed Jacks"(1961).....

"One Eyed Jacks", is the first and only film directed by Marlon Brando.It's a great western adventure with lots of action, romance and some great scenery.The story is a captivating one. Brando("Rio") stars with Karl Malden("Dad Longworth") as two bank robbers on the run from the Federales in Mexico, They are pinned down and only one can get away to get fresh horses for their escape. Dad is the one to go, but greed gets the best of him. He takes off with the loot and leaves Rio to be captured, and sent to a Mexican Jail for 5 long years. He escapes and goes looking for Dad, finally finding him in Monterey, California, where "Dad" is now a tough Sheriff and has a beautiful step-daughter, Louisa. The action and the romance heat up along the beautiful California coastline as Rio is bent on revenge and falls for the beautiful Louisa.

Pina Pellicer won a Best Actress for her role as Louisa at the Sebastion International Film Festival, and Charles Lang was nominated for the exquiste cinematography. The film also stars Katy Jurado(always wonderful), and western legends Slim Pickens and Ben Johnson.The music by Hugo Friedhofer is beautiful and captures the essence of the story.

This DVD by BCI is a decent transfer of this 42 year old film.There is not much sign of age. It's not as pristeen as you would expect from a big studio release, but you can't go wrong for the price. The colors are nice(although a bit dated) and dialouge clear.The California coastline looks very inviting.

This film may also be purchased in a 4 film set of western legends.Great American Western V.10, The which also includes
The Over The Hill Gang/Over the hill Gang Rides Again and The Deadly Companions(early Peckinpah)


This is classic Brando...enjoy...Laurie

Don't get me wrong, One Eyed Jacks is a great film, but don't even consider buying this DVD. The transfer looks washed out, as if it had been done from a 15 year old betamax copy. The sound echoes badly from beginning to end and worst of all the picture breaks up completely about two thirds of the way through the film. Even though it's not a lot of $'s I beg of you don't buy this DVD.

If you like slow-burning westerns with phenomenal acting, this is one to see. Marlon Brando, who starred and directed, is magnificent as a brooding outlaw named Rio. After five years in a Mexican prison, Rio is on the prowl for his former partner, Dad Longworth, who betrayed him after a bank holdup. He discovers that Longworth has become a wealthy sheriff in a small coastal town. Rio makes his presence known, biding his time and allowing his former buddy to believe that the past is forgotten. But he runs into some trouble while in town. Longworth takes the opportunity to smash Rio's gun hand in a public display, then has him thrown in prison to be hanged. We're left wondering how Rio will ever get his revenge.

Martin Scorcese has described this as his favorite western. Rod Serling ("Twilight Zone") worked on the first draft of the script, then Sam Peckinpah ("The Wild Bunch") was hired to rewrite it. Stanley Kubrick was the director, but was later replaced by star Marlon Brando. This is Brando's first and only stint as a director, and though it isn't perfect, it's darn good. He does tend to let scenes drag on a little long, and there were some tedious parts that probably should have been left out, but I'd say about 75-80 percent of this film hits the mark.

As an actor, Brando dominates virtually every scene, drawing you in, making you feel what he's feeling. His character is a real son-of-a-b*tch, a liar and a scoundrel, but you come to empathize and root for him by the end. Pina Pellicer, who plays Rio's love interest Louisa, is a very fine actress who holds her own opposite Brando. She looks like a Mexican Audrey Hepburn. There really were no weak actors. Karl Malden, who played Longworth, is appropriately two-faced, a real "one-eyed jack".

The dialogue is very authentic. I've seen westerns where they talk like modern day folks, but in "One-Eyed Jacks" the dialect is pure 19th century outlaw. It's great to hear Brando call some guy a "scum-sucking pig" or a "big tub of guts".

I like westerns, and this is one of the best that I've seen. It's slow-paced, but it's so good that I didn't mind. It's very character-driven, which I like. It's great to see Brando in his prime. Released in 1961, this film had a significant influence on the revisionist westerns (Sergio Leone, etc.), which started around the mid-1960s. Thumbs up for "One-Eyed Jacks"!

(There are numerous versions of this movie floating around, but from what I've read Unicorn Studio's is the one to get.)

A number of reviewers have complained about the lousy transfers that have been made to DVD of "One Eyed Jacks." I found a transfer that, while not perfect, appears to be a lot better than what has been described by reviewers here at Amazon. The film was released on Front Row Video, which is a fairly typical, low budget, "public domain" releasing company. I was surprised to find that their copy has been released in the widescreen format and that the source print is in relatively good shape. The print is the full 141 minute version. There are no extras on the DVD save some chapter breaks which are incorrectly listed both on the DVD case and the DVD itself. Amazon would do well to seek out this copy from Front Row (no, I don't work for them). It's certainly not the definitive DVD release of this Western, but it's a lot better than what has been described by many of the viewers.

One of the great westerns of all time has been butchered in this DVD form which looks and sounds like a 3rd generation knock-off.Apparently, Paramount no longer has the rights or the interest in saving this gem. Warn your customers and have them find the wide-screen laser-disk.

I implore you not to buy this DVD. This is a classic western brilliantly acted and directed by Marlon Brando. However, this is the worst transfer to DVD I have ever seen. There is a constant high-pitched hiss and horrible video quality throughout the film. I have seen a beautiful letterbox print of this film on the Amercian Movie Classics channel. Save your money until a better transfer is released.

I'm not a big fan of westerns, but this one is definitely worth the 2 hours and 20 minutes of dedication it takes to watch it. The story is constantly progressing and 45 years after it was made it's still an amazing and interesting story.

Marlon Brando (directing and starring) really nailed this one. His Kid Rio is brilliantly calm, with a dark side brewing just under the surface. Five years after being left to be caught by the Mexican law by his bank robber sidekick Dad Longfellow, Rio sets out to find Longfellow and exact his revenge.

What starts out as a revenge film turns into so much more as the characters are developed and the plot thickens. The scenery is beautiful: the kind of rolling desert hills and oceanfront shots you wish there were more of today. Also, Slim Pickens makes a great appearance as a deputy.

The DVD quality isn't that great. As we get more and more used to HD quality images, older films like this one may be harder to watch, as suddenly everything in them seems hopelessly fuzzy, but that has more to do with current DVDs than with the original movie itself. Overall, it's a great watch and worth checking out.

Now this is the copy to purchase, it's from Leisure Entertainment, not to say it couldn't use more digital improvement for an independent but, it's Dolby mixed and in letterbox (1.85:1), not mentioned on the cover. To date, no other copies have these options. What a treat. Brando portrays the same type of brooding character that he portrays in many of his other movies, except this is a western. I love westerns. Malden, in his early career bad guy movie rolls. Did you see Nevada Smith? Ben Johnson and Slim Pickens are scum. Great cast. Get this copy before it goes out of print. It's the best copy you'll find. The cinematography is just beautiful. It takes place in Monterey, CA.