Customer Reviews

The Outrage [VHS]

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

 

 

This review refers to "The Outrage" (1964)...

"The Outrage" is Director Martin Ritt's Western version of Akira Kurosawa's classic masterpiece "Rashomon". Paul Newman stars as the ruthless Juan Carrasco. We already know that when Ritt and Newman team up for a Western/Character study ("Hombre"/"Hud") we are in for a cinematic excellence. This film is no exception.

Filmed in stark black and white, which is perfect for this story, the film opens at a gloomy railway station, in the pouring rain, while three men wait for the train. A preacher is so outraged by the events that unfolded at a murder/rape trail that he is fleeing town. Another wants to hear the story that could make a preacher run, and the third, witness to the events, begins to tell the tale.

Carrasco, who has a reputation for being the baddest of the bad, is on trial for the murder of a man(Laurence Harvey), and the rape of his wife(Claire Bloom). He says, it doesn't matter what I say,you will convict me for the crimes I have committed and even the ones you only think I have. He confesses and tells the story of how he tortured the couple. But, that's not the end, only the beginning, as there are 3 other versions of the story to be heard, each telling it through their eyes, with very different outcomes.

The viewer gets to witness these four very different but tragic stories, with the three principles taking on very different personalities in each version. One story even takes a comical turn at the events.

Ritt does an excellent job of taking the viewer through the four different scenarios. Newman, Harvey, and Bloom take on the changes impeccably. James Wong Howe's cinematography, and camera angles add greatly to the tenseness of the story. William Shatner, Edward G Robinson and Howard Da Silva round off this huge cast fabulously, as the fleeing preacher , the nosey con man and the prospector who "saw it all".

I was hoping to find a DVD edition of this wonderful film, but no luck. Hopefully it will be restored, and transfered in the original widescreen soon.

update:2/18/09 - My wish came true. I now own the DVD and here is a litle about the dvd:2/18/09 - Howe's b/w cinematography looked clean and crisp. Whites very white and the picture was clear. The railway station scenes, dark to start with seemed a little too dark at times and hard to see the faces ocassionally,but for the most part and the rest of the film, a nice sharp view in widescreen format. The rain sounded as if it was coming down right outside my window. Features: Warner Bros - you dropped the ball here. There were no special features at all.It doesnt even come with any insert. Not even a chapter menu. If you want to see a certain scene, you have to use your skip button and then fast forward or reverse till you find what you are looking for. Language is English only, but there are Subtitles in English and French only.

reviews for vhs and dvd mixed together if you are on vhs page and looking for the dvd here is the link:The Outrage


A fine film and must have for Newman fans....enjoy...Laurie
also recommended:Empire Falls (Every Small Town Has a Big Story) Vol. 1
Hombre

Pay no attention to Maltin's dsimissive review: this is a fine film. The entire cast is in excellent form, with DaSilva's miner and Robinson's snake oil salesman particularly noteworthy. Newman's performance as the bandit is peculiar but fascinating, and often hilarious. An amusing and thought-provoking movie from the 60's, a decade that gave us some of our best films.

One of my all time favorites since it came out in the sixties. In my line of work, there has always been an axiom that in every controversy, there is my story, your story, and the truth. This film does the best job of presenting this age-old dilemma of searching for the truth through biased observers. Not only that, it is extremely entertaining as well, with a cast to die for, each one protraying their character four different ways within the same film. Newman, Bloom and Harvey are magnificent, doing exactly what each version requires. There is quite a bit of humor as well, and I suppose some reviewers were put off by that, wanting the work to be more serious. Well, this film is proof that a serious subject can be dealt with in an entertaining fashion. Wish they would release in DVD.

Based on two of Akutagawa's writings ("Rashomon" and "In a Grove") and adapted for the screen by Akira Kurosawa, THE OUTRAGE is the story of a crime that's recounted by the three people involved, plus a fourth man who witnessed what happened. Their memories of an assault and murder vary widely; only one of them recalls the incidents accurately.

Martin Ritt directs and James Wong Howe is cinematographer of a most unusual western. With a fine script and superb cast-- this one is a standout!


Paul Newman's next significant picture after "Outrage" was HARPER (1966).
Laurence Harvey may be best-remembered for his portrayal of Raymond Shaw in THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (1962).
Claire Bloom co-starred with Richard Burton in Martin Ritt's classic THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD (1965).
Edward G. Robinson is excellent as king of poker players Lancey Howard in THE CINCINNATI KID (1965).
William Shatner's finest screen work was in Roger Corman's racially-charged THE INTRUDER (1962).


Parenthetical number preceding title is a 1 to 10 viewer poll rating found at a film resource website.

(6.2) The Outrage (1962) - Paul Newman/Laurence Harvey/Claire Bloom/Edward G. Robinson/William Shatner/Howard Da Silva/Albert Salmi/Thomas Chalmers/Paul Fix

With the success of the remake of popular 1954 Akira Kurosawa film "Seven Samurai" to the Western known as "The Magnificent Seven" in 1960, "THE OUTRAGE" was a 1964 western remake of another Kurosawa classic "Rashomon" from 1950.

The takes place in a western town known as the Silver Gulch. The preacher (William Shatner) awaits the train during a storm at the train stop. Arriving at the stop is the prospector (Howard Da Silva) who wants to know why the preacher is leaving town and tries his best to have him stay.

The preacher came to the town to change the lives of people for good but he's disgusted after a trial which he and the prospector have been discussing. It appears the preacher feels that the town has become a town full of sin and the murder trial has brought the worst in people. And thus, he wants to leave feeling he failed.

But in comes the con man (Edward G. Robinson) who learns the story of what transpired at the murder trial frmom the two men.

You start to learn that on the day of the murder, the preacher was coming into town and saw the Col. Wakefield (Laurence Harvey) and his wife Nina (Claire Bloom) riding in their carriage. That was the last time he saw of them.

As for the prospector, he was the man who discovered the dead body of Col. Wakefield and went to report it to the sheriff which lead to a manhunt. During the manhunt, an outlaw Juan Carrasco is found near the murder and he is handcuffed outside the sheriff's office while the whole town watches the trial about the murder and alleged rape of his Col. Wakefield's wife.

The sheriff (Albert Salmi) gives his story of how they came to capture Carrasco. Then Carrasco gives his story about what happened. In his story, he was resting and while resting, he sees the Wakefields coming by. He goes to them and tries to sell them an ancient Aztec object with a green stone. And in his story, he robs the Wakefields, ties up the husband and rapes his wife. But then his wife says that Carrasco should give him the right to fight for his pride since she lost everything and thus the fight ensues between Carassco and Col. Wakefield and Carassco grabs his knife and kills him.

Sounds like a believable story since Carassco is a feared desperado but just when everything looked as if Carassco was guilty. Col. Wakefield's wife Nina has her turn during the trial to explain what happened and her story is completely different from the story Carassco gave.

Then an Indian medicine man (Paul Fix) who came across the body gives his account of what happened to Col. Wakefield during the trial.

With three entirely different stories of how Col. Wakefield died, who is telling the truth? But during the discussion between the preacher, the prospector and con man, it is learned that one of them knows the real truth of what truly happened that day.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

"THE OUTRAGE" makes its first appearance on DVD and is presented in black and white. The picture quality is good for a film released back in 1964 but I did notice a few scratches and dust. But overall, people who have waited for a DVD release for so long will enjoy the quality of this film.

If there was one thing that fans should be happy is that "THE OUTRAGE" is presented in black and white and not in it's colorized version.

As for audio, the film is presented in mono.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

There are no special features. I wished there was a trailer or something included.

JUDGMENT CALL:

"THE OUTRAGE" is part of the Paul Newman Film Series and Warner releasing Newman films that have yet to be released on DVD (or on video). So, reading on the Internet and seeing how many people have awaited for a DVD release, finally fans of this film will get their wish.

What one will have to remember is that this film was released in theaters back in 1964. Despite being based on "Rashomon", it's probably best not to think of "Rashomon" at all and think of this film as its own film and respect what Martin Ritt brought to this film, a screenplay by Michael Kanin that definitely has its twist and turns, and a performance of Paul Newman playing an ethnic role.

It's quite unusual to see how humorous this film turned out to be and to find out the truth of what happened that day between Carassco and the Wakefields. Unfortunately where Rashomon was a film that was dramatic and deadly, "THE OUTRAGE" just showed the worst in human motivations. As much as I hoped for a fantastic reveal, unfortunately the film falls flat.

If anything, I felt that William Shatner did quite well playing the preacher and to see his interaction with the prospector and the con man captured the drama, while watching the different fight scenes between Newman's Carassco and Harvey's Wakefield was quite enjoyable as their characters have a gunfight, go over a waterfall, and eventually their battle to the death.

Overall, "THE OUTRAGE" is not a bad film, it's just a film that seems that it had a lot of potential but somehow it just misses its mark.

Unlike a lot of the reviewers I have no frame of reference in comparing this Western remake of Kurasawa's original so I have to judge the film on it's own terms. It's a good film that posits alot of interesting food for thought not the least that cowardice and vanity are sins comparable to rape and murder. That said it doesn't live up to it's potential. I attribute that to the hammy performances by the film's principals and Paul Newman is not exempt from criticism. His bandit seems to have been lifted note-for-note from Eli Wallach in "The Magnificent Seven" and not with good results. You could engender more empathy for Claire Bloom's rape victim if her performance wasn't so overwrought. Laurence Harvey, per usual, is the substance of wood. The best work here is delivered by the supporting actors who witnessed the events of the trial. Believe it or not, William Shatner as a disillusioned preacher gives an effectively understated account. Howard Da Silva as a prospector who gives key testmony at the trial and the inimitable Edward G. Robinson as a sarcastic snake oil salesman are also terrific. An interesting film that could have been more.

Newman's fifth film for Martin Ritt, "The Outrage" was based on the classic Japanese film "Rashômon," but Ritt transplanted the tale to the South Western U.S. following the Civil War...

Carrasco has been convicted of raping a woman (Claire Bloom) and murdering her husband (Laurence Harvey), but four eye-witness accounts conflict... All agree that the bandit raped the woman, but only one asserts that he committed the killing...

Sadistic, defiant, and challenging, Carrasco snarls, sneers, and walks with macho arrogance, to hide the fact that he can only be strong by tying a man to a tree and raping his wife...

The role allows Newman to give a bravura performance, not unlike Toshiro Mifune's in the Kurosawa film, and the stylization would fit the story if everybody else weren't playing it so straight... As it is, the performance seems too showy, easily understandable, exaggerated...

Rendition of Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece, Rashomon (1958), set in the American old west. Paul Newman so immerses himself in the role of the outlaw that he is practically unrecognizable; I literally forgot I was watching Newman act. He completely eliminates all pretentions and makes his performance invisible - a significant achievement for any actor. His mannerisms and gestures are simply fun and fascinating to watch. Edward G. Robinson chews up his lines as the cackling, cynical huckster (if this were a Greek tragedy, he would be an ironic chorus) - simply grand. William Shatner is very good as the quietly disillusioned preacher. Shatner is especially good at conveying pain and sorrow through his eyes. If you have ever seen Star Trek II or III, Boston Legal, The Twilight Zone, or even The Horror at 30,000 Feet, for that matter, you know what I mean. Claire Bloom is also very good, as is Howard Da Silva.

This is indeed a film that relies as much on performance as it does on dialogue. The latter is also pretty consistently very good, with a few moments of true greatness. The cinematography of the legendary James Wong Howe is beautiful, as are the backdrops of this mostly-soundstage film. It is a little rough around the edges, but for fans of any of the aforementioned actors, of classic (if not classical) Hollywood cinema, and of challenging dramas in general, The Outrage is a must see.

It broadens the perspective of our journey in discovering truths....each of us has one and they may not all be the same. This is a thought promoting movie....I am intrigued by the implications for the jury system and divorce court......and what we provide our children for foundation to use in their lives

After the colossal feat of Rashomon in 1950, and its world repercussion around the world, it would said that this film (the glorious masterpiece of Kurosawa to my mind) modified and influenced the new generations to come of filmmakers about this delicate subject. How many victims have been murdered or condemned due the religious, political or moral truth of the historical Age? But worst still: How many more will be dead due the same reason?

Martin Ritt dared and won with this discrete but potent portrait about the perpetual elusiveness of the truth and its always changing nature according the beholder, not only under the actual circumstances, but through the years, because most of us tend to make our minds and alter our own perspective decade after decade. So when you talk about the truth, it would be convenient to make clear and underline: my truth instead of the truth.