Customer Reviews

Posse

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
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One of the truly unique American Westerns, Posse finds Kirk Douglas as a pompous U.S. marshal--fittingly named Howard Nightingale (he's great at singing his own praises)--doing everything he can to drum up support in his bid for Senator from the great state of Texas.

Key to his campaign is the capture of Bruce Dern's infamous Jack Strawhorn, a cucumber-cool, sharpshooting robber whose bad luck in finding a gang worthy of his own smarts is echoed by Nightingale's great fortune at having a posse who never fails him.

Or so he thinks....

When Strawhorn is captured, the whole town cheers, but this is offset by Wesley, one of Nightingale's best posse guys, having a go with the mayor's wife...and with two other posse members finding love, as it were, with two younger members of the female gender in the town. Seems Nightingale's boys aren't too shy.

Things come to a head when the tables are turned, and the ending is a total shock for those expecting things to turn out the way they "should" in a Western which, let's face it, is supposed to typify the core of what's good and true in American civilization. The editor of the local newspaper, a former soldier now missing an arm and a leg, is intriguingly similar in his perspective to Strawhorn; this comes out in some subtle and not so subtle ways.

Douglas himself directed this piercing look at American greed and lust and acquitted himself admirably. One of the better entries in the American Western canon, Posse is all too close to political reality even today.

Definitely recommended.

Here's a perfect example of a small, quietly subversive film, obviously created in a specific time, whose message hasn't dated in the least. It's produced, directed by & stars Kirk Douglas as a Texas lawman with his sights on the Senate, perhaps even the Presidency. He travels in a special train provided by the railroads, whom he'll represent once in office; he has a handpicked posse to help him in his pursuit of train robber Bruce Dern, whose capture will assure a successful election. Douglas' lawman also travels with a photographer, who makes the most of every photo op, such as his early capture of outlaw Dern.

As this was made in 1975, it's very much a post-Watergate film. And as such, it's still quite relevant today. For example, when Douglas makes his big speech to the town after capturing Dern, invoking God & goodness & appealing to the pre-programmed traditional beliefs of the townspeople, you realize that by changing just one word in that speech -- by substituting "terrorists" for "criminals" -- it's the same empty rah-rah speech we hear so often today.

However, Dern doesn't want to hang, and he definitely doesn't want to be used as an election prop. I won't give away what happens next, but it's quite satisfying. The film also stars James Stacy, who had recently lost an arm & a leg in a horrendous motorcycle accident, as the town's newspaper man, wary of Douglas & of any ambitious politico. He obviously represented Vietnam vets at the time; now he'd just as easily represent maimed veterans returning from Iraq, or any war, sacrificed for the personal ambitions of a smarmy would-be leader.

The performances are excellent, and even the minor background characters are given fine moments of characterization. The dawning realization of some of the townspeople that they are being used is played for sadness rather than easy mockery, as they understand that they've agreed to their use (and abuse). All presented in a tidy 92 minutes! Highly recommended.

then you should get a kick out of this one! fans of the offbeat and bruce Dern should like this western.this movie plays out like kind of a chess game between pat garrete and billy the kid,with whole trains and towns as pices. kirk douglas plays the railroad backed 'all guns, guts, and glory'marshal Nightingale who at a closer look reveals a darker side.his ambition makes him even worse than pat garrette.all he really cares about is winning a election to become a powerful U.S. senator.Evidence of this is in the way he makes arrests;his professionism is thrown out the window-He uses a Janet Reno style method to catch outlaws,taking no prisioners,caring little about taking them in alive,or recovering robbery mony. The two people who see through him the most are Dern,and a local journalist,who having lost limbs in war hates railroads and ambitous people.Kind of like the old Hamilton vs Jefferson;Hamilton represnting big banking and progress-while others dont like it they know its the way of the future.Many people dident like RxR's either. Bruce Dern is the outlaw Strawhorn,with a great understanding of human nature.Evidence of this is in the scence where just after shooting someone,in front of a horrified crowd,he shuts up a barking dog by throwing him a pice of meat.always trying to cloud good and evil,one of his most memorble quotes is when he tells Nightingale:'honest men only stay honest til it stops paying,thats why your a liar and Im a theif.' Nightingales' plan is simple:elimiate strawhorns gang, and to get elected-capture Strawhorn himself- simple plan but he finds it not as simple to carry out. After a member of Nightingales own posse ponders his future because he is an indian(Indians were often hired by the white man often performing beyond expectations but once the mission was over they were left out to dry)sets the scence to the climatic ending-its Stawhorn vs Nightingale: a chess match playing itself out to the end! Another quote I liked was 'what do we pay taxes for?' If you never saw this movie before try starting it 105 minutes into the movie then watch it again. Another offbeat Kirk Douglas western I would recomend is 'Lonely are the brave' with walter Mathau as sheriff.

Classic 70s Western with Kirk Douglas. Good pacing and mix between action and drama and with sets and locales and a fair budget. Did not not much in extra and/or features on DVD.

"Posse" is basically a manhunt film with political overtones. It came out in 1975 on the heels of "Watergate" and underscores the idea that apparently good actions have underlying self-serving motivations. In this case, a manhunt serves as a chance for an ambitious Marshall to get elected to the Senate.

This type of revisionist western was popular in the late 60s and 70s. Prime examples include "Little Big Man" (1970), "Soldier Blue" (1970), "McCabe and Mrs. Miller" (1971), "Dirty Little Billy" (1972), "Chato's Land" (1972), and "The Outlaw Josey Wales" (1976).

Kirk Douglas (1916 - ) plays the Marshall. He was a big star at the time. He had been Oscar nominated 3 times ("Champion" in 1949, "The Bad and the Beautiful" in 1952, and "Lust for Life" in 1957) and had won the Golden Glove for "Lust for Life". His memorable roles include "Young Man with a Horn" (1950), "Paths of Glory" (1957), "The Vikings" (1958), "Spartacus" (1960) and "Seven Days in May" (1964) He appears as #17 on the AFI list of Top 50 Screen Legends.

FWIW - Douglas appeared in one of the earliest revisionist westerns, "Lonely are the Brave" (1962) which was written by Dalton Trumball.

Crooked faced Bruce Dern (1936) is the psycho you love to hate. He's one of the few men who ever killed John Wayne on screen ("The Cowboys") or who tried to blow up a MLB team from a Goodyear blimp ("Super Bowl"). Yet he's also given us very nuanced performances ("The Great Gatsby", "The King of Marvin Gardens") and was nominated for an Oscar for "Coming Home" (1978). Dern plays the notorious bank robber who is the subject of Douglas' manhunt.

The posse contains Bo Hopkins and Luke Askew.

Bo Hopkins (1942 - ) was a favorite of Sam Peckinpah in films like "The Wild Bunch" (1969), "The Killer Elite" and "The Getaway" where he played psychopathic killers. In 1995 he won a Golden Boot for his contributions to western films.

Luke Askew (1937) usually appears in westerns ("Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid", "Will Penny", "The Magnificent Seven Ride"), although he has made good contributions in films like "Easy Rider" as a stranger on the highway and "Cool Hand Luke" as Boss Paul.

James Stacy (1936) returned to the movie screen for the first time following his motorcycle accident which left him without a left arm and leg. Stacy had been a busy actor on TV ("Ozzie and Harriet", "Gunsmoke", "Lancer"). Kirk Douglas designed this role specifically for Stacy to get him back to work. He continued working after this, most notably in the TV series "Wiseguy" (1990).

In addition to starring, Douglas was the director. This was his second (and last) outing as a Director, having made "Scalawag" in 1973. This was also his last outing as a producer, having made 7 previous films including "Paths of Glory" (1957), "Spartacus" (1960), and "Grand Prix" (1966).

FWIW - It was Douglas's insistence as a producer of "Spartacus" to use Dalton Trumball which is credited with breaking the notorious "blacklist" in Hollywood.

Fred Koenekamp (1922) handles the camera. He was nominated for an Oscar 3 times and won for "The Towering Inferno" (1975). Among his notable films are "Pattom" (1970) and "Papillon" (1973). He also worked on various TV series - "Kung Fu" (1972-3) and "The Man from UNCLE" (1964-7).

Maurice Jarre (1924-2009) provides the musical score. Jarre was nominated for an Oscar 9 times and won 3 times ("Lawrence of Arabia", "Doctor Zhivago" and "A Passage to India"). Among his westerns were "The Professionals" (1966), "Red Sun" (1971), and "The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean" (1972).

The top grossing films in 1975 were "Jaws", "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", "Dog Day Afternoon", and "Shampoo" The big Oscar winner was "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (Picture, Director. Actor, Actress, Screenplay). Other notable films that year were "Nashville", "Taxi Driver", "Barry Lyndon" "Monty Python and the Holy Grail", and "Seven Beauties".

It wasn't a strong year for westerns - "Breakheart Pass" and "Rooster Cogburn" were the only other westerns that year.

The NY Times' Vincent Canby called it a "genial, sometimes witty Western" and "Saturday afternoon entertainment that needn't be ignored at night."

Good performances, excellent photography and sound, and a good subversive script make this one to see if you like revisionist westerns.

This is a great western. Kirk Douglas directed himself and it was shot at Old Tucson Studio's in Tucson, Arizona. I was the Location Manager on this project and it was lot's of fun making this picture. Bruce Dern, the bad guy, get's in his hair and creates a great good guy-bad guy situation. Some of it was filmed a little north of Nogales but the town was Old Tucson. A fast paced western...one you will enjoy and watch over and over.

If you like these older, well acted westerns you will find this one very entertaining.

Bruce Durn really stands out in this great western. The plot has twists and turns and is not the same old good guy and bad guy. If you love westerns and an interesting plot this movie is for you.

All went well in ordering and obtaining the DVD movie. And the package arrived quickly and in excellent condition.

This is my favorite Western of all time. Can't say enough good things about it.