Customer Reviews

Shalako

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

With the cast this movie has--Sean Connery, Brigitte Bardot, Jack Hawkins, Stephen Boyd, Honor Blackman, Peter van Eyck, Valerie French, and Woody Strode--and based on a novel by Louis L'Amour (and with a foreword by him) this should have been a much better Western than it is! It's a slow moving tale of a hunting party that becomes the hunted party. Shalako (the name means "rain bringer" in Zuni Indian), played by Connery, rescues a group of European noblefolk on a hunting expedition in New Mexico in the 1880s after they run afoul of hostile Apaches, who like to hunt, too; they like to hunt the "white-eyes," whether European or home-grown, who invade their territory!

This DVD has no bonus features at all, not even the theatrical trailer! Just a scene selector menu. But the image quality is quite good and you have a choice of widescreen or full frame. Sean Connery looks good in his buckskins and six-shooter, in his prime before the gray beard and bald pate. Brigitte Bardot is simply gorgeous, as is Honor Blackman (GOLDFINGER, THE AVENGERS TV series.) I recommend this DVD as a novelty item mostly, for Connery fans (it's his only Western--if you don't count OUTLAND!) and Bardot fans (it's her only Western, too--if you don't count LES PETROLEUSES, a French-Italian oater!)

I first saw this movie at my favorite drive-in theater in `68, and the only thing I remembered about it was Bardot's modestly demure bare back scene, until I saw it again on this DVD edition. This movie is just rather forgettable! It was filmed on location in Spain, and Spain doesn't look anything at all like the American Southwest, a fact European "Western" makers should realize, and that any John Ford fan can attest to!

Based quite rigidly on the best selling novel by Louis L'Amour, we find Sean Connery in the lead role here complete with Scottich brogue, that sits OK despite being a dusty, rough around the edges hero. Not often seen on reruns, and I don't know why this film didn't get much exposure, as many people I know haven't seen it, or even heard of it. I'm tempted to say at this point, that this is not a movie that will live long in the memory, but don't be put off - it has a strangely compelling quality and realistic feel, and a better than average script. There a number of violent scenes, most notably the grissly demise of one of the lead characters (I won't say who) at the hands of a vicious band of Indians, and you could draw some comparisons with the content of movies like "Soldier Blue" although that came along several years after this. On the whole this is a good solid western, with great acting pretty much all round, the 60's film style is evident in Ms Bardot's stunning appearance throughout, despite her supposedly being in the dusty back of beyondville, but this is nothing to get too upset about. I was pleased to see this come to the DVD market, and hope it will reach the wider audience it deserves. Enjoy

This is a good western. Sean Connery and Brigitte Bardot in a western directed by Edward Dmytryk. How could it be bad. In fact, Sean Connery is so good in this that I figure they must have banned him from doing more westerns. Now really, is this a great film? No. Not many westerns stand up to the quality of today's films. But I liked it and I plan to watch it again.

What is more retro-cool than watching a late 60's western starring
Brigette Bardot and Sean Connery?

A European Hunting party gets trapped out west and surrounded by
Indians. Connery attempts to move them to safety. This is an
intense serious drama that is eerily realistic at times.

You feel a sense of dread as this hunting party gets deeper and
deeper into trouble.

Bardot looks stunning, and brings her natural charisma to the film
Her romance with Connery is actually minimal. This is a drama with
action, not a love story.

There is a very intense stagecoach chase later in the film, with
great camera work. Somehow this film got lost in the shuffle, but
it's a great adaptation of a Louie L'amour novel.

The twin manias of 60s cinema -- the Euro-Spy craze inspired by James Bond and the "Spaghetti Western"-- seem to find their nexus here in the lone Western to star Sean Connery. It's based on a Louis L'Amour novel. I recall it strangely had a reputation as being dark and violent, ala those "revisionist Westerns" of the late 60s, so-called as their penchant for often sadistic violence or sensuality distinguished them from the tame TV fare that around that time dominated the airwaves and was killing off the genre.

The film revolves around a group of pampered and titled Europeans who go on a hunting party in the American west. They're indifferent to the treaties that restrict hunting on certain lands, and when Apache's attack, their only hope is the former Army tracker who warned them in the first place -- the mysterious Shalako played by Connery. (Their worries also include the mustache-twirling hunter they've hired whose beady eyes are on one of the ladies in the group as well as their pricey jewelery.)

You can tell that the filmmakers are conscious of transplanting Connery to the prior century. For the first half of the film he doesn't do much, but we still get lots of scenes of him on his horse to get the 60s audience comfortable with the idea that he's not 007. And this kind of works, because while these scenes have no significance to the story -- and do pad the running time -- you do marvel at how good he is on horseback. Even when he takes center-stage and his considerable presence dominates the action, he has a solid ensemble to work with. I think there were over half a dozen names above the title here. They're a wild cross-section of European and American (semi) stars, and they're all good. The stand-outs may be Stephen Boyd (always as good as he is underrated) as the villain, and Honor Blackman as the haughtiest lady in the party. (I think this has to be the only time Connery was reunited with a Bond girl.)

Unlike other European Westerns from the time, there seems to have been contemporaneous sound captured for this, so we don't get that standard dubbed soundtrack you get with most Spaghetti Westerns. Indeed, for Brigette Bardot as the female lead, I used the DVD subtitle option, as I couldn't make out much of her dialogue. She's the other main attraction here, besides Connery, and her blinding blondness is fetching, if not exactly heart-stopping. She has a couple of romantic scenes with Sean that are cheesy, but fun.

Like other films based on L'Amour novels, this one has a solid plot and characters. It's a little over-long, but it holds up -- thanks mainly to the seriousness that went into ther direction and performances for the non-action scenes. These set things up so that we're invested in what happens.

This isn't a groundbreaking Western from the period. But it is fun, with heroics, romance and solid action. Connery fans will be more than satisfied.

After escaping Bondage for the first time, Sean Connery utilized his box-office clout to star in a dreadful Louis L'Amour adaptation. "Shalako" (1968) managed to round up director Edward Dmytryk and a fine international cast for a two-hour exercise in Euro-Western boredom. Zero chemistry between Connery and Brigitte Bardot - both hopelessly lost in the Almeria landscape. Not even the presence of Woody Strode can redeem this turkey.

Brigitte Bardot went on to Hollywood but did not fare any better... 'Shalako,' a British-produced Western directed by Edward Dmytryk, teamed her with Sean Connery and Stephen Boyd (her partner in 'The Night Heaven Fell') in a smoldering relationship charged with tension and passion...

The idea is cute and unbelievable: A party of European aristocrats are on a hunting safari in New Mexico in the 1880's... They are traveling with full equipage including butlers, maids, fine linens and vintage wines...

When their safari is led upon an Apache reservation, the Indians become annoyed, and Countess Irina Lazaar (Brigitte Bardot) is attacked by a savage Apache... Shalako (Sean Connery), a scout for the U.S. Army, bravely attempts to save her and leads the aristocrats away from imminent annihilation... With the Indians determined to attack, each member of the hunting party faces the greatest peril of their lives...

Edward Dmytryk seems to have attempted to recapture the freshness and essence of the 'B.B.' that Roger Vadim had helped to shape... But the re-creation escapes him, despite the careful choice of Louis L'Amour's novel and the casting of international stars as Jack Hawkins ('Lawrence of Arabia'), Peter Van Eyck ('The Longest Day'), Honor Blackman ('Goldfinger'), Woody Strode ('Spartacus'), and Valerie French ('Jubal').

Brigette Bardot and Sean Connery Rule in this great classic western.It's a must see!!

Okay. Before we bought this I didn't know it existed. My wife did. Watching it on DVD my wife said that she was seeing parts of it that were totally new to her. When she saw it on TV it had many scenes cut (for time I imagine).
Speaking of time. It's NOT 113 minutes. More like 125 minutes.
Was Connery any good? Yes. His accent didn't bother me and he was the tough guy though not as proactive as some heroes. He used his instincts more than his gun. A plus in this film.
It was more fun though to see the length of Bardot's hair vary from scene to scene and be amazed at how heavy and PERFECT her eyemake-up always remained. If you've seen Pam Anderson lately in 'VIP' you'd think this was her mom or something. They are quite alike.
That said it's a pretty brutal western. There is a great deal of on-screen violence. Arrows fly. Flaming arrows hit more than wagons. The champagne isn't quite chilled to perfection either (you'll get this joke if you see the movie)

Honor Blackman's character has a tragic death scene (shocking for it's brutality and unexpected). It was one of the more unusual I have seen on screen (and in a western). This was Peter Van Eyck's last movie. He even looks ill for most of it.
Don't expect the calvary/U.S. Army to rescue anyone. They are talked about, but never appear. That can be a good thing.
The price is right and it's an obscure piece. You can show it to friends and say ....hey Sean Connery was in a Western!

Edward Dmytryk is one of my favorite directors. Thanks to the miracle of dvd technology I've been allowed to watch good prints of such classic dark crime dramas as `Crossfire' and `Murder, My Sweet' (a movie that some claim invented what is now known as `film noir.') I've seen maybe his most famous movie, `The Caine Mutiny,' as well as a handful of western gems, including `Broken Lance' and that great, underrated and too-often overlooked masterpiece `Warlock.'

Saturated as I was in such cinematic excellence I wasn't quite prepared for SHALAKO, a stagnant horse opera adapted from what must have been a better book by Louis L'Amour. I'm inclined to blame it on the sixties. Or Brigette Bardot, who is little more expressive than a pouting china doll and possessed of an accent thick enough to cut a week old baguette. Maybe Jupiter wasn't yet aligned with Mars.... To be fair, though, I think my hero Eddie D. has to held accountable for this yawner. SHALAKO is not the best work, or anywhere near the best, of any of the participants.

Sean Connery plays Shalako (the name rhymes with `calico') and Bardot plays Countess Irina Lazaar, a wealthy European who travels with other European royalty to hunt wild game in the great, unsettled southwest. Stephen Boyd plays a grungy galoot who leads the Euro royals - replete with white-gloved butlers, comely maids and formal attire - through the wilderness. That Boyd has led them deep into the heart of an Apache reservation we learn early on. The Apaches' less-than-enthusiastic reaction to this intrusion is established soon after. Although made in 1968, a year by which most movies knew better, the natives in SHALAKO are the whooping, hollering, blood thirsty savage kind, although a couple of Apaches wade out of the gore for speaking parts. African American actor Woody Strode plays Chato, a young chief with a gun in his mitts and a chip on his shoulder. Strode was a good actor who was in a ton of westerns, and casting him in the part diffuses, or at least confuses, accusations of casting non- Natives as American Indians. Still, Strode's chief is of the if-I-kill-Shalako-my-soul-will-walk-free ilk. In other words, after a quick, obligatory mumble about broken treaties the film hustles back to the reliable same old, same old.

Shalako spends most of the movie leading the Europeans away from Chief Woody and his blood thirsties, and, I think, falling in love with Countess Bardot. I think. Beyond the pout Bardot isn't terribly expressive, and her thick accent didn't help. She was either falling in love or asking for a limburger sandwich. I think they were falling in love. With his rugged charm and ironic wit Connery has always been more than capable of throwing a movie on his shoulders and carrying it to the winner's circle on his own. Unfortunately, here he plays it grim and laconic, more or less depriving this movie of any chance it might have had. SHALAKO isn't a terrible movie, but it's an uninspired and uninspiring one.