Comes a Horseman

Some westerns are carefully designed to emphasize one strong element that makes westerns what they are: the interface of man with the land. Its why we have so many farmers versus ranchers movies, I think. The folks behind this grind this into a potion, grabbing every element that they can. There's the story of course: about loyalty to the land regardless of the sacrifice. Even about the land as woman. We have Jane who understands this with her gait, her face, her body. And Robards who understands less and has a borderline silly plot line to carry that conflates sex with Jane and drilling on the land. She really is fearless, projected more then than now, because at that point she was the prevailing "sex kitten." She is the earth, the land. But much more profound is what Pakula has done with the horsework. The two leads, so far as one can tell, do their own riding. And what riding it is! I doubt if anyone has captured more complex movement of men and animals n terrain, often hilly. There are scenes that today would be done with animated cattle I suppose because they really do control these beasts. Actors! Except that when they do these things, they are doing it full out as selves — there is no barrier in these scenes. We see Jane and James no more acting than the horses are. It has to be one of the most dynamically honest cinematic capturing of human and terrain, surely that I have seen. If you have a chance, See this with "Straight Story." Farnsworth has the type of death in this film that I suppose he would want to be remembered for. Its noble. Its married to the place. Its just how he carried himself in that last movie where he knew he was dying. Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

Good and gripping modern western imbued with a deep nostalgia for a vanished world , set in the ranchlands of Montana 1945 , dealing with an old-fashioned cowboy on horseback , an Anzio war veteran resistant to the modern times , called Frank Buck (James Caan) . He is a free-spirited man out of sync with the contemporary age . Buck reluctantly attempts to help and joins forces with a single woman , Ella Connors , (Jane Fonda , who holds an uncanny resemblance to her father Henry as well as her brother Peter and her personality dominates the film) pitting wits against the world progress , oil-rich proprietaries and a nasty land baron (Jason Robards as her previous incestuous cousin) in an attempt to hold their dream of pioneering spirit and freedom . Buck and Connors are supported by a local old timer called Dodger (Richard Fansworth) . Meanwhile , a powerful banker (George Grizzard) attempts to take all the oil rich lands surrounding the wealthy owners . An the end takes place and exciting and moving climax when the main conflicts developing throughout the movie come alive . Romantic , compelling , elegiac and marvelously acted Western with an extreme feel by that time and period . Sorrowfull essay on civilized progress and exploitation of nature , including two main characters out of step with the modern world . The message of Dennis Clark's screenplay is often a little too heavily underlined buttressed by some rather obvious symbols . The film turns out to be rebellious as well as respectful with classic Western mythology , including ordinary set pieces : saloon fights , go riding , rodeo , close range , stampedes and final gun-play , adding some Fordian touches . Although the flick is more interested in the sensitive love story between Fonda and Caan than battles and western action . This ¨Comes a horseman¨ bears certain resemblance to ¨Lonely are the brave¨ by David Miller with Kirk Douglas , Walter Matthaw , Gena Rowlands ; both of them are misfit modern Westerns , share similar issues : ranchers' conflict , open range , confrontations and resistance to the modern ages . ¨Comes the horseman¨ results to be an elaborately designed Western with a slow-moving and persuasive treatment of Western familiar themes such as : brawls in a bar , cattle chase , war range , shootouts , and including a blazing conclusion brings this thrilling picture to a highly satisfactory final . Very good acting from a great cast . As Jane Fonda as the spinster banshee woman who fights off relentlessly cattle baron , she is mercilessly struggling to make it on her own to not have to sell out her lands . James Caan is really convincing as the cowboy who feels empathy and finally love for Fonda . Both of whom are really faced off a villain owner , masterfully played by Jason Robards as a cattle baron attempting to gobble up all Montana land , whose affair with her as a teenager has marked to her father . And special mention for Richard Farnsworth as a Walter Brennan-style old times who steals the show as the veteran who wants to die with boots on . Pakula directs with aplomb and eloquent feeling for landscapes , making magnificent use of outdoors and adding a wonderful cinematography by Gordon Willis who gives a visually superb lighting . Furthermore , it displays a rousing and thrilling musical score by Michael Small . This intriguing picture was compellingly directed by Alan J. Pacula , though being slowly and deliberately realized . Pacula made a lot of nice films , such as : All the president's men , Sophie's choice , The Parallax view , Starting over , Presumed innocent , Pelican brief , The devil's own and this one : Comes a horseman .

It was Easter weekend and I was typing the final draft in Allan's office as he and Dennis were revising. It was an excellent script and, I thought, very Steinbeckian. When I saw the movie I was very disappointed. The ending you saw was not the ending of the script I typed. The original ending was perfect; for me the ending in the release was a cop out. I heard later through the grapevine that the studio didn't like the original ending and said it had to be changed. Whether this is true or not, I'm not sure, but the ending was, indeed, changed. Had the original script been filmed, it would have been a much better movie.

source: Comes a Horseman

Trailer—Comes a Horseman

Comes a Horseman

Director Alan J. Pakula and cinematographer Gordon Willis, masters at capturing urban paranoia, give this post-WWII western a lachrymose solemnity; while both men may have been quite taken with the western clichés that litter Dennis Lynton Clark's screenplay, they keep the mood so sorrowful that the characters never quite emerge. Indeed, Clark's script seems to begin after the central drama has already been played out. Land baron Jason Robards, embittered by the death of his son and holding a decades-long grudge against rancher Jane Fonda, is in unhappy cahoots with oil drillers, and all want Fonda off her land so they can start getting rich. The picture is sleepy-slow and only half-realized, with Pakula's lofty ambitions clashing with Clark's writing, which is occasionally crass. Some good scenes (including Fonda and James Caan dancin' the Texas Star), pretty locales and a decent score from Michael Small can't really make film worthwhile. ** from ****

Jason Robards plays such a slimeball character in this that you know the ending from about the fourth minute. Nevertheless, it's a good story, with lots of hidden secrets to reveal. Caan plays a believable laid-back love interest for tough, gutsy Jane Fonda. The best thing is the photography, however-- in particular the dance scene, in which the camera follows Fonda and Caan as they move through a crowded outdoor dance floor without every losing either focus or the stars. Breathtaking. Some great mountains somewhere in Wyoming come close to stealing the show.

It's the 40's. Jacob W. Ewing (Jason Robards) is a powerful rancher with help from his oil baron friends, his bank friends, and his deadly henchmen. He had pressured many of his poorer neighbors to sell to him. Ella Connors (Jane Fonda) is alone, a single woman, who owns a struggling cattle ranch. She gets help from cowboy Frank Athearn (James Caan) who survived an attack. This is trying to be a new western epic. It has the vast and quiet landscape. It's a little too quiet which keeps the tension at a low boil. The story isn't that complicated. It's an artistic homage to the old genre. If it's this quiet, the story should be more interesting and different. There is some good cattle action but this is far from an action movie. It's a slow 2 hour western romance.