The Big Country [Blu-ray]

One of the greatest Western epics ever made, The Big Country boasts one of Gregory Peck's finest performances playing an Eastern sea captain who trades in his sea legs to travel West and marry the daughter of a rich and powerful rancher. But once he arrives in the West, he becomes embroiled in a war over access to the waters of the Big Muddy, the River feeding water to this part of the country, inadvertently stepping into an open war between his father in law to be (played excellently by Ralph Bellamy) and Bellamy's long time sworn enemy, played magnificently in a well deserved Oscar winning performance by Burl Ives. Ives is incredible in this scene stealing role which is like nothing else he's ever done or that I had ever before imagined him capable of. I had no idea Ives had this level of acting chops and his performance was so powerful that it shocked and amazed me. This was clearly the performance of his career--and oh my God what a performance it was!And Chuck Conners, as his ruthless, no account son, hands in the best performance of his own career as well, playing a despicably unforgettable bad guy.Jean Simmons is also memorable playing the best friend of Peck's wife to be who is sought after by the ruthless Conners, a man who simply won't take no for an answer, even though Simmons is utterly disgusted by him.And the movie even boasts a memorable performance from Charlton Heston too.The film follows the slow burning model, building slowly, adding one single piece at a time, building everything bit by bit until it all comes together and suddenly all hell breaks loose. Although the story may appear at first to meander a little untill you reach the climax it all leads to, once that climax begins, you see very clearly that the film was merely setting up all the dominos in perfect order to have them fall all at once in the last 40 minutes, creating a truly riveting and exciting climax so intense and that you won't be able to look away for a moment. You will be absolutely glued to your screen throughout the entire incredible climax of this powerful film.With an outstanding script, phenomenal acting, absolutely magnificent photography, and with top flight directing by the great William Wyler, this is a film that is not to be missed!Also nominated for an Oscar for the music, this masterpiece of a film treats us to one of the most memorable Western film scores of all time (The Big Country and The Magnificent Seven tie one another in this regard).This is an absolutely stellar, truly unforgettable Western classic masterpiece that MUST be seen by any real fan of the Western genre.If you love Westerns and haven't seen it yet, get this disc without hesitation. I promise that you won't be sorry!It would be impossible for me to recommend this movie any more highly than I already do! It's a masterpiece, a great classic film that's as good as classic films ever get! A truly superior Western.

THE BIG COUNTRY is what the big screen was created for, and THE BIG COUNTRY was certainly created for the big screen. Wide open spaces in the American west never looked so vast and intimidating, so welcoming and foreboding.Some have argued that the plot is too thin for such a lengthy running time. When I first saw it as a youth on the screen of my father's small-town theatre, it seemed just like another western -- if longer than most. It seemed to lack the punch of a character-driven, action-filled western like WARLOCK or the excitement of THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN -- still two of my all-time favorite westerns. Viewing it on DVD as an adult, I have changed my mind. I have since come to appreciate the skills of quintessential director William Wyler, the master of the mise-en-scene (or the arrangement of people and objects on the screen). Orson Welles may have originated the creative use of deep focus photography, but Wyler has utilized it to the point of perfection in THE BIG COUNTRY.The repetition of the line "it's a big country" became a humorous point for a friend of mine from graduate school and I to have fun with, but this is appropriate for the wide-screen vistas and almost leisurely pace of this now-classic motion picture. Wyler breaks a few stereotypes by allowing the characters in some of the more important action sequences to be photographed from a distance -- the fist fight between Peck and Heston, and the final shootout between Ives and Bickford. Human beings are dwarfed by the landscape, often seen as no more than insects -- a decision purposely made by Wyler and his cinematographer to emphasize their petty hatreds and feuds. Particularly stirring is the sequence early in the film where the Terrill men, led by the Major (Bickford), gallop through the bleached-white canyon to reach the modest ranch of the Hannassey family. The music score accompanying this ride is stirring and grandiose. One might wonder, in fact, what this film would be like without this magnificent soundtrack. From the opening title sequence to the wordless finale, it is orchestral perfection -- possibly one of the greatest motion picture scores ever.Although William Wyler's later production BED-HUR won scores of awards, THE BIG COUNTRY is, in my view, a greater film. Burl Ives deserved the Oscar for his role as the patriarch of a clan of cattlemen who are down-scale from their opponents -- the Terrills -- an actor who can hold our attention by merely looking out the window away from the camera. Despite his lower-class environment and his obvious hatred for Terrill (Bickford), he is still a man of justice and fair-play. In his struggle against the wealthy Major, he is the antagonist with whom we would be more likely to sympathize. His own son Buck (Chuck Connors) with a few two many rough edges is clearly a disappointment to him; he would prefer that Buck acquire a few of the gentlemanly attributes possessed by the eastern newcomer Jim McKay (Gregory Peck). The action he takes when he is forced to choose honor over love for his son might strain credibility for some viewers, but Ives makes his choice believable and touching.Gregory Peck and Jean Simmons as the top-lined of the four leads are, at times, hard to swallow. Both are so virtuous as to be almost nauseating. Simmons is as beautiful as she was earlier in THE EGYPTIAN and later in SPARTACUS; she is a schoolteacher never seen near a schoolroom who had can afford a house to herself. Salaries in those small towns must have been more generous than they are for teachers today. All well-drawn characters are shown to have a dark or shadowy side, as we all have as human beings, but these two characters lack even a trace of a shadow. A character who has a shadow side but is able to overcome it in the end in order to emerge triumphant is not only more believable but compelling and enjoyable in a dramatic sense.Peck appears as an eastern gentleman whose sense of honor and hatred of violence remains steadfast throughout. Only twice does he resort to fisticuffs -- once against Heston and later against Connors. In both cases, he appears to be over-matched physically. He is the one-dimensional purveyor of morality and justice -- the squeaky clean goodie-two-shoes who might be more believable if he were wearing a parson's grab. Peck (that "skinny liberal" as John Wayne once called him) has portrayed these morally upright characters before and since, mostly notably as a lawman in MacKENNA'S GOLD. The way he keeps dodging the physical affections of the amorous Native American lass (Julie Newmar) stretches credibility beyond the breaking point. In DUEL IN THE SUN, Peck plays a spoiled outlaw, again squaring off against Charles Bickford. In that film, however, the roles are reversed: Bickford is the older decent character who falls in love with Peck's backstreet half-breed mistress, Jennifer Jones -- unfortunately for him as Peck guns him down mercilessly.Heston, not a great actor, is more believable as a character who changes his perspective regarding violence. He decides that he has fought the Major's battles long enough -- even though he relents at the last minute and is wounded in a canyon battle for his efforts. Carroll Baker is also more believable than the Simmons character as a spoiled daddy's girl with an Electra complex. The ending of the film leaves a few questions in our minds, trying to figure out what might happen beyond the classical happy ending.In China, I often show films about American history when I am explaining the development of the English language. I have, for example, shown NEW WORLD, REVOLUTION, HOW THE WEST WAS WON, and others. I am planning on showing such films as THE LAST FRONTIER as believable views of the west as it was. THE BIG COUNTRY, one of the great westerns like SHANE and THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, would also be an appropriate choice to show the wide vistas of the American west and the concerns of those humans who are often, as shown in THE BIG COUNTRY, dwarfed by the landscape.

This has long been one of my favourite films. I had a copy for many years which unfortunately went AWOL so I have just re-bought it. How I love it. For me it is one of the ultimate epics. The music starts just before the opening credits and sweeps through the whole film. Wonderful wide open country with the sun always shining. But nobody sweats and although dust clouds are raised everything is always spotlessly clean. A large cast of experienced actors. Young Gregory Peck extremely handsome, and young Charlton Heston sultry and menacing. Burl Ives gives a commanding performance. The first time we see him a back view head and shoulders shot against the colourful ball scene at his rival's house. It is a classic story of the hatred of two old men: young love, property and power in the wild west. It has been around for a long time so I am sure everyone who wants to see it has seen it but here are a few lines from me, for what they are worth. Oh yes and of course the lovers ride off together in the end, not into the sunset but to a viewpoint overlooking the panorama of the amazing rolling countryside, and presumably live happily ever after.

Retired sea Captain James McKay (Gregory Peck) arrives in the sprawling land of the West to marry fiancée Patricia Terrill (Carroll Baker). With an amiable, almost pacifistic approach to life, McKay confounds the ranchers he is now mixing with. Particularly the Terrill ranch foreman Steve Leech (Charlton Heston) who takes an immediate dislike to him. Not only that but it seems that James has landed right in the middle of a family rivalry between the Terrill's and the Hannassey's: just as it's about to fully ignite into war.Directed by William Wyler (Ben-Hur/Mrs. Miniver), The Big Country is adapted from a short story called Ambush at Blanco Canyon that was written by Donald Hamilton. Beautifully photographed by Franz Planer on location at the Red Rock Canyon in Mojave, California and at the three-thousand acre Drais ranch in Stockton, the film is epic in many ways. Tho the story, with its twin themes of violence begets violence and you don't have to act tough to be tough, is a thin one, it's given such an operatic make over by Wyler it's not hard to be swept away by it all. Helped enormously by the afore mentioned Planer, music composer Jerome Moross and an impressive and on form cast (Heston in superb tough guy mode and Burl Ives delivering a Oscar winning performance as head Hannassey patriarch Rufus).Overall, The Big Country sees a small story made big as it's told in an astutely classic style. With memorable acting, gorgeous scenery, big music and notable moments of action {a fist fight between Peck & Heston alone is epic and apparently took three days to get right} it's a must see for the Western enthusiast. 8/10

I honestly thought I wouldn't enjoy this and was roped in to watch it during family time. But I do love Gregory Peck and as usual he didn't let me down. The casting is great full stop, the tale is heart-warming and gripping. The soundtrack is amazing, works so well and I'd listen to it on its own. Perfect film for a Sunday afternoon with the family.

The stagecoach rolls into town, out steps an immaculately dressed tricenarian gentleman, complete with bowler hat: the 'dude'. An ex ship's captain who has navigated the oceans of the world. He is here to marry the daughter of a wealthy ranch owner. On the way to the ranch, the dude gets a 'friendly' duffing up from the local trash: a name bestowed upon them by the girl's father, whom has been feuding with their patriarch for decades...............The film has a strong cast, with an atmospheric Western sound track. The film is almost three hours long and perhaps a little drawn out in places. Nevertheless, it is an enthralling story and deserves my 5 stars.

Terrific package by Kino Lorber for a Terrific film. If you like this film, this is the version to import as it has Excellent picture and sound quality along with great extras. Much better than the Region B (U.K. version).