Forty Guns

The DVD came in perfect condition and in a speedy manner! Thank you everyone who participated in this transaction for me!

The DVD version I purchased has the widescreen and full screen version on both sides of the disc. I don't like this on a disc because experience tells me that these discs with A and B sides get damaged very often. Although not a Blu-ray, the image is quite clear.The western is interesting. It has a tough woman played by Barbara Stanwyck and the Bonnel brothers who come to Tombstone to make an arrest on behalf of the federal government. Jessica Drummond, played by Stanwyck seems to control the town and she's supported by forty guns, including a crazy young brother. There is a lot of atmosphere accentuated by a beautiful cinematography, some dramatic gun fighting, a romance between tough guy and tough gal highlighted by a sudden tornado, and a pair of beautiful songs that add to the plot's development. At the least, the film did not bore me. It just seemed that the plot had a few holes here and there. One moment, Jessica is all powerful and the next moment, she is in a fragile position. The romance between Jessica and Griff was a strange one. Wonder how they got together at the end and how Jessica gave up everything so easy to go off with Griff. However, Fuller deserves good credit to attempt to deliver an interesting western film.

If you're a Stanwyck fan, "Forty Guns" should be right alongside "The Strange Love of Martha Ivers" in your DVD collection. I saw it decades ago at an independent theatre specializing in Hollywood classic movies. I never forgot how much it impressed me, with its stark cinematography, complex storyline, and sheer intensity. The DVD is well-made and the wide-screen format is amazing, beautifully utilized by Sam Fuller.Others have given a full synopsis of this film so there's no need for me to add to it.Prior to seeing this film I was only familiar with Barry Sullivan as the star of the old TV western, "The Tall Man", where Sullivan played Pat Garrett opposite Clu Gulager as Billy the Kid. Sullivan's such a low-key actor, he really comes across much better on TV than on the big screen - but he plays very well against Stanwyck's patented 'tough girl' character.Stanwyck and Sullivan had partnered in two previous movies: the 1953 film noir "Jeopardy" and the Western "The Maverick Queen" by director Joseph Kane in 1956. If you have any doubts about how masterfully director Sam Fuller handled "Forty Guns", you have only to watch "The Maverick Queen", which is so much less interesting a movie with the same basic characters.

I’m very pleased with my purchase. Awesome movie!

Outstanding performance by all the cast,especially for Ms Barbara Stanwyck,as she was 49 years young in this movie and did her own stunt work! Even in B/W this movie had good direction by Mr Samuel Fuller,good shots,angles and Mr Fuller,later on became a director to follow and learn from,which to me personally is the highest honor any other director can give to another...Great 1950's Western genre flick with a good story,enough action to keep you interested and not bored,for the '50's good camera work also. I highly recommend to any Barbara Stanwcyk fan and also a 50's Western fan too.

Love this movie Stanwyck and Barry Sullivan are wonderful in this movie. Love Standwyck's character. She is so strong and wonderful on that white stallion. Love story between a lawman and the lady who runs Cochese county. Stanwyck's brother is always in trouble for messing with the girls, and just being a spoiled brat. Stanwyck falls in love with Grif, but her weakeness is her brother who she is always bailing out of trouble. Wonderful movie. Standwyck's horseback riding skills are beautiful with the white stallion.

This is deffinitely a different Western. The plot is convulted to say the least and the film is wraught with double entendra's and people getting shot at the end of nearly every scene. Not to mention it was an early cinemascope picture, which Fuller makes great use of in his compositions. Fuller was always so underated. If you love classic 50's westerns and you're open minded it's worth your time.

Sam Fuller directs- Barbara Stanwyck acts - what else can you say!

Whilst flawed and in parts dated (a singing cowboy makes several appearances) this is a unique, surprising and captivating western. A quite breathtaking opening scene is an indicator that we are in the hands of director who uses his craftsmanship to unusual effect. The camera work is at times stunning for a film of this time. Long tracking shots of huge open vistas and big close ups of the main characters which must have influenced Sergio Leone.There are several unusual aspects to this film which make it feel different to most other westerns. The style is a combination of a traditional western (with very authentic looking locations) with Film Noir; there are lots of low and high angle shots and Barbara Stanwyck is the ultimate femme fatale The dialogue has moments of sexual innuendo that are very risque for the time. Special effects are used in a quite remarkable scene that takes place during a tornado. And the violence is sudden and brutal, foreshadowing later westerns.This is a must-see film for fans of westerns, film noir, Samuel Fuller and quality cinema.

A film by maverick director Samuel Fuller is always welcomed and this is no exception, action bursting forth with the opening credits. Here Jessica Drummond (Barbara Stanwyck) races across the landscape, leading her 40 gunmen and raising a dust storm in the face of Griff Bonnell (Barry Sullivan) and his two brothers. He’s an ex-gunfighter turned lawman coming into Tombstone, a town controlled by Drummond, to collect a prisoner. Confrontation is inevitable just as – later – passion arouses between the two in the height of a realistically staged tornado.“Forty Guns” draws has fine performances from its leading actors: Sullivan remains resolute throughout, determined to avoid gunplay until he has no choice, and Stanwyck weakening and gradually accepting changes just as the Old West is changing. Making good use of widescreen in both the open spaces and town sequences, it’s a violent film, both by deed and conversation, the latter frequently highlighted by double entendres and sexual innuendos. Although it appears writer/producer/director Fuller overcame any censor problems, he had to bow down to studio (20th Century Fox) intervention by altering the film's original ending. Staggering on first sight, it becomes even more rewarding with further viewings.

First, yes, this edition of "Forty Guns" is in widescreen, but there's something odd about widescreen in Black and White, and it's not really a format Fuller took to until the brilliant "The Big Red One"  The Big Red One - The Reconstruction (2 Disc Special Edition) [DVD] [1980 ].Second, Fuller was a victim of regime change at the studio, and had a happy ending forced on him at the end. It is very unsatisfactory, and there were no Director's Cuts in those days.Stanwyck is the nominal star, but it has to be said that she is not the main character and her ballsiness is comparatively subdued. The main character is Griff (Barry Sullivan), who is trying to give up the gunman's life, but placed in a situation where he has to shoot, and shoot his love as well. This is classic Fuller territory, direct from his ambivalence about his WW2 experiences. However, the final shootout feels rushed, and not nearly as operatic as Mr F was capable of on a good day.There are three brilliant sequences which are pure Fuller. The trap for Griff set up by the corrupt sheriff, all agonised close-ups and weird angles; a furious tornado which looks pretty damn real and has 50-year-old Stanwyck doing her own stunt as her horse bolts with her foot caught in the stirrup; and a romance scene between brother Chico and Rio, the local gunsmith. A woman gunsmith? Pinned down the sights of a shotgun? ("I've never kissed a gunsmith before.." - "Any recoil?") Only in Fuller....One thing which distinguishes the movie is its up-front sexuality and relentless innuendo. "Can I touch it?" says cattle queen Babs. "It might go off in your face.." replies Griff/Barry. Are they talking about his gun? In case you're in any doubt, the opening shot has Stanwyck sweeping past with her Forty Guns in a stampede, and shortly afterwards, if you're still in doubt, there's a strange dinner scene in which all forty men sit around a table with Babs, all in formal dress, and all silent as a harem.The other Fuller touch is the fact that the two lawmen in the movie are so unconventional. The first, Chisum, is going blind and trying to get out of town when he is gunned down; the second (Dean Jagger) is infatuated with Stanwyck and hangs himself.While we're on dodgy sexuality, the villain is a pretty-boy James Dean type gone to the bad. Fuller was tough on teenagers, especially teenagers with pretentions.Where he's let down is having three brothers to follow in the story, which slows it down a lot (should have cut one), and in being saddled with two truly awful cowboy ballads which are sung onscreen. These two factors make a modest 78 minutes seem like 110. The Big Red One - The Reconstruction (2 Disc Special Edition) [DVD] [1980

The media could not be loaded.  Few directors use wide-screen and tracking shots like Sam Fuller. That opening sequence alone is legendary. Fuller's movie has all the beauty of a great western as well as a degree of psychological depth unusual even in the late fifties. The characters are rich and layered and wonderful to see interact. The story is great and has several stand out sequences of suspense.Samuel Fuller proves himself to be the master of genre films in this highly underrated western.

The pure, unrelenting energy of Fuller's filmmaking is quite something. He grabs your attention from the very first shot and never lets go till the final credits roll. Strange, powerful and exciting, this movie looks and sounds quite terrific on the new Eureka Blu-ray. Highly recommended viewing.