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Man of the West (1958)
Director: Anthony Mann
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
A superb Western, exemplifying Mann's capacity for integrating his interest in spectacle with a resonant narrative fully deserving the adjective 'classic', in which Gary Cooper's ex-outlaw is under constant, ranting pressure from Cobb's gang-leader father-figure to return to the fold. The odyssey of Cooper (playing the emblematically named Link Jones) from pasture to desert to ghost town and back, and from settled present to tormented past and back, bridges the traditions of classical tragedy and classic Hollywood. Mann's synthesis of archetypal characters and generic iconography is seamless; and he manages to inscribe landscape, anxious voyeurism and fratricide within his narrative resolution. Textbook cinema, maybe, but Mann's work will remain rich for discovery and celebration.Author: PT
User reviews of this film
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- jack said...
- Posted on Apr 20 2011 14:17 Although it is great to see Gary Cooper and Lee J. Cobb, this film is as corny, outdated, and stilted as they come. The landscapes, the sets, and, perhaps, the allegory, are all well done, but the dialogue is unworthy of such excellent actors.
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Cast & crew
Director: Anthony Mann
Producer: Walter Mirisch
Cast: Gary Cooper, Julie London, Lee J Cobb, Arthur O'Connell, Jack Lord, John Dehner, Royal Dano, Robert Wilke full cast
Genre(s): Westerns
Duration: 100 mins
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