Khartoum: Charlton Heston and Laurence Olivier battle it out in this visually stunning war epic that has great contemporary relevance

Khartoum(1966), directed by Basil Dearden, and starring Charlton Heston and Laurence Olivier, is the last of the Cinerama roadshow epics of the 1960s. The film has Heston playing British hero, Charles 'Chinese' Gordon, who tries to save the city of Khartoum from the invading armies of Olivier's Mahdi. Western imperialism Vs Islamic fundamentalism, that's the … Continue reading Khartoum: Charlton Heston and Laurence Olivier battle it out in this visually stunning war epic that has great contemporary relevance →

The Undefeated: John Wayne and Rock Hudson teamed up for this epic, civil-war era, south-of-the-border Western

The Undefeated(1969), directed by Andrew V. McLaglen and starring John Wayne and Rock Hudson in lead roles, is a lavishly mounted, epic Western set during the final days of the American civil war. Loosely based on Confederate States Army General Joseph Orville Shelby's escape to Mexico - with approximately 1,000 of his remaining troops (men later immortalized as "the undefeated" … Continue reading The Undefeated: John Wayne and Rock Hudson teamed up for this epic, civil-war era, south-of-the-border Western →

Seraphim Falls: Liam Neeson obsessively pursues Pierce Brosnan in this austere & atmospheric post-civil war Western

Seraphim Falls(2006), directed by David Von Ancken, is a gritty Western set in the desolate, post-civil war American landscape where an Ex-confederate officer, played by Liam Neeson, driven by vengeance is hunting for a Union soldier played by Pierce Brosnan. Before his Action-film-star making performance in 2008's Taken: where he played Bryan Mills, a former CIA operative … Continue reading Seraphim Falls: Liam Neeson obsessively pursues Pierce Brosnan in this austere & atmospheric post-civil war Western →

Never Say Never Again: Sean Connery returned as James Bond for the last time in this bizarre remake of ‘Thunderball’

Never Say Never Again(1983), directed by Irvin Kershner, is a remake of the fourth James Bond film, Thunderball(1965). The film, produced by Jack Schwartzman (and not by Albert Broccoli's Eon productions) saw Sean Connery returning to his career-making role after a hiatus of more than a decade. "Never Say Never Again" is one of those … Continue reading Never Say Never Again: Sean Connery returned as James Bond for the last time in this bizarre remake of ‘Thunderball’ →

Little Big Man: Dustin Hoffman entered ‘The Guinness Book of World Records’ with his epic portrayal of the titular misfit in Arthur Penn’s oddball Western Tragicomedy

Little Big Man(1970) is a revisionist Western directed by Arthur Penn from Thomas Berger's satirical novel. The film stars Dustin Hoffman as Jack Crabb, a white man raised by Native Indian Tribes, and it tells the tale of the conquest of the American West from the point of view of the Native Americans. Dustin Hoffman … Continue reading Little Big Man: Dustin Hoffman entered ‘The Guinness Book of World Records’ with his epic portrayal of the titular misfit in Arthur Penn’s oddball Western Tragicomedy →

Patton: George C. Scott is magnificent as the brilliant and mercurial WWII General in this splendid biographical war epic

Patton(1970) is a multiple Oscar winning war-biopic directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and co-written by Francis Ford Coppola. The film has George C. Scott essaying the brilliant and mercurial General George S. Patton during WWII, starting with the general's exploits in North Africa and ending with the fall of the Third Reich and the liberation … Continue reading Patton: George C. Scott is magnificent as the brilliant and mercurial WWII General in this splendid biographical war epic →

Posse: Bruce Dern gives one of his career-best performances in this Kirk Douglas directed cynical, Watergate-era Western

Posse(1975) is a typical 1970s anti-Western produced and directed by Kirk Douglas. This is Douglas' second (and final) directorial venture, and he also plays the lead protagonist alongside Bruce Dern, Bo Hopkins and James Stacy. Though Kirk Douglas was one of the first stars from Hollywood's golden era to form his own production company, he … Continue reading Posse: Bruce Dern gives one of his career-best performances in this Kirk Douglas directed cynical, Watergate-era Western →

In the Line of Fire: Clint Eastwood is determined to save the American President from John Malkovich’s assassin in this terrific political-action thriller

In the Line of Fire(1993), directed by Wolfgang Petersen and starring Clint Eastwood and John Malkovich, is a terrific political action thriller inspired from 'The Day of the Jackal'. Eastwood plays the U.S. Secret Service agent who tries to stop Malkovich's killer from assassinating the U.S. president. "I thought Eastwood was terrific. . . . … Continue reading In the Line of Fire: Clint Eastwood is determined to save the American President from John Malkovich’s assassin in this terrific political-action thriller →

The Alamo: John Wayne produced, directed, and starred in this stirring epic War-Western

The Alamo(1960), based on the 'Battle of Alamo' that took place in the year 1836, is an epic historical-war Western produced and Directed by John Wayne. This was Wayne's directorial debut, and he also played the role of Davy Crockett in the film alongside an ensemble cast that comprised of Richard Widmark and Laurence Harvey. … Continue reading The Alamo: John Wayne produced, directed, and starred in this stirring epic War-Western →

The Enforcer: The very entertaining third ‘Dirty Harry’ film has lots of humor, exciting action sequences and a female partner for Clint Eastwood’s supercop

The Enforcer(1976), the third film in the 'Dirty Harry' series, is directed by James Fargo. The film pairs Clint Eastwood with Tyne Daly, and it contains a lot more humor along with all the elements that made the first two films great entertainment. After incurring the wrath of his superiors for the nth time - … Continue reading The Enforcer: The very entertaining third ‘Dirty Harry’ film has lots of humor, exciting action sequences and a female partner for Clint Eastwood’s supercop →

Django Unchained: Quentin Tarantino’s postmodern ‘Antebellum’ Western is too self-indulgent, but still very entertaining

Django Unchained(2012), Quentin Tarantino's 7th film as a director, is a homage to spaghetti-Westerns, Blaxploitation flicks and Wagner's opera. The film, starring Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson and Leonardo DiCaprio, is a revenge-Western set in the Antebellum South. “We participated in a hero’s journey — the hero here being Quentin,...And you scale the … Continue reading Django Unchained: Quentin Tarantino’s postmodern ‘Antebellum’ Western is too self-indulgent, but still very entertaining →

Inglourious Basterds: In Quentin Tarantino’s glorious homage to WWII ‘Men on a Mission’ movies, words & films are more powerful than bullets & grenades

Inglourious Basterds(2009) is Quentin Tarantino's sixth feature film as a director. The film, starring Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Eli Roth and Diane Kruger, is an idiosyncratic mashup of War films and Spaghetti-Westerns, and presents an alternate history of WWII and the assassination of Hitler. If my initiation into the events of WWII was through Quentin … Continue reading Inglourious Basterds: In Quentin Tarantino’s glorious homage to WWII ‘Men on a Mission’ movies, words & films are more powerful than bullets & grenades →

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: The final collaboration between Clint Eastwood and Sergio Leone resulted in one of the greatest and most entertaining Westerns of all time

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is the third and final film in the 'Man with no Name' trilogy from the actor-director team of Clint Eastwood and Sergio Leone. This rip-roaring Spaghetti Western, co-starring Lee Van Cleef and Eli Walach, is not just one of the greatest Westerns, but one of the greatest films … Continue reading The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: The final collaboration between Clint Eastwood and Sergio Leone resulted in one of the greatest and most entertaining Westerns of all time →

Cross of Iron: Sam Peckinpah’s gritty and unflinching World War II epic is one of the greatest anti-war films ever made

Cross of Iron (1977), starring James Coburn, James Mason and Maximillian Schell in lead roles, is Sam Peckinpah's bleak, pessimistic WWII epic about a band of retreating German soldiers on the Russian frontier. It's hard to believe that director, 'Bloody' Sam Peckinpah made just one 'War' film in his career. The film was "Cross of … Continue reading Cross of Iron: Sam Peckinpah’s gritty and unflinching World War II epic is one of the greatest anti-war films ever made →

3:10 to Yuma: Russell Crowe and Christian Bale add strength and depth to this gritty and gripping adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s Western thriller

3:10 to Yuma (2007) is the second film adaptation of Elmore Leonard's eponymous short story. This tense, psychological Western thriller is directed by James Mangold and stars Russell Crowe and Christian Bale in lead roles. Eminent writer Elmore Leonard has a rather strange relationship with Hollywood. On one hand, more than 25 of his works … Continue reading 3:10 to Yuma: Russell Crowe and Christian Bale add strength and depth to this gritty and gripping adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s Western thriller →

Cry Macho: Clint Eastwood’s first Western since ‘Unforgiven’ is funny, poignant and earnest, but ultimately a minor entry in the icon’s illustrious film cannon

Cry Macho (2021) is legendary actor\director Clint Eastwood's first Western since the Oscar Winning classic Unforgiven(1992). Apart from playing the lead role, the 91-year old Clint produced and directed this film from a script that has been kicking around Hollywood for almost 50 years. This macho thing is overrated. Just people trying to show that … Continue reading Cry Macho: Clint Eastwood’s first Western since ‘Unforgiven’ is funny, poignant and earnest, but ultimately a minor entry in the icon’s illustrious film cannon →

Firefox: Clint Eastwood attempted something different as an actor and director with this ‘James Bond’ meets ‘Star Wars’ hybrid of Sci-fi & Cold-war espionage thriller

Firefox (1982) is a cold-war techno thriller directed by Clint Eastwood, who also stars in the film. The film is adapted from a novel by Craig Thomas, and it's one of the costliest films Eastwood has ever attempted in his career. Long before it was an open-source browser developed by the Mozilla Corporation, "Firefox" was … Continue reading Firefox: Clint Eastwood attempted something different as an actor and director with this ‘James Bond’ meets ‘Star Wars’ hybrid of Sci-fi & Cold-war espionage thriller →

True Grit(2010): Jeff Bridges brilliantly reprises John Wayne’s Oscar winning role in Coen Brothers’ fantastic reimagining of the classic 1969 Western

True Grit (2010) is the second screen adaptation of Charles Portis' eponymous novel. This time the film is scripted & directed by Joel & Ethan Coen, and stars Jeff Bridges as the tough frontier lawman, Rooster Cogburn- a role immortalized by the great John Wayne in the 1969 adaptation. The Coen brothers- Joel & Ethan- … Continue reading True Grit(2010): Jeff Bridges brilliantly reprises John Wayne’s Oscar winning role in Coen Brothers’ fantastic reimagining of the classic 1969 Western →

Seven Men from Now: Lee Marvin steals the show in Bud Boetticher’s first and probably finest Western with Randolph Scott

Seven Men from Now (1956) is the first of the seven collaborations between Director Bud Boetticher and star Randolph Scott. This terrific Western, which set the template for the rest of the films in the series, features a scene-stealing performance by then up & coming Lee Marvin. "A man oughta be able to take care … Continue reading Seven Men from Now: Lee Marvin steals the show in Bud Boetticher’s first and probably finest Western with Randolph Scott →

French Connection II: Gene Hackman brilliantly reprises ‘Popeye’ Doyle in this terrific sequel that takes the iconic character in an interesting direction

French Connection II(1975) has Gene Hackman reprising the role of Popeye Doyle from the Oscar winning 1971 prequel, The French Connection. This film, directed by the great action film maestro, John Frankenheimer, is a more polished and melodramatic film which is not as viscerally powerful as the original, but expands on that film in interesting … Continue reading French Connection II: Gene Hackman brilliantly reprises ‘Popeye’ Doyle in this terrific sequel that takes the iconic character in an interesting direction →