Honestly don't have a lot to say about this one. It's still early in Peckinpahs career and that's very apparent as this feel much more as an average 60s western than a Peckinpah western. It's fine

Honestly don't have a lot to say about this one. It's still early in Peckinpahs career and that's very apparent as this feel much more as an average 60s western than a Peckinpah western. It's fine

If it’s not perhaps still a little more mundane than whatever impression I’ve had of his style beforehand, I can definitely see the emerging pieces of Sam Peckinpah as I’ve always understood him to be in Ride the High Country. Was pretty swept up with it from the moment those gorgeous Cinescope frames of the mountains and hills basked over my screen backdropped by a rather stirring main theme for the opening credits. To be fairly forthcoming: I like my Westerns to either be staunch and gritty as hell or ultra romantic and dripping with sentiment. This one tries its hand at both and I’m not sure it really succeeds in walking the fine line between the two. It goes down a pretty dark road at one point but never really reaches down to such depths again and I was a left a little off kilter as a result. Our main lady also gives me a little bit of Kim Darby as Mattie Ross energy, and that’s one of my least favorite performances of all time. Not saying it’s any indicator of Marietta Hartley’s actually ability, but any scent of Kim Darbying really makes me wince. All the same, though: very exciting to see the emergence of Bloody Sam’s actual personality starting to seep into the films he’s making. As opposed to his debut, which I did like enough, where it felt like he was really left to make something out of John Wayne and Batjac’s scraps. It’s my first exposure to Randolph Scott, a titan of the cinematic cowboys, and now I’m itching more than I already was to get ahold of Criterion's box set devoted to his films with Budd Boetticher. He’s instantly the most electric player on the screen and he’s got an excellent dynamic with Joel McRea as this pair of grizzled and tired old gunslingers reaching the back end of the hill. They’ve got the kind of relationship that I’d love to read a dozen cheap tie-in novels about. I found the film’s earnest attempt to tell a redemption story about a young man whose actions would probably largely go unaddressed in a hundred other films like this to be interesting and mostly productive. I do think the film is a touch too unfocused for me to really latch onto it, but the stuff that works really works. There are two different moments where the camera calms down and really hones in on characters who are dying and know it that I found extremely moving. Feel myself growing all the more enthralled with Sam’s depiction of the Old West as this melancholic, strange time that could only end in a way that’s indicative of the violent life that you’ve lived. Not quite a complete picture, but the pieces of the puzzle are very slowly falling into place.

If it’s not perhaps still a little more mundane than whatever impression I’ve had of his style beforehand, I can definitely see the emerging pieces of Sam Peckinpah as I’ve always understood him to be in Ride the High Country. Was pretty swept up with it from the moment those gorgeous Cinescope frames of the mountains and hills basked over my screen backdropped by a rather stirring main theme for the opening credits. To be fairly forthcoming: I like my Westerns to either be staunch and gritty as hell or ultra romantic and dripping with sentiment. This one tries its hand at both and I’m not sure it really succeeds in walking the fine line between the two. It goes down a pretty dark road at one point but never really reaches down to such depths again and I was a left a little off kilter as a result. Our main lady also gives me a little bit of Kim Darby as Mattie Ross energy, and that’s one of my least favorite performances of all time. Not saying it’s any indicator of Marietta Hartley’s actually ability, but any scent of Kim Darbying really makes me wince. All the same, though: very exciting to see the emergence of Bloody Sam’s actual personality starting to seep into the films he’s making. As opposed to his debut, which I did like enough, where it felt like he was really left to make something out of John Wayne and Batjac’s scraps. It’s my first exposure to Randolph Scott, a titan of the cinematic cowboys, and now I’m itching more than I already was to get ahold of Criterion's box set devoted to his films with Budd Boetticher. He’s instantly the most electric player on the screen and he’s got an excellent dynamic with Joel McRea as this pair of grizzled and tired old gunslingers reaching the back end of the hill. They’ve got the kind of relationship that I’d love to read a dozen cheap tie-in novels about. I found the film’s earnest attempt to tell a redemption story about a young man whose actions would probably largely go unaddressed in a hundred other films like this to be interesting and mostly productive. I do think the film is a touch too unfocused for me to really latch onto it, but the stuff that works really works. There are two different moments where the camera calms down and really hones in on characters who are dying and know it that I found extremely moving. Feel myself growing all the more enthralled with Sam’s depiction of the Old West as this melancholic, strange time that could only end in a way that’s indicative of the violent life that you’ve lived. Not quite a complete picture, but the pieces of the puzzle are very slowly falling into place.

Hollywoods ensomste menn; Randolph Scott og Joel McCrea. Finnes det noe mer poetisk på film enn den ville vestens død?

Hollywoods ensomste menn; Randolph Scott og Joel McCrea. Finnes det noe mer poetisk på film enn den ville vestens død?

nothing like a good old violence against women b plot to flesh out a half-baked story line

nothing like a good old violence against women b plot to flesh out a half-baked story line

1962 | Sam Peckinpah | R. G. Armstrong | L. Q. Jones | Warren Oates | Western

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Sam Peckinpah’s second feature film certainly is an improvement over his first one, but still far away from being as amazing as mostly everything he did after this one.

In some way it is similar to “The Deadly Companions”, his first feature, and that might be the reason I didn’t enjoy this one too much. I think that kind of story is not really my thing. But the execution is a lot better here and the film looks very good.

You can find a couple of Peckinpah regulars like Warren Oates, R. G. Armstrong and L. Q. Jones and the performances are pretty good over all. I didn’t find the characters too interesting, but I enjoyed some of the dynamics in the latter half and how they played out.

“Ride the High County” definitely was an important step in Peckinpah’s career, but for mainly is just that: a step on the way to something better.

1962 | Sam Peckinpah | R. G. Armstrong | L. Q. Jones | Warren Oates | Western

CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR MY 2000th FILM

Sam Peckinpah’s second feature film certainly is an improvement over his first one, but still far away from being as amazing as mostly everything he did after this one.

In some way it is similar to “The Deadly Companions”, his first feature, and that might be the reason I didn’t enjoy this one too much. I think that kind of story is not really my thing. But the execution is a lot better here and the film looks very good.

You can find a couple of Peckinpah regulars like Warren Oates, R. G. Armstrong and L. Q. Jones and the performances are pretty good over all. I didn’t find the characters too interesting, but I enjoyed some of the dynamics in the latter half and how they played out.

“Ride the High County” definitely was an important step in Peckinpah’s career, but for mainly is just that: a step on the way to something better.