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Lonely Are the Brave More at IMDbPro »
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| Index | 73 reviews in total |
42 out of 43 people found the following review useful:
A Classic Finally Unearthed, 5 August 2009
Author:
jpdoherty from Ireland
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
At Last! One of the most eagerly requested movies gets a Region 1 DVD
release. For many years now collectors have been hollering for LONELY
ARE THE BRAVE (1962) to be issued. So Universal have finally seen the
folly of their ways and here it is in a splendid 2.35 sharp as a button
Monochrome widescreen presentation that everyone will adore. Although
there is in existence a reasonably good Region 2 version from Spain it
cannot compare to this new release.
Kirk Douglas is terrific in the story we all know and love of the free-
spirited latter day cowboy who resents the conventions and restrictions
of the modern day west ("everywhere you go, keep out, stop, no entry,
go away, get lost", drop dead"). The wire cutters he carries in his
saddle-bags gets plenty of use! On the run from the law because of a
misdemeanour he takes to the hills with his faithful horse Whiskey in
an attempt to escape into Mexico. But the rough terrain and upward
climb is not easy particularly for a man on horseback. In a wonderful
scene where he realizes he would make it without the animal he leaves
Whiskey and begins to climb a cliff. But looking back at her and with
that soulful look in her eyes as she watches him climb he just can't do
it. He comes back down to the horse mumbling..... "you're worse than a
woman".
It is one of Douglas' best and most likable roles! Being alone for a
good portion of the movie he dominates the screen. It is an admirable
and engaging performance plus his expert handling of the horse is quite
remarkable. Giving excellent support is Walter Matthau as the pursuing
but compassionate sheriff Morey Johnson ("ye son of a gun - ye made
it"!). John Schillart gives an amusing turn as the guileless deputy.
"Judas priest Morey!" he exclaims as the sheriff bumps his way along
the rough trail at speed in the jeep. The female lead is taken by a
young and quite beautiful Gena Rowlands as the wife of Douglas' jailed
best friend. However the relationship between her and the cowboy is
kind of puzzling! The kisses and clinches to my mind appear a tad
steamy for a pair who are supposed to be just good friends.Hmmm! Also
in one of his early roles is George Kennedy as a sadistic guard and
watch out for the late Bill Bixby as the helicopter pilot. The only
drawbacks I found in the picture is the over emphasis on the Carroll
O'Connor character as the truck driver. After all the horse could have
been hit by a motor cycle and end up the same way. Also the great scene
where the cowboy makes that dash for the trees under gunfire and in the
ensuing shot rides into a indoor exterior. Wow! I thought they had
stopped using indoor exteriors by 1962! Also I thought the downbeat
ending somewhat severe for what is essentially a light hearted drama
and we never do learn what becomes of our cowboy!
Sharply photographed in Panavision by Phil Lathrop the film based on
the novel "The Brave Cowboy" by Edward Abbey had a fine screenplay
fashioned by Dalton Trumbo. David Miller - who never really
distinguished himself except maybe with "Sudden Fear" (1953) - does a
nice job in the director's chair and composer Jerry Goldsmith provided
a wistful score with one of his early efforts.
Surprisingly there is no trailer but the extras do have two interesting
featurettes. One called "Lonely Are The Brave - A Tribute" has
contributions from Steven Spielberg, Michael Douglas, Gena Rowlands and
a very aged Kirk Douglas. The other, blandly presented by some record
producer, shows Jerry Goldsmith at work scoring the picture.
AN EXCELLENT ISSUE OF AN OVERDUE AND MUCH VAUNTED CLASSIC!
37 out of 47 people found the following review useful:
A memorable movie, 13 February 2005
Author:
Art La Cues from Independence, CA USA
This is certainly Kirk Douglas' best movie and that is saying a lot! The loss of individuality and the valuesof the West, if anything, are more pronounced today than when the film was made. Kirk's performance is perfectly understated as fits the character he portrays. No false heroics, gore, or sensationalism which all too often ruin today's movies . One reviewer commented that there was not a satisfactory conclusion... no last words by Douglas, uncertainty about his fate, and the ambivalent response of the sheriff, Walter Matthau. This is no simple movie with clear cut heroes and villains. There are only people who contend with the compromises one accepts or, in the rare instance of Kirk's character, one attempts to overcome. The affinity between Kirk and his horse are central to the theme and end of this fine film. Everyone connected in the making of this classic. I rate it a 10.
45 out of 65 people found the following review useful:
One one of the warmest, most deeply felt characterizations in all Western movies…, 1 June 2005
Author:
ironside (robertfrangie@hotmail.com) from Mexico
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
No Western could be more out of time-scale than "Lonely are the Brave,"
and yet, paradoxically, no central character was ever more truly
Western than Jack Burns, the strange wanderer, played by Kirk Douglas…
Douglas in this film version of Edward Abbey's moving novel 'Brave
Cowboy' is, among a number of other things, a man who hates barbed
wire… He showed, a similar dislike for it in King Vidor's "Man Without
a Star" (1955), which was a traditional cattle range movie, and in
those circumstances that seemed reasonable enough… But "Lonely are the
Brave" is a film set in the New Mexico of 1953 and such behavior now
seems totally irrational…
But then he's an irrational, quite extraordinary man… He rides a horse
called Whisky when the world flashes past him in Cadillacs… He carries
a guitar and sings folksy ballads of the old West... Arriving in the
concrete of Duke City he is quite confident that in order to free a pal
he has only got to break into jail, fool a sheriff and make his
getaway… After all, it's Western territory and this was always the way
of it…
Who and what is he? The question bears examination for he is one of the
most intriguing characters in the whole Western portrait gallery... He
is never really explained in the book, nor indeed in the film… He is
drawn and stated and the rest is left to the reader or audience… You
watch the way he moves, you listen to what he says and the way he says
it… You observe his strange actions and reactions… But most1y you are
left to make your own conclusions…
Is it a case of a fantasist totally hooked on the Western legend? Has
he seen too many Western movies (probably 'B' features)? Has he read
too much Western pulp fiction? Is he so deep in thought by it all that
he is incapable of realizing that the world has moved on, is running
out of grass, or tolerance for oddballs with a preference for grass?
Is he making a protest about what the West has become, and is seeking,
in his inarticulate way, after different values? Is he just pure
throwback, a man belonging to another time? This figures, as he might
say… He would belong so splendidly, with his simple values…
Whatever he is, he's a profoundly tragic conception....
The old friend he is there to aid (Michael Kane) has been jailed for
giving shelter to over-the-border illegal immigrants… Douglas calls on
his buddy's wife, sensitively played by Gena Rowlands, who seems as
touched and dazed by him as anyone in the audience… In order to get
Kane out of prison he decides that he first needs to get into it
himself and so after a saloon bar fight, followed by more fisticuffs at
the jail, he gets the cell he wants…
In jail, however, he finds himself once more knocking up against the
twentieth century—its mores and inhibitions… The pal doesn't want to
conform to the old Western pattern by making a break for it… Far better
to serve out his two years and then return to his wife and child
knowing that his 'debt to society' has been paid and they will have
nothing else to worry about… This is not just pure self-interest… He
honestly thinks it the right thing to do…
So having fought his way in, Douglas now has to fight his way out… This
he does with the aid of files he brought with him to effect his
friend's escape… And out with him go a couple of characters not
inhibited by fears and scruples…
So he becomes a man on the run, but, since he still has his horse, an
old-style outlaw on the run, heading for the mountains with—naturally—a
posse after him…
But no ordinary posse… This is the 20th century version, supplied with
all sorts of technological devices… If this very recent cowboy in his
strange, ancient times way, is challenging the rule of technology, it
is only logical that the long cold arm of science should reach out for
him… It does so with walkie-talkie radios, jeeps and even a specially
borrowed helicopter…
What chance has he? The sheriff seems puzzled by the situation—that a
man on a horse should dare everything against such a formidable array
of gadgetry… Since the enigmatic wanderer is determinedly playing out a
Western drama he must inevitably come up against a compassionate
sheriff…
The sheriff is a man doing a job, without any keen enjoyment for the
job or, in fact, for anything particularly… He's bored, skeptical,
laconic, and you feel that he would like nothing better than for Burns
to get out of his territory…
But while the sheriff goes about his manhunting duties in a routine way
he lets slip another implication—that deep, down in the lethargy and
disillusion there's a soft spot for the man on a horse… Is the sheriff
at heart—if you could ever find his heart—a bit of a rebel, too?
Kirk Douglas will be remembered most of all for his performance as the
man out of step, out of his proper time… His Jack Burns in "Lonely are
the Brave" is one of the warmest, most deeply felt characterizations in
all Western movies… David Miller directed the film with simplicity and
a similar warmth… No more was needed…
37 out of 51 people found the following review useful:
a powerful portrayal of a man left behind and way out of step with the times, 27 September 2002
Author:
bengleson from British Columbia
I pity those who cannot, even in a small way, identify with Douglas' character, Jack Burns in this ageless work of art. This is a self described 'lonely man,' of no use to his true love( who has married his old friend) because he cannot share his life with anyone. He acknowledges that he is of no use to anyone. Rather he is a constant threat to whatever social order he encounters. The one time he makes a commitment, to his horse no less, he loses his edge. And probably his freedom. What a wonderful movie this is.It steeps itself in the fading of the West. While much of it is seemingly allegorical, there is also a truthfulness, and a tenderness in Burns search for escape over the mountains. Someone else has commented on the similarities between Burns and Bogart's rendition of Roy Earle in HIGH SIERRA. Surely any thoughtful movie goer has experienced that rush to the mountains, that sense that time has passed you by and you are not of this place.
27 out of 32 people found the following review useful:
How Rare Are The Brave, 30 May 2004
Author:
highlandhome from Colorado Plateau
I just couldn't let the previous review stand as the only review of this film. Based upon The Brave Cowboy, by Edward Abbey, Lonely Are The Brave is a very good screen adaptation of that classic work. Ed Abbey excelled at demonstrating the loss of the West, either in the environmental impacts that devastate vast areas (The Monkey Wrench Gang, Hayduke Lives), or the loss of individuality and freedom (Fire on the Mountain, The Brave Cowboy). Ed Abbey understood that the character of America survived-until recent times-upon rugged individualism that could unite with others in times of trouble. Jack Burns is an individualist who wants to live his own way, yet he had fought in WWII, and was coming to the aid of a friend. Burns does not try to make others live as he does or make them believe as he does, he simply wants to be left alone in a rapidly shrinking world with his sense of frontier dignity intact. Walter Matthau plays the sheriff who understands his adversary too well; his is the character that has lost the faith and become a collaborator. Matthau's bumbling deputies represent the federal government who stumble over themselves in order to crush Burns' freedom. Kirk Douglas considers this one of his most important films. Ed Abbey approved of the film and even makes a walk-on appearance.
34 out of 47 people found the following review useful:
The original "First Blood"., 12 June 2004
Author:
Miyagis_Sweaty_wifebeater (sirjosephu@aol.com) from Sacramento, CA
Lonely Are the Brave (1962) is a film about a man who's content with
life on the open range. He's the last of his kind, the wandering
cowboy. The problem is the open range is disappearing around him. A guy
like that can't live off the land anymore because there's no land for
him to live off of. Everywhere he goes the land is either owned or
forbidden for him to enter. Kirk Douglas stars as the last cowboy who
just can't get it into his head how much the times have changed.
Especially when he tries to rescue his good friend from the local jail.
This causes more trouble than he can comprehend.
What's so funny about this movie is how much of the story, scenes and
situations were later used in it's quasi-remake "First Blood". The
basic story line and his troubles with the law are quite similar.
Walter Matthau and Gena Rowlands co-star in this awesome film about a
dying way of life. I saw this film several years ago on Turner Classic
Movies. It's a sad tribute to the old west.
Highly enjoyable and recommended.
P.S. Gena Rowlands looks pretty good in this picture!
23 out of 31 people found the following review useful:
Kirk Was Right, 29 December 2003
Author:
Paige L. Anderson from Santa Barbara, CA
This is a wonderful movie that never fails to impress me whenever I view
it.
I'm amazed that it is not out on DVD yet.
As many have stated, Kirk felt that this was his favorite movie and I
quite
agree. As the existential drifter searching for something that has long
passed him by, Kirk delivers a stunning performance. I felt that the
character development in this film was outstanding. Each individual plays
an important role in delivering the theme of the story.
I was amazed that no one wrote about the bar fight scene where Burns
battles
a bitter one-armed local. There is something disturbing about this
encounter...the one-armed man's bitterness and Burns' attempt to avoid the
confrontation. Handled in black and white, this scene is
memorable.
This film easily makes my top ten list.
-Paige
13 out of 15 people found the following review useful:
Natural Man Sacrificed to Progress, 2 June 2005
Author:
writerasfilmcritic from western US
Can you imagine a time when a man could mount his horse and ride across
the country, camping wherever he pleased? It's the kind of life Kirk
Douglas was still living as the cowboy in "Lonely Are The Brave," long
after the horse had given way to the horseless carriage and most people
were living in towns and cities working for someone else. His only
accommodation to the modern world are a pair of snips he keeps in a
saddle bag for getting through barbed wire fences. A man like that is
just bound to run up against the System, and that is precisely what
happens when the cowboy arrives at the house of an old friend, whose
wife they both loved. She tells him that her husband has been jailed
for smuggling illegals across the border and the cowboy resolves to get
arrested and help him break out. However, married life has changed his
friend's perspective and he is content to do his time. After taking a
beating from the sadistic jailer, played by George Kennedy, the cowboy
escapes alone. The rest of the movie is about his attempt to elude the
authorities, led by Walter Matthau as the efficient sheriff in charge
of lesser lights who admires Douglas enough to hope he makes good his
escape and who pursues him skillfully but without enthusiasm. Much of
the story is about the relationship between the cowboy and his
inexperienced young horse, who symbolizes the wild and free life being
lost bit by bit. As they surmount a rugged mountain range, the extent
of their trust, affection, and ties to the land become clear, while
so-called civilization, aptly represented by a truckload of new
toilets, threatens to do what the police can't.
This is a very good movie, well-shot, well-acted, well-written, and
with a very poignant theme. In it, Kirk Douglas delivers one of his
best performances.
10 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
Lonely is Lonely are the Brave, 9 February 2006
Author:
joel cohen from United States
A much under-appreciated movie, I love it. I caught a snippet of it the
other night and it got me to thinking how many "modern" day cowboys
were influenced by Burns' character. I'll bet anything Jerry Jeff
Walker has seen it. Kirk's performance alone justifies the look but I
can't recall another flick with so many actors in pre-star roles. For
example, Gena Rowlands, George Kennedy (pre- Cool Hand Luke), Walter
Matthau, William Schallert (Patty Duke's dad, Bill Bixby etc.
What I'd like to focus on is a very small piece of the movie focusing
on the "one-armed man" Bill Raisch (pre-The Fugitive). Bill starts a
fight with Burns just to have something to do on a Saturday nite. The
scene is a great reminder to be careful of dropping in on
unfriendly/unknown bars.
This movie could serve as the basis for any English/Literature major's
college paper/thesis. Not surprising since Dalton Trumbo had a hand in
the screenplay.
16 out of 24 people found the following review useful:
Kirk Douglas' favorite movie, 16 May 2002
Author:
gessary2 from New York
I was pleasantly surprised to see so many "10" ratings. I thought this was a secret between Kirk Douglas (who used to shop in the wee morning hours at the same supermarket as I did when I lived in Hollywood in the 70s) and I .. I saw a retrospective where he said of all his movies, this was his favorite. On my Top 10 All Time list as well. When the movie came to Texas, where I saw it, I think it barely lasted through the opening weekend before it was pulled. Amazed and pleased that there are so many who have seen it and rated it so highly. Way to go guys.
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