The Horsemen (1971)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

John Frankenheimer

Writers:

Joseph Kessel (novel)
Dalton Trumbo (writer)

Release Date:

16 August 1971 (Sweden)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama

Tagline:

A Horse Worth Killing For. A Dream Worth Dying For.

Plot:

In the poor, desolate northern provinces of the mountainous feudal Sunni kingdom of Afghanistan (before the Soviet-engineered republican revolutions)...

Plot Keywords:

Buzkashi | Foreign Language Adaptation | Based On Novel | Independent Film

Cast

Omar Sharif	...	Uraz
Leigh Taylor-Young	...	Zareh
Jack Palance	...	Tursen
David de Keyser	...	Mukhi
Peter Jeffrey	...	Hayatal
Mohammad Shamsi	...	Osman Bey
George Murcell	...	Mizrar
Eric Pohlmann	...	Merchant in Kandahar
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ishaq Bux	...	Amjad Kahn
Carlos Casaravilla	...	Messenger
José Luis Chinchilla	...	Head Syce
Mark Colleano
P. De Quevedo	...	King
Srinanda De
Despo Diamantidou	...	Uljan (as Despo)
Vernon Dobtcheff	...	Zam Hajji
Saeed Jaffrey	...	District Chief
Leon Lissek	...	Chikana Proprietor
Ricardo Palacios	...	Ghulam
Salmaan Peerzada	...	Salih (as Salmaan Peer)
Milton Reid	...	Aqqul
Aziz Resham	...	Bacha to Ghulam
John Ruddock	...	Scribe
Vida St. Romaine	...	Gypsy Woman
Sy Temple	...	Quadir
Jesús Tordesillas	...	Little Governor
Tom Tryon
Barbara Wain	...	Nurse
Alan Webb	...	Gardi Gay

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:GP (original rating) | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Afghanistan

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Quotes:

District Chief: What demon has possessed you to mock these good people with that piece of dog-bait?

A true gem!

This is a human condition action adventure that takes place in modern time( meaning 1971) Afghanistan. The film starts by showing how far back in time they are. Everybody is riding around on horses while planes are driving above them. In this country a proud (the best word would be prince but it doesn't exactly fit) Uraz (played by Omar Sharif, mostly known as that guy who had the lead in Doctor Zhivago) sets out to this weird horse tournament on the request of his father, a elderly clan leader and master of the sport played by the great Jack Palance.

It's made obvious from the start that though this man might be proud and even quite noble (he always bets on the weakest), he is in fact cruel to servants and have a rather nihilistic view on life. When he manages to fall off his horse and break his leg he feels a great dishonor and sets out to find the hardest and deadliest road home. On the way everything that is good in humans are questioned! The film has a very different view of the world than most others, at least this early in cinema. Many of the characters are so shady it will almost make you sick. I must say that I did not like these people as humans, though I did like their characters, inhuman behavior and cruelty is something I take a huge interest in. For those of you who enjoy to travel to different worlds and can enjoy and love films even if they perhaps have a different stand than your world view, this is the film for you.

I was quite taken by it I must say. My second favorite Frankenheimer picture to date, meaning that I thought it was better than great films such as The Manchurian Candidate, The Train and Seven Days in May. The colors are great and the mood and pacing is very intense. Most of the frames are quite beautiful. The acting is very good! And it's philosophy as a whole is rather good too but I will not give away anything about how this film turns out but I will say that I thought it was fabulous. A genius film! A masterpiece! You should definitely check it out. A true gem!