rav_vale

Full disclosure: I just got the Warner Archive Collection Blu-ray set of this show. Although I am a huge fan of TV westerns, I had never seen this show before, and I'm not even sure if I've heard of it before. The title while it sounds familiar, is likely because of the actual name of the classic gun (which figures heavily into the show), the beer, and a movie with the same title.

I am only just about finished with the first disc, just about to watch the 6th episode.

But based on what I have seen so far, I think it is a show that for better as it went on. I would probably only give the pilot episode, maybe a 6.5 -7 at the highest. But by the time I got to the third episode, I could see them finding their stride and it getting better with each one.

Now, that I have seen 5 full episodes (and in this beautiful pretty high definition, projected on my wall), I would say it's easily a 7.5 - 8.

And based on that trajectory, I could easily project that it might even get to the level of a 9 by the end of the series (which I guess only ran three seasons. Probably part of the reason I have never seen it before: probably was not as widely syndicated as some other classic TV Westerns).

Just as a point of reference, I would rate much of the first few seasons of THE VIRGINIAN, GUNSMOKE (at least for the first 5 seasons or so), HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL, WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE and TOMBSTONE TERRITORY, as 10/10. Probably also THE REBEL (short entire series), and THE WESTERNER. I don't think this is quite going to be in that top tier for me.

But I am really enjoying it and can see myself watching a few of these many times.

And any of these classic B&W Westerns (and that gets at least a point in its favor from me), that tells their stories in less than a half-hour (a sadly dead storytelling form these days: the half-hour *drama*), also is rarely gonna be less than a 7.5 for me already. My bias is showing.

I plan on reviewing some of the individual episodes. And probably will also cover the show a bit on my podcast: THE CHAPLAIN AMERICA STORY HOUR.

I really enjoyed this film. While it's no masterpiece, I thought the performances were quite good, as was the directing, cinematography, location, music, costumes, color and screenplay. It was fun and made me laugh out loud a few times. Claude Rains steals every scene he's in. It's corny in places, but hey; I'm a cornball, so it works for me. It's far from perfect and the third act has a bunch of flaws. But I had a good time and it looks great on Blu-Ray. Milland did a better job with his first directing job, A MAN ALONE, but this one works for me. A good "hang-out" movie. YMMV. Recommended for fans of anyone in the cast, Milland as a filmmmaker and certain kind of old-fashioned post WWII movies from the 50's.

Upfront, I confess I am biased in writing this review. What are my biases?

For one thing, I am a Christopher George fan. I think he is underrated as an actor, as I find many so-called good-looking actors often are.

For another thing, I am a huge director RG Springsteen fan and this was his final movie. And I think he does a fine job here.

Having gotten that out-of-the-way, let me get to my rating and my review:

I would actually probably rate this as a solid nine or maybe 9.5. But I have to round up my rating, because I feel it doesn't get a fair enough average.

I thought the writing was really good. And if this movie had been done in black-and-white, and either in the 40s or 50s, it would probably now be considered at least in the upper tier of film noir.

Sure, it has a few "television movie" qualities to it. But I still found it cinematic enough project it on my wall to be some thing I would watch again and again. I thought it had a good mystery, yet played fair with the viewer. I did guess the solution, but not until about halfway through. And I wasn't sure until the very ending.

All the Performances were great, by a stellar cast. I have to admit, I was surprised by Charo's performance, which was far better than I expected. I thought she really did a great job for such a small part.

I would recommend this movie for anybody who likes film noir, mystery, a few good action scenes, great performances by iconic actors, some interesting settings, cinematography, and music score.

One negative review compared this to the "Fly", episode of BREAKING BAD. I think it was a different negative review of this episode, that said something like "if you like the movie DRIVE, you will like this" (which he didn't like either one).

Okay, busted. Guilty as charged. I love both of those works. "Fly" might be my favorite episode of BB.

While I'm not sure this episode of BANSHEE will be my favorite or even in my top 5, it's easily so far in my top 10. I loved it. I liked it's slow pace, the use of the music score, the direction, the story, everything. The only thing I didn't like was a story beat, but that's only because of how emotional it was and the surprise (which I won't describe. That's spoiler enough). It still worked in the arc of the story.

I also disagree with one reviewer who rated it low, and partly because he/she said it didn't affect the bigger arc of the show. We watched a different show.

Also, someone said that the nudity in this one went beyond even other episodes. There was almost none in this show, and no gratuitous sex scene. No sex scene at all, which was refreshing. Again, they watched a different show than I did.

I changed my mind. So far, this will be in top 5 episodes of this series, which while it can get ridiculous (especially with how fast lead characters heal), is damn entertaining. Not as artistic as the BB universe, nor as fun as a show like say JUSTIFIED, but somewhere in-between. I put it about where I hold SONS OF ANARCHY in my pantheon of great television.

This movie features some black voices that often don't matter, or when they do, it's negative. And even if one disagrees with them, why should their voices not be heard? Features Candace Owens, Brandon Tatum, Allen West, Herman Cain, Jesse Lee Peterson, Larry Elder (who also produced it).

This movie is entertaining, inspiring and uplifting, and gives another side to the "systemic racism" issue. I consider it one of the most important movies I've seen in the last 20 years.

Only available as VOD rental, and/or DVD pre-order right now. But there are a bunch of 20% off discount codes out there.

Highly recommended, and even a must-see.

I have to echo some of the comments already made here: this is one of the best fantasy movies ever made, despite and in some cases because of its flaws. I first saw this film back when it was released for a kiddie matinee back in the early sixties. I was about 6 or 7. It scared the daylights out of me and yet I loved it! I was not really into horror movies then, but this film, like one other, both entranced and haunted me. The other one was the original INVADERS FROM MARS (actually some of the Disney films also did this for me, notably PINOCHIO. The flying monkeys in THE WIZARD OF OZ, as well as the Winkies going "Oh Ee Oh!" also scared me as kid and still I wanted more!). Both of these films have another thing in common for me: they are both very dreamlike. They unfold like a dream and the flaws don't bother me now because I can still see it as a dream of childhood--almost the perfect fairy tale with all the horror and magic that a real fairy tale contains.

I think I can understand, after reading many comments about THE SEARCHERS, why some people don't like it or think it is overrated: certain films, do not obey the rules of "classic" storytelling. This film is one of them. It unfolds and moves like a dream. It is more like a myth than a piece of "literal" storytelling. Ford made other movies like this, (notably THE QUIET MAN, my personal favorite).

But I think THE SEARCHERS is Ford's most dream-like, myth-like piece in his oeuvre. Many of the things that people have nit-picked are correct: the turn arounds that make no sense, the strange sense of pacing, the "wrong-ness" of Monument Valley standing in for Texas. And there are others. But for me, why I love this film and why it does grow on me each time I see it, it plays like a dream, like something out of the dream world. Those accurate criticisms don't bother me, because for me, the synergistic quality of THE SEARCHERS make the whole much greater than the sum of its parts. It adds up to some thing that tugs on chords in me that are not from the left side of my brain.

This film is from the world of dream and myth and it plays different than a film like Fort Apache or other great "linear" Westerns. It is a masterpiece both because and in spite of its flaws. And if the dream doesn't resonate with that mythic part of a certain person, it is understandable why they would not like it. And that is legit. As for me, I have placed it on my top ten of all time.