The Bravados | | Cast : | Gregory Peck, Joan Collins | | Director : | Henry King | | Studio : | Fox Home Entertainme | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned | | Released Date : | , 1958 | | DVD Released Date : | May 24, 2005 | | Language : | English (Dubbed) | | Audience Rating : | NR (Not Rated) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | July 04, 2005 | | Summary | A big story with a big impact | Content
 | There's going to be a hanging in Rio Arriba, and Jim Douglass (Gregory Peck) has ridden a hundred miles to see it. You see, the four men - Stephen Boyd, Albert Salmi, Henry Silva and Lee van Cleef - about to be hanged committed a great crime that changed Douglass's life forever, and he's there to see justice carried out. When the condemned men escape, Douglass makes it his personal mission to deliver justice to the bad guys.
I love revenge movies, and the premise of Henry King's THE BRAVADOS holds great promise. One avenging angel - Gregory Peck - versus four scurvy killers. The best revenge movies go to the chase as soon as possible, and reveal character and motivation through the chase. Unfortunately THE BRAVADOS takes forever to kick into gear. The movie spends a good half hour in Rio Arriba, an eternity in movie time, introducing characters and establishing motives. Some of the characters don't really belong in the movie, either. It's in Rio Arriba that we meet Josefa Velarde (Joan Collins), a beautiful young Elizabeth Taylor type who met, loved and declined Douglass's proposals a half-decade or so ago. Collins wasn't a terrific actress, and some of her high emotion scenes in this one are painfully amateurish. Even a talented actress wouldn't redeem the role, though. Every time Josefa appears the movie grinds to a halt. THE BRAVADOS prove the rule that women and action movies don't mix.
On the trailer Gregory Peck tells us that THE BRAVADOS is `a big story with a big impact.' I'd call it a potentially big story that never gets on track. We learn a big surprise or two near the end, ones that should have taken our breath away. Instead they kind of limp over the line, somewhat naked in their improbability. Peck proves capable of doing justice to a revenge-ridden protagonist. It would have been fascinating, and probably would have resulted in a much better movie, if he could have spent more time exploring the dark side of his character.
The double sided dvd contains both full screen and widescreen versions of the movie. I watched the widescreen version, which was in very good condition. Extras include a trailer for the movie and a couple of very brief - under a minute per - period newsreels.
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| Rating | | | Date | June 07, 2005 | | Summary | Great Revenge western with a "Peck" and a "Twist" | Content
| The 50's and early 60's in my opinion brought forward some of the
best of the pychological (or thinking man's) westerns and this Fox
entry into the genre never really got the respect it deserved upon
it's release but has recieved more respect among modern collectors
of older style shoot'em ups Gregory Peck plays that of Jim Douglas
who rides into a town with no reason other than to witness hanging
of four men whom he has never met before for a crime he knows they
commited only to hunt them down one by one after they break out of
jail with a hostage. And what cast with ever lovely Joan Collins as the girl from Jim's happier past who could have been his wife
and Stepen Boyd,Lee Van Cleef,Albert Salami & Henry Sylia as the
the titled "Bravados" In answer to one reviewers concern,yes the
disc contains both the wide and Full screen versions of the film
and the sound is excellent quality to promote that great opening title soundtrack.
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| Rating | | | Date | May 31, 2005 | | Summary | Classy film gets classy DVD presentation | Content
| 20th Century-Fox Home Entertainment gets high marks for this DVD edition of a classic revenge western! The disc offers the option of viewing the film full sceen or wide screen; I'd vote for wide screen, the better to savour the film's excellent visual and color compositions. DVD extras include two newsreel segments covering the film's premiere; Rossano Brazzi, Hugh O'Brien and Robert Evans are seen among the guests. (Trivia note: both newsreels refer to a 1958 Fox film called "Quick Draw", starring O'Brien and Evans; by the time it reached threatres the title had been changed to "The Fiend Who Walked the West", a westernized remake of 1947's "Kiss of Death".) |
| Rating | | | Date | May 29, 2005 | | Summary | DVD is widescreen! | Content
| According to (...) other sites, the disk is two-sided, presenting the movie in its proper 2.35:1 aspect ratio on one side, and cropped to full-screen on the other side. Reviewers state that the colors, sound, and overall transfer in general are very good. Come on, Amazon, start giving us all the information so we don't have to do outside research. As you can see by the other postings I'm not the only one who has hesitated to send you money because you failed to state whether this DVD is widescreen. |
| Rating | | | Date | May 27, 2005 | | Summary | " Now, get outta here! I'm tired of you doggin' my trail !" | Content
| The Bravados is not only an excellent western, but a very interesting character study of how one mans' quest for vengeance does not turn out quite as he expected. Gregory Peck is sublime as the main character/hero and reminds the viewer of a day gone by when there were REAL movie stars. The story is very compelling and is aided well by the top notch musical score by Lionel Newmann and Hugo Friedhoffer.( I have the cd soundtrack and it is beautiful) The supporting cast is great, with a very young Joan Collins, Stephen Boyd, Albert Salmi, Lee Van Cleef, Henry Silva, Andrew Duggan and Gene Evans. Their performances are very capable and you will particularly remember Stephen Boyds' character of Zachary: pure evil with no redeeming qualities. This contrasts very well with Henry Silvas' character as we see that he is basically a good man who fell in with the wrong group. The camera work/scenery of the beautiful canyons and countryside is another plus for the film. The story has a great jolting twist at the end as Peck discovers the truth about his actions towards the group of outlaws he believes responsible for his wifes' rape and murder. ( Incidentally, the film is quite violent and graphic for 1958. Although not actually shown, a rape is strongly implied and is very disturbing.) The Bravados will become one of your favorite films after you have seen it: almost 50 years later, it still makes quite an impression. |
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