Nevada Smith

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The Max Sand backstory in Harold Robbins's trashy The Carpetbaggers (an enjoyable wallow onscreen in 1964) made for a solid Western vehicle for Steve McQueen at his peak. Nevada Smith is a revenge movie, but closer in spirit to The Bravados than a Death Wish-style exercise in nihilism. Young Max, offspring of a white father and Indian mother, sets out to avenge their slaughter by three villains. His odyssey includes spiritual re-parenting at several stages, most notably by canny gun dealer Jonas Cord (a swell character part for Brian Keith). The supporting cast will have you saying, "He's in it, too!" at regular intervals (from costars Karl Malden and Arthur Kennedy down to such incidental interlopers as L.Q. Jones and Strother Martin). Since director Henry Hathaway and cameraman Lucien Ballard couldn't frame a bad shot if their lives depended on it, it's a relief that this movie is finally available in a widescreen format. --Richard T. Jameson

Customer Reviews:

Another classic western.......2007-08-09

Actually based on a character and about a chapter or two in a Harold Robbins novel "The Carpetbaggers" Steve stole the whole character and made an entirely new movie with him. Very well done another timeless classic. Worth seeing if you haven't.

Nevada Smith.......2007-08-09

This is one of my top two western movies that I have ever watched. I first watched it when I was in the Navy in the mid / late 60's. and had seen it several times since then. And was glad to finially fine it again so I could add it to my DVD collection

Solid revenge Western.......2007-05-06

Despite being curiously banned from British TV screens for many years in the wake of the entirely unconnected Hungerford massacre, Nevada Smith is a solid and petty lavishly mounted revenge western culled from the backstory of Alan Ladd's ageing cowboy star in The Carpetbaggers. With Steve McQueen heading an impressive cast (Karl Malden, Arthur Kennedy, Martin Landau, Brian Keith, Suzanne Pleshette, Janet Margolin, etc) you could almost see it as a last-gasp attempt to be the classic American Western as its narrative sends its hero from Texas to California via a chain gang in the Louisiana bayous. It could have been tighter and you have to question how merciful his final act is after putting that many holes in someone, but its an entertaining ride and the eternally under-appreciated Henry Hathaway makes it look particularly great in Scope. No extras, but at least the 2.35:1 widescreen transfer is good.

McQueen is fun to watch.......2006-12-09

McQueen is definately cool. His character is supposed to be a half-breed, white and Kiowa, and in his late teens. McQueen doesn't look the part at all, but I was able to ignore that. Karl Mauldin is just way too much like a New England school marm to make a good outlaw. Too much was made of Max's Indian ancestry contributing to his success. It reminds me of "Billy Jack." The obvious question is: if indians are so invincible,...? But I was entertained with the adventure of a "boy" tracking down 3 men who killed his parents.

A respectable entry in the annals of the best Westerns!.......2006-11-08

Henry Hathaway was a versatile director whose Westerns have been as variable in quality as his other films...

Hathaway's best Westerns have all come in the fifties, beginning with the very credible 'Rawhide,' with Tyrone Power, and continuing with 'Garden of Evil,' the highly enjoyable burlesque 'North to Alaska,' most of 'How the West Was Won,' 'The Sons of Katie Elder,' 'Five Card Stud,' and 'True Grit.'

Hathaway's strong points are atmosphere, character and authentic locations... The little known 'From Hell to Texas' is quoted by those who have seen it as Hathaway's best Western on these three counts, a film directed with profound feeling for the deliberate pace and loneliness of the real West...

'Nevada Smith' is actually a strong and revealing study of the regeneration of one man... The film makes an excellent double bill with Marlon Brando's sole effort as director, 'One-Eyed Jacks.'

'Nevada Smith' is an exciting premise, taught and tight... It is not a motion picture to dismiss or forget... It is one of the first films to apply the contemporary standards of sex and violence to an Old West setting... The film is based on a story by John Michael Hayes, two-time Academy Award nominated screenwriter for 'Rear Window,' and 'Peyton Place.'

The film lingers in the mind because of its visual beauty and the intensity of some of its scenes, particularly between McQueen and Malden, two knowing actors playing together with the skill of champion chess players...

Hathaway sets up his atmosphere of dramatic tension right at the start... With a horse, a rifle, and 8 dollars, McQueen is a half-white teen-aged whose only desire is to hunt down his parents vicious killers... All helpless, he vows to dispatch the three 'bravados' one by one... He even gets himself thrown into prison just to gun one of them down...

With the help of a gun merchant (Brian Keith), McQueen learns how to shoot a gun and sets out the chase where the money is... He rides off alone, blinded by a compulsion that obscures his other motive for living: 'I don't see nothing, except my father laying on a covered-floor all burnt and cut with the top of his head blown to pieces, and my mother split up in the middle and every square inch of her skin ripped off.'

Steve McQueen recreates the type of role he had played in 'Wanted: Dead or Alive.' He is effective in his hesitant, self-conscious way, eager to be a firm gunfighter and almost as inept... He has little more sense of character than Ladd in Edward Dmytryk's 'The Carpetbaggers' but has a tension which made the film interesting to watch...

Brian Keith is excellent as the father figure who adopts McQueen... He is sincere in warning the young avenger that in order to catch and kill these men, he will have to comb out every saloon, gambling hall, hog farm and whorehouse, and become just as despicable as they are... Keith comes out a star with his quiet, sure, graceful underplaying... As he instructs McQueen, it was clear that he knows not only his guns but human nature..

Suzanne Pleshette, standing knee deep in water, is the pretty girl, able to escape from the terrors of her environment into the poetry of her reveries... Both a sinner and a saint, Pilar adds humanity to Max world...

With a knife in his hand, and a scar on his neck, Martin Landau is the psychotic womanizer, a morose, evil character, caught in Abelene dealing cards in a saloon...

Arthur Kennedy - friendly, smiling, charming and smooth-talking on the surface, weak and corrupt underneath - is the frightened villain swamped by a storm of revenge...

Karl Malden is the cynical badman who depreciates his gold before his executioner...

Raf Vallone is the good priest who wants his young avenging hunter to take a deep look into his heart...

Pat Hingle is the prisoner in custody with gun and whip, who takes great pleasure and delight in breaking his companions by beating them up...

Howard da Silva is the ruthless warden who assures his prisoners that the swamp is their wall... Miles and miles of it, filled of dirty water, quicksand, razorbacks, poison snakes, mosquitoes and malaria...

Janet Margolin is the dance hall girl uncertain of the identity of one of the dangerous murderers...

Joanna Cook Moore is the grateful saloon girl who offers herself to Max...

Rick Roman is Cipriano, the bandit who warns seriously his companion not to harm Father Zaccardi...

Ted de Corsia is the bartender who wants the two contenders to calm down in order to find out the truth..

The expertise before the cameras and behind it, plus McQueen's dynamic presence, makes 'Nevada Smith' a respectable entry in the annals of the best Westerns...

Average customer rating:

Another classic western
Nevada Smith
Solid revenge Western
McQueen is fun to watch
A respectable entry in the annals of the best Westerns!

Nevada Smith
Starring: Steve McQueen , Karl Malden , Brian Keith , Arthur Kennedy , and Suzanne Pleshette
Director: Henry Hathaway
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00008DDHX

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Customer Reviews:

Another classic western.......2007-08-09

Nevada Smith.......2007-08-09

Solid revenge Western.......2007-05-06

McQueen is fun to watch.......2006-12-09

A respectable entry in the annals of the best Westerns!.......2006-11-08

Average customer rating:

Go Coast Guard!!
demi-god of the ocean
The Guardian 2006
Coast Guard Recruiting Film
Three and half stars for this rough gem

The Guardian
Starring: Kevin Costner , Ashton Kutcher , Sela Ward , Melissa Sagemiller , and Clancy Brown
Director: Andrew Davis
ProductGroup: Theatrical Release
Binding: Theatrical Release

ASIN: B00005JP9M

Amazon.com

The Guardian offers satisfying entertainment with a no-nonsense combination of Hollywood formula and good old-fashioned star power. While honoring the men and women who serve as rescue swimmers for the U.S. Coast Guard, this predictable yet appealing drama is a well-crafted showcase for Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher, who bring welcome depth and dimension to their formulaic roles. It's basically Top Gun for the Coast Guard, with Costner playing a legendary rescuer haunted by recent tragedy and the impending break-up of his marriage, and Kutcher as the hot-shot recruit whose bravado is tested when Costner takes over a grueling 18-week basic training course, where a 50% attrition rate ensures that only the best will make the grade. There's nothing particularly inventive about Ron L. Brinkerhoff's screenplay, but it's intelligently written and well-directed (by The Fugitive helmer Andrew Davis) as it shows how seasoned veteran and troubled but talented trainee build mutual respect while sorting through the trauma of accidents that left each of them as sole survivors, tormented by self-doubt and guilt.

Bolstered by a strong supporting cast including Neal McDonough, John Heard, Sela Ward and Clancy Brown, The Guardian is a bit on the long side (137 minutes), but it never feels slow, and a romantic subplot (with Kutcher wooing a schoolteacher played by Melissa Sagemiller) blends nicely with thrilling ocean-rescue sequences incorporating a seamless blend of CGI and footage shot in a 750,000-gallon water tank. Music fans will welcome the scene-stealing appearance of veteran singer Bonnie Bramlett as the owner of a jazz/blues club near the training base, where The Guardian serves up yet another staple of its genre: the barroom brawl. Although Hurricane Katrina prevented The Guardian from being filmed in New Orleans in 2005, real-life footage during the closing credits makes it clear that the Coast Guard was essential in Katrina's aftermath, and this rousing drama pays overdue tribute to those who risk there lives (to quote the Coast Guard's motto) "so that others may live." --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Go Coast Guard!!.......2007-09-16

When I reviewed "The Perfect Storm" I had commented that I thought the whole story of the fishing ship going down was a big bore-fest but the best parts where the parts with the Coast Guard rescuing people from the sea. I had wished that they had made a Coast Guard movie with a focus on people like that. This IS the movie I was wishing for.

I delayed my viewing of this mostly because I've never been an Ashton Kutcher fan and most of what Kevin Costner is more miss than hit so I was afraid that the Coast Guard may have been belittled by Hollywood's magic touch. But I'm glad to report that there was none of this. A little Navy bashing, which I thought this movie could have gone without, but it really does show the greatness of the Coast Guard and the sacrifices of those who serve "So Others Might Live."

This movie seemed to have a little bit of it all. Decent acting, good story, a lot of action, a little romance, a boat-full of heart, and the right timing of humor. I should warn you on the action, there is a bit so this movie may not be for the feint of heart, but it was nice that the gore-factor was kept to a minimum (some blood and some throwing up).

demi-god of the ocean.......2007-09-16

Kevin is the old veteran, battered and bruised from all his work rescuing people from the sometimes deadly ocean. Ashton is a newbie trying to be the best that he can be. Needless to say, the old and the new clash. Kevin shows its not who you save, but remembering the ones that didn't make it back home. A good movie and a present day mythic tale.

The Guardian 2006.......2007-08-28

" Stirring And Exilarating ! If you're Looking For Pure Screen Exicitement , Look No Further " Kevin Costner (1955-) and Aston Kutcher (1978- ) star in THE GUARDIAN , the powerful action-packed drama that takes you inside the never-before-seen world of the elite Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers Team . Reeling with grief in the wake of mission gone tragically wrong , legendary Rescue Swimmer Ben Randall (Costner) Is given a mission he doen's want - Training raw recruits . Once there , he knocks heads with cocky Jake Fisher (Kutcher) , a swimming champ driven by a painful secret , who's more interested in breaking Ben's records than saving lives . But Ben also sees Jake has that it takes to be the best of the best . Filled with spetacular rescues in the lethal water of the Bering Sea , THE GUARDIAN is a riveting and compelling story taht dives straight into the heart and soul of real heroes , the unsung guardians of the sea . One of Kevin Costners very best for years and a superb action movie . Highly Recommended

Coast Guard Recruiting Film.......2007-08-21

The Guardian (DVD)

The Guardian, starring Kevin Costner is about a senior chief petty officer who suffers some psychological trauma on a rescue operation and is ordered to transfer to the U. S. Coast Guard's Air-Sea Rescue Training School.

The majority of the movie is taken up with pretty standard "Boot Camp" stuff with Costner riding this one trainee pretty hard.

All in all a pretty fair movie. Possibly the best that Costner has done since Dances With Wolves.

Definitely recommended for U.S. Coast Guard fans and for people who like to go out in the ocean in small boats.

Gunner August 2007

Three and half stars for this rough gem.......2007-08-06

Part Backdraft, part Top Gun and part Officer And A Gentlemen, The Guardian shamelessly borrows from other movies of similar genres but still manages to be entertaining. It's intentions are nothing but good and it's delivery is solid if not predictable.

In it's defense, The Guardian weaves an entertaining tale of a young hot shot Coast Guard candidate who enrolls in the AST (Advanced Swim Training) division of the armed service. This is the course that determines if you have what it takes to be a Rescue Swimmer, the `Iron-men/women' who jump out of the helicopter to pull people out of the rough seas. The attrition rate is 50%, so we know we will see people drop like flies. Enter Ben Randall (Kevin Costner), an aging but still highly effective and decorated Rescue swimmer who wants nothing to do with a desk job. But his stubbornness is destroying his marriage, and his body. After an unavoidable tragedy, he is ordered to teach a class at the Kodiak AST Training academy. Here Ben encounters Jake Fischer (Ashton Kutcher), a young aggressive candidate who states he there `to exceed his every expectation'. Randall likes to call him `Goldfish' (equal to Maverick, Mayo and Probie in the movies mentioned above). As the movie goes on we get some of the same stuff; Fischer is more focused on himself and not the group. He has motives that are unclear. But the resolutions are not completely predictable. There is no hard headedness about Fisher, he's willing to do whatever Randall tells him to pass the class. In the process, we are treated to seeing Randall's unorthodox training methods; surviving in a huge tube of ice water. Treading water for a straight hour with no fins. Making Jake break all the speed records to show that no one cares if he does.

The one love story sub-plot is totally predictable; Fischer falls for a local girl (Melissa Sagemiller) who wears her heart on her sleeve saying, `In 18 weeks there will be another crop of you guys coming through here...', hmm, sounds familiar. The love story between Randall and his wife (Sela Ward) is there to invoke many tears in female viewers. This isn't to say that these sub plots aren't necessary, they have value. And maybe their predictability lies in the fact that they happen in real life. I'm sure we can all think of people we know who's work has affected their marriage or met someone while in training. I would think so. So they add some heart and soul to the movie.

The performances are all solid. Costner is slowly working his way back from Waterworld hell (took long enough) and re-building his resume with good performances in good (not great) movies. Will he ever get to `No Way Out/Bull Durham/Field of Dreams' status? Who knows. But he seems happy making his recent films and no one can judge him for that. Kutcher has some serious shiny moments in this movie. He shows potential for great stardom and depending on his next few projects, he could get there. His efforts in this movie are impressive (he actually got in shape to pass all the physical requirements and swimming speeds to be a Rescue Swimmer), and actually shows depth and convincing change in his character as the movie moves on.

All in all, the movie stands up to and pays tribute to those who live by the code of `So others may live'. The technical accuracy is very good and I think many Coast Guard recruits will say that this movie is respectful in honoring the job they do.

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