The Far Country

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The far country of the title is Alaska, where James Stewart, a cold-hearted cattleman, and his sidekick Walter Brennan, a garrulous old codger, drive a herd of cattle to cash in on the gold rush. Stewart is the ultimate loner, a point the film takes pains to paint as he watches helpless miners murdered by a gang of thugs without lifting a finger. John McIntyre plays his nemesis, a magnetic but corrupt Roy Bean-like judge and merchant who preys off the miners passing through his town and steals Stewart's cattle in the name of justice. Stewart, after signing on to lead saloon owner Ruth Roman's wagon train to the mining camp, steals back his herd and makes himself a respectful enemy: "I'm gonna like you. I'm gonna hang you, but I'm gonna like you," grins McIntyre. The rest of the film is a battle for Stewart's soul, between resolute individualism and community activism, between bad woman Roman and good girl Corinne Calvet (one of the film's weakest elements, admittedly, as the sparks between Stewart and Roman are far more exciting than Calvet's silly kewpie doll in flannel). The Far Country is largely shot on studio sets and pulls out familiar Western tropes not usually seen in his films, but Mann brings an edge to the drama with explosions of cold-blooded violence and a brilliant final shootout that plays out on a split-level plain. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

The cliches ride again.......2007-05-31

If this western thrills you, life must be pretty dull. The plot is barely understandable within the first 45 minutes. No characters emerge as more than one dimensional. Ruth Roman, huge bra and full makeup on the trail, smirks a lot. Corinne Calvet, 30 years old, is supposed to be a sex-starved teen and is given many embarrassing lines. Walter Brennan plays Walter Brennan. The villains sneer and scowl. Jimmy Stewart glares a lot and is supposedly tough. And then the big shoot-out. Save your five bucks; the scenery isn't worth it.

Unremarkable 50's western.......2007-03-16

Some nice location shooting is wasted in a standard western. The female characters are particularly irritating and one-dimensional. This is definitely the worst Anthony Mann/James Stewart pairing.

Sturdy star Western with good production values!.......2006-11-08

In "The Far Country", James Stewart and Anthony Mann are off on yet another popular Western storyline, their 4th together...

The traditional plot, situation, and dialog are compensated somewhat by the wonderful scenery of the Canadian Northwest, evocatively captured by Mann's camera...

Stewart's familiar supporting cast (Jay C. Flippen and Harry Morgan) made their presence with Walter Brennan, the most decorated character actor in American Movies with 3 Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor to his name... Brennan contributes his usual well known portrayal as an eccentric old companion of good spirit and intentions...

Stewart is a Wyoming cattleman who wants to make enough money to buy a ranch, so he drives his herd clear to Alaska and on to Dawson, in Canadian territory, where he sells them...

Along the trail he meets the baddie who runs the town behind a corrupt sheriff John McIntire... They try to steal him his cattle... Later, in Dawson, McIntire and his gang reappear, this time interfering with Stewart's gold claim...

In the film, Stewart has two leading ladies to contend with: Ruth Roman, a bit too precious to qualify convincingly as a tough sweet gale weathering the worst vicissitudes of the territory and the more gentle, the French Canadian girl Corinne Calvet who does create a nice portrait of a decent girl with good instincts... In conventional fashion, Stewart is torn between the flamboyant lady-gambler and the wife-candidate...

Anthony Mann's heroes are often thoughtful men forced into hysterical violence by their need to avenge a wrong or shameful past... They are neurotic and cynical - which is hardly surprising giving the amount of rough handling they have to suffer... In "The Man From Laramie" Stewart is dragged through a fire and has his hand shot through; in "The Far Country" he is shot up and thrown into a river...

Mann's villains are among the most corrupt, unbalanced and memorable to be found in any Western before or since, with Alex Nicol in "The Man From Laramie"; Robert Ryan in "The Naked Spur"; Dan Duryea in "Winchester'73" and the depraved, grandiosely evil Doc Tobin of Lee J. Cobb in "Man of the West" taking the highest honors...

If one ever needed convincing that Westerns are a genre to be taken seriously, the work of Anthony Mann would be evidence enough..

Great Stewart/Mann Western.......2006-10-30

The Far Country was one of the great collaborations between actor James Stewart and great director Anthony Mann. As all of their films did, The Far Country features great performances, a keen literate script, and wonderful direction.

Stewart plays a cowboy assisted by eternal codger Walter Brennan in driving cattle to Alaska. As always in the Stewart/Mann films, Stewart's character is a loner with a past, and he turns his back on what happens in the Alaskan town he settles in, which is ruled with iron-fistedness by John McIntire. McIntire cheats, kills, and run roughshod over everyone, but Stewart does nothing to stop him until tragedy ensues.

The Far Country is a great Northern Western, full of action and fury, but it is made complete by a wonderful partnership that made some of the best films of the 50's. And The Far Country was one of those films.

Stunning location shots elevate this impressive cowboy movie above most!.......2005-12-08

This review is for the 2003 Universal DVD.

The movie begins in Seattle in the spring of 1896 where Jeff Webster (James Stewart) leads a herd of cattle that are to be loaded on a paddleboat headed to Skagway, Alaska. At the dock, Webster meets up with his longtime sidekick Ben Tatum (Walter Brennan). Shortly afterward, it's revealed that while driving the cattle from Wyoming, Webster shot two of his cowhands for allegedly trying to rustle his cows. But due to conflicting accounts, he's a wanted man by the law and eludes the authorities while boarding the boat with the help of Ronda Castle (Ruth Roman) and arrives in Skagway with his cattle. While herding the cattle through the streets of Skagway, a small stampede ensues and interferes with a public hanging. Webster is arrested by a corrupt judge named Sheriff Gannon (John McIntire) and loses all of his valuable cattle as restitution for the minor damage and short interruption. This sets up the rest of the movie where Webster and Tatum have no choice but to look for gold in the lawless Yukon where greed, corruption, brutality and even fatal hostility run amuck.

The one thing that sets this film apart from other westerns is the absolutely beautiful location shots in and around the Canadian Rockies. The color cinematography is gorgeous although it's surprising and somewhat perplexing that Universal chose to present this film in a fullscreen format instead of widescreen. Jimmy Stewart plays one of the more complex and sometimes disturbing heroes as he at times chooses his own self-interests over moral decency. I also enjoyed Walter Brennen who gives a stellar performance as the venerable sidekick. Besides John McIntire, there are also many other recognizable Hollywood veterans in this film including Jack Elam, Harry Morgan and Steve Brodie. I can't say this is the greatest western ever, but its easily ranks within my Top 5.

The fullscreen technicolor presentation is very nice. It's not quite restored to perfection, but it comes close and sometimes the colors fade in and out. There aren't any bonuses except a trailer, which is a shame since the location shooting must have been an amazing adventure in itself.

Movie: A-

DVD Quality: A-

Average customer rating:

ENJOY THE MOVIE FOR WHAT IT IS, A MOVIE!
How do you ruin a good novel?
This Film Has A Great Message

The Far Country
Starring: Michael York , Sigrid Thornton , Brenda Addie , Don Barker , and Terry Brittingham
Director: George Miller
Manufacturer: Bfs Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005LE3B
Release Date: 2001-06-01

Customer Reviews:

ENJOY THE MOVIE FOR WHAT IT IS, A MOVIE!.......2007-09-06

I own this movie and I have never read the book. I enjoyed the movie very much - I do not understand why people give movies such bad ratings because they do not follow the book. Can't anyone just enjoy the movie for itself and it's own contents?

How do you ruin a good novel?.......2005-09-01

Answer: You begin by sort of reading a novel, then think that you can do a better job with it. Make up some stuff you think your sponsors would like. And delete some stuff you don't think is important to the overall plot (because you didn't understand why the author put it in his book in the first place.)

I always expect "dramatizations" to be lousy and this has lived up to that expectation marvelously. It's lucky that Nevil Shute is dead or else this would have surely killed him.

The screenwriter changed ALOT:
1. The Holocaust is never mentioned in the novel. So all the scenes in the movie concerning that is fanfic by the screenwriters.
2. In the novel, Carl is well-liked by the other lumbermen. In fact, he serves as the camp doctor.
3. In the novel, the local doctor is rather supportive, though cautiously, of Carl---to the point where he writes to the British Medical Association about making an exemption for Carl.
4. In the novel there is a very important subplot about Carl trying to find the identity of a "Charlie Zlinter" who lived and died in the Howqua 50 years earlier. The screenwriters obviously discarded Shute's plot for the NAZI one.

It's a wonder the screenwriter didn't do some more "improvements".

So do yourself a favor and honor Mr. Shute by reading the book, instead of filling your brain with this tripe.

This Film Has A Great Message.......2001-12-28

I saw this film when I was young, and am quite happy to find it again. It is the story of a doctor who was forced to join the German Army during WWII, and later moved to Australia, hoping to escape the memories and prejudice of war. After attempting to save the life of a logging man, the community discovers he was in the German Army, and he is threatened with deportation.
I can't give away the ending, but the message is real and heart felt. Definitely worth watching.

Average customer rating:

From a Far Country: Pope John Paul II
Starring: Kathleen Byron , Christopher Cazenove , Warren Clarke , Maurice Denham , and Rupert Frazer
Manufacturer: Legacy Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0009X57R4
Release Date: 2005-03-01

The Far Country ~ Two (2) Disc Box Set [Import] (Dvd)

Average customer rating:

The Far Country ~ Two (2) Disc Box Set [Import] (Dvd)
Director: George Miller
Manufacturer: Premier Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Inia land of hope, theifuture was everything they could wish for.
"... better than the Nevil Shute novel upon which it is based. Anyone who likes a good adventure/romance should try this film." IMDb Review
Import from Korea made for the USA/Canada marketplace (NTSC, All-Region)

ASIN: B000MVUFAW

Product Description

The Nazi officer and the doctor's daughter: together, they discover a whole new world in an exciting new country. For Carl Zlinter the end of the war signals a period of unexpected hope. A new life in a new country offers him a chance to hide from his Nazi past and a blossoming romance with the enchanting Jennifer Morton begins to erase many bitter memories. For the gentle Jennifer Morton, a love affair is something she tries to resist and cannot. Carl Zlinter is not, however, all that he seems and even Jennifer is not privy to his dark secret. Serving as a Nazi doctor to avoid deportation to a death camp, Carl was forced to save a notorious concentration camp commandant. It is this secret which Carl keeps hidden. It is a secret that, when exposed, will shatter all of their dreams and expectations.

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Story So Far: Live & More
Starring: Melinda Schneider
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000CIXHEG
Release Date: 2005-12-06

DVD:

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