Review of Hombre (1967) by Wizard W — 27 Nov 2006

Paul Newman is John Russell/Tres Hombres, a white man raised by Indians, who finds himself in difficult position when he becomes the only hope for a group of stagecoach passengers facing a gang of outlaws.

Beautiful realized western that manages to say something meaningful about prejudice without ever resorting to preaching the audience. Newman is a reluctant, fascinating hero, one of many interesting characters in an extremely well-written, well-directed movie.

Diane Cilento is superb as one of the passengers. Her exchanges with Newman are priceless and give film its substance. Richard Boone is a terrific bad guy (too bad he practically disappears during the second half), and Fredric March is marvelous in one of his last roles.

I liked how director Martin Ritt shot the film - lots of interesting medium shots and hardly any music, allowing ambient sounds to do their work. A very interesting western, with plenty of meat for intellect, good characterizations, and great plot twists.