Review of The Big Country (1958) by Tim H — 03 Oct 2008

Okay, I went on this long tirade about how I wouldn't serve justice to Red River because it has been so long since I've seen it. Then I end up writing the longest, most in-depth review that I have written in a long, long time. Hopefully, the same thing will happen to this movie because I barely remember seeing it.

Really, this is a character drama. This one is a bit more old west / Gone With the Wind than Red River really was, but at its core is a character story and I suppose that is why I liked it so much. I really have to stress how much like Gone With the Wind that it felt like. A) Really long runtime. 165 minutes. That doesn't always win me over. Then there is the content and the set design. Everyone is a very proper gentleman and lady. I was honestly expecting David O. Selznick's name to be stamped all over this movie, but there was none of that. It didn't stop the fact that there was this unnecessarily epic scale. I guess an epic scale is kind of called for in this kind of movie. It is a feud movie that takes place during a romance. Consider it Romeo and Juliet if Romeo wasn't a Montegue or a Capulet, but an outsider. Yeah, that's what this movie was.

Again, this is one of those stories where the woman starts falling out of love with her man because she's crazy superficial. Luckily, this movie has the opposite message than the end of The Quiet Man. I can't help but make the comparison because both movies have male characters who are capable of practically anything, but are modest characters all the like. In Quiet Man, Wayne wins over his girl by finally slugging it out at her request. I have to say that I like the message in this movie better. Gregory Peck doesn't see the need to prove anything to anyone. He only needs to prove it to himself. I dig that in a cool way and that probably was my favorite part of this movie. That idea really isn't encouraged anymore. Really, we live in a world where cool is the norm and if someone is called out, there has to be an immediate and public response. But Peck is the kind of actor who can bring a really natural humilty to a character with out (ironically) flaunting the fact that he is modest. I have to say, "I love Gregory Peck.".

The feud story is an interesting one, but I don't think that it is really the greatest part of the movie. I have to say that Peck's story is the one that I'm primarily looking for and that the feud is simply part of the setting. This is a really obvious A and B storyline situation. Peck's main problem is resolved fairly early (in comparison to the whole 165 minutes) and the details are wrapped up with the B-line. But I suppose that the B-line is important enough that the story keeps on going and tries tugging at the Peck romance for a little bit longer. I didn't mind. The story was interesting enough and it gives the viewer a heck of a duel scene to respect. Really, the respectable part about the feud is the final sequence in the canyon. These characters end up evolving into the most despicable characters ever, but at least one of them has a sense of honor about his evil deeds. That's kind of an interesting paradox. You'd almost feel like the bearded guy (I told you, it's been a while.) would become fast-friends with Peck if there wasn't this whole family bloodfeud (not to be confused with the hit game show). The payoff is pretty solid at the end because it doesn't coddle the audience like Red River, but actually shows the way that this story would play out. I'm wildly impressed by that.

I'm not saying it is a perfect movie. Heck, I think the movie is just too darned long and I wish it was cut down a little, but it is pretty solid and there's a lot of great stuff here.