The Big Country

Starring: Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons, Charlton Heston, Carroll Baker, Burl Ives, Charles Bickford, Chuck Connors
Directed by: William Wyler
Rating: Not Rated
Genre: Western, Drama, Romance
1958

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A sea captain (Gregory Peck) moves out West to marry his sweetheart (Carroll Baker), and finds himself in the middle of a battle between her father (Charles Bickford) and his neighbor (Burl Ives) over a water supply.

Review:

Tim: The Big Country is a very good movies because it is so unlike the majority of Westerns. This is a film teeming with real intelligence that also happens to be about something, rather than just showing gunfights and horse chases. This film is really about men and their honor, being true to yourself despite what others think and say, and the true meaning of courage. This film expertly blends these lofty ideals with an engaging and entertaining plot. This movie is long, but it needed every minute to deliver this remarkable story.

The cast is one of the film's strongest aspects. Gregory Peck is fantastic in the lead role. He makes one of the most unlikely and remarkable Western heroes I have seen on screen. What I love his how unconventional his hero is- he doesn't like to fight, especially in front of a crowd. He cares not for what other people think- even when they believe him to be a coward. He knows exactly who he is, and that is enough for him. He is not bloodthirsty or vengeful. This is so different from the lead character in most Westerns, and it was a refreshing change of pace. It helps that Peck is in top form here, giving a memorable, incredible performance. I loved him in this movie, and that is a major reason why I enjoyed this film so much.

The supporting cast is quite good as well. I really enjoyed Jean Simmons in this film. Her role starts off very quietly and easily overlooked. However, as the film goes on, she becomes and bigger and bigger part, and we like her more and more. Her character was another one of my favorite aspects of this movie, but none of it works without the performance of Simmons. I also really enjoyed seeing Charlton Heston in a smaller, supporting role. Heston almost didn't take the role because it was so small, but was convinced because he wanted to work with William Wyler. This was a lucky move, because Heston's performance is excellent as well. In addition, we get to see an epic Gregory Peck v. Charlton Heston fistfight, which is one of my all time favorite Western duels. That scene is incredible. I also wanted to mention the easily overlooked but very strong performance of Burl Ives. He had a difficult job- to play the film's "villain" without actually being a villain (Chuck Connors is really the main antagonist). Ives gives a complex, fascinating performance that led him to pick up the film's only Academy Award, for Best Supporting Actor.

As I mentioned, one of the best aspects of this film is how different it is in tone, style, and substance, while still being every bit a western. This film is often credited with starting the trend of pacifist westerns. I am not saying that I want all westerns to be pacifist, because I absolutely love gunfights, death, and mayhem. However, I don't want all westerns to be that. I like that this film took a less violent approach, while not giving up strength or honor. This film takes Gregory Peck and really does make him a pacifist- but at the same time, he is remarkably strong, honorable, and heroic. That is impressive.

I often rally against films that push the limits by sprawling out longer than they have any reason to. At 2 hours and 45 minutes, this is a very long movie. However, it never feels long- the story is so big and engaging that it needed that length to properly tell the tale. The movie balances out action, drama, and romance remarkably well, and has a few unforeseen twists which keep us interested and focused on the movie. Any film that goes on for nearly 3 hours and yet never loses our attention is impressive. The Big Country is a very, very good Western.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Roman Holiday, Ben-Hur, Pork Chop Hill, The Guns of Navarone