KnotMissPriceless Why so much hype?

VividSimon Simply Perfect

Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

mark.waltz As far different from Harold Robbins' "The Carpetbaggers" as it can be, this western of revenge lacks the soap opera elements that made its predecessor pure "trash with class". In that film, Alan Ladd played Nevada Smith, the mentor of ruthless Hollywood executive George Peppard, basically playing a disguised version if Howard Hughes. Young Nevada is out for revenge on the three men responsible for his parent's death, something he ironically set up by revealing their location.The three killers are Martin Landau, Arthur Kennedy and Karl Malden, meeting up with Steve McQueen's half breed Nevada in ironic ways. It's insinuated that the three tortured his parents before killing them, and a visual of McQueen's Indian mother's back being sliced is horrifying to watch. Miscast but not bad, McQueen is overshadowed by the three actors playing the villains, three of the great character actors of Hollywood's golden age. To tie "The Carpetbaggers" with this, Suzanne Pleshette is cast as an Indian lady who helps McQueen escape from prison, not realizing that it's part of his revenge on fellow prisoner Kennedy.While trying to imagine Pleshette as an Indian maiden is a bit far fetched, she really scores sympathy, especially in her final scene where she curses McQueen for using her in her revenge. Howard da Silva also scores as the brutal prison warden, especially when he arranges for escaped prisoner Kennedy to be whipped and left in the water to drowned. There are many small, tender moments and even a few bonding moments between each of the killers and McQueen's vengeance seeker. The stand off between each of them is filled with tension, basically dividing this into three parts.

robert-259-28954 I think this wonderful film often gets passed over on lists of "the best" Westerns. It succeeds on every level that I judge great films on—great story, great script, and the best actors for the roles. It's not very often that I classify Westerns in the "epic" genre, but this one certainly qualifies, like watching an entire novel... from the very beginning, to the bitter end. The only other I can think of with this kind of scope would be Sergio Leone's "Once Upon A Time In The West," a sweeping motion picture and modern day classic. This cast for Nevada Smith was so necessarily large, that they must have used every, single Western character actor alive in Hollywood, to good effect. Most memorable was a superb Brian Keith as the world weary gunsmith, an equally villainous Martin Landau, and fabulously unlikeable Pat Hingle, one of the most underrated actors of all time, in my opinion. Add to this powerful mix the evil Karl Malden and you have what can only be described as a "stellar" cast. Although Malden was often cast in the second fiddle, forgotten man parts, many forget his absolutely chilling portrayals as bad guys, particularly in his star turn as the sadistic sheriff in, "One Eyed Jacks," with Marlon Brando. He seems seems to channel a degree of pure evil like few others, and comes through with another chilling portrayal at the end of this film. Special mention should also go to the FANTASTIC music composer for this film, the great Alfred Newman, who's sweeping score made this motion picture one of the masterpieces of Western films it truly is. Grab a big bag of popcorn, and enjoy.

TankGuy By 1966,the American western had become the relic of the post world war two era and was being replaced and outdone by the Spaghetti western, with Sergio Leone releasing the third instalment of his famous "dollar's trilogy", THE GOOD,THE BAD AND THE UGLY, in this same year. This meant that the American western had to be reinvented, it had to change, it had to become more violent, more adult and deliver to audiences of the day what they really wanted to see. NEVADA SMITH succeeds completely in achieving each of the aforementioned factors, after 3 sadistic outlaws, Jessie Coe(MARTIN LANDAU),Bill Bowdre(ARTHUR KENNEDY)and Tom Fitch(KARL MALDEN)casually mutilate and murder his parents in brutal, gut wrenching fashion,Max Sand(STEVE MCQUEEN)swears violent revenge. He begins wandering the west looking for the killers and meets a gunsmith named Jonas Cord(BRIAN KEITH)who teaches him how to shoot,Max then dedicates the next few years of his life to hunting down and killing the 3 criminals...NEVADA SMITH is an amazing western, despite being a revenge western, it's a little different to the others as it has a twist, with the final scene being a major factor and setting it apart from the other films. The film is superbly directed by Henry Hathaway, who gave us gems like THE SONS OF KATIE ELDER(1965),TRUE GRIT(1969) and HOW THE WEST WAS WON(1962),Hathaway was an expert in terms of the western and NEVADA SMITH reflects this marvellously, he builds up tension terrifically and the film is paced fantastically.There never really is a dull moment and I was gripped in electrifying suspense for the entire duration of the film,especially leading up to the climax. He also did extremely well in putting across Max relentlessness in hunting the killers, showing the extreme lengths he is willing to go to achieve his goal. I was particular impressed with the prison camp sequence and also the scene in which Max escapes through the swamps with Bill Bowdre just so he can kill him and causes the death of an innocent young woman in the process, it gave the storyline a greater emotional depth and a raw, chilling edge. The scenes with Max executing the outlaws were incredibly shot but the thrilling climax was the best part of the movie, the exciting heist scene is followed by an absolutely spectacular all guns blazing shootout with great stunts, a fantastic horse chase and a taut, mind blowing showdown between Max and Tom Fetch. The final scene is what makes the film and is brilliantly scripted and acted and shot with stinging intensity, it also gave a violent revenge film a rather nice moral and an interesting end compared to other revenge movies which end on a bitter and dark note. This final sequence took me completely by surprise and really blew me away, I also believed it was a very satisfying ending, but it's far too great to spoil.I really liked the character of Max and was really interested by how the character changes as the film goes on, with his causing the death of an innocent woman and a chance meeting with a monk causing him to change his view on revenge and ultimately impacts the outcome of his bloodthirsty quest. Legendary Steve McQueen is awesome and cool in the role, Karl Malden is on magnificent, bloodcurdling form as the evil Tom Fetch and plays the role with roaring,energetic flamboyancy. He is outstanding,especially in the final scene, his final lines will echo in your head once the film is over and they're so excellently delivered that you can feel his raw desperation and despair. I felt Malden's performance overshadowed McQueen's but Steve definitely owned the film, Brian Keith, Arthur Kennedy and Martin Landau also gave stunning performances.The cinematography was a massive compliment to the film with breath-taking panoramic vistas of the beautiful mountains and deserts and gorgeous shots of the lush, green swamps. The lovely scenery gave a colourful look to an otherwise dark and violent film, Alfred Newnan's score was another highlight, it sounded epic in the opening credits but the music played during the heist scene was taut, exciting and simply fantastic.NEVADA SMITH is a magnificent and awesome western, up there among the very best of the genre. It definitely brought something fresh to the western table,it has everything,an interesting and gripping story with an intriguing and unique twist, taut and suspenseful script, brilliant pacing, exceptional camera-work and a chilling, explosive climax that will blow your mind and leave a lasting impression. A must see for any red blooded western fan.10/10.

RanchoTuVu A naive teenager becomes a killer as he tracks down the men who murdered his Indian mother and Anglo father. Nevada Smith is a movie with a journey at its center that is geographic and spiritual. Steve McQueen plays the part well as the character evolves. Karl Malden is the last of killer standing, getting it as the film's climactic episode. Martin Landau is the first killer McQueen tracks down and kills in a great scene in a corral crowded with anxious cattle. The film is too disjointed to be considered a classic western, but it's a harbinger of the kind of violent and sullen films western turned into as the 1960s progressed.