ChicRawIdol A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Mathilde the Guild Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

hrkepler 'The Hired Hand' is one of those vastly underrated films that anyone have barely heard of. That's pity. Gorgeous cinematography by Vilmos Zsigmond and mesmerizing score by Bruce Langhorne, company this poetic and elegiac study of loneliness and loyalty, abandonment and reunification to a whole new level for westerns. 'The Hired Hand' is seemingly thin and too straightforward on plot, but here the main focus lays in human relationships. Slow burning story feels almost like meditation. There are some shooting (bloody ones), but these scenes don't stand out compared to the rest of the movie and keep the balance and flow natural and smooth. That doesn't mean these are boring scenes - no, these are pretty tense moments. Probably much more realistic depiction of the wild west than some popular and more action packed westerns have managed. The story is simple, but characters who carry it are deep and complex.It was directorial debut for Peter Fonda, and he proved he had an eye for directing job. Unfortunately after that he only directed two movies that are mediocre and obscure. Fonda also gives one of his best acting jobs here as young but life experienced drifter Harry Collings. His performance really emanates feelings and passion. His chemistry with Warren Oates feels natural and there is real friendship and bondage between the two saddle tramps. When Harry returns back home to his wife Hannah (Verna Bloom) the film threatens to turn into sappy melodrama for the second there, but again manages to keep its realistic portrayal of human relationship. Here one can't go without mentioning Verna Bloom's subtle, but never cold performance as an estranged wife.'The Hired Hand' is a film where little is spoken, but much is said. Hard to find and rarely shown western that is must see for everyone with serious interest in cinema. The label 'hippie western' is meant as mocking, but don't fall for that. 'The Hired Hand' is much more visceral and acid than most of the self proclaimed acid westerns.

LilsZoo2015 Slow, moody, harsh, honest, beautiful, brilliant. I wanted to stop at these words, but the guidelines insist on being a bit more verbose which I personally feel will take away from the original drama meant by my first lines. But to satisfy the "rules" I go on. I think our man Pete here did a bang up job directing this period piece of a time in American history when we lived close to the land and even closer to people we bond to, (wives vs. best buds). Enuf said!

LeonLouisRicci Ethereal, Earthy, Poetic Western from Rookie Director Peter Fonda. A Contemplative, Evenly Paced, Well Acted, Wonderfully Scored, and Beautifully Shot Story about Friendship, Family, and Lifestyles in the Latter Half of the 1800's.Fonda, Warren Oates, and Verna Bloom all give Believable Characters the Heart and Weary Souls needed in this Type of Thing. The Type of Thing is Unconventionality Widely Experimented with in the Late Sixties and Early Seventies."Revisionist" is a Label often used and will Suffice with this Dismissed and Forgotten Film. There's hardly a Flaw or a Misstep as the Expressionistic Experience Haunts the Viewer with its Beauty and Simplicity.The Movie has Aged like Fine Wine as it is Unpretentious, Poignant, and Understated. The Writing is Minimalist and the Visuals are Dreamlike. It is an Experience as much as an Entertainment and both Critics and Audiences have been Impressed with its Artistry as it Captures the Time and Place, the People and the Space of Americana.

dbdumonteil A visually splendid western by Peter Fonda who uses the marvelous landscapes with great skills ;his characters move in a very precise space and the fade in fade outs are worthy of George Stevens ;the three leads (the director ,Warren Oates and Verna Bloom),sparing of gestures and words ,give impressive restrained performances ;except for the "prologue" and the "epilogue" ,violence is almost absent -Peckinpah's fans should move on- and you could almost call "the hired hand" (a very adequate title)a pastoral western ,where nature itself becomes a true character (it predates " Jeremiah Johnson" ).Verna Bloom is a very modern woman in the macho world of western (compare her to the girl who gives water to the prisoner);she acts like a man ,without overlooking her daughter's education .She is much older than her husband ,which is almost incredible in a western.And for once the gossips in town are accurate .Peter Fonda would like to settle down and live a peaceful life between his wife and his daughter,not just be a "hired hand" .But the hand on fate is on him again;it's a character who reacts to events but is not able to initiate them.In a way ,he is still a teenager who needs to be part of a pack. Restored in 2001,the pictures are a feast for the eye.