elvircorhodzic LONELY ARE THE BRAVE is a western drama about a lonely cowboy, who has rudely confronted with the loss of his reality. It is based on the novel "The Brave Cowboy" by Edward Abbey.The main character is one of the last cowboys. He refuses to join the modern society and its achievements. He respects his law and laws of the old West. As he crosses a highway into a town in New Mexico, his horse has a difficult time crossing the road, confused and scared by the traffic. They enter town to visit his old friends. His friend is in prison for giving aid to illegal immigrants. To break his friend out of jail, he decides he himself needs to get arrested. His plan is successful and he persuades his friend to escape from the prison. However, his friend has a clear attitude ...This is a simple and very exciting story. The plot is based on differences in character between the main protagonists and their views on the achievements of society and laws. A tepid line of humor and old love give a nostalgic tone to this story. The behavior of the protagonists and impressive scenery contribute to the believability of this film. The certain interruptions such as a bubble gum, helicopter or washer are completely unnecessary, and it has disturbed a specific balance between the traditional and modern conception.Kirk Douglas as John W. "Jack" Burns is a lonely and brave cowboy, unfriendly and irresponsible idealist who has more confidence in his horse than in humans. He, it seems, wants to win the modern world and prove to himself that his way is correct. Mr. Douglas has offered a very convincing performance. Walter Matthau as Sheriff Morey Johnson is a personification of understanding and duties as Jack's pursuer. He has, through a semi-comical game, rejected both concepts. Their support is Gena Rowlands (Jerry Bondi) as Jack's old love and a woman's voice of reason, Michael Kane (Paul Bondi) as Jack's friend, who has accepted the law and rejected tradition and a sense of freedom and George Kennedy (Gutierrez) as a sadistic deputy, who is actually an ordinary chicken.The ending is quite touching.

classicsoncall What a difference a half century makes. When Jeri Bondi (Gena Rowlands) laments her husband's incarceration for helping illegals cross the border, she mentions the consequences one might face for violating real borders, real fences, real laws, and consequently, getting mixed up in real trouble. No way anyone involved with the picture could have foreseen the day when all of the 'real borders' stuff is just a moot point, and authorities are told to stand down by a lawless administration. This film couldn't even be made today, it wouldn't have any relevance.I'm reading some of the other reviews for this movie and scratching my head over the comments linking it to "First Blood". From the outset in that film, Rambo was the character who was being provoked; here it's Jack Burns (Kirk Douglas) doing the provoking all the way. I didn't find Burns to be a sympathetic character in that respect as he went looking for trouble and generally found it. With Stallone's Rambo, you want to root for the guy who's being pursued by a megalomaniac sheriff who has a distorted sense of right and wrong. Sure, you had Gutierrez (George Kennedy) here as the stand in for Brian Dennehy's Sheriff Teasle, but he was an ancillary character. The principal sheriff, Morey Johnson (Walter Matthau) appeared to have a more realistic approach to apprehending Burns. When he didn't 'recognize' him at the end of the story as the man he was chasing, it said a lot about the sympathy he had for a man defying the odds and coming up short.There's an aura of the passing of the Old West that's quite pervasive with this story, and a lot more pronounced with the juxtaposition of Burns out in the wilderness and all of modern day technology (for 1962) brought to bear against him. Burns himself describes what it's like to be the last cowboy when he explains to Jeri why they never hooked up - "Cause I'm a loner clear down deep to my very guts. You know what a loner is? He's a born cripple. He's crippled because the only person he can live with is himself". I've spent a lot of time thinking about that because for this cowboy it strikes very close to home.

AaronCapenBanner Kirk Douglas stars as an independent modern day cowboy named Jack Burns who laments the age he lives in, and all the restrictive laws it represents. When Burns finds out an old friend is in prison, he makes the extraordinary decision to get himself arrested, and sent into that prison so that he can help his friend escape! Unfortunately for him, his friend does not want to escape, so Burns leaves on his own, which causes the authorities to pursue him, though he is now on horseback, and they are in jeeps and helicopters, leading to a sad an inevitable outcome...Interesting film is a well acted and directed(David Miller) story of a stubborn man who is worthy of sympathy for being born a century too late, but his stubbornness brings the problem on himself, so viewer can only relate to his plight to a point, and the sheriff in pursuit(played by Walter Matthau) is in the right. By the end, the character I really felt bad for was that horse.Look for Bill Bixby in his film debut as a helicopter pilot.

dmcleveland Jack Burns personifies the true authentic man. Inner-directed, questions society's rules, its prejudices and desire to beat into submission the individual. He belongs to a race of men who no longer fit in. This movie also highlights the constant march of man v. technology, individual freedom v. governmental interference and desire to control. So many sub-plots and themes that are so timely in today's world. Open your eyes and look around you.Great character actors and actors early in their careers. The black and white adds to this film's rich texture. No fancy special effects to distract from the message.