TheLittleSongbird Whether Monte Walsh is one of the all-time greats of the Western genre I'm not sure. But it is certainly a personal favourite, and has a big emotional impact in a way that few other Westerns have, with the exception of perhaps The Shootist.It's beautifully photographed with an appealing graininess reminiscent of something like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Some shots are also almost painterly and the costumes are sets are equally handsome and evocative, maybe lacking the grandeur of Monument Valley for example but no less striking. William Fraker may have felt he was more comfortable as a cinematographer and he is perhaps more well-known for that, but his directing(his first and best) in Monte Walsh is most credible and does reiterate that he should have directed more films. John Barry, one of the greatest film composers who rarely put a foot wrong, couldn't have been a more ideal choice for composer, and his score here is wonderful, sweeping and elegiac. The film's song The Happy Times are Coming is a hauntingly beautiful song with a touch of irony and Momma Cass Elliot's singing of it is deeply felt and affecting.Also great about Monte Walsh is how well-written it is, with none of it feeling too wordy or meandering. The very poetic in tone script is both light-hearted and heart-wrenching and some of the metaphors really makes one contemplate afterwards. It also develops the characters remarkably, the characters could have been just stereotypes but here they just felt so real and easy to identify with, and I completely believed in the agreeable chemistry between Monte and Chet and the subtly touching one between Monte and Martine. The story, which is easy to follow and beautifully told, has a warm-hearted, poetic touch at first but becomes very elegiac that is both haunting and poignant, not in a manipulative or cloying way but in a genuine way and it does not feel like two different films. The acting is great, Lee Marvin commanding, noble and cool with a touch of steel, while Jack Palance has never been more restrained or moving with Chet being the most likable character of his career. Jeanne Moreau is very touching, her eyes conveying a devastating effect.Overall, a wonderful film and you'd be hard pressed to find a Western with as much emotional punch(to me only The Shootist comes close). 10/10 Bethany Cox

Robert J. Maxwell It begins as a comedy about committed cow punchers then turns dramatic as the old way of life begins to dry up and the cowboys have to adapt to changing circumstances. Nothing much new there. But in fact it has its innovative moments despite its overall derivative tone.It owes a lot to the success of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," an enormous success released the year before. "Butch" was about the end of the Old West's outlaw culture, while this is about cattle drives. "Butch" had a silly pop tune, "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head." This one has Mama Cass singing, "The good times are coming. They're coming real soon. And I'm not just pitching pennies at the moon." You will be forgiven for noting a family resemblance.Lee Marvin is decked out in the semi-army campaign hat he and his directors seemed to favor at the time -- "The Professionals", for instance. And Marvin gets one weird arrangement of facial hair after another, each making him look more, well, monumental than the one before. That notion may have come from the director, William Fraker, who was Director of Photography on Marvin's earlier "Paint Your Wagon," where he also sported highly sculpted mutton chops.Fraker's photography was usually quite good, as it was, for instance, in "Bullet." His direction isn't bad either. Having Marvin as the star helps enormously. He was at the top of his game in 1970. He seemed to be sober throughout. Ten years earlier, in a Western episode of "The Twilight Zone," he showed up drunk, crashed his horse backwards through a store window and fell off. (He apologized later.) He crashes a bucking horse through a store window here too, but this time it's the horse's idea. And what a bucking horse it is. He takes Marvin on a roller coaster tour of a Western town at night and demolishes half of it. In fact, there is some splendid horseback riding on evidence throughout the film -- and I say this from a position of complete ignorance about what constitutes splendid horseback riding.As I said, it becomes dramatic after the scenes of drunkenness and diarrhea. Marvin's girl friend, Jeanne Moreau, passes away. One of his friends drops out of cowboyhood and becomes the proprietor of the despised hardware store. Another goes bad, begins robbing banks, and must be killed reluctantly in a final shoot out. The conflict takes place in a cattle yard but the two adversaries don't run around shooting wildly at one another. If a bullet plunks into the planks an inch from Marvin's head, he doesn't even duck. He keeps walking slowly along. And his adversary doesn't challenge him long before putting up his pistol and allowing himself to be shot by Marvin, as a kind of penance. Heavy duty penance. There's a brief shot of Marvin returning to a town where he's had some raucous good times with old friends. He opens the door to the saloon. The large hall is as empty of people as it is of pity. After a long pause, Marvin slowly closes the door and walks away. I wonder if it requires a certain age, a certain accumulation of experience, to appreciate the melancholy of this scene. Anybody familiar with Edward Arlington Robinson's poem, "Mr. Flood's Party"?The point of view -- the fading of the traditional cowboy way of life -- combines sociology and character analysis. Things are changing. Superorganic things over which no individual has control. You can't stop economic evolution anymore than you can stop the stifle the syrinxes of all those who are Tweeting and Chirping and Cawing. Yet adaptation takes different forms. Jack Palance can quit and manage a store. Mitch Ryan quits and robs banks. Lee Marvin winds up wandering alone and half-mad through the mesquite, telling long, rambling tales to a horse that seems to have heard them all before. "There was not much that was ahead of him, And there was nothing in the town below -- Where strangers would have shut the many doors That many friends had opened long ago."

Bob-45 When "Monte Walsh" appeared in 1970, I avoided it like the plague. "Who wants to see a movie about the end of an era?" I asked myself, conveniently forgetting how much I loved "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance." So, nearly 30 years later, Turner Classic Movies gave me the opportunity to correct what might have been a mistake. Had I erred in 1970? Well, yes and no. Yes, because "Monte Walsh" now joins my list of one of the five best westerns ever made; and, no, because at the tender age of 21, I would not have appreciated this masterpiece; which, in these especially troubled times, seems more relevant than ever.According to TCM host, Robert Osborne, William Fraker directed only 4 films during his distinguished career, preferring his role as director of photography. If "Monte Walsh" is any example, then director Fraker missed his calling; as, "Monte Walsh" boasts outstanding ensemble acting, unusual unless the director is especially gifted. Many in this cast give the best performances of his or her career, particularly Jim Davis and Mitchell Ryan. "Monte Walsh" should be the role for which Marvin is remembered, as "Chet" should be the role to remember Jack Palance. It's a joy and a privilege to watch Marvin and Palance interact, even more enjoyable than Marvin and John Wayne in their frequent pairings. The first two thirds of "Monte Walsh" is largely upbeat, even in the hard times portrayed, while the final third left me both numb and aching."I won't p**s on 30 years of my life," is one of the many profound quotations in "Monte Walsh." It defines Monte's code of honor; a decent, loving and honorable man unwilling to compromise who he is. I give "Monte Walsh" a "10".

Albert Mazeika A Modern classic spearheaded by an intelligent script, excellent performances, beautiful photography and an outstanding score. Lee Marvin is at his rugged best in the title role with typical solid support from Jack Palance, who is excellent here cast against type. That this great western was finally released on DVD LONG after the REMAKE is just wrong. And I do not mean that as a slam against the Tom Selleck/TNT version which was a well done rehash that I also enjoyed. MONTE WALSH stands beside WILL PENNY as 2 pillars of the "vanishing cowboy" genre. It seamlessly morphs from action to pathos, poignant to laugh-out-loud funny. One of Lee Marvin's best roles.