Memorergi good film but with many flaws

Inadvands Boring, over-political, tech fuzed mess

Console best movie i've ever seen.

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

gkhege I have watched this movie many times over the years and it gets no better or worse. The scenery stills the show while no one believes for one moment these two old men could run over fifty yards and then fight someone half their age. The language is not for children or in my case, old people. This movie, like most westerns, raises one my pet peeves,how can everyone have such perfect teeth!

Wuchak Released in 1980, "The Mountain Men" chronicles the adventures of two mountain men in 1838 played by Charlton Heston and Brian Keith. They're bickering, cussing, fun-loving best friends who haven't seen each other for a couple of winters and the former is disheartened to discover that the market for beaver pelts has gone sour. Together they trap, fight Natives and party at a mountain rendezvous. When Tyler (Heston) acquires a Native woman named Running Moon (Victoria Racimo) her ex, a ruthless Blackfoot warrior named Heavy Eagle (Stephen Macht), wants her back and will kill to get her.This movie has a bad reputation with critics, but is generally praised by Western fans. Due to its subject matter it's not a conventional Western. There are no saloons, quaint Western towns, Sheriffs, Marshals, cavalries, cattle drives or quick-draw shootouts. "The Mountain Men" takes the topic of 1972's "Jeremiah Johnson" and mixes it with the tone of 1953's "Hondo" and, more so, 1977's "Grayeagle." It's mostly like the latter two in the way the Native Americans are depicted -- wild and savage. Their portrayal, albeit somewhat cartoony, is neither politically correct nor politically incorrect. It's basically just the way it was. They were either peaceable or brutally hostile depending on the people with whom they were dealing. For instance, the Crow Natives are friendly toward the mountain men in the movie whereas the Blackfoot are hostile. In any case, if you favor the aforementioned Westerns, you'll probably appreciate "The Mountain Men."I can understand the criticism of the film in that the first act is weak and tempts the viewer to tune out. The very first scene where one aged mountain man on horseback tackles another just for fun is Exhibit A. There's no way anyone would risk breaking bones in the high country just for kicks, particularly the elderly. Exhibit B is when Tyler fails to immediately go back and apprehend his pack animals, which contained his only possessions on Earth and his very means of survival in a cruel wilderness. If you can get past these flaws, however, the story really picks up when a certain character is savagely scalped at the beginning of the second act. The score is initially a turn-off as well because it's dated and maudlin, but if you persevere, you'll get used to it and there are some surprisingly effective parts (e.g. the percussion piece right before the river duel and the part that plays during the hot springs scene). Once you get into the second act the story becomes compelling and you feel involved in the lives of the characters until the end. While the two protagonists are gruff and unbecoming they have hearts of gold, sort of. Unfortunately, some people are so turned off by their gruffness that they can't look beyond it. I, for one, appreciated the realistic portrayal, as well as the humor, which is in contrast to "Jeremiah Johnson," where the tone was decidedly grim. In addition, Running Moon is a great character and the love she shares with Tyler is a potent story element. Heavy Eagle is also a quality antagonist.I suppose you could say it's a flaw that the principle Native characters speak English too well, but I'm pretty sure the script was written this way to get away from the sometimes laughable broken English that Natives would speak in older Westerns (the screenplay was incidentally written by Heston's son, Fraser). It would've helped if the Indians spoke their native language in the Native sequences, but it's assumed that they ARE speaking their native tongue, just like Germans are speaking German in WWII movies, not English, even though they're shown speaking English.Numerous other things impressed me about "Mountain Men." For instance, the Natives and their encampments look authentic even while one or two of the Indians seemed to act too modern, e.g. Cross Otter. Furthermore, there's a lot of muscular Western action with the mountain men fighting the Natives. One scene in particular is notable: Heavy Eagle tackles Tyler and they land in a rushing river where they continue to (try to) fight. It's a pretty exhilarating outdoors sequence and the waterfall is awesome. Lastly, despite the comic book tone, the movie is adult-oriented and gives a good glimpse of what it must've been like to live in the high country during that era. While "The Mountain Men" starts off weak it gets better as you catch a grip with the characters and the tone of the movie. It's a unique Western and the effort that was put into it is obvious. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Let me put it this way: I'd watch "The Mountain Men" any day before I'd watch the wildly overrated and lagging "The Wild Bunch." The film runs 102 minutes and was shot entirely in Northwestern Wyoming.GRADE: B

FightingWesterner Rowdy trappers Charleton Heston and Brian Keith take a little time off from trapping beaver and arguing amongst themselves, in order to fight off a hostile tribe of Blackfoot, that takes a special disliking to them after Heston makes off with the war-chief's wife.A crude, action-packed movie, the two leads wear massive helmets of fake hair under even bigger fur hats and seem to be having a lot of fun, spouting hilariously vulgar lines, while they drink, brawl, and shoot their flintlock rifles in an orgy of excessively macho violence.Though not very subtle at all, Heston and Keith's enthusiasm is pretty damn infectious, making this well worth checking out for fans of muscular action yarns.Production values, cinematography, and beautiful Wyoming locations are all first-rate. Also great is the performance by Brian Keith, who easily steals the movie away from top-billed Charleton Heston!

breyboa This movie is extremely enjoyable if you don't take it too seriously. From the beautiful scenery of the opening to the wondrous musical score at the finish (and throughout), I had a highly enjoyable viewing experience. One of my favorite movies, mostly because of Kieth's(Frapp) and Heston's(Tyler's) comical relationship and dialouge. Yes, the plot is simple and unoriginal, the indians are white actors and drop like flies in battle, but the cinematography is glorious in nearly every scene, the movie works quite well as a "period piece" and the relationships between the characters are fun and believable. I found it strange that in what seems like half the scenes the characters are walking or running through freezing mountain streams and rivers. Without a warm fire nearby they would have suffered from frostbite, and yet Tyler runs through a mountain stream in the winter!A high point is the scene where Frapp and Tyler are reunited unexpectedly in a snowy meadow after Tyler thought he saw Frapp killed. Pure joy! The movie weaves drama and comedy together into a fine fun time. How can anyone not enjoy Brian Kieth's performance? If you like the outdoors and action, by all means you'll love this fun romp. Just don't take it too seriously!