Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Tymon Sutton The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

LeonLouisRicci All Five of the Director Anthony Mann/James Stewart Westerns are Excellent Films and there is no need to point out which one is the Best because that would be a very Personal Opinion. This One was the First and it Started the Quintet and helped Reinvent the Western in both Style and Description. The New Wave of the Westerns were Called "Adult...Psychological...Complex", hardly Terms that Prior could or would be used to Describe this American Film Form.Fact is, that Anthony Mann was Overlooked for Decades and it wasn't until the Film School Generation brought the Director to Light and the Acclaim He Deserved. This is a Great Western that may be a bit Heavy on the "Gun-Culture" Gooeyness and the opening Shooting Contest may be Guilty of unneeded Name Dropping, after Things get Going the Movie is Stunning and Riveting in its Action Scenes like the Visceral Indian Attack and the Shootout at the Homestead. These are Violent and Gripping in a way that No Western had done in Terms of Style and Content.The Script is Crackerjack with the way Cowpokes of the Old West Spoke in Short, Choppy Sentences that were Unschooled, but Profound. There are many Quotables and the Characters are Interesting and Dynamically Portrayed. Shelley Winters is a Stand Out as a "Dance Hall" Girl and is Witty as well as Worldly. Dan Duryea is a Heartbeat away from Overripe Playing a Heartless Psychopath, and Millard Mitchell as a Talky Sidekick is Very Good. The Rest of the Supporting Players are all On Their Game.The Climax doesn't Disappoint and the Ricocheting Bullets are, again, Filmed with a Flare with Audio and Visual Effects that Looked and Sounded New and Different. Overall this one is Essential and Seminal in the Western Pantheon. One of the Best.

spelvini It's said that James Stewart's deal for a profit percentage over Screen Actors Guild salary to perform in Winchester '73 was the only way director Anthony Mann's movie could have been made. Given Stewart's low popularity rating after a stint in the Army and the lack of viewer interest in the Western genre the venture was a long shot at best.That it set a precedence for James Stewart, and the "working actor", something that remains today as stars (actually their agents) negotiate their talent for appearances in features, the deal Stewart struck with director Anthony Mann paved the way for a revival of the Western genre as well as reestablishing the actor as a palpable talent.A shooting contest in Dodge City attracts Lin McAdam (James Stewart) as the prize is a "one of a thousand" Winchester circa 1873, a special edition repeater rifle. When Lin bumps into Dutch Henry Brown (Stephen McNally) an old grudge is rekindled and is aggravated by the two being the finalist in the shooting match for the treasured Winchester rifle. Lin wins, barely, but Dutch steals the rifle and flees across the desert as Lin peruses as the real reason for their hatred of each other emerges. Lin and his partner High-Spade (Millard Mitchell) stop to help Lola Manners (Shelley Winters), and realize that the rifle has slipped into the hands of killer Waco Johnny Dean (Dan Duryea), and back again into the hands of Dutch. Good confronts evil as Lin and Dutch face off in a fiery revenge match with only one man sure to emerge triumphant.Aesthetically Winchester '73 as a revenge tale has a few flaws that limit its accessibility for the average viewer. The plot is couched in a story of mystery that is only revealed obliquely through characters talking to each other with the viewer learning simultaneously why the conflict between Lin and Dutch is so intense. This way of telling the story allows Mann to dwell on the "competitive" nature between the lead characters in the shooting contest for the famed Winchester rifle and allows the gun to serve double duty as a central metaphoric element in the movie.Cinematographer William Daniels shot the film in a high-contrast black and white, and the jagged western terrain serves as a hearty counterpoint to underline the emotions of the characters. Daniels was nominated for an Oscar for a few films including the one in which he photographed Greta Garbo, Flesh and the Devil. He finally won his Oscar in 1949 for his work on Jules Dassin's noir classic The Naked City in 1948. Daniels captures the world of the film in ways that stick with you long after the screen fades.To call Winchester '73 a landmark film is an understatement. The overwhelming success of the revisionist view of the Western initiated four more collaborations from Mann with his alter ego Stewart in the lead, including The Naked Spur in 1953. Robert L. Richards and Borden Chase adapted a story by Stuart N. Lake into a script that allows director Anthony Mann to utilize the exterior camera setups to reflect James Stewart's inner angst as he attempts to avenge a past injustice of Stephen McNally.The ultimate hook in the film is how the prized rifle keeps falling into the hands of first one, then another character with James Stewart's character just missing. It's the kind of thing that keeps us on the edge of our seat- we feel cheated that the gun has been stolen from its rightful owner, and then we feel frustrated as again and again the thing is scooped up by another admirer.The ending may leave you with ambivalence regarding the motivations of those deemed as good in the movie, and the ultimate future of the community they help to found, and this seems as vital to audience today looking at a film from the brink of the Cold War. It's still a rough ride, and thrilling to boot.

AaronCapenBanner Director Anthony Mann teamed up with Jimmy Stewart in the first of many westerns they made together, and this is the best, as it tells the story of Lin McAdam(Jimmy Stewart) who wins a shooting contest where the prize is a much sought-after Winchester '73 rifle, which is stolen by evil Dutch Henry Brown(played by Stephen McNally) prompting an enraged Lin to pursue him across the west, as the rifle passes through many different hands, dooming all who possess it. Dan Duryea plays Waco Jimmy Dean, a gunfighter that Lin forces him to tell where Dutch has gone, and whom he will encounter later on. Other people he meets are a newlywed couple(played by Charles Drake & Shelley Winters) who become involved with an Indian attack that they barely survive. All will converge in a final showdown between Lin & Dutch over a rocky mountain range, in battle not only for the stolen Winchester, but an old grudge, since both men know each other from way back...First-rate western with excellent direction and a strong, career changing performance from Jimmy Stewart, who conveys the rage and frustration felt extremely well. Fascinating story and exciting finale all contribute to making this a classic western.

Bloodwank This being my first classic western I have little in the way of frame of reference for talking about it. This said by my reckoning its great stuff. A tale of a gun, masterpiece of craft, but more about men and the toil of obsession. Lin McAdam (James Stewart) encounters one Dutch Henry (Stephen McNally) in the town of Dodge City, they have prior quarrel but things really heat up when Lin wins a prized Winchester '73 in a shooting contest and Butch subsequently steals it from him. So the pursuit begins, meanwhile the gun changes several hands. But as things progress we see the film isn't really about a gun. More about Lin and Dutch and their ways, and the places they find comfort. In Dodge City Dutch is at his element, later at a bar we see him about business, schemer playing his options. But in neither place is Lin at home, just the stark desert, just when in pursuit. The obsessed, at disadvantage to the object of obsession and facing uncertainty of what lies beyond. Perhaps the crucial scene of the film has Lin's friend High Spade (Millard Mitchell) querying this uncertainty as they bed down for the night, around them nothing but cold dark, cacti and hills. When obsession is fulfilled what then, can the obsessed yet find comfort? Its a serious question that adds a layer of pathos to our hero, handled very well by Stewart. He's a good man, but a hardened and darkened one, he can charm and appeal to the films notable female Lola (Shelley Winters) who ultimately sees though the facades of all, but there's steel within. Dutch Henry is a potent foil, there's that same steel but more calculation, more mind for ease, looser and more malign. And a good contrast to his fellow evil-doer Waco Johnie Dean (Dan Duryea), smiling and vicious, not being bound by any particular circle of obsession of vengeance entirely assured in his actions. There are other lines to the plot of course, but ultimately its about the leads as slowly they draw together, there are different confrontations but it all comes down to a classic style one on one showdown. The various action scenes are all quality stuff, a thrilling horse chase and a few shootouts, all tensely handled. A fine punctuation to the psychological side of the piece, and in one important scene illustration of the way these men of the old west relate to their environment and to burgeoning civilisation. Of course the film wouldn't work as a psychological piece without astute dialogue, of which there is plenty. Short, straight and timber tough, not a word is wasted, its a great work of characterful writing. I think the final moments could have been slightly better developed, with more of a nod to the ambivalent tone of earlier, but its a fairly minor gripe given the general tone. Quality stuff say I, 8/10