Vera Cruz

Lancaster must have some kind of record for "whitest and widest smile in a period piece", and deserves a lot of praise for an unparalled smugness. The dynamic and acting between him and Cooper makes the movie, but aisde from a pretty good metaphorical pissing contest involving a Winchester rifle, very few of the scenes have that much staying power. Overall a servicable western if you've seen most of the classics of the genre already.

The link between the classical western of Ford, Mann and Hathaway and the revisionist western of Leone and Peckinpah. Allthough the stoic Gary Cooper as the old school southerner seems almost tired or bored opposite Burt Lancasters flamboyant, cynical gunslinger, it delivers as a highly entertaining western adventure.

Burt Lancaster had such perfect white teeth and bared them throughout the movie. Gary Cooper was much too old. It was interesting to see the 2nd Mexican Empire including an appearance from Maximillian, but after that grand shootout everything kind of drags along until the ending. Fav scene: Cooper punches a henchman out the bar door and he just keeps on rolling onto the street.

A team of gunslingers agree to protect a convoy for the Mexican Emperor. There are constant twists and betrayals, none of which will be unforeseen, and a slightly goofy tone that denies it much credibility, but it has an exceptional pace that easily fends off tedium. Cooper's lethargy does stifle some of the film's energy, but Lancaster's exuberance more than makes up for it.

Charles Bronson and his harmonica.

já to velho pra western

Lancaster and Cooper make for a good pairing and a sharp contrast between each other.

isn't it just cute that there are these different "generations" of westerns and you can dedicate your time to study westerns and their differences?

A Western that steals a little from noir tropes. I can't explain why I liked this as much as I did: Cooper almost disappears while Lancaster takes over every frame he's in. There aren't many sympathetic characters here; each time we meet someone new, they're just a little more corrupt than the prior one. But there's a decent amount of humor (often wrapped up in the double- and triple-crossing), and a few "how do we get out of this one" scrapes with characters who don't trust each other.

Viewed April 1, 2020.

Average western that gets a bump from Cooper/Lancaster interactions.

This is an extremely influential western. It's gang of amoral protagonists points to the direction the genre would take in the following decade. Cooper emerges as the film's hero largely because he develops SOME conscious, deciding that the gold should instead go to the Juaristas, but for most of the film, he distinguishes himself by being less amoral than Lancaster, who at one point threatens to kill children to get himself out of a jam.

Can't make out why I didn't love it more. The scope is impressive, the action exciting, the babes enticing. Easy to see how it stands as a prototype for the (final) future of Westerns. Burt Lancaster is so lame.

Interesting but ultimately unsatisfying western feels perched on the precipiece of the 'traditional' westerns of the 40s and the 'Spaghetti Revolution' of the 60s; by falteringly trying to cater to both styles, it really pleases neither. Lancaster's amusing comic performance is a highlight; Cooper seems somewhat uncomfortable and conspitated by comparison. Overly expositional writing slows things to a crawl at the midpoint, though the marksman contest is a well-staged bit of fun.

It's entertaining to watch Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster. Nothing really screams special here, but it's a perfectly decent western.

Garry Copper and Burt Lancaster give very good performances, the humor is very dry and the action sequences are well done with a nice finale .

A large scale visual experience that's not quite as fun as it thinks it is. Burt Lancaster smiles too much, as an actor, generally.

Burt Lancaster's gritty smile hit this one home

Entertaining Western starring Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster as two guns-for-hire who get hired by the wrong guys in Mexico. Cooper of course is the sturdy good guy, while Lancaster is more chimeric, his gleaming teeth seem to refract a different moral stance each time he flashes them. Does tread the line of showing racism/sexism and being racist/sexist, and some of the plot turns are silly, but Robert Aldrich keeps it brisk and lively.

Everything works in this first-rate Western. Fans of "The Wild Bunch" should see what Aldrich did with mercenaries and Mexico 15 years before Sam.

Joe Erin black outfit has been stuck in my head since I was 8.