Villa Rides (1968)

Fresh and Exciting

A lot of fun.

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

First time I saw this movie I thought it was excellent, I was about twelve then. I still have a fondness for it, and will watch it whenever I find it on t.v.I am not a student of Mexican history, nor do I pretend to be, but I enjoyed it, and will watch it again all over. If you are looking for a life changing event then this is not it,(really if you want to change your life then get off of the couch, movies are not life, not even a substitute, go out, meet someone, have a fling, live a LIFE) if you want an amusing hour and a half, then this should do the job for you.What more can you you want from a movie?

"Magnificent Seven" co-stars Yul Brynner and Charles Bronson team up again as Mexican bandits-turned-freedom fighters in veteran television director Buzz Kulik's south-of-the-border epic "Villa Rides," a quasi-historical drama about Pancho Villa and the Mexican revolution during the early 20th century. Robert Towne of "Chinatown" fame and Sam Peckinpah wrote the cynical, bullet-riddled screenplay based on William Douglas Lansford's entertaining biography. Indeed, some scenes--such as Bronson's character lining three soldiers up in a row and shooting three of them at once--occurred in the book. Brynner is typically charismatic as Villa, while Bronson is appropriately Neanderthal as Villa's second-in-command Rodolfo Fierro. Fierro was a trigger-happy hombre in real-life and was always prepared to shoot first and ask questions later. Ostensibly, to give American audiences somebody with which to identify, the filmmakers cast Robert Mitchum as an aviator running guns to the villains. Later, he is captured by Villa's forced and scheduled for execution until the protagonist allows him to live to fly for them. Kulik orchestrates several major action scenes in this sprawling shoot'em up and delivers them with sufficient gusto, helped considerably by composer Maurice Jarre's rip-snorting musical soundtrack and "Bridge on the River Kwai" cinematographer Jack Hildyard's scenic lensing with Spain substituting for Mexico. Spaghetti western villain Frank Wolff has some memorable scenes, especially his death scene where he tries to hide in a well and the heroes lob a package of explosives into it.

VILLA RIDES (1968) turns out to be something of a big disappointment! And even though Sam Peckinpah had a hand in the screenplay, along with Robert Towne, it still emerges as a leadenly written movie dryly directed by the undistinguished Buzz Kulik. Firstly, top billed Yul Brynner as Pancho Villa is wrong for the part! He's not charismatic enough to play the great Mexican revolutionary! His one note performance lacks the fire and gusto Anthony Quinn or Gilbert Roland could have brought to the role. Brynner simply looks like a Russian aristocrat dressed up like a Mexican bandit who is in the middle of the Mexican revolution instead of the Russian one. Also, second billed Robert Mitchum is totally wasted in the picture! His part as a biplane flying ace lobbing home-made bombs from the air in the cause of the revolution is a poorly written meager role that could have been played by any minor star. Mitch hasn't a decent line in the entire movie and brings to one's mind his other Mexican revolution picture the far superior "Bandido" (1956) which unfortunately nobody seems to have any interest in releasing on DVD. Besides lacking any kind of style "Villa Rides" also suffers badly without the presence of a female star! There is starlet Grazia Buccella as a young Mexican girl who gives Mitchum the glad eye but her casting is merely perfunctory. Someone like Claudia Cardinale or Jean Peters could have perhaps added a couple of badly needed notches to the faltering story line.There are a couple of good action scenes in the movie but a couple of good action scenes do not a movie make and the less than perfect Panavision picture quality plus the over repetitive Maurice Jarre theme tune doesn't help matters.As is Paramount's wont there are no extras - not even a trailer! Yup, a disappointing movie and DVD presentation that could have been and should have been a whole lot better.

This Movie is Great, besides the action & adventure , there are Great performances for this B movie that most of the times just keeps teeners (boys mainly) from the street en from their homework ! its also a movie that brings the child back in the Man ! However, besides that, i love this movie Mainly for the role of Charles Bronson, who as Fiero is a Hard ("bad") man who you gonna Love ! His portrayel is marvelous and funny !! and don't forget the Magnificent Soundtrack score from Maurice Jarre !!