Lonely Are the Brave (1962)

Simply A Masterpiece

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

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.

The Western Movie was a Prolific Part of the Human Psyche and therefore Culture in the 1950's and was so "Done to Death" on the Silver Screen and the "Idiot Box" and those not Completely Enchanted by its Charm were Prone to Overdose.America's Love and Fascination with "Tales of the Old West" is Understandable and the Individualism and Free Spirit of the "Cowhand" is Seductive and Sustenance for the Soul of Folks Seeking to be Free.This Film is Layered with a Dooming Determinism by Society to "Corral", Ridicule, Ostracized, or Imprison these "Rebels" who Value Liberty with Few Restrictions. Classic. Kirk Douglas Stars as a Modern Day "Throwback" to a Time and Place of Wide Open Spaces, a "Don't Fence Me In" Attitude and Philosophy.In the Early Sixties such Folks were a Dying (more accurately killed) Breed. Similar Themes Crop Up in Popular Movies, like "Easy Rider" (1969), the works of Director Sam Peckinpah, and "First Blood", aka "Rambo 1"(1982).Blacklisted Screenwriter Dalton Trumbo Penned the Script for His Friend Douglas and its Story is Classic Trumbo. Characters in this well Regarded, if Under-Seen Film, are Entertainingly Defined and Poignant. Walter Matthau is Memorable and so is Gena Rowlands as His Friend's Wife and Confidant.A Little Seen Film that has been "Lost" and Virtually Forgotten but is Slowly Returning to the Collective Consciousness of Film Fans and Historians. It's Not a Perfect Picture with some Character Behavior Questionable and the Ending is Contrived but Emotionally Effective.Note..."Whisky" the Cowboy's horse figures prominently in the Movie and deserves recognition and respect. After all, what would a Western Hero be without His beloved and necessary partner/companion.

...........................................................from Pasto,Colombia...Via: L.A. CA., CALI, COLOMBIA...and ORLANDO, FL "Some things never change...and some things remain the same!" A college philosophy professor of mine had a penchant for utilizing this quote at, seemingly, the most inappropriate of times. After watching Lonely Are the Brave, his phrase re-surfaced and, perhaps, I finally got it.How this early sixties masterpiece has flown under my radar, and just about everyone else's, for half a century, I'll never know. From the very opening scene, LONELY has a unique way of punctuating every detail, each occurrence, that was very Avantgarde for 1962.The opening minutes are probably the most surprising of any "Western" I've ever seen, serving both to highlight the condition of dead-man-walking cultural anachronism of its protagonist and as a foreshadowing of events. In the "Making of..." special features short,(Please, don't miss it!) both Kirk Douglas (Jack Burns) and son, Michael, agree that "Lonely" constitutes both Kirk's favorite film and characterization. And it shows. It's hard to fathom why he was denied even the recognition of a nomination.The film revolves around Jack's quest to help his best friend avoid serving a 2 year prison term for, of all things: smuggling, aiding and abetting "wetbacks"! (Some things never change!) But who is going to save Jack from himself? Jack's horse, "Whiskey" co-stars. No flippancy, whatsoever, there, just simple fact! Gena Rowlands (Decades younger here than in "Notebook") does a superb job in a supporting role as best friend's wife/suppressed love interest.Most of the rest of the cast shines, especially a relatively young and unknown Walter Matthau as the very intense, but low-key Sheriff. The B+W photography and editing are both artistic and extremely well-crafted. This film holds up, as few others, to the test of time. In fact, it is perhaps more relevant today than it was in 62! What a subtle, but resoundingly powerful message it delivers. 10*.....ENJOY/DISFRUTELA! Any comments, questions or observations, in English o en Español, are most welcome! ....

Kirk Douglas stars as an independent modern day cowboy named Jack Burns who laments the age he lives in, and all the restrictive laws it represents. When Burns finds out an old friend is in prison, he makes the extraordinary decision to get himself arrested, and sent into that prison so that he can help his friend escape! Unfortunately for him, his friend does not want to escape, so Burns leaves on his own, which causes the authorities to pursue him, though he is now on horseback, and they are in jeeps and helicopters, leading to a sad an inevitable outcome...Interesting film is a well acted and directed(David Miller) story of a stubborn man who is worthy of sympathy for being born a century too late, but his stubbornness brings the problem on himself, so viewer can only relate to his plight to a point, and the sheriff in pursuit(played by Walter Matthau) is in the right. By the end, the character I really felt bad for was that horse.Look for Bill Bixby in his film debut as a helicopter pilot.

Some 72 different reviews that I saw... most proclaim the movie as very good to excellent while one or two pan it and say 'Burns got what he deserved.' Interesting as the film portrays without really endorsing (aside from the fact that the 'to be Libertarian' Jack Burns is the hero) a man who feels that 'freedom' is valuable enough to engage in behavior that potentially could cost that rare commodity. Brave but some have said foolish. The film is engaging in that a variety of 'types' are represented. Certainly no one can argue that Matthau is a 'type' as are Rowlands (the wife in love with someone else perhaps) and the 'brutal' type of Kennedy's role. The buffoonery of some of the deputies and the over exuberance of the young Airmen... all types but mixed well in this film which I found extremely well done... and I was rooting for Whiskey all the time and there is NO mention of who owned or trained that splendid animal. The scenes urging her up the rocky cliffs was enough to suggest a Oscar for Whiskey. But the oncoming (Spoiler) 18 wheeler carrying toilets (would have been worse if it was toilet paper!) while close the book on Jack's valiant and brave efforts to elude his pursuers and get across the border(s) to freedom someplace else. The acting was superb by all and landscape, filming, locations... all really added greatly to the films attraction. Some might say that such an era is past but freedom loving people are still around who will die for it and, as many might suggest that such freedoms are waning, perhaps we'll see many such Jack Burns rising up to engage the Gutierrezs of today's oppressive society. Great film (spoiler alert)with a tragic ending but Burn's soul will not be snuffed out. Douglas is good in many films but I 'like' him in this one and, as Matthau discovered, such men are hard to corral if not impossible.