The only film I've seen of Gary Cooper's filmography is High Noon and in that film, he set down his boot and made it known to both fans and non fabs that he's a western star, with Man of the West (one of Cooper's final Westerns) I would say he has done it again. Although not as memorable as High Noon, Man of the West is a terrific western. It is directed by Anthony Mann who is known in the genre for directing James Stewart in Winchester '73 (1950), The Naked Spur (1953), and The Man from Laramie (1955). Anthony Mann was the right choice for Man of the West (1959). The screenplay was written by Reginald Rose and was based on the novel 'The Border Jumpers'. Along with Gary Cooper, his co-stars are Julie London, Lee J. Cobb, Jack Lord, and Arthur O'Connell co-star with John Dehner, Robert J. Wilke, and Royal Dano. Man of the West, like most Mann films, is a tale of redemption.
A reformed outlaw becomes stranded after an aborted train robbery with two other passengers and is forced to rejoin his old outlaw band.
Let me dive deeper into Gary Cooper's performance, but before that let me just praise the supporting cast, they were all brilliant. Lee J. Cobb gives an award-worthy performance as the uncle to Cooper's character, with the scene at the farmstead in particular being a great example. Cobb steals the show during those scenes and Gary Cooper is mostly in the shadow, his acting is still perfect as lots of things with it are subtle thanks to Lee J. Cobb gets most of the dialogue. His performance comes full circle during an intense scene with a knife by his throat whilst Julie London's character is forced to strip, a scene I would call a hard watch but a scene full of drama and top notch acting from every single actor in the room. The film is about moments like these, how the characters respond to it, Man of the West is a character study in a way. Like I wrote before, a story of redemption, and the farmstead sequence is also where we find out Link Jones (Gary Cooper) ran with Dock Tobin (Lee J. Cobb) before and was an outlaw. Anthony Mann directed the actors perfectly and made that scene incredible. In a way, this scene and the reason it exists in the story, shows how the film has aged like fine wine. It was panned by critics back when it was released, perhaps rightfully so because of the time it was released as it was too different from what was made back then. Having the 'hero' say openly how he wants to kill every single one of them in a way which sounds like a horrible person and also the body language. This film is far from black and white, it's morally grey and better for it. The train sequence was all about introducing the characters whilst the farmstead sequence was all about showing who they really are whilst introducing the antagonists. Brilliantly executed.
At the time of release, the film was largely panned by American critics, but it was praised by Jean-Luc Godard, who, before he became a director, was a film critic. Godard claimed that Man of the West was the best film of the year. Decades after the film's release, it has gained a cult following and greater acclaim, with film historian Philip French claiming the film to be Anthony Mann's masterpiece, containing Cooper's finest performance. Jonathan Rosenbaum of The Chicago Reader hailed it as a "masterpiece," comparing it to "the grimness of Greek tragedy, its mountains and rock formations often suggesting the silent witness of an ancient amphitheater...the penultimate shoot-out in the ghost town is an appropriately eerie split-level confrontation between two wounded, supine men-one stretched out on a porch at screen left, the other stretched out underneath the porch at screen right, as if he were already buried. It's a key example of the way that landscape and architecture, people and settings, painting and drama, image and idea, classicism and modernism all merge on Mann's monumental canvases."
The cinematography was done by academy winner-nominee Ernest Haller, truly spectacular work and one of the film's highlights. What a great cooperation between him and the director, creating stunning shots with the use of exquisite camera work. From longer takes to wide angle shots, letting the viewer get even more immersed. For example, there's such brilliance in the photography inside the train and outside in the town and at the farmstead or simply the landscape. The film shows the old west perfectly. The costume department and set design are two other things which makes the immersion so perfect. Man of the West is a perfect western, a film more people should watch and experience. There are so many compartments which make it so perfect, all the technical aspects but also the editing and direction. Man of the West has everything a western should have but most importantly, it's because of Anthony Mann's passionate drive. He along with the main star, Gary Cooper, pours their hearts into the film and it infects us. Man of the West is such a deep and brilliant western, a spectacular film in its own right.
A reformed outlaw becomes stranded after an aborted train robbery with two other passengers and is forced to rejoin his old outlaw band.
Let me dive deeper into Gary Cooper's performance, but before that let me just praise the supporting cast, they were all brilliant. Lee J. Cobb gives an award-worthy performance as the uncle to Cooper's character, with the scene at the farmstead in particular being a great example. Cobb steals the show during those scenes and Gary Cooper is mostly in the shadow, his acting is still perfect as lots of things with it are subtle thanks to Lee J. Cobb gets most of the dialogue. His performance comes full circle during an intense scene with a knife by his throat whilst Julie London's character is forced to strip, a scene I would call a hard watch but a scene full of drama and top notch acting from every single actor in the room. The film is about moments like these, how the characters respond to it, Man of the West is a character study in a way. Like I wrote before, a story of redemption, and the farmstead sequence is also where we find out Link Jones (Gary Cooper) ran with Dock Tobin (Lee J. Cobb) before and was an outlaw. Anthony Mann directed the actors perfectly and made that scene incredible. In a way, this scene and the reason it exists in the story, shows how the film has aged like fine wine. It was panned by critics back when it was released, perhaps rightfully so because of the time it was released as it was too different from what was made back then. Having the 'hero' say openly how he wants to kill every single one of them in a way which sounds like a horrible person and also the body language. This film is far from black and white, it's morally grey and better for it. The train sequence was all about introducing the characters whilst the farmstead sequence was all about showing who they really are whilst introducing the antagonists. Brilliantly executed.
At the time of release, the film was largely panned by American critics, but it was praised by Jean-Luc Godard, who, before he became a director, was a film critic. Godard claimed that Man of the West was the best film of the year. Decades after the film's release, it has gained a cult following and greater acclaim, with film historian Philip French claiming the film to be Anthony Mann's masterpiece, containing Cooper's finest performance. Jonathan Rosenbaum of The Chicago Reader hailed it as a "masterpiece," comparing it to "the grimness of Greek tragedy, its mountains and rock formations often suggesting the silent witness of an ancient amphitheater...the penultimate shoot-out in the ghost town is an appropriately eerie split-level confrontation between two wounded, supine men-one stretched out on a porch at screen left, the other stretched out underneath the porch at screen right, as if he were already buried. It's a key example of the way that landscape and architecture, people and settings, painting and drama, image and idea, classicism and modernism all merge on Mann's monumental canvases."
The cinematography was done by academy winner-nominee Ernest Haller, truly spectacular work and one of the film's highlights. What a great cooperation between him and the director, creating stunning shots with the use of exquisite camera work. From longer takes to wide angle shots, letting the viewer get even more immersed. For example, there's such brilliance in the photography inside the train and outside in the town and at the farmstead or simply the landscape. The film shows the old west perfectly. The costume department and set design are two other things which makes the immersion so perfect. Man of the West is a perfect western, a film more people should watch and experience. There are so many compartments which make it so perfect, all the technical aspects but also the editing and direction. Man of the West has everything a western should have but most importantly, it's because of Anthony Mann's passionate drive. He along with the main star, Gary Cooper, pours their hearts into the film and it infects us. Man of the West is such a deep and brilliant western, a spectacular film in its own right.