Cubussoli Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Salubfoto It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Aubrey Hackett While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

adrian-43767 I first watched NEVADA SMITH in the early 80s. My father had spoken highly of it, but I did not like it. At the time, I found McQueen unbelievable as an Indian, and the whole story quite predictable. Much against my will, last Sunday I rewatched it. I had nothing to do, nothing else that seemed worthwhile on TV, and I decided to give it a second chance. I am happy I did, because this time I found the film much better. Still had some difficulty accepting a blond Indian but this time I found McQueen's performance quite acceptable and even credible. Keith, Malden, Kennedy and, above all, Landau and Vallone, all deliver high standard performances.Henry Hathaway's direction is as good as ever. Photography is a bit shabby, but acceptable. What I found much better this time was the script. Yes, Max Sand is predictable in the sense that the thought of revenge blinds him to all other possibilities, but in going on that quest he also goes on a journey of self-, and other, discovery. He begins as a greenhorn who has no idea what to do with weapons, let alone how to kill. Fate is kind to him in the shape of Brian Keith, who teaches him the basics. At the prison camp, he learns from those he meets, especially from Pilar (played by Pleshette), the first one to convince him of the evils of revenge. Perhaps the greatest lesson comes from the priest (great performance from Raf Vallone), who tells him of how he could have embarked on a similar quest, but did not. In the end, Max Sand finishes his revenge assignment without actually putting to death the main villain, and by movie's end he seems to be moving on to a different spiritual level.Inevitably, the question I put to myself was: What if my family were murdered? What would I do if I could track down the killers? Could I live with myself if I did not exact revenge, thereby honoring my loved ones? I am a Catholic, I believe in forgiving, but I hope I am never put in the same position as Max Sand.Ultimately, NEVADA SMITH does not endorse revenge, but its message is one taking fate into your hands - for better or worse.

classicsoncall I figured we'd get around to the Nevada Smith part of the story at some point, however it took almost the entire picture to get there. Not necessarily a bad thing once we get the idea that Steve McQueen's character is not above lying to pursue his revenge against the three men who killed his father and mother to open the picture."Nevada Smith" is at times a plodding, by the numbers Western with McQueen's performance, by his own admission, taking a step back artistically speaking. He's essentially miscast here as an eighteen year old when in fact he was thirty five at the time. It's a bit bizarre, but McQueen makes it work, sort of, with the boundless energy and restless nature he brought to most of his films.As the story progresses, a number of question marks popped up for this viewer. When he faces down Jesse Coe (Martin Landau), how is it that no one in the saloon crowd bothered to follow the men outside to see what was going on ? When Max (McQueen) got himself locked in the bank vault I shook my head in disbelief wondering how could anyone be that stupid. Once again, a younger actor in the role might have been more believable, with McQueen the scene held a giant disconnect for me.Be that as it may, the picture proved amazingly popular grossing twelve million dollars in the U.S. alone, and fared even better overseas, helping cement Steve McQueen's status as a modern day American hero. The film was particularly well received in Japan, as hero Max Sand avenged his parents' murder in the tradition of all the great samurai films. And who better to do that than one of the stars of 1960's "The Magnificent Seven", the film that launched McQueen's movie career following a successful TV run on the Western series "Wanted: Dead or Alive".

FilmFlaneur A box office smash for it's time Nevada Smith is a long, episodic film directed by Henry Hathaway starring the charismatic Steve McQueen. Interestingly McQueen's character actually only uses the Nevada Smith moniker once (as a temporary alias in the movie), the rest of the time using his 'real' name of Max Sand. Sand is a half breed whose parents are killed by outlaws - the outstanding trio of Martin Landau, Karl Malden and Arthur Kennedy a group of class heavies that's worth the price of admission alone - and then who resolutely sets out to track the murderers down one by one, after taking on board some life instruction from gun trader Brian Keith. The moments with Keith reminded me of the great Spaghetti Day of Anger made a year later - another film in which an experienced older gunfighter teaches an innocent the way to get through travails: with gun skills and a bit of frontier philosophy. It's a fairly traditional plot, albeit given resonance by a quality cast and production value.Nevada Smith benefits greatly from Hathaway's leisurely outdoor directorial style, familiar from such personal favourites as The Sons of Katie Elder and North to Alaska as well as some excellent mise en scene cinematography by the great Lucien Ballard. Some critics such as Phil Hardy have sniffed a little at the film, and it's contemporary popularity, but I found it engrossing throughout, although admittedly it might have benefited from a little trimming. The mid-section, in which McQueen finds himself doing hard labour, then escaping, from a swamp-surrounded, brutalising prison camp reminded me of the (I think) weaker Papillion.The real weakness to the film appears in the last section, when Sand/Smith is rescued from Malden's gang by a priest to be then reminded, by way of belated balance to Keith's earlier lessons, of the virtues of forgiveness and Christian forbearance. To a modern viewer this moral lesson seems a little laboured, and does little to make the final scene of the film psychologically convincing, ultimately leaving the principal character redeemed without purpose. Such considerations are striking given moments elsewhere, when the viewer can see the influence of the cynicism and violence of the genre which flowered elsewhere during the mid-sixties.However if you haven't caught this yet I do recommend it, especially in the fine widescreen DVD edition now available. It's short on extras but the image and condition of the print is fine.

TankGuy By 1966,the American western had become the relic of the post world war two era and was being replaced and outdone by the Spaghetti western, with Sergio Leone releasing the third instalment of his famous "dollar's trilogy", THE GOOD,THE BAD AND THE UGLY, in this same year. This meant that the American western had to be reinvented, it had to change, it had to become more violent, more adult and deliver to audiences of the day what they really wanted to see. NEVADA SMITH succeeds completely in achieving each of the aforementioned factors, after 3 sadistic outlaws, Jessie Coe(MARTIN LANDAU),Bill Bowdre(ARTHUR KENNEDY)and Tom Fitch(KARL MALDEN)casually mutilate and murder his parents in brutal, gut wrenching fashion,Max Sand(STEVE MCQUEEN)swears violent revenge. He begins wandering the west looking for the killers and meets a gunsmith named Jonas Cord(BRIAN KEITH)who teaches him how to shoot,Max then dedicates the next few years of his life to hunting down and killing the 3 criminals...NEVADA SMITH is an amazing western, despite being a revenge western, it's a little different to the others as it has a twist, with the final scene being a major factor and setting it apart from the other films. The film is superbly directed by Henry Hathaway, who gave us gems like THE SONS OF KATIE ELDER(1965),TRUE GRIT(1969) and HOW THE WEST WAS WON(1962),Hathaway was an expert in terms of the western and NEVADA SMITH reflects this marvellously, he builds up tension terrifically and the film is paced fantastically.There never really is a dull moment and I was gripped in electrifying suspense for the entire duration of the film,especially leading up to the climax. He also did extremely well in putting across Max relentlessness in hunting the killers, showing the extreme lengths he is willing to go to achieve his goal. I was particular impressed with the prison camp sequence and also the scene in which Max escapes through the swamps with Bill Bowdre just so he can kill him and causes the death of an innocent young woman in the process, it gave the storyline a greater emotional depth and a raw, chilling edge. The scenes with Max executing the outlaws were incredibly shot but the thrilling climax was the best part of the movie, the exciting heist scene is followed by an absolutely spectacular all guns blazing shootout with great stunts, a fantastic horse chase and a taut, mind blowing showdown between Max and Tom Fetch. The final scene is what makes the film and is brilliantly scripted and acted and shot with stinging intensity, it also gave a violent revenge film a rather nice moral and an interesting end compared to other revenge movies which end on a bitter and dark note. This final sequence took me completely by surprise and really blew me away, I also believed it was a very satisfying ending, but it's far too great to spoil.I really liked the character of Max and was really interested by how the character changes as the film goes on, with his causing the death of an innocent woman and a chance meeting with a monk causing him to change his view on revenge and ultimately impacts the outcome of his bloodthirsty quest. Legendary Steve McQueen is awesome and cool in the role, Karl Malden is on magnificent, bloodcurdling form as the evil Tom Fetch and plays the role with roaring,energetic flamboyancy. He is outstanding,especially in the final scene, his final lines will echo in your head once the film is over and they're so excellently delivered that you can feel his raw desperation and despair. I felt Malden's performance overshadowed McQueen's but Steve definitely owned the film, Brian Keith, Arthur Kennedy and Martin Landau also gave stunning performances.The cinematography was a massive compliment to the film with breath-taking panoramic vistas of the beautiful mountains and deserts and gorgeous shots of the lush, green swamps. The lovely scenery gave a colourful look to an otherwise dark and violent film, Alfred Newnan's score was another highlight, it sounded epic in the opening credits but the music played during the heist scene was taut, exciting and simply fantastic.NEVADA SMITH is a magnificent and awesome western, up there among the very best of the genre. It definitely brought something fresh to the western table,it has everything,an interesting and gripping story with an intriguing and unique twist, taut and suspenseful script, brilliant pacing, exceptional camera-work and a chilling, explosive climax that will blow your mind and leave a lasting impression. A must see for any red blooded western fan.10/10.