Crwthod A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

WillSushyMedia This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

zardoz-13 Some day film historians may celebrate the legacy of Canadian director Sidney J. Furie. During the 1960s and 1970s, Furie helmed a number of prominent films that have been largely forgotten. He made the memorable espionage thriller "The Ipcress File" with Michael Caine as an anonymous, bespectacled spy who works for King and Country only because his larcenous skills are valuable in the field than behind bars. Later, Furie directed a genuine counter-culture character piece "Little Fauss and Big Halsey," a hare and a turtle opus about two drifters on the dirt bike motorcycle race circuit. Other interesting films Furie directed were "The Naked Runner" with Frank Sinatra; "Lady Sings the Blues" with Diana Ross as troubled blues singer Billie Holliday; the narcotics trafficking epic "Hit" with Billy Dee Williams; and his unsung Vietnam yarn "The Boys in Company C." The stories surrounding "The Appaloosa" make it sound like the worst film that anybody could have worked on since Marlon Brando had fallen out of favor after the debacle on "Mutiny on the Bounty." The tales about tension on the set are enough to make anybody cringe. Brando refused to cooperate with Furie. During an interview with John Saxon, one of the least appreciated Hollywood character actors during the 1960s, he told me he contributed the line about being blown into so many pieces that nobody would ever find him. The most memorable scene occurs when Brando's protagonist and Saxon's villain are arm wrestling with scorpions lashed down to the table where their hands would wind up if they lost the competition. Saxon told me at the Memphis Film Festival he had heard about Mexican authorities using scorpions to winnow out the prison population in a nearby town when he was acting in the John Huston western "The Unforgiven" with Audrey Hepburn and Burt Lancaster in Mexico."The Appaloosa" unfolds with our shabby looking hero in a tattered Confederate Army tunic riding back into his hometown of Ojo Prieto on the border. He confesses his sins to a Catholic Church priest. "I've done a lot of killin'. I've killed a lot of men and sinned with a lot of women. But the men I—I killed needed killin'. And the women wanted sinnin'. And—and I never was one much to argue." Absolved of his sins, Matt Fletcher (Marlon Brando of "The Missouri Breaks") is prepared to begin life anew as a horse rancher. Raised by poor Mexican peasants, Matt decides to share his new wealth with a small farmer, Paco (Rafael Campos of "Blackboard Jungle") who has a wife and several children. They live near the border, and grasshoppers have devastated Paco's corn crop. Mateo—as they call Matt--paints pictures of a rosy future as he tells Paco how the eponymous horse will sire spotted ponies for their ranch. No sooner has Brando bragged about his dreams than an evil Mexican vaquero, Chuy (John Saxon), and his pistoleros purloin his prized stallion. Our hero was drunk at the time he raved about the fabulous ranch they were going to own. When he tries to shoot at the thieves, he cannot hit them because his aim is wobbly. Chuy rides back across the stream, ropes our inebriated protagonist and drags him through the river, laughing the entire time. Later, after he has shaved off his beard, Matt tries to disguise himself as a Mexican and recover his appaloosa. "Coffee grounds do not make a Mexican," Paco's wife Ana (Miriam Colon of "Scarface") tells him. The idea of masquerading as a Mexican by staining one's face brown sounds absurd. Nevertheless, despite Ana's warnings, Matt assures her that getting his horse back will be "as easy as cutting butter." "It is your throat that will be cut, Mateo," Ana replies without hope. Paco voices similar sentiments. "Chuy is not just one man. Chuy is an army." About thirty minutes into "The Appaloosa," Furie has established Matt Fletcher as the hero, Chuy Medina as the villain, and Trini as Chuy's rebellious girlfriend. Trini dishonored Chuy in the eyes of his pistoleros when she not only complained about Matt violating her, but also when she stole Matt's horse. Chuy offers Matt the sum of $500 to buy his horse so he can make it look like Trini was merely riding the horse rather than stealing it to escape from Chuy. Everything that Matt has dreamed about is wrapped up in the horse, so he must bring it back to Mexico. Almost an hour into story, Matt infiltrates Chuy's hacienda and tries to force Trini to help him recover his horse. Unfortunately, Chuy already knows about Matt's presence from the pulque drinking scene in the cantina with Squint Eye. Later, an ancient goat herder, Ramos (Frank Silvera of "Hombre"), warns Matt about Cocatlan. When Matt tries to reclaim his appaloosa, Chuy and his gunslingers are waiting for him. They usher him into a room where they thread scorpions on a string and arm wrestle. Predictably, our hero loses. Lazaro and company dump Matt's body in an abandoned house. Trini escapes from Chuy and takes Matt to Ramos. The goat herder places Matt in a grave he had made for himself. Mind you, the ending is upbeat and our hero gets his horse back."The Appaloosa" is about as close as Hollywood got to replicating a Spaghetti western. Hands down, John Saxon delivers the best performance of his career as Chuy. Furie has veteran cinematographer Russell Metty shoot this western in an highly unconventional style. The foreground is filled with objects that block out the composition so that people are squeezed into corners of the shots. The lighting is extremely atmospheric. The scene in the cantina with Squint Eye exemplifies brilliantly Furie's signature style of lensing. Brando puts his hand over his face while he studies the other occupants in the room. Altogether, despite its authentic look and atmosphere, "The Appaloosa" amounts to an above-average, but not very memorable horse opera.

ma-cortes Interesting but slowly paced Western follows Brando's attempts to recover an Appaloosa horse stolen from him by Mexican villains . Being based on a novel by Robert MacLeod and screenplay by also filmmakers , James Bridges and Roland Kibbee . Set in 1870s , Southwest to Sonora where rules the lawless , lustful and violence arrives a man who returns from war and tries to recover a horse (the appaloosa of the titles) stolen from him by a Mexican bandit called Chuy (John Saxon who received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor) and hoodlums (Emilio Fernandez) . As a Mexican-American named Matt Fletcher and outlaws to live on the edge of violence . When the bandits steal his horse , he sets out in pursuit the thieves . Meanwhile Matt falls in love for the Chuy's girlfriend named Trini (Anjanette Comer) . This strange Western contains drama , action , colorful outdoors , shootouts but is paced in slow-moving and often tiring . Violent and moving at the ending in which Fletcher/Brando single-handedly, contends the whole nasty band . Good interpretation by the mythical Marlon Brando , he carries out a method-acting , brooding approach to the main role , though according to co-star John Saxon, Marlon Brando's relationship with director Sidney J. Furie got to the point where Brando, when getting ready to do a close-up, would be reading a book , he would only lower the book when Furie yelled "Action" ; when he yelled "Cut", Brando would raise the book again . Also according to producer Alan Miller, appalled at his star's lack of interest in the film and his lackluster performance, pinned a bit of doggerel about Marlon Brando . Glimmer and luxurious cinematography in Techniscope by the classical cameraman Russell Metty filmed on location in St. George, Utah, Lake Los Angeles, and Wrightwood, California . Sensitive and evocative musical score by maestro Frank Skinner .This slight motion picture was professionally directed by Sidney J Furie , a veteran and prolific director , still today making films . British Furie has directed all kind of genres , though mostly action . In 1999, Sidney J. Furie's espionage thriller The Ipcress File (1965) was included at number 59 on the BFI's list of the 100 greatest British films of the 20th century. Stanley Kubrick was a big fan of The Boys in Company C (1978) and cited Sidney J. Furie's war movie as the direct inspiration for Full Metal Jacket (1987). In 2009, director Martin Scorsese placed Sidney J. Furie's The Entity (1982) on his list of the 11 Scariest Horror Films of All Time. He also directed Superman IV: quest of peace (1987) , originally had a budget of $36 million dollars , just before filming was to begin, Cannon Pictures, which was starting to suffer financial problems, slashed the budget and was a flop . ¨The Appaloosa¨ resulted to be an acceptable Western that had moderated success at the box office . Rating : 6 , passable . The picture will appeal to Marlon Brando fans and Western buffs .

Jeff (actionrating.com) See it – "Next time you point a gun at me you better pull the trigger. Cuz' I'm gonna blow you into so many pieces your friends will get tired of looking for you." Can't you just picture Marlon Brando saying that to a bad guy? This is a great south-of-border revenge western. It is a very clever film, and actually has kind of a spaghetti western feel to it. My favorite scene is the arm wrestle that involves scorpions. If you've seen it you know what I'm talking about. Also, a bit of trivia…the milky beverage everyone drinks is called pulque. It's a Mexican beer that's made by fermenting agave juice. And I would know. I checked…online. 3 out of 5 action rating

thinker1691 The Nineteen-sixties was a time of great change in the movies. For the first time, the Anti-Hero was coming into his own. Here is one such film entitled " The Appaloosa " written by Robert Macleod and directed by Sidney J. Furies, which ranks among the very best of the nuevo Westerns. The star of the film is none other than Marlon Brando who by this date, was hitting his stride. Up against him and doing a superb job as the heavy is John Saxon who plays Chuy Medina. He plays a proud Mexican bandit justifying his theft of a rare horse by Trini, his reluctant woman (Anjanette Comer) who steals it. Matt Fletcher (Marlon Brando) returns home after many years hunting Buffalo, with a sack full of Gold Coins, a beautiful Appaloosa horse and a promise of repaying a debt. However, Chuy Medina decides to steal the horse and challenges Brando to journey to Mexico and try to get it back. The touching drama of the story plays well against the stark desert landscape and the inner duel of the two adversaries matches well their behavior. The excellent cast includes Emilio Fernández, Alex Montoya and Frank Silvera as Ramos. Through the years the film has earned the crown of Classic. ****