Südwest nach Sonora

I rate this mid-60's Brando Western a 6, but it really wasn't accepted at the time. Marlon is incredible as always, Anjanette Comer is a stone fox, great supporting cast, and John Saxon as Chuy Medina is a worthy adversary to taunt Brando. Beautiful Southwest and Mexican terrain in this Sidney J. Furie flick that is well worth the trip. Similar to Joe Kidd (also with Saxon).

Best performance = Marlon Brando. Westerns of this type were on their way out by 1966, but with Brando it still makes the grade. Rafael Campos is believable as always in the most authentic way. This one is easy to find so give it a shot!

During the peak of spaghetti westerns came this little gem with Brando at his subtle best. He plays Matt Fletcher, a Rambo like character from FIRST BLOOD who returns home for some peace and quiet. But Trini, (Anjanette), draws him into a web of jealousy and power control with the town's chief, Chuy, (John Saxon). At first it starts with a little scuffle over Matt's horse, an Appaloosa. But it digs deeper than that when morals are tested. Brando throws in the occasional modern slang that fits into this western period. It's a joy to watch him and the story slowly unravel. This will have to be director Furie's best effort with the help of Russell Metty's photography.

I caught this on television and loved it. It's Brando's spaghetti western. Lots of fantastic landscapes. close-ups and acting. Not very violent, but extremely effective. Great soundtrack, would be awesome in surround, but mono track was terrific. John Saxon was a great bad guy ( a Mexican, no less) and character actors are authentic. Well worth seeing. Sidney J. Furie shows real skill as a director even though he was only thirty three at the time. There's elements of John Ford, Howard Hawkes and Sergio Leone. Sometimes it was hard to buy Brando in this role, it's more an Eastwood type of role, but he's such a great actor that he becomes convincing. John Saxon playing a Mexican bandit is a terrific performance, even though it's a white guy playing a Mexican. Hollywood at it's best.

E.Forster Toronto, Canada

Yet another film from Brando's lean years; now, I only have THE UGLY American (1963; also included in Universal's "The Marlon Brando Franchise Collection") to watch from this period – but, all in all, it's an underrated phase for the celebrated method actor. Incidentally, it was nice to see such long-term Universal regulars as composer Frank Skinner (SON OF FRANKENSTEIN [1939]), editor Ted Kent (BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN [1935]) and make-up man Bud Westmore (ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN [1948]) still involved in high profile productions such as this one after all those years. Anyway, Brando made only three Westerns in his career – the others being the self-directed ONE EYED JACKS (1961) and Arthur Penn's THE MISSOURI BREAKS (1976) – but they're among the more intriguing, if pretentious, from their respective eras; having said that, the film under review is easily the least rewarding of the three.

The simple plot finds aspiring rancher Brando falling foul of small-time Mexican tyrant John Saxon over the former's appaloosa stallion (later on, Saxon's girl, Anjanette Comer – who does what she can with a basically underwritten role – becomes the object of contention between the two); beaten up by Saxon's men and his prize horse stolen, Brando follows in pursuit – ignoring the advise of friend Rafael Campos and a goat herder (Frank Silvera), he encounters on the way. Reaching the town where Saxon lives with his band of cut-throats, Brando tries to pass himself off as a local (by affecting a silly Mexican accent whose inspiration seems to have been Speedy Gonzales!); it doesn't take long for Saxon to discover his ruse and, when he does, challenges the star to a game of arm-wrestling (with a sting in its tail)! Brando loses and is beaten up again, after which Comer – fed up with her own way of life – takes him to Silvera's place to recover; catching up with the latter, Saxon's men kill him because he won't reveal the rancher's whereabouts but they're eliminated soon after by Brando himself. Finally, a showdown between the two parties takes place in the mountains.

Thematically, THE APPALOOSA - which celebrated film critic Pauline Kael had dismissed as "a dog of a movie about a horse" and whose title was, understandably changed to SOUTHWEST TO SONORA for its British theatrical release – doesn't really cover any new ground despite Brando and director Furie's attempts to respectively infuse meaning into every gesture and shot. The latter was known for his flashy camera stylistics, and he really goes overboard here (placing characters in the extreme foreground when the main action is occurring in the remaining part of the frame – including the very last shot – or choosing bizarre angles – such as a tilted shot during the arm-wrestling bout from the POV of a scorpion!); with this in mind, I had become even more interested in checking this one out after learning how Italian B-movie exponent Enzo G. Castellari drew on it for his impressive latter-day Spaghetti Western KEOMA (1976) on the Audio Commentary of that film's R1 Anchor Bay DVD. All of this – plus Saxon's enjoyably hammy, Golden Globe-nominated performance (with an exaggerated Mexican accent to match) – keeps one watching, even when the pace flags or the plot turns dreary.

Brando is said to have agreed to do this principally because he needed the cash to pay in alimony for his two ex-wives and that he quickly lost interest in the project (to the consternation of his producer and director); consequently, his contribution is atypically understated – thus allowing co-star Saxon to walk away with the film! Nevertheless, the confrontation scenes between their two characters constitute definite highlights (and the climax is nicely handled – kudos, in fact, to Russell Metty's cinematography throughout); otherwise, Silvera and popular Mexican actor/director Emilio Fernandez (perhaps still best-known for playing General Mapache in Sam Peckinpah's THE WILD BUNCH [1969] and here appearing as Saxon's right-hand man) are notable among the supporting cast.

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 .