El rabino y el pistolero

This is a great film. Gene Wilder plays an authentic Polish rabbi with a believable Yiddish accent in a buddy movie romp through the Wild West. Harrison Ford, in his pre-Indiana Jones incarnation, makes an effective side-kick. This is truly among Wilder's best roles. Robert Nurenberg's review couldn't have said it any better... except Wilder did not portray a rabbinical school dropout, though he was not likely the most outstanding pupil. He was a trained rabbi sent to America to assume a pulpit in San Francisco where he would marry the woman hand picked by a match-maker. What happens on the way from Poland to California is more than worth a single viewing! The Frisco Kid is a most enjoyable, insightful, and entertaining film. A well-deserved 10/10!

I read all the commentaries and disagree with most, but particularly those who moan about this being "slow" for the first 45 minutes. Look. This is a classic. The story is great. A misanthropic rabbi comes to a congregation in San Francisco and get waylaid and falls into (mis)adventures with a seedy character. This unlikely duo make their way to SF undergoing a number of adventures. If you do not understand the yiddishekeit of this film, go take a look at the Marx brothers. The scene where battered Wilder sees the Amish and goes screaming in Yiddish only to discover the cross in the bible in one of the farmer's pockets and faints dead away, is worth the price of admission along. The voting scene at the Yeshiva where only the little boy votes for Wilder invoking the older Rabbi turning his eyes to heaven and saying, "It's going to be close!" is likewise great. This is zany Yiddish theater at its best. Wilder, always overacting, is SUPERB as the rabbi. Ford is merely great as the kindhearted outlaw. The bad guys are bad, the characters they meet along the way, Schiavelli and veteran character actor Ian Wolfe are great as the Trappist monks, even Joe Kapp is great as the Mexican RR worker. This is great watching and one of my favorite films. Don't knock it. It's hilarious. Check it out!

This movie is hysterical, from its depiction of what the American west must have looked like to an outsider to its terrific Jewish guilt and humor, although it does have a lot of "insider" Jewish humor. That's not to say it can't be enjoyed by non-Jews, as well, but a familiarity with Jewish culture definitely makes the movie more enjoyable. Wilder is at his funniest and Harrison Ford is charming as a side-kick, a role I wasn't accustomed to seeing him in. Watching Ford succumb to Jewish guilt--even when it means freezing his butt--is fantastic. My apologies to Blazing Saddles fans but I think this is way funnier. And it didn't even have to rely on fart-humor.

It is hard to find movies about the Jewish experience in America that are positive. At best most are cynical journeys from belief to assimilation. At worst, they depict Jewish as consisting merely of someone with a New York accent eating a bagel. There are few (I can't actually think of another one, but I'll be optimistic) films in which a person is depicted as being happily, actively Jewish, religiously, not just culturally. This film is a happy exception. Rabbi Belinski encounters many different kinds of people in his journey. He is confronted with many new cultures and pressures, but never abandons his beliefs. He may learn to ride, but not on Shabbat. He is happy to make friends with anyone who will respect him in his "differentness" just as he respects them. It may not be the greatest comedy or human drama, but it is near and dear to my heart.

Robert Aldrich was a director who made entertaining films throughout his career. He can count his blessings in having had the opportunity to work with one of the best comedians of all times: Gene Wilder.

This film is a delight, from beginning to end. Mr. Wilder, as Avram is a man we can't keep our eyes from, as he dominates the screen and makes this film his own. The adventures Avram goes through, coming to a country where everything is so different from the world he leaves behind, is what glues this tale together.

A young Harrison Ford is Mr. Wilder's sidekick. This bank robber shows the naive Avram the tricks about how to survive in a hostile environment. Mr. Ford underplays the role, and it works well because the funny lines are meant for Avram, and how he reacts to what he discovers, as he travels west.

This film will always be a favorite because it is universal and it reaches the audience with its positive message while laughing and enjoying the great Gene Wilder on the screen.