ronmcreynolds

This movie is about four of ten. If it weren't for one of the greatest actors, Paul Newman and a close very good also ran, Lee Marvin this movie would be 1 of ten. Which is a shame cinuderiyghe rest of the talent involved like Strother Martin. Strother is one of my favorite character acty.

This movie is one of those that seems like a bunch of guys were in vacation while waiting for a studio to get things going. So they ad hocked a script themselves, made out their lines, hired a third class director and a film crew and put it all on a ranch in Arizona and fimed it.

In other words it sucks. Except it's got three fine actors.

If there is ever a last man alive for humanity I hope he loves up to Charleston Heston's standards. Or Audie Murphy. Perhaps Randolf Scott. There are after all real men and lesser men and then pansies. Notice these are western actors and men proven in battle like Murphy. Basically CGM level men.

As to the movie, The Omega Man, I have always loved this magnificent, deep minded movie. It's not about being the last man. It's about the strength to persevere in the face of death, hatred, adversity and the assault of ethical principles. The same as what is taking place now around the world and here in America. Real men live in the reality of their times, not in the perverted reality of other people's minds.

Charleston Heston was always such a man. That's why Hollywood despised him as it still does most real men. Almost all Heston's best movies never won awards. Can't let a real leader be unbought. It's greed and power over truth and integrity.

Let me be blunt. This may not be the best Western movie. It might not be in the top one hundred movies. But I have two major points to make when considering movies.

First, there were basically five decades (1940 to 1980) of movies packing westerns in by hundreds that kept major studios alive to survive this long. That is a long time for basically one genre to support Hollywood. If a movie isn't in the top one hundred doesn't mean it's damn good.

Secondly, if you see a list of very well known major actors and an even longer list of famous supporting actors it's going to be a very good movie. This movie has an extremely talented list of actors plus one of the the most beautiful and greatest singers of all time.

The plot is easily average. The writing is average. The scenery is average. The direction is average. But you'd be hard pressed to see this many wonderful actors in one western. The reason why somethings are average is because the funding to make a long movie at this point in time where you can hire the best production teams at the best locations to show all actors off with great individual dialogue, etc, couldn't be done by any studio.

So I gave Death of a Gunfighter an eight of ten. It deserves that score. Today a movie like this would cost over a hundred million to start production and still lacking funding to get it done as good as it already is.