L'Or de Mackenna

This movie is one of the greatest films ever made. Don't look on it as a typical western. It just happens to be set in a western setting. This movie is centered around GREED. The character interaction between MacKenn a(Peck) and Colorado (Sharif) is classic.

If you want a very enjoyable evening this is definitely a winner.

This grand, sprawling western is an entertaining picture with mega cast names that results in an enjoyable adventure. Gregory Peck and Omar Sharif are the main adversaries here as a diverse group of ranchers, soldiers and assorted types search for a hidden canyon of gold in Indian country. The expensive production has several cameo appearances of stars well past their prime and a message about greed and the corrupting influence of gold fever and the risks people take to acquire untold wealth. There are two women in the story, one to meet the romance requirement while the other represents pure menace. The great beauty of the American west is the highlight of the picture as the plot plays out against the deserts, mountains and canyons of the great southwest. Indians are the main danger but the party of whites have their share of infighting with gun fights, chases and double crosses. The film was one of Hollywood's last great screen westerns.

This is one of the major movies of 1969 . It is a marvelously rambling frontier fable packed with extraordinary incidents, amazing encounters , nasty characters and virtuous rewards . It follows a sheriff (Gregory Peck) and a group of ambitious men (formed by all star cast : Omar Shariff , Elli Wallach, Lee J. Cobb, Edward G. Robinson, Raymond Massey, Keenan Wynn and many others) in search for gold in a big lost canyon and being pursued by soldiers(Telly Savalas) and Indians.

This is an overwhelming Matinée Western plenty of intrigue, double-crosses, gold-lust clichés, adventures and action-packed especially in its final part ; ending in an abrupt, ironic denouement. The film is an exciting story though disjointed and with numerous loose ends ; it is originally written by Carl Foreman and based on the novel by Will Henry. Some ridiculous especial effects such as the bridge scenes at the beginning and abundant matte paintings. Furthermore, contains excessive use of absurd transparency. Packs a colorful and glimmer cinematography in Panavision , shot at Monument Valley from Arizona and Utah. Moving and stirring musical score by Quincy Jones with today classic songs by Jose Feliciano. The film is lavishly produced by Carl Foreman who formerly produced some excellent movies . The motion picture is regularly directed by J.L. Thompson (1914-2002) during his splendorous and successful time in the 60s, when he directed ¨Cape fear¨, ¨Taras Bulba¨ and ¨Guns of Navarone¨; though in his last period he only directed Charles Bronson vehicles, such as ¨Death wish 4¨, ¨Kinjite¨, ¨St. Ives¨,¨Messenger of Death¨, among others. This delicious embarrassing movie will appeal to Gregory Peck devotees. Rating : 6'5 , acceptable and passable.

Have to say this movie must have been a nightmare to make and work on..it's got a massive all top notch cast..and I'm sure top crew and technical ..for1969... it's entertaining but..it switches all the way through from actual location footage..in the desert etc..to studio matched and what I assume is/ was back projection stuff..! Sets to location..back to location and sets..in the edit I suppose.. so editors must have had a hard job.. plus the actors.. all the close ups are back projection..mainly..and long shots in the real location..I wouldn't be surprised if they used standings..as long shots are hard to tell who's who...and obviously stunts are all stunt people.. maybe it's just1969 or the director who cut it like this..but by modern standards it's a bit ropey".. but..it still stands up as a good action movie..seeking the gold etc.. I was surprised all the big stars got shot in the cavalry ambush..but.I suppose it saved the massive budget a bit... bits of saucy nudity in bits in the watering hole.. but the way it's shot ..results in a slightly surreal" experience! It also cuts between lots of not too bad model shots.. the horse on the rope bridge..and the watering hole mountains..obviously we are used to cgi these days.. this is reminiscent of thunderbirds".. luckily they edited it so quick you hardly notice..ha.. watering hole was definitely a studio tank..undercut maybe with a real waterhole... I wrote this because it struck me as so disjointed and rather strange I figured others must have picked up on it.. it's not bad for a 60s biggish budget movie.. Saturday afternoon tv movie.. anyone like to comment??. I think I'll leave it there!.. good old Gregory peck..he holds it all together with his charisma. Aplomb..grit and understated acting.. a true star... sadly no more.....

Its got everything! Two fisted action! Gorgeous females! Catfights! Gregory Peck! Camilla Sparve! a Whos Who of yesterdays character actors! Hokey dialog! Excellent Special Effects! Great scenery! Ultra-Panavision™! Directed by the guy who did Bridge Over River Kwai! ah well, according to several sources this movie was supposed to be over 3 hours long, and was going to come out as a Cinerama-type Road Show...but the days of that were dying and Columbia got cold feet, so it was cut to a little over 2 hours; There are some minor differences between 35 and 70mm prints; This movie is a hoot-see it!