Les reivers

A diverse group goes off on an adventure, each for his own reasons, and each comes back changed and much wiser. Romance, excitement, tough choices, new experiences, and a really great car -- what more can you ask for? In a just world, this would be considered a classic of the coming-of-age genre. It is one of McQueen's most complex and charming performances. Crosse, another actor who died much too young, is brilliant. It has some mature material, but it is a wonderful family movie to talk to kids 13 and up about what growing up really means.

This is an enjoyable old fashion type of adventure they just wont make anymore outside of a Disney adaptation. It's based on a William Faulkner story, his last I believe, and may be slightly autobiographical. I always saw this movie on television in the 70s & 80s and didn't realize so much of the film was cut and watered down for TV. The video VHS/ or DVD is much more complete and has more uncensored dialogue as well as including excised TV scenes such as when the trio arrives at the 'bordello' and Lucius is introduced. While the movie takes on a Disney or Hallmark heritage type of look it is not that. It is much more mature with spicy dialogue as mentioned and mature scenes that round out a longer running time. One thing I noticed is that this movie hails from 1969 when certain sexual situations were now being allowed in American productions. This movie reflects this change, while being basically family fare it 'just' escaped an R rating presumably as the MPAA system was still new and unfamiliar with how to rate certain subject matter. If this movie had been made just four or five years before it no doubt would have captured the rural early 20th century innocence familiar to Faulkner but the sexual situations, which make the story more believable, wouldn't have been included. Alas this is a great movie to have in your collection to take out and view when you're lonely and want something to look at or if it's raining outside. ***1/2 stars and it deserves to be much more well known than it is.

I personally rank this film, based on William Faulkner's last novel, among my favorites. Not that I would rank it as a "great" film, but it's a lot of fun. It's true that McQueen may have been in fact older than his character was supposed to be, but his attitude and style seems to bring it off. Mitch Vogel, as the young boy Lucius, who is lured into stealing his grandfather's (Will Geer) new Winton Flyer automobile for a wild weekend in Memphis by Boone Hoggenbeck (McQueen) is completely believable as a kid who wants the adventure, but has to be drawn into it because he respects his grandfather so much. Rupert Crosse as McQueen's other reiver (thief) in this caper adds an extra comic relief as the one who gets them into a real fix in Memphis. Ordinarily I hate movies with running narration, but the narration in this by Burgess Meredith as the grown old Lucius, remembering his exciting weekend in Memphis, adds a real touch of poignancy to this tale of youth lost. Additionally, Sharon Farrell as McQueen's prostitute girlfriend, Clifton James as a vicious southern sheriff, and Juano Hernandez as a kindly old black farmer add real dimension to the film. Throw in a beautiful score by John Williams (his first film score) and you've got the makings of a warm, charming story, accurately drawn, from the turn of the century. The scene at the film's end, where the grandfather has a heart-to-heart talk with the boy, is wonderful, and very "authentic." The director, Mark Rydell, did a terrific job. I've seen this movie many times, and it never fails to entertain me.

This was a great film written by the famous writer William Faulkner dealing with an old man going back to his youth sixty years ago. Steve McQueen, (Boon Hogganbeck) along with a few of his friends decided to take a trip from Mississippi to Memphis in an old time car which was relatively new during this period of time and taking along a very young boy named Lucius, (Mitch Vogel). Boon takes Lucius into a brothel where he stays over night in Memphis and learns a great deal about the birds and the bees and especially from a sweet kind lady named Carrie, (Sharon Farrell) who is a gal very much in love with Boon. There is a horse race and lots of laughs and drama to go along with the rest of the picture. There was a great deal of problems between the director of this film Mark Rydell and Steve McQueen, but the film was finally completed but the producer would never direct another picture with McQueen.

I have not read the Faulkner story on which this is based, so I can't comment on how much of this delightful film can be credited to him (doubtless Burgess Meredith's voiceovers are Faulkner's words), but this wonderful movie about the pain of growing up is laced with plenty of adventure and fun and deserves to become a classic. The John Williams score is superb. The acting is wonderful from all the leads, including the boy. This is one of the underrated Steve McQueen's best roles, and Will Geer is perfect in the small but rich part of Boss. The characters are all wonderfully and richly fleshed out, and there are many moments of human insight. To top it off, the cinematography makes the movie simply gorgeous to look at.

Considering the movie's manifold virtues it's interesting to note that one never sees it on any of the cable channels. The reason is obvious, and it's political correctness. The movie uses the "n" word multiple times, although always in the same way Mark Twain used it, i.e. to demonstrate the inhumanity behind the use of the word. Also Corrie has her eye blackened by Boone, and Ned explains to Lucius "what better sign can a woman want from a man that he has her on his mind." All this racism and sexual violence is of course abhorrent, but the forces of political correctness would rather pretend that it never existed than to look it square in the eye.

So to see this movie you'll have to buy it on DVD, which I strongly urge you to do.