Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by danj (A) on April 23, 2003 at 21:38:54

In Reply to: little big man posted by fredgarvin on April 21, 2003 at 21:27:22:

Little Big Man is my all-time favorite western. Richard Mulligan's Custer is simultaneously hilarious and scary and a magical performance. I've seen the film many times and each time I notice somehing new - some little point or nuance I had missed before. It's a gem.

The movie was originally released at 150 minutes but was soon trimmed to 139 minutes as it was deemed too long by the studio. The 147 minute version is the so-called "director's cut" and may be the same as the 150 minute version, depending on whether-or-not timing includes end credits, which run about three minutes.

I dearly love Peckinpah's "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid." It's not a great film like "Little Big Man" but it's awfully good and far better than the critics would have had us believe back in 1973. See if you can find the director's cut. It's 122 minutes versus the 103 minutes of the theatrical release. The extra length improves the movie by closing most of the gaping plot holes that the shorter version suffers from.

I really love the performances of both Slim Pickens and Katy Jurado. Their scenes together are wonderful, especially the final scene after Pickens is shot and dying. These were two of the greatest character actors the movies ever had and their scenes in this movie show why.