Lonely Are the Brave (1962)

"Lonely Are the Brave" is a western from 1962, an era when this genre was suffering changes. If you are to judge the movie from the plot outline you might consider it to be an old fashioned western, but this is not the case here. This aspect can be noticed from the beginning, when the character of Jack Burns (Kirk Douglas) is introduced. He is a lone cowboy, traveling across the land on his horse, caring little about tomorrow. He seems to be out of place in the modern world and this modern world is hostile to him and his old ways.

One of the strengths of the movie is that it has a well developed central character. Kirk Douglas manages to create a believable cowboy, one that is stuck in the past refusing to acknowledge that the world has changed and he needs to adapt. Jack Burns is indeed a lonely cowboy because his way of seeing things is not shared by the others. The film also has the advantage of having a good screenplay, written by Dalton Trumbo ("Spartacus", "Papillon"), one of the best screenwriters of his time.

This was Kirk Douglas' favorite movie of his own and you can surely tell that because he gives here one of his best performances. The acting is generally good, the roles of Walter Matthau and Gena Rowlands being worth mentioning. You can also check out George Kennedy in one of his early roles, as the brutish deputy Guttierez.

The movie may have its flaws, but it is definitely worth seeing by everyone. Due to its style and content the film also marks a transition from classical westerns to modern ones, so fans of the genre should not miss it.

My rating: 7,5/10

Fmovies: This is a wonderful movie that never fails to impress me whenever I view it. I'm amazed that it is not out on DVD yet.

As many have stated, Kirk felt that this was his favorite movie and I quite agree. As the existential drifter searching for something that has long passed him by, Kirk delivers a stunning performance. I felt that the character development in this film was outstanding. Each individual plays an important role in delivering the theme of the story.

I was amazed that no one wrote about the bar fight scene where Burns battles a bitter one-armed local. There is something disturbing about this encounter...the one-armed man's bitterness and Burns' attempt to avoid the confrontation. Handled in black and white, this scene is memorable.

This film easily makes my top ten list.

-Paige

Can you imagine a time when a man could mount his horse and ride across the country, camping wherever he pleased? It's the kind of life Kirk Douglas was still living as the cowboy in "Lonely Are The Brave," long after the horse had given way to the horseless carriage and most people were living in towns and cities working for someone else. His only accommodation to the modern world are a pair of snips he keeps in a saddle bag for getting through barbed wire fences. A man like that is just bound to run up against the System, and that is precisely what happens when the cowboy arrives at the house of an old friend, whose wife they both loved. She tells him that her husband has been jailed for smuggling illegals across the border and the cowboy resolves to get arrested and help him break out. However, married life has changed his friend's perspective and he is content to do his time. After taking a beating from the sadistic jailer, played by George Kennedy, the cowboy escapes alone. The rest of the movie is about his attempt to elude the authorities, led by Walter Matthau as the efficient sheriff in charge of lesser lights who admires Douglas enough to hope he makes good his escape and who pursues him skillfully but without enthusiasm. Much of the story is about the relationship between the cowboy and his inexperienced young horse, who symbolizes the wild and free life being lost bit by bit. As they surmount a rugged mountain range, the extent of their trust, affection, and ties to the land become clear, while so-called civilization, aptly represented by a truckload of new toilets, threatens to do what the police can't.

This is a very good movie, well-shot, well-acted, well-written, and with a very poignant theme. In it, Kirk Douglas delivers one of his best performances.

Lonely Are the Brave fmovies. ...........................................................from Pasto,Colombia...Via: L.A. CA., CALI, COLOMBIA...and ORLANDO, FL

"Some things never change...and some things remain the same!" A college philosophy professor of mine had a penchant for utilizing this quote at, seemingly, the most inappropriate of times. After watching Lonely Are the Brave, his phrase re-surfaced and, perhaps, I finally got it.

How this early sixties masterpiece has flown under my radar, and just about everyone else's, for half a century, I'll never know. From the very opening scene, LONELY has a unique way of punctuating every detail, each occurrence, that was very Avantgarde for 1962.

The opening minutes are probably the most surprising of any "Western" I've ever seen, serving both to highlight the condition of dead-man-walking cultural anachronism of its protagonist and as a foreshadowing of events. In the "Making of..." special features short,(Please, don't miss it!) both Kirk Douglas (Jack Burns) and son, Michael, agree that "Lonely" constitutes both Kirk's favorite film and characterization. And it shows. It's hard to fathom why he was denied even the recognition of a nomination.

The film revolves around Jack's quest to help his best friend avoid serving a 2 year prison term for, of all things: smuggling, aiding and abetting "wetbacks"! (Some things never change!) But who is going to save Jack from himself? Jack's horse, "Whiskey" co-stars. No flippancy, whatsoever, there, just simple fact! Gena Rowlands (Decades younger here than in "Notebook") does a superb job in a supporting role as best friend's wife/suppressed love interest.

Most of the rest of the cast shines, especially a relatively young and unknown Walter Matthau as the very intense, but low-key Sheriff. The B+W photography and editing are both artistic and extremely well-crafted. This film holds up, as few others, to the test of time. In fact, it is perhaps more relevant today than it was in 62! What a subtle, but resoundingly powerful message it delivers.

10*.....ENJOY/DISFRUTELA!

Any comments, questions or observations, in English o en Español, are most welcome! ....

It never fails when a movie has a good story. It may not win awards every time, but every person who ever sees a movie with a good story has warm and fuzzies in that moment and somehow Karma rules the day. The Universe doesn't forget a good movie with a good story to it. Such is this movie. Kirk Douglas knew what he excelled in and what he did not. He instantly recognized himself in the lead role and he was right. You can identify with this cowboy of a man, the last of his kind for thinking the way he does to want to get away while being chased and you join him as he is being chased. Live and let live rules the day, but you cannot break laws while carrying or living that belief out..Kirk Douglas goes fine line on the subject. We are reminded that the Wild West consisted in a man, his horse and his gun for its beginnings. Here, we are treated to how the three got along and depended on each other. Great scene of a bar fight with twists and good discipline practiced by Jack Burns (Kirk). I am a big fan of food scenes in movies and this has one where Kirk goes at a plate of ham and eggs. I know sales hiccuped for both with this scene. A good meal to a cowboy is a gift and Kirk makes the scene speak just that. Highly recommended movie and I have seen this at least 5 times over the years always pleased and captured and held unto The End....enjoy all you pards out there

Lonely Are the Brave (1962) is a film about a man who's content with life on the open range. He's the last of his kind, the wandering cowboy. The problem is the open range is disappearing around him. A guy like that can't live off the land anymore because there's no land for him to live off of. Everywhere he goes the land is either owned or forbidden for him to enter. Kirk Douglas stars as the last cowboy who just can't get it into his head how much the times have changed. Especially when he tries to rescue his good friend from the local jail. This causes more trouble than he can comprehend.

What's so funny about this movie is how much of the story, scenes and situations were later used in it's quasi-remake "First Blood". The basic story line and his troubles with the law are quite similar. Walter Matthau and Gena Rowlands co-star in this awesome film about a dying way of life. I saw this film several years ago on Turner Classic Movies. It's a sad tribute to the old west.

Highly enjoyable and recommended.

P.S. Gena Rowlands looks pretty good in this picture!