Mackenna's Gold (1969)

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!

Fmovies: 1969 was a very good year for westerns (The Wild Bunch, True Grit), so this film went by without being noticed, but every second of it is enjoyable. Gregory Peck is great as always, Omar Sharif as Colorado does surprisingly well, also Julie Newmar as the Indian girl, Edward G. Robinson as Adams, Telly Savalas as an army officer. No doubt this was a precursor to Raiders of the Lost Ark. It is also very similar in certain scenes to the 1949 western "Lust For Gold". Seeing it today in DVD with widescreen is quite an experience, because of the beautiful way the scenery is shown (it looks like Monument Valley and the Grand Canyon put together with a bit of fantasy) also the unusual places the camera is placed, like at certain moments you are following the feet of the horses, or in other scenes you feel the camera is riding the horse.

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.

Mackenna's Gold fmovies. I first saw this film a few months ago on TV and i thought it was so good i bought it on DVD.Now I'm not really a fan of westerns but this film really got me interested in them.The Film is set in the Arizona territory of the 1870's. Gregory Peck is brilliant as Sam Mackenna who is the only living person who knows the torturous route to the fabulous "canon del oro." During his journey Mackenna is captured by Colorado played by the great Omar Shariff, a brutal Mexican bandit who has long sought his death. But, if Mackenna is to lead the cut-throat gang to the lost treasure, Colorado must keep him alive. En route, Mackenna and the outlaw band are joined by renegade soldiers, vengeful Indians, cold-blooded killers and "gentlemen from town" As they near golden canyon, all but Mackenna are swept by a sudden fever - the naked greed for Gold. Mackenna's Gold is one of the most exciting Westerns ever made.

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.

This movie will always remain a favorite on my list. I am surprised that it received such a low rating on this board. It deserves its rightful place as one of the best western movies ever made.

The cast is good with some powerful performances including Gregory Pack as the small town sheriff who accidentally stumbles onto a treasure map leading to a gold mine protected by the Apache Indians. The outdoor locations in this movie (with The Grand Canyon as the back drop) are simply breath-taking.

The story is fast paced with lot of action scenes including some thrilling footage of high speed horse chases. If you like western genre, don't miss this one. You will not be disappointed. It has everything - story, cast, locations, horses, shooting and a very happy ending.