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The Big Country
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 9780792849230
Format: Anamorphic
ISBN: 079284923X
Label: MGM (Video & DVD)
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
Number Of Items: 1
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen
Publisher: MGM (Video & DVD)
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2001-03-20
Running Time: 165
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Theatrical Release Date: 1958-10-01
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: A True Classic
Comment: For those of you who have never seen The Big Country you are in for a treat. This film is the opposite of what has unfortunately become a trend nowadays: A lot of special effects and very little acting. You will not find any bells and whistles in the movie just great acting by some of the best actors of the time. Re-discover what western films were supposed to be.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A First-Rate Epic Western
Comment: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: From the Secret Files of Harry Pennypacker
Cheyenne Warrior: The Original Screenplay with Author Commentary
Shadow Watcher
Nobody Drowns in Mineral Lake
Although it has never gained the stature of classics like HIGH NOON or SHANE, THE BIG COUNTRY (1958) must be counted as one of the "great" westerns.
William Wyler directed this sweeping drama, adapted by multiple writers from Donald Hamilton's novel, that is filled with rousing action, compelling, multi-layered characters, splendid cinematography and a magnificent music score by Jerome Moross.
Gregory Peck stars as a sea captain who comes West to marry Carroll Baker, daughter of cattle baron Charles Bickford.
Almost immediately, he reluctantly finds himself caught up in a vicious range war between his future father-in-law and Burl Ives, who won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance.
Other key characters include Charlton Heston as Bickford's foreman and Baker's former lover. He continually cast aspersions at Peck's manhood, resulting in one of the most interestingly staged fistfights in film history.
Also present are Jean Simmons, cast as Baker's friend and the owner of a piece of land that both Bickford and Ives want to secure, and Chuck Connors, as Ives abhorrent son, who is smitten with Ms. Simmons.
THE BIG COUNTRY is a film that I can't recommend too highly to both western buffs and anybody else who just likes a good movie.
© Michael B. Druxman, author of ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD
Customer Rating:
Summary: One of my all time favorites -- portraying great values
Comment: This is truly another classic Western movie. What's so great about this one is that it highlights honor and dignity and other great values. It's not a macho type Western, but truly a great film. Great cast and great story. A bit long, but definitely worth watching.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Inferior quality DVD
Comment: I bought this movie because it ia my favorite western, however after watching it without any problems, it will no longer play. It was handled with the utmost care, no scratches, didn't touch surface, next time I inserted it, just would not load. All of my other DVD's work fine.The Big Country
Customer Rating:
Summary: Eastern gentleman tries to tame the wild west
Comment: There have been many fine reviews of this film already. Thus, I will largely confine my remarks to one of the themes of the film: the incompatabilities that most contributed to the breakup of marriage plans between Jim McKay (Gregory Peck) and Pat Terrill(Carroll Baker). But, first, I would like to point out that, although not hinted in the film, the feud between the Hannasseys and Terrills was likely rooted in ethnic and religious bigotry. Hannassey is an Irish name, whereas the Terrills were most likely of English ancestry. This fits the general perception of Irish immigrants as uncouth ruffians.
Pat soon figured out that Jim was determined to be his own man in this big country, not just her father's puppet. Strike one against him. She also discovered that Jim was too aloof to the rough and tumble western ranch culture for her liking. Not only did he show minimal hostility toward the rough hazing reception by the Hannassey "boys", he refused to cooperate with the baiting challenges of riding a notoriously untamable horse or brawling with Steve(Charleton Heston), who also had the hots for Pat. The latter 2 challengers he eventually met, but only when there was no crowd to make him a spectacle, win or lose. Unlike some reviewers, I don't see Jim's aloofness from these challenges as necessasarily a sign of superior nobleness. Rather, they seem prudent responses. Also, he was much influenced by his father's death in a duel over what, in retrospect, was a rather trifling matter. It was prudent to try not to show great fear nor anger when faced with a gang of ruffian hazers in an unfamiliar territory and culture. It was prudent not to risk making fool of himself before a crowd, including his fiancee, in trying to ride a horse hinted at as being very wild, nor was it gentlemanly to engage in a fistfight over the seemingly trivial question of whether he had been lost in his solo survey of the ranch. Later, when learning of the kidnaping of his new love, Julie(Jean Simmons) by the Hannasseys, he ignored prudence and played the role of potential hero and peacemaker or dead man. The lines between courage and foolhardiness and between cowardice and prudence will always be blurred in certain circumstances.
Various reviewers have made the point that a fundamental difference between Jim and Pat was that Jim believed that what he was really like and had accomplished was more important, whereas Pat believed how others saw you was more important than what you were really like. The film biases our opinion to see Jim's ethos as the better of the two, but remember that Peck was a coproducer of the film. As I see it, in the real world, both are important. Reputation often makes the difference between success and failure in the business world, whether based on fact or fiction. However, Pat should have understood that Jim had prudent reasons, consistent with his aloofish personality, for responding to these challenges as he did. Afterall, as an ex-sea captain, Jim was used to exhibiting a degree of aloofness. Interestingly, when it came to sharing water rights that he now technically owned, something really important to all his neighbors, Jim was not aloof, declaring all neighboring parties had equal access to his water as they had under Julie's father. Julie, as a non-cattlewoman heir to her father's land, had been too weak and too connected with the Terrills to fully enforce the tradition of equal water access. Hopefully, now in league with Jim and presumably disconnected with the Terrills as well as the Hennasseys, the pair would be strong enough to enforce their critical rule.
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Editorial Reviews:
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One of Hollywood's greatest directors teams with a cast of incredible screen legends for this bold,sweeping tale of a ship's captain who ventures west to find a hotbed of jealousy, hatred and dangerous rivalries. As the reluctant hero is thrust into the maelstrom, he must summon all of his resolveto save not only his own life, but also the life of the woman he loves. Four-time Academy AwardÂ(r) winner* William Wyler directs this action-packed adventure that triumphs as "a work of art" (Motion Picture Herald). Starring Gregory Peck, Charlton Heston, Jean Simmons, Chuck Connors and Burl Ives (in an OscarÂ(r)-winning** performance), this magnificently entertaining epic will take your breath away with unbridled suspense, exhilarating excitement and explosive drama on a grand scale.
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