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Rating:  -
One of the better films with Gregory Peck and Anthony Quinn. Besides given the background of the Spanish Civil War, this is in the end a morality tale in which a number of characters must struggle with their conscience. It is a serious and socailly valuable film
Rating:  -
Behold a Pale Horse(1964) has the makings of a classic film. A literate screenplay,a solid cast and a good director at the helm. And while the film's plot may be intriguing and the cinematography beautiful, the film is emotionally hollow. This is a shame because the cast is so game especially Gregory Peck who stars as a failed revolutionary of the Spanish Civil War, who returns from exhile in France to Spain to see his ailing mother and possibly assasinate an old enemy, that being Anthony Quinn, who is quite good.
The film has a solid plot but lacks cohesion. The film follows a small child for over half of the running time, only to disregard this character later on. Omar Shariff plays a Priest who delivers the news of a set up to Peck, but ultimately adds nothing but his distingushed presence to the proceedings.
The action takes forever to get going and when it does, it seems rushed and not as interesting as could have been.
Zimmerman does not direct the film with a good pace and often lets the film drag onward never gaining the momentum and punch the story properly needed to become timeless. Despite some truly excellent location shots and great use of Black and White, the film still feels empty.
Not a bad picture by any standards, but far from being the classic it could have been. A curio-piece for fans of the actors and director.
Note: The title refers to a line from Revelations about the introduction of Death riding in with the other horsemen of the apocalypse. Very cool.
Rating: -
One of the few films to deal with the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, Behold a Pale Horse is a now completely forgotten but once high-profile well-intentioned failure where you can see the good intentions and valid reasoning behind every misstep. It certainly has pedigree to spare: Gregory Peck and Anthony Quinn resuming on screen hostilities after their ruckus on Navarone, a supporting cast including Omar Sharif and Christian Marquand, a screenplay based on a novel by Emeric Pressburger (the wonderfully titled Killing a Mouse On Sunday) and direction by Fred Zinnemann. At its core is an effectively simple idea, with Anthony Quinn's failing local police chief trying to tempt Gregory Peck's legendary Republican bandit across the border into Franco's Spain and right into a trap, with the rebel's dying mother as the bait. But the film wants to be more than a thriller or a simple adventure story and in the process ends up considerably less. The biggest problem is a slow opening half, where Peck is kept deliberately at a distance, seen only through the eyes of a child and filtered through the hatred of Quinn as the film tries to build him into a mythic figure so that when we finally do meet the embittered, grumpy and overly cautious man the void between reputation and reality is that much greater. Unfortunately he's kept at far too much of a distance and the film is just far too low-key and drawn out to really draw us in.
Thankfully the second half is considerably more successful as the moral dilemmas multiply and the story enters Graham Greeneland as the tired, violently atheist hero has to face the betrayal of friends and the help of a priest, although it's not without its absurdities (most notably in a scene in Lourdes where they look for, and find with comical ease, one specific group of priests among thousands). This desperately wants to be a great film, but sadly it rarely manages to be a good one, much as you may appreciate the effort. Those with an eye for trivia might want to note early bit parts from Michel Lonsdale at a reporter in the final scene and an uncredited future producer Claude Berri as well as the involvement of actress Nicole Stephane and writer-director Frederic Rossif in putting together the extremely effective opening montage sequence.
The DVD transfer is a little too dark at times, while the only extra is the theatrical trailer.
Rating: -
When I saw the names Gregory Peck and Anthony Quinn on the title, I was almost positive this would be a winner, and it is, to a point. The movie has a good plot, good performances, and decent action... So why do I say to a point? This movie would have been better if it had been cut to an hour and a half running length. As it is, it is far too slow. The story could and should have been shortened.
Other than that, I have no problems with this movie. Omar Sharif's character is probably my favorite. He is a highly morale man who trusts God to take care of him. He goes to warn Peck even though he knows that by doing so, he will be arrested. Even more amazing is the fact that he goes to try and save Peck's life even though Peck is an atheist and hates priests.
Peck is slightly unbelievable as a Spaniard, but after a while you get used to it. The scenery in this film is beautiful. The musical score is pretty good. The ending, which was led up to the whole film, was a let-down. It is fairly clean for 1964. There is some language.
Rating: -
"Behold a Pale Horse" lacks the guts to explicitly state the obvious: Manuel Artiguez (Gregory Peck) is a dedicated Communist. Perhaps the participants in this production were afraid of damaging their careers? At the very most, the film candidly reveals his intense dislike of religion and the Franco government. Nothing more. One is compelled to read between the lines. Anyway, the vast majority of Spaniards by 1959 were likely trying to raise their families and get along with those of differing political philosophies. Artiguez really needs to get a life. Continuing to rob banks to fund a revolution few care about is a sure sign of nihilistic behavior. Artiguez is now fifty years old and seemingly doesn't even have a girl friend. He apparently sits around all day in his decrepit French apartment getting drunk and plotting the next senseless act of terrorism. Once in awhile, Artiguez sneaks over the border to make life hell on Earth for Captain Vinolas (Anthony Quinn), the police officer who bargains with God to capture him. Artiguez's mother is dying and our public official devises a trap to lure him back to Spain. Will he go? Is Artigues tired of all his nonsense and desiring death? Could the guy be bored out of his mind? Oh well, you can find out if you are willing to invest a few hours of your life. This movie is only worthy of three stars. Perhaps you can make your decision by flipping a coin?
David Thomson
Flares into Darkness
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