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Rating:  -
This film,about a "communist"bandit and a FASCIST policeman matching wits ought to be required viewing for anyone...I read,in an earlier review,a rather nasty snap at the late Gregory Peck who,alledgedly was a known"leftist",the reviewer concluding that Peck's alledged "leftist"leanings made him hot to do this fim..I cannot help but wonder what sort of person writes such a review,given the fact that the time-period in which this film was set was during the Franco era..Franco,it must be remembered,was a FASCIST DICTATOR,who was helped into power by the very generous help of the ADOLF HITLER government,...Hitler sent his troops and his air-force to Spain as a sort of dry-run for thier WW2 efforts,and Franco,although not an actice participant on Hitler's side during that conflict nonetheless was just as murderous,and held the same sort of beliefs as Hitler..Indeed,it remains a distinct pity that when Hitler,Mussolini,and imperial Japan fell nothing was done to take down Franco,who was just the same sort as the other three...
Pect,the"communist"bank-robber nonetheless represents as close to a"good guy"as this movie provides,while the pro-fascist policeman,utterly corrupt,and played by Anthony Quinn,IS the bad guy..Cat and mouse games ensue,but the ending is more or less of a foregone conclusion once the plotline is established..
It is also worthy of note that,as this film was lensed and exhibited during the"cold war",when"communism"was the defined enemy of the capitalist world,the Pro-Nazi make up of the Franco government was more or less ignored..Thus the real elements that made the Franco police the enemy of people like Artiguez,Peck's charecter are in no way explained to the audience..
Rating:  -
Like most movies made for a political purpose, "Behold a Pale Horse" looks a bit better on paper than on the screen. Truly, the assemblage of talent is breathtaking, many of the participants having worked together on the blockbuster "Lawrence of Arabia" two years earlier: actors Quinn, Sharif, Zia Mohyedin, and Maurice Jarre who did the musical score. To this add director Fred Zinnemann and lead actor Gregory Peck. But there the problems start. Peck, of known leftist sympathies, clearly wanted to do the film but is less than convincing as a European. The pacing is often tedious--is this the same director who did "Day of the Jackal"?--the script full of preposterous coincidences. On the credit side, the local backgrounds in Spain and France are dead accurate. Knife-edge work by Quinn as the corruptible but determined Captain of the Guardia Civil and as his suave lieutenant the French actor Christian Marquand in a masterfully understated performance.
Rating: -
This was a great movie as it featered 3 big name stars. Would recommend this to anyone to watch.
Rating: -
It is a sign of Gregory Peck's talent as an actor that although used to playing American Heros in films like to Kill a Mockingbird, he is totally convincing as Artiguez, a Spanish Communist living in France during the time of the Franco regime.
Peck's performance is matched by that of Anthony Quinn as Captain Vinolas, the Spanish policeman who sets out to catch him.
Artiguez is a hero to the Spanish exiles in France, having spent the years since the Spanish Civil War crossing into Spain and robbing banks. Dispite this he lives in povety having given all the procedes from his robberies away.
Vinolas is determined to catch Artiquez who has made a fool of him over the years. When Artiquez's mother, who still lives in Spain, falls fataly ill, Vinolas gets the message to Artiguez knowing that he will have to try and see his mother before she dies.
Both Vinolas and Artiquez are shown as real people, Peck plays the Communist bandit as a man tied of the life he has led,
although he is still true to his cause. Vinolas is a corrupt Policeman with a crippled wife and a mistress. However in church he promises God that he will give up his mistress, return a horse which he was given as bribe and take his wife to Lourdes if he catches Artiquez.
Shot in black and white it is clear that neither Vinolas or Artiquez is a hero, neither are either of them a villan.
Omar Sharif, in an early role plays the priest who Artiquez's mother sends to him warning him not to try and see her as Vinolas will be waiting.
An film which should be much better known, not only for it's
unusal story but for the performances of it's leading actors.
Peck being to my mind one the most talented actors ever to grace the screen and anyone who does not love Anthony Quinn must have been born without a soul.
Rating:  -
Although this is a great classic film, my low rating refers not to the film, but to the "Columbia Tri-Star" DVD re-issue.
First of all this copy is too dark to the point where at the beginning of it you cannot even see the faces and features of the actors. Its like its always night in that version. Very poor quality. Also I think it was totally unnecessary to re-issue it in widescreen only. This is a 1964 black and white film, so it should have been re-issued in its original full screen form or give the buyer an option of widescreen and full screen. But the dark tone is too much and in my opinion ruins the film which was a great film based on a great story about the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War and the arch-rivalry between a guerilla fighter and a Captain in Franco's Guardia Civil.
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