My Favorite Westerns

The Missouri Breaks (1976)

Not one My Favorite Westerns. But … it has Brando and Nicholson / Star Power.

Frankly, it seems there are damn few movies of any type that are worth watching if they don’t have Stars in them. I hate to say that because you’d like to think otherwise. There are plenty of exceptions I’m sure, but in general – as far as Hollywood is concerned, this is pretty well a Rule. Maybe Rule #1. Certainly Director Sydney Pollock believed that. Which is why he made 7 movies starring Robert Redford. He knew that even if the movie was lousy or critically trashed that Redford would still put it over the top. And he did.

Don’t get me wrong – plenty of people like The Missouri Breaks and some consider it a great movie – even a great Western. It’s certainly worth at least one look just to see what Brando and Nicholson are up to. And they’re up to quite a bit.

Reviews/Ratings:

- Rotton Tomatoes:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/missouri_breaks/
Critics Score: 83% – Viewers Score: 58%

- DVD Savant: 
http://www.dvdtalk.com/dvdsavant/s1762miss.html
Movie: Very Good: “Even with its stellar teaming of Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson, The Missouri Breaks was a big-bust movie in 1976 … Almost 30 years later, The Missouri Breaks plays a lot better … That ending is still a head-scratcher but most of the rest of the movie is a Western lover’s delight, with excellent and often hilarious dialogue between sad sack horse thief Nicholson and his pack of misfit rustlers. If anyone lets the film down, it’s Brando … “

- Internet Movie Database (IMDB): 
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074906/?licb=0.3835491400677711
Viewers Rating: 6.5

- Turner Classic Movies (TCM): 
http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/28064%7C0/The-Missouri-Breaks.html

User Reviews: 4 out of 5
“The Missouri Breaks (1976) is not your usual Western. In fact, it’s not your usual anything. The words most commonly used in reviews at the time of its release were “bizarre” and “odd” and it must have equally confused audiences expecting something quite different from the inspired teaming of Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson. But seen today, the film’s peculiar mixture of Western cliches, black comedy, quirky romance and revenge drama makes for a decidedly offbeat entertainment.”

Not a screen shot: Nicholson, Katherine Lloyd, Harry Dean Stanton, Brando

2 pics from http://www.anothermag.com/reader/view/4791/Acid_Westerns_Day

Brando and his Creedmore Rifle

Tags: Jack Nicholson, Marlon Brando, Missouri Breaks, Western Film, Western Movies