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The Shootist
(Paramount,
1976) Watch the movie trailer for The Shootist below.
Reviews "The Shootist
will stand as one of John Wayne's towering achievements, and his very
best since True Grit. Don
Siegel's terrific film is simply beautiful, and beautifully simple, in
its quiet, elegant and sensitive telling of the last days of a dying
gunfighter at the turn of the century. Wayne and Lauren Bacall are both outstanding. Dino
"With
The Shootist,
a grandly elegiac Western superbly directed by Don Siegel, John Wayne
once again goes with richer, more fully dimensional material than usual
as he did with True Grit. Once
again it pays off handsomely with a film that is among his and Siegel's
finest . . . Splendidly designed by Robert Boyle and photographed by Bruce Surtees in appropriate autumnal
tones, The
"If, God forbid, John Wayne should choose to end his incredible career right now, after more than 45 years in films, I can't think of any more perfect picture to fade out on than this Frankovich/Self production of The Shootist . . . Just when it seemed the Western was an endangered species, due for extinction because it had repeated itself too many times, Wayne and Siegel have managed to validate it once more. The Shootist may well become a classic, ranking right up there with many of Wayne's earlier masterpieces." Arthur Knight, the Hollywood Reporter "Wayne's proud, quietly anguished performance, one of his very best and certainly his most moving, has a richness that seems born of self-knowledge; he lends the film a tremendous sense of intimacy and a surprisingly confessional mood. The Shootist is, in its own reserved way, John Wayne's single-minded statement about both the burden and the triumph of being John Wayne. The big name supporting cast performs beautifully, but it is very much a supporting cast, perhaps in tribute to the stature of its star." Newsweek
"The Shootist is the fascinating, often entertaining, always moving and humane story of how a legend dies with courage in the face of adversity. Director Don Siegel paints a softly focused canvas of the changing West at the turn of the century, with keenly observed details and insights about the life of the times, indoor plumbing, streetcars, and the advancement of medical technology. John Wayne, in his finest role since True Grit, is a wounded eagle in an aviary of vultures. Resting his behind on a bordello pillow, scandalizing the self-righteous widow with his salty talk, bellowing and ordering everyone about and lacing his delivery with a wry twinkle, he has a fine time with the role. There's something touching about the grandeur of the last of a dying breed, suffering on a patchwork quilt, while a 1901 Oldsmobile rattles by outside the window as a sign of progress." Rex Reed, Vogue
"The Shootist is John Wayne's best film since John Ford's 1962 The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. This Don Siegel-directed film version of Glendon Swarthout's novel may also be, with the exception of the anti-Westerns like The Wild Bunch, the best single Western since Ford's brilliant elegy to Western myth-making." Tim A. Janes, Tucson Arizona Daily Star. "The Shootist may just prove to be a historic Western. That is a risky projection, but there is evidence to support the contention. It is, in the first place, not only a superior Western, but a superior film as well. Further, it is a notably gutsy project, presenting as it does a decidedly unconventional and uncommercial plot -- the last eight days in the life of a gunfighter dying of cancer. Additionally, it features an extraordinary cast -- Lauren Bacall, James Stewart, Richard Boone, John Carradine, Sheree North -- several of whom accepted roles more modest in scope than they would ordinarily require. But the main reason The Shootist should live beyond its allotted time is John Wayne. The picture probably would not have been made without him -- his personal prestige, his near legendary stature, his box office appeal -- and probably could not have been made without him. For it is, in a sense, a biography of the Duke, both man and actor. If the two can be separated. And it may well be the last film Wayne will make." John L. Wasserman, San Francisco Chronicle "John Wayne mellows into what may prove the finest role in his career, an aging legendary gunfighter who puts his lifelong ideals in order as he waits out the final seven days of his life. Don Siegel's absorbing, highly affecting character study is a major achievement, although a dearth of action and the story's leisurely, downbeat tones may require unusual marketing to bring out its audience." Independent Film Journal |
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This low budget film didn't do well at the box office when Paramount dumped
it on a limited number of screens with very limited promotion and
advertising in October of
The
tremendous cast came together at producer Mike Frankovich's behest, and
all were willing to take much smaller fees in support of the ailing
cowboy legend, for they knew this might well be his last ride before the
cameras.
Do
see John Wayne's valedictory farewell to films, playing a fabled Western
gunfighter dying of cancer (too true!), who even sums up his legendary
career in one great line -- "In general, I've had a helluva good
time!"
de Laurentiis sponsored the very handsome Mike Frankovich/William
Self production, which could become a major box office hit for
Paramount . . . The entire film is in totally correct balance, artistically
and technically, a major credit in Frankovich's long production career.
Shootist
is a film of much resonance, enriched by the regard Siegel has for his
cast members and they for each other . . . Wayne, Miss Bacall -- astringent
and regally beautiful in her first major screen role in years -- and
Stewart are stars rich in associations that further enhance the film's
meanings and emotions.
"The
Shootist, Wayne's latest film, seems
destined to become one
"The
Shootist is a strange film if only
because it tips its ending at