Just saw the movie for the third time, and I can;t believe I gave it high ratings years ago. This film is a crappy 5.5/10
I enjoyed reading Grggy's review more than watching the movie.
The cinematography is terrific. Some good battle scenes.
But the whole subplot ? actually, it's maybe the
main plot ? of them bringing along Constance Towers (still with us at 87 years old) does nothing for the mother. Yeah, she's nice to look at (perfect makeup at all times, of course

) But the movie would have been better off if her character had not been in there.
The tension between doctor-hating Wayne and Holden is dumb, and Ford's comedy here, with the endless drinking jokes and the guy who wants to be a politician, detract from the film. I find sometimes that Ford's comedy would be funny as its own segment, or in a comedy movie, but stuck into non-comedy films, it detracts. (Perhaps the most egregious example of this is the scene with Victor McLaglen in the saloon in
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon.) Also, that theme song "I Left My Love" is insufferable.
This could have been a good movie if it had been a straight-up story about this Civil War incident, without the female subplot, without the Holden character, and without the so-called humor. This was a real wasted opportunity. The only way I'll ever watch this again is on mute ? the movie looks absolutely gorgeous.