One-Eyed Jacks (1961)

[Gwalker99]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055257/


I just watched this western.. I really liked it,,, I wonder if Leone took anything from this film??

[HEX]

I just watched this western.. I really liked it,,, I wonder if Leone took anything from this film??

yeah it is a very spaghetti like, type film.
it has all the plot stuff in it. like the story of revenge and savage beatings.

i liked this western as well.
it needs a nice special edition.
i thought the sub-plot with the romance brought the film down though.

in an early concept the girl was supposed to be killed by DAD when he fires at RIO just before he dies.
this would have been a better ending.

also KUBRICK was supposed to direct this at one point.

[indio]

your right hex. i love this movie, i'm a brando fan and a western fan so no guesses that i'm gonna like it.

[Sackett]

Yeah, I like it too. Ben Johnson has a good part also.  Aother Brando western I like is The Appaloosa

[HEX]

Yeah, I like it too. Ben Johnson has a good part also.  Aother Brando western I like is The Appaloosa

i have heard of it... is it better then ONE EYED JACKS?

[Franks Harmonica]

If I remember right Kubrick had started shooting "One Eyed Jacks", but couldnt get along with Brando on the set, so he left within a week?
I love this film, especially the windswept valley fight at the beginning and Karl Malden is one of the greatest actors alive and still kickin in his nineties!
What a damn shame that it is not available on a widescreen dvd, as I know there was a fantastic widescreen laserdisc out around ten years ago.
You know the studios have just been lazy as they probably feel there is no market for this classic.

[boardwalk_angel]

What a damn shame that it is not available on a widescreen dvd

I have a Widescreen DVD...put out by "Diamond Entertainment" in 2000.
They are located in Walnut, CA.
See if you can locate them.

[Banjo]

I notice that One Eyed Jacks is being shown every now and again on the Open Access channel on Sky digital.I think i will have to investigate!

[Sackett]

Hi Hex.
Can't really say about comparing them.  They  are just different.  John Saxon plays the Mexican baddie, and he is good at it.

[grandpa_chum]

It was alright... but I'm sad to say I was disapointed because a (offline)friend of mine who is also a big leone fan said it was amazing, and considering the cast and the story I thought it should have been better... no doubt if kubrick had hung around it could have been one of the best... as is it's too slow and not nearly as interesting as it should be... if you're going to do slow you have to at least have that other thing... needless to say I had the widescreen dvd and sold it when i cleaned out my collection... the sad thing is brando originally had a much much longer cut, who knows maybe it would have been better, but i'd never be able to sit through it after seeing the short version.

[mezcal]

I'd like to see this movie, can anyone else confirm that the budget widescreen was the diamond entertainment version, as its still available through amazon.ca.
i'd hat to get a pan and scan if the widescreen is the same price
thanks

[cigar joe]

Brando made a mess of it, its in dire need of some editing, there are these long lasting closeups of Brando mugging the camera, I guess he's supposed to be emoting, lol. The Apaloosa is Way better in my opinion.

[mezcal]

My 'diamond' (hopefully widescreen copy) just arrived.
Looking forward to watching it tonight, opinion to follow.....

[Dust Devil]

Finally made it through all the 141 minutes: if the original cut was 300 minutes long it must have been a rather sick joke. The (unoriginal) story behind would support a movie that is 90 minutes long, at max. Probably more suited for a television mini-series. That been said, it's very clear why this is an everlasting monument to artistic overindulgence. Brando, however great he was - I ain't taking him that away, he's very fun to watch here too - apparently had no measure for anything in his life; he takes every scene there is to the extreme, not really knowing what he's doing. Unfortunately for him - he wasn't Leone, that point after the long wait that makes it all worthwhile in Leone's Westerns isn't to be found anywhere in this, only more subterfuge. And then in merely 10 minutes they end it all with a couple of gunshots and a (bad) romance. Perhaps Leone did drain some inspiration from this movie, and at the same time learned how not to do certain things.

The cinematography should definitely be seen in WS, I don't remember many movies (especially not Ws) set on the coast of Mexico. It's beautiful.

In the end, it's not such a bad movie as it's messed up, I'm thinking a re-cut would open new doors for it. The acting's excellent, besides Brando Karl Malden shines, and in the back Ben Johnson offers a sneaky and stealthy performance. There are also Slim Pickens, Katy Jurado and a few other known faces.


(around) 6.5/10

[Novecento]

Any recommendations on the best release of this? There are so many horrible public domain releases it's hard to know where to start!