Hang 'Em High (1968)

[Colonel Günther Ruiz]

As a kid, my first Leone movie was GBU (in fact I'm pretty sure that was my first western, too).  I liked it so much that my parents told me that GBU was part of a trilogy and that the other two parts were called Fistful of Dollars and Hang 'em High.  Imagine my surprise when I rented both movies!  I liked FoD though not as much as GBU but I absolutely hated Hang 'em High.  I couldn't understand why the other two were so good but this one was so lousy.

Thankfully, several months later, I was looking for something to rent at Blockbuster and found FaFDM.  I watched it, loved it, and realized that my parents had goofed up the title.  I saw High 'em High again in my twenties and I didn't hate it quite as much.  But yeah, its still pretty bad and the music sucks.

[dave jenkins]

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Hang-Em-High-Blu-ray-Review/10640/

[Banjo]

Can't see who would want to buy the  bluray disc.There's not even any special features.I pretty much agree with the concensus here in that after a very promising start it descends into monotony with a crap love interest and an unsatisfying ending.Though I think it's marginally better than JOE KIDD.

[titoli]

Can't see who would want to buy the  bluray disc.

Really?

[Banjo]

Well maybe Clint (to be fair he is good in this movie)completists but on checking the standard dvd can now had for just a few pence!

[Groggy]

Rewatched this today courtesy of TCM, and while I liked it a teensy bit more than before, I still stand by my basic opinion. Too talky, and not interesting talk either. The movie starts great, stays decent up to the halfway mark, then slowly deterioriates into a lousy TV Western. I think the script is mostly to blame here; there are a lot of interesting ideas that aren't properly fleshed out, or are dealt with in a hamfisted manner. The Clint-Inger Stevens romance rivals Major Dundee as the most blatantly tacked-on romance in a Western.

I do like the score a lot, and some of the supporting cast is good, particularly Pat Hingle and Bruce Dern. Still, nothing to write home about. 6/10 might be generous.

[Dust Devil]

Well upon a re-watch I can only agree with all the criticism already written above. I wasn't crazy about this movie even as a kid but nowadays it looks really bad. I think watching this movie you can see clearly that only Leone knew how to get the best out of Clint, and maybe Don Siegel, but to a way lesser extent. The mass-hanging was the best part, the rest is barely routine with pinches of SW influence. Some of the sets were really nice for an AW, though.


5.5/10

[dave jenkins]

You've got to remember, Ted Post directed Rawhide episodes. Look upon HEH as a TV movie that just happened to play in cinemas.

[stanton]

HEH is not a bad western, but it lacks a powerful ending and a better director. 6/10

[Dust Devil]

You've got to remember, Ted Post directed Rawhide episodes. Look upon HEH as a TV movie that just happened to play in cinemas.

You might have mentioned this already.

[drinkanddestroy]

I think this is an enjoyable movie, though (as with many films) the love interest crap is unnecessary.

[dave jenkins]

You might have mentioned this already.

Maybe even a couple of times?

[T.H.]

I bet he had a different crew for Magnum Force, because that's a well-made movie.

[Groggy]

I bet he had a different crew for Magnum Force, because that's a well-made movie.

That film benefited greatly from a John Milius/Michael Cimino screenplay.

[T.H.]

Most definitely, but visually it was much more polished - to the point where it doesn't feel like the same guy is directing.

I'd use the same logic for Paul WS Anderson. I doubt any of his stuff looks as adequate as Event Horizon (sue me, I think it's a decent mix of every sci fi film from the late 60s onward lol).