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MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
The Max Sand backstory in Harold Robbins's trashy The Carpetbaggers (an enjoyable wallow onscreen in 1964) made for a solid Western vehicle for Steve McQueen at his peak. Nevada Smith is a revenge movie, but closer in spirit to The Bravados than a Death Wish-style exercise in nihilism. Young Max, offspring of a white father and Indian mother, sets out to avenge their slaughter by three villains. His odyssey includes spiritual re-parenting at several stages, most notably by canny gun dealer Jonas Cord (a swell character part for Brian Keith). The supporting cast will have you saying, "He's in it, too!" at regular intervals (from costars Karl Malden and Arthur Kennedy down to such incidental interlopers as L.Q. Jones and Strother Martin). Since director Henry Hathaway and cameraman Lucien Ballard couldn't frame a bad shot if their lives depended on it, it's a relief that this movie is finally available in a widescreen format. --Richard T. Jameson
Nevada Smith Reviews:
Steve McQueen 
2009-12-08 - Have been a fan of Steve McQueen for years and this movie did not disappoint me. Seen this movie years ago and seeing it again was great. There are some very good actors (Karl Malden, Brian Keith, Arthur Kennedy) that are in the movie. They are gone but their acting lives on. Good entertainment for the family.
Intense Revenge In 2.35:1 Widescreen
2009-03-26 - This was a western with a good cast and another intense, interesting revenge story. It's fairly long at 130 minutes but Steve McQueen is usually charismatic enough to carry a film, and he does so here, too.
As the title character, "Nevada Smith," McQueen is joined by a number of well- known actors of the 1960s: Suzanne Pleshette, Karl Malden, Brian Keith, Arthur Kennedy, Raf Vallone, Martin Landau Janet Margolin and Pat Hingle.
McQueen plays a man who is totally dominated by thoughts of revenge. It motivates his every move. I don't recommend that attitude, but it makes for a good movie.
It was nice to see this in 2:35:1 widescreen. (Note: Is it NOT 1.85 as listed in the product details on the home page here.)
Even though I owned a new tape at the time, the nice western photography in this movie made the DVD purchase worthwhile. Eventually, I hope this film comes out with a good Blu-Ray transfer.
Ultimate Revenge Film
2009-03-25 - If you have never seen this one before then you should. It is a star - studded film with an excellent storyline. Steve McQueen stars as 'half breed' Max Sand pursuing the killers of his parents. What may really hit a chord with you is the people Max Sand encounters in his pursuit. As in life itself Max gets a helping hand from some unlikely sources. The best 'helper' is Brian Keith who teaches Max "How to Fish". There are many obstacles too just as in actual life itself. Even if you DON'T have a 'chip on your shoulder' this is a great film to watch. This is another one that gets better every time I watch it. No profanity in this and no graphic violence. Maybe even SOME of the grand kids can watch it too.
Nevada Smith
2009-03-20 - I have never seen this one but, it is a very good movie. I highly recommend!!
Forsaking Revenge
2008-10-02 - This is an excellent western and a marvelous exposé of the bigotry of an era when many regarded Indians with the same contempt that unborn babies are seen today. To kill one, even as brutally and violently as Max Sand/Steve McQueen's mother's dies, is to do nothing wrong. As the son of an Indian mother and a white father, McQueen bridges the gap between the less-than-human Indian and the fully human white, when he seeks revenge for his mother and father's slaying.
Because Max has been reared in the wilderness, at the beginning of this film he's a blank slate, understanding nothing about either violence or the evil that violence can do to a man's soul, even when undertaken to revenge a wrong. Through most of the film, he uses and discards good people in the pursuit of his revenge. Only with a Cajun woman, who dies because of him, does he begin to change and become the man he is in the climatic last scene.
Well worth watching, particularly while asking the question, "What would I have done if I'd been in his shoes?"
--Michael W. Perry, Across Asia on a Bicycle: The Journey of Two American Students from Constantinople to Peking
