Thanks for the memories!

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Blistering performances.

Disgusting, tasteless, and pointless film drenched in cruelty, hate, and obscene violence. The acting is as wooden as the characters are shallow and hateful. Lone Pine is certainly at its best, although, Lucian Ballard's usually excellent cinematography is lackluster. It appears Embassy Pictures tried to save money by having the print processed at Fotomat. The direction is uninspired except to depict the soul-dead characters as beyond redemption and the violence as both just plain stupid and sickening. The sadism depicted is unique and absolutely pointless. To think that in 1966 anyone actually bought a ticket to see this garbage in a theater is beyond imagination.

This summary is influenced somewhat because this reviewer has been a Robert Lansing fan as long as can be remembered. Every single time Lansing has acted in a production (TV, play, or movie), his performance has made me forget about the actor practicing a craft and to become engrossed in the role and the particular story. That is what makes a truly fine actor, in my opinion, and it is sad that Lansing had been unrecognized by the entertainment industry in general and not given more roles to portray during his career.The story of Talion (aka An Eye For An Eye) is offbeat from the average western story, as it focuses on personal relationships between humans more than the shoot-'em-up aspects of the Old West. There is action in the gunfighting, a bit of history in Ben's background, the creativity used to surmount physical shortcomings in order to achieve a set goal, a view of family life in the hardscrabble wilderness of the 1800s, the dignity with which an aging ranch owner strives to raise his children to be honest, confidant,and respectable adults, and even some romance in the longing the early settlers must have experienced when living in a relatively lawless location and era, often far away from neighbors, family, and the diversions of city or even town life. And, it contains a lesson in morality and conscience in that the story shows even a mature adult can learn to see life from a different perspective, regardless of the events of the past.The general production values were appropriate if not lavish, but with what appeared to be the use of genuine antiques for household props. The cinematography was outstanding, lending a real feel to what life on an isolated ranch must have been like. The ending was unusual as well, and not predictable. This is not a large production or epic western (such as THE BIG COUNTRY which was peppered with big name stars), but a lonely and tender but still a little gritty family-appropriate production.Serve a batch of buttered popcorn, a bowl of chocolate and nuts to munch on, and your favorite beverage over ice. Curl up on the couch and turn the lights down low to enjoy this simple story of the Old West.

Robert Lansing (who looks like cross between Lee Majors and Steve McQueen) plays Talion, a retired bounty hunter who finds himself back in action hunting Slim Pickens, a sleazy outlaw who along with his two partners, murdered his family and burned down his home.Teaming up with a cocky (wet behind the ears) fellow bounty hunter Patrick Wayne, the two find themselves badly injured in their first attempt to kill Pickens, leaving Wayne blinded and Talion unable to shoot.Lansing and Pickens are good, while young Pat Wayne is okay, though a bit miscast. Character actor Paul Fix is quite dignified in a supporting role as the film's voice of reason and the always oily Strother Martin is great and gives the film's best performance as a money grubbing backstabber.A thoroughly average production, An Eye For An Eye is helped considerably by excellent locations and some stunning outdoor photography, some of the best I've seen. Every scene looks like it belongs on a postcard!

Embassy Pictures was the RKO Pictures of its day - making "major studio" productions on lower budgets. In this case, VERY low - it's pretty obvious that it didn't take a lot of money (or time) to shoot this western! It starts off as a typical vengeance saga, though takes a twist when the two gunfighters are injured and must work more like a team than ever. Lansing (who greatly resembles Steve McQueen here) is okay, though a little subdued. Pat Wayne is pretty decent, and shows he could have had a bigger film career if he'd been given a chance. Slim Pickens is pretty hammy, though his character is written in a very simple-minded way, like you would expect a cowboy villain to be a few decades earlier. In fact, aside from the musical score (which has the flavor of those found in spaghetti westerns starting to come out around this time), the movie in its writing and directing greatly resembles many westerns filmed in the late '40s to early '50. Only really recommended for die-hard fans of westerns.