Very Cool!!!

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

"Figures in a Landscape" was a major studio production, but it only got a limited and brief theatrical release stateside, and was pretty much forgotten until it was quietly released on DVD a couple of years ago. It doesn't take long to figure out why the people who held the rights to the movie had such little confidence in the movie finding an audience. I have no idea what the novel that inspired this movie is like, but in this movie, there is very little to make the 110 minute slog particularly compelling. It seems to have been designed to be relatable to any viewer from any country - the country the events of the movie take place in is anonymous, and we learn little about the backgrounds of the two protagonists. But with so little detail, there's little that makes us care about what's going on. As a result, the movie becomes quite boring and just seems to be spinning its wheels again and again. Not everything about the movie is below par, I admit. The photography is good, there are some very scenic locations, and the helicopter stunt work is exciting. But in the end, the movie can be compared to a prettily wrapped-up box that has nothing inside it when you open it.

May contain spoilers. Read on at your own peril. But there seems to be little to spoil on this stinkburger! This film starts in the middle of some ongoing story. Apparently these people were in jail for some reason we don't know and got out of jail by some method we don't know. And then a goat herder is killed. Why? He was there.That's the perfect start to a "Modern" film. We start with nothing, are told damn little about what's going or motivation of characters or any backstory and have to figure out what went before and what is going on and why, while trying to relax and enjoy a movie. That's a lot of work! If I wanted to work, I would go to work! Who are they? Why is this happening? Where are they? Don't know. Let's hope somehow, we will find out or this will be a waste of time. 16 minutes in and... their hands are still tied and the helicopter is trying to give them haircuts. Why don't they just land? Who is in the helicopter? Why are they doing this harassment of these two people? What's this movie about? No clue yet. Stay tuned. Maybe we will find out.... Maybe.... It seems they are tied with cloth or rope why don't these two back up together and untie each other? I am thinking I am wasting my time watching this. If anything happens, I will let you know. But don't wait if you have some paint to watch drying! 30 minutes in and the plot is really taking off. They found a knife to get their hands free. That's it for now. Still waiting for something to happen...Now that their hands are free, they did what they apparently know best. Robbery. And they were seen. Not very good robbers for sure.Well, they managed to open a can (tin) and ate something and both of them shaved. Riveting stuff!! Oh, the mastery of the medium by writer and director. IS MISSING HERE? 45 minutes in and... The dizzying speed of the plot has made me hungry. I am going to eat. If anything else happens in this movie, call me. I will have my phone with me, just in case...(That sound you just heard was me pressing STOP on the player)

While it's existential nature renders the plot largely aimless, the scenery and cinematography that brings that to life is breath-taking, not to mention the agility with which the helicopter - in pursuit of two escaped prisoners Shaw & McDowell - pursues its hapless quarry throughout the rugged Spanish terrain.Beautifully shot abstract film has Shaw as the bold, vicious and erratic elder prisoner who goads his younger, more refined companion McDowell in the necessary techniques for survival - including murder. It's a two-man show here, and although a supporting cast featuring Christopher Malcolm, Henry Woolf and Pamela Brown is credited, they essentially have none of the dialogue and appear only briefly.While I found the film picturesque, the landscape vivid and diverse, and the aerial stunt-work impressive, the characterisations were not as well drawn, their theatrical-like dialogue, peppered with soulful monologues reflecting on their civilised life before this ordeal, didn't quite (in my experience) paper over the thin plot and largely organic narrative. I guess that's the point though - less is more - and for a film that offers so much texture in visual displays, and aerial acrobatics of its menacing helicopter protagonist, perhaps the minimalist approach is all that's really needed.

Inspired by the minimalist theater-driven film-making of the period, Figures in a Landscape is much more interesting than its competition (Tomorrow, Losey's own "The Servant). Why? Because of the helicopter, of course!Robert Shaw, always inspired, is here particularly so, all but frothing at the mouth as he drags his weary carcass over the mountains, from nowhere, to nowhere, until the endless desert itself seems more and more like a stage for their mad performance.An inversion of the often static fare of the period that still displays serious acting chops. Recommended.