A Brilliant Conflict

The first must-see film of the year.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

Continuing my plan to watch every movie in Sean Connery's filmography, I come to Shalako (1968) Plot In A Paragraph: In 1880 New Mexico, a group of European hunters runs afoul of the Apache but is aided by Shalako (Connery) an ex-cavalryman turned guide Unoriginal, uninspired, routine, dull and just plain boring. Shalako is one of my least favourite westerns, and one of my least favourite movies starring Sean Connery in a leading role. There is a serious lack of chemistry between the leads and only a scene where a woman (who shall remain nameless due to spoilers) is made to choke to death on her perl necklace. I actually can't find anything good to say about this movie. Especially coming off the back of my Clint Eastwood filmography, which included so many great westerns. Shalako was another flop for Connery grossing under $2 million at the domestic box office.

It's testament to SHALAKO's efficiency that it ably passes for a Hollywood western despite being a British/West German production; the mountainous Spanish scenery accounts for much of the authenticity here and the story that follows is surprisingly decent, although perhaps not one of the absolute classics of the era. I'm just surprised that the team made a likable western despite the problems that could have arisen with it.One of these is Sean Connery, perhaps playing one of the most unlikely cowboys ever; he acquits himself well and gives a taciturn performance which suits the film nicely. Brigitte Bardot doesn't have much to do other than stand around and look ravishing, which of course she does with ease. The excellent supporting cast includes the likes of Jack Hawkins, Eric Sykes (!), Honor Blackman, Peter van Eyck, Stephen Boyd, and, in an odd but effective bit of casting, Woody Strode as a Native American leader.The spare narrative doesn't have a great deal of plot structure but that fits well with the survivalist tone. The action scenes are very effective, particularly a mini siege that brings to mind ZULU. The film was based on a book by popular western writer Louis L'Amour, and was directed by old-time Hollywood pro Edward Dmytryk.

At the risk of offending the purists, the animal lovers and the rest of the supercilious self-righteous know-alls, I thoroughly enjoy this film every time I watch it (yes, I come back to it, now and then). It's right up there with my other favorite westerns, "The Magnificent Seven," "Duck, You Sucker," and "MacKenna's Gold." Nothing serious. Just entertaining, off-the-beaten-track plots, and good-looking people. I don't know about you, but I DETEST being preached at. Never could take it, either from my parents, or my teachers. Not even from my church, truth be told. So I'm certainly NOT going to take it from the hypocrites in the film industry. And that's why I like Shalako. No preaching. No whining about big bad America. No oh-dear-weren't-we-awful-to-the-natives chest-beating, so prevalent in the 60s and 70s. Just a bit of fun. Which is all the entertainment industry should stick to.

DIRECTOR: Edward Dmytryk. WRITERS: Louis L'Amour (novel) and Clarke Reynolds (screenplay). CAST: Sean Connery, Brigitte Bardot, Sephen Boyd, Honor Blackman, Jack Hawkins, Woody Strode and Valerie French. RUNTIME: 1 hour 53 minutes. LOCATIONS: Spain. COUNTRY: UK/West Germany.THE STORY: A pompous group of European nobles on a hunting vacation in New Mexico are beset by a band of Apaches who don't appreciate them trespassing on their lands. After the Europeans are abandoned by their guides they are helped by an intrepid loner named Shalako (Connery). Can they make it out alive?As you can see, this European film has a lot going for it. It's based on a Louis L'Amour novel and has a great cast. Yet, it bombed when it was originally released, but it's actually a very good realistic Western. Besides, how can you go wrong with Sean Connery and Brigitte Bardot?Disregarding the horrible title song, the opening is reminiscent of "Duel at Diablo" and the rest of the film resembles "Hombre," which were both released in the late 60s as well. "Shalako" has the same tone, so if you like those films you'll probably appreciate "Shalako."Although there's a lot of good Western action, including one excellent long battle sequence between the whites and the Natives, there's quite a bit of drama. As such, I encourage you to utilize the subtitles due to the heavily-accented dialogue; it helps you to keep up with the story and characters. There's also some good character definement. The film is a story of arrogance and betrayal -- the arrogance of the Europeans who have no respect for the "lowbred" cowboys or "savages," and the betrayal of the American guides, headed excellently by Stephen Boyd (Messala in "Ben-Hur"). But, to my pleasure, "Shalako" is mostly a survival story. I love survival stories, like "Sands of the Kalahari" and "Flight of the Phoenix." This brings to mind other survival-themed Westerns like "Escape from Fort Bravo," "They Came to Cordura" and "Duel at Diablo." "Shalako" stands well with these films.Can you believe Woody Strode, a black man, is cast as the main Native American antagonist? It works, believe it or not, as he looks convincingly Indian.THE BABE REPORT: Of course, Brigitte Bardot is one of the most beautiful women to ever grace God's earth. With the exception of one bathing scene she's dressed to the hilt throughout. But -- man -- she has such a cute, pouty face and incredible locks of full blond hair. Interestingly, she was chosen to play Bond's love interest in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" (the only non-Connery Bond picture of the 60s with George Lazenby as Bond), but she was ironically booked with Connery doing this movie. Honor Blackman, who played Pussy Galore in "Goldfinger," is also on hand. I never thought she was all that beautiful, although I like her as an actor.Of great interest to me was the appearance of the underrated brunette Valerie French. She played the hottie in "Jubal" (1956) when she was 28. "Shalako" was her final film and she was 40 at the time of release. She's mainly a background character but she does have some lines and you'll catch quite a few good glimpses of her. She's almost as beautiful as Bardot, albeit brunette. And, no, it makes no difference that she's 40.FINAL ANALYSIS: I fully expected to not like "Shalako" due to the bad or lukewarm reviews, but I was pleasantly surprised. The critics are way off. This is a really good late-60's Western. Those with ADHD might not like it 'cause there's a lot of character-defining drama, but I found it worthwhile for all the above reasons.Some criticize the ending as ridiculous, but I liked it. Would it likely happen in real life? Probably not. But I didn't find it all that unbelievable. In other words, the filmmakers pulled it off. It's a good MOVIE ending. That's why they went with it.GRADE: B+