It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

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

Blistering performances.

***SPOILERS*** This story follows Donald Hamilton's basic premise: intellect, courage, and perseverance will win the day. Mr. Hamilton is the author of the really great action/thriller series of books about a character named Matt Helm. Now, younger readers will probably never appreciate these book as much as us old farts do, but trust me they were great. The difference lies in how Hollywood dealt with the control of the story by the screenwriter. THIS movie is one of the best conversions (of western stories) ever made. Two others are Elmore Leonard's "Hombre", and Louis Lamour's "The Quick And The Dead". All good reads, but when shown on the screen, they are different and better than the author had originally produced. This is very rare, indeed, because usually is it exactly the opposite. Mr. Helm's character Matt Helm is transformed from a serious assassin to a drunken clown, complete with circus acts. By the way, Dean Martin was a great actor who could play great parts if the were given him. P.S. Eastwood would have made a perfect Matt Helm. Enough griping.In this story Gregory Peck plays Jim McKay, a fellow who is a very wealthy shipping magnate who comes west to marry a beautiful, but spoiled, and flawed, girl, Pat Terrill, played perfectly by Carol Baker. On the way, he is misunderstood, and misinterpreted to the point of deadly stupidity. Burl Ives plays Rufus Hannassey, A barrel of a man who has without a doubt one of the soliloquys I've ever heard. Short, sweet, eloquent, to the point, and daring. I liked him immediately. Chuck Connors plays his son - a cowardly bully who's hobby is probably pulling wings off of flies. Jean Simmons is the darkly beautiful Julie Maragon, the REAL love interest. The fatal flaw in not understanding someone plays out to a tragic, but hopeful end, in this almost Shakespearean drama. There is plenty of action, but, in the end, it is applied intelligence that wins the day - as it should be. The battle between brute force and brains is played out every day in life, and in this movie the right side wins. I rank this as one of the very best westerns (and movies) ever made. It is a 10 plus.

Certainly one of the best western movies ever. I won't add to the spoilers (there have been enough of those already). But I will add that the original book of the same name by author Donald Hamilton is a must-have... it's just as good and is in fact different by a bit - enough to make it a great read and fill in more background details such as the backstory about the dueling pistols. The book is out of print, so you'll have to find a copy and it will not be cheap. Look for about $30 for a paperback copy. As you'll see, it's well worth every cent.

The Big Country is great for so many reasons, but the greatest reason to me has always been Jerome Moross' s magnificent score. From the signature sweeping opening theme to the subtle background for the fight between Gregory Peck and Charleton Heston the music simply amplifies the majesty of the film. One scene in particular leaps out as genius. Early in the film Moross employs a rugged theme for the "war party" riding off for some vengeance. Later, when the culminating showdown approaches in Blanco Canyon, Heston and Charles Bickford have a divisive argument that ends with Bickford riding off alone. Listen at this point for the way Moross accompanies Bickford with a simple lead up to the "war party" theme. Then, as the contrite Heston rides around a bend in the canyon, Moross adds a more complex second peroration of the theme as Heston joins Bickford. Finally, the rest of the war party gallops around the bend to join their leaders Bickford and Heston as Moross adds all the rest of the musical elements of the "war party" theme. The musical moment is simply thrilling!

I'm always appalled at how little William Wyler I've seen. I adore The Best Years of Our Lives and Roman Holiday, but Ben-Hur is underwhelming. Now with The Big Country winning my heart, he really deserves better. I'm a sucker for a good subversive Western. The myth of the American frontier in cinema is fascinating to me and any film that develops the ideas inherently has my attention. The Big Country is credited as the first pacifist Western as Gregory Peck refuses to fight until the last moment or acknowledge the seriousness of any conflict. He's an unconventional hero. One who teeters a line of cowardice. But this just makes him all the more endearing as a three dimensional character. Granted, the film has its caricature characters on the side, but the script has such a dry wit. Burt Ives won an Oscar for his role and coming in an hour into the film, there wasn't much spotlight left to share, but he certainly has his moments. It's a grand epic in visuals and length that I easily sunk into. It's a big country alright. Also boasts one of the best scores I've ever heard. Can't believe it's not considered a greater classic.8/10