The Big Country

Another bulletproof classic that has eluded me for too long and for whose review this format is not nearly enough. Once again, it’s admirable how Wyler can speak with images with relative simplicity, letting the story be told not so much by words as by actions and their consequences. The relationships among the main characters are very clear, and they lead to an inevitable conflict in the style of the classic westerns, but the presence of the gentlemen of the new age, in the figure of the sailor played by Gregory Peck, makes it unpredictable. Thematically, it is a patient clash of honour (greed) and morality represented on several levels: the aforementioned sailor McKay, who performs honourable heroic deeds in secret because they’re incompatible with his morality (they are a matter of honour only for the tough men of the wild west); Leech, the loyal henchman, who mostly cares about honour, while McKay’s moral justice starts falling on him only after their secret and agreed on fight; Hannassey, the leader of the “enemies”, who has both codes ingrained and, as the tough cowboy he is, realises that times are changing and that those long festering conflicts must be resolved honourably and morally (and, of course, he is heavily influenced by the active power-broker McKay). All this converges in the timeless tale about the mixing of different cultures and the rules of different eras, and the viewer comfortably follows a seemingly traditional western with traditionally assigned roles and conflicts that actually undermines the morals and honour of the wild west from the very beginning. And all this also relates to the unexpected style choice, where Wyler shows those traditional western motifs like horse chases, fistfights and the final duel from a great distance, or even hides them from the viewer, all in order to support their demystification. To this day, it remains a perfect example of how well a Hollywood story can tell what is expected from it, while at the same time (but fully intentionally) undermine it between the lines. Once Upon a Time in the West perhaps does it better and in a more revolutionary way (it’s also the product of a different creative stage), but Big Country, as a more classic case of genre subversion, is nonetheless fascinating. 90% (31/10/2020)

A beautiful deconstruction of the clichés of the classic western, where the line between black and white, the classic notion of good and evil, is blurred. And it doesn't even need a barrage of gunfights, which I've always found boring in westerns. William Wyler seemed to provide an inspirational source for Clint Eastwood a few decades later, but he put it much more radically. The lead role could not have been played by anyone else – and no one could have played it better – than Hollywood's model no-nonsense guy Gregory Peck. (18/05/2023)

If I made a popularity ranking of film genres, westerns would not hold a very high position. Every genre creates and uses popular clichés, and the ones from western are more annoying to me than any other. There are few titles that I would fully accept, and they would mostly be alternative productions that probably wouldn't come to mind to a true fan. However, The Big Country is definitely one of them. It does indeed work with typical western elements, so the viewer can expect impressive shots of the countryside, shootouts, and wild horse rides. However, The Big Country turns the genre rules upside down. Traditional virtues and the abilities of tough men of the American West are more criticized and ridiculed here. The newcomers from the city, from civilization, show the locals the reverse side of their "fight for honor." Classic westerns romanticize the era of the Wild West and perceive the spread of order and modern civilization as an inevitable but painful and conflicting process. Adversely, The Big Country welcomes it. The film works very well as a love story and the love plot and the dramatic storyline complement each other excellently. Overall impression: 90%. (21/09/2017)