The Shooting

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The Shooting

G

1967

1h 22m

Western

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

100%

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20 Reviews

63%

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1,000+ Ratings

In the American West, Willet Gashade (Warren Oates), a former bounty hunter, and Coley Boyard (Will Hutchins), his dimwitted partner, are approached by a secretive young woman (Millie Perkins) who offers them money to guide her through the desert but refuses to discuss why she is traveling. The group embarks on the journey and is eventually joined by Billy Spear (Jack Nicholson), a volatile gunslinger the woman has also hired. The only question is why.

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Margaret Hinxman

Daily Telegraph (UK)

The sound is poor. The colour erratic. It looks as if it has been shot on the backlot of Republic Pictures instead of on location. Yet better than any Western I have sees in, well, years, it conveys the original suspense of the genre.

Jun 1, 2020

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Philip Strick

Sight & Sound

Heilman a master in the art of putting his camera, quite unpredictably, in the right place at the right time. He matches the absorbing imprecision of his subject with a spectacular precision of technique

Feb 12, 2020

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Richard Brody

The New Yorker

Hellman's tight telephoto shots press the characters entomologically against the barren landscape; he revels in the technical charms of the medium and the scruffiness of his B-movie budget as audaciously as a French New Wave director.

Jul 5, 2016

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Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

... haunting and elemental and savage, an almost abstract odyssey through a harsh, desolate desert landscape that wears its enigma proudly.

Sep 14, 2024

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Nathanael Hood

Unseen Films

It's easy to dismiss the deliberately obfuscated characters and inexplicable plot as arthouse pretentiousness. One's mileage depends on one's patience for postmodernism.

Rated: 7/10

May 27, 2020

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Dick Lochte

Los Angeles Free Press

[Monte] Heilman was a director who deserved attention, even six years ago.

Jan 8, 2020

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Torin F

THE SHOOTING (1966) has been described as the first acid western, and also as an offbeat masterpiece, for absolutely no discernible reason. It's clumsy, plodding, and perhaps deliberately pointless. The acting, audio quality, and "script" are all subpar. The film's one redeeming virtue is the on-location setting in southern Utah, which is always cool. Otherwise, why?

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/24/25

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Laurie S

It's not nearly as good as some make out. It drags a lot, not a lot of action or conflict. Not a good western at all.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/20/25

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Stephen H

This movie was pointless The scenery was drab and the acting was mediocre. The dialogue was boring. This movie was a journey from who knows where to who cares.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/19/25

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Audience Member

If you like winding, complex, suspenseful, spaghetti westerns, this movie is for you. The shots are beautiful even when desolate. The conversations and expressions are nuanced and require study. I'm glad I found this uncommon piece.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/15/24

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g j

Tight, steely and elegant... Nicholson really knocks it out of the park as a menacing, grinning and dapper gunslinger.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

09/03/24

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Bryan M

Good film. intense at times as they fight the elements more than anything. Always fun to see a young Jack Nicholson. Not sure I understand the ending.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/18/24

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Monte Hellman

Director

Millie Perkins

Woman

Jack Nicholson

Billy Spear

Will Hutchins

Coley Boyard

Warren Oates

Willett Gashade

B.J. Merholz

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Synopsis

In the American West, Willet Gashade (Warren Oates), a former bounty hunter, and Coley Boyard (Will Hutchins), his dimwitted partner, are approached by a secretive young woman (Millie Perkins) who offers them money to guide her through the desert but refuses to discuss why she is traveling. The group embarks on the journey and is eventually joined by Billy Spear (Jack Nicholson), a volatile gunslinger the woman has also hired. The only question is why.

Director: Monte Hellman
Producer: Monte Hellman, Jack Nicholson
Screenwriter: Carole Eastman
Production Co: Proteus Films
Rating: G
Genre: Western
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 15, 2016
Runtime: 1h 22m

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