Ride the High Country

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Audience Member Seeing this on release entirely changed westerns for me. I was ready for anything but what I got - a rugged romantic tale that made stuff like "Liberty Valance" look pale and aged out. Peckipah explored many other trails in his career but this one is the closest to reverential in compounding the classic elements with grit and realism. For a while it looks like the action will involve the good guys just protecting the gold. But leaving the bride they have delivered to the drooling crazed mountain family is what truly puts them into the final gun battle. I cannot think of a Randolph Scott movie as good as this or any Joel McCrea western outing that matched it either. I admired many more of the director's films but this for me is the standout. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/22/25 Full Review Greg J One of Randolph Scott's best performances, coupled with excellent supporting actors. Not the regular old cliche western where the rich evil cattle rancher and his cowhands terrorize a town, begging for a hero. The story is well thought out, with an excellent script. It's a quintessential hard-nosed western with a great cast and lots of action. Recommend! Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 04/27/25 Full Review Andrew Y Superb in every way. When you don’t have special effects to make up for deficiency that’s when you get great films like this. Brilliant acting and script. Beautifully filmed and directed. And a damn good yarn….. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 10/16/24 Full Review Johnathon W Classic early Sam Peckinpah film that while on the surface, appears a standard western but underneath shows the director was already deconstructing the genre. The cast is superb across the board, with Joel McCrea excellent as Steve Judd, a former lawman who still believes in right & wrong, despite what its cost him, while Randolph Scott is equally great as his more cynical best friend. Behind the camera, Peckinpah, shows how he started to deconstruct the western genre, despite the colorful picture and robust score, this does not give a simple view of the west. It's dirty with sad twists and turns, including a finale that doesn't end like you expect. A classic that show Peckinpah was already mastering his craft. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 07/23/24 Full Review Peter K I've seen this film several times and in my opinion it ranks up there with the best, The Searchers. It is about relationships and the changing times. McCrea and Scot are wonderfully cast. The soundtrack and camera work are great. I'm over 60 and become quite melancholy when the credits run. Take a view you won't regret it. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 04/13/24 Full Review Steve M Great western and a beautiful soundtrack. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/28/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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