1976 · western · revisionist · outlaw
The Missouri Breaks
Directed by Arthur Penn2h 6m1976
When vigilante land baron David Braxton hangs one of the best friends of cattle rustler Tom Logan, Logan's gang decides to get even by purchasing a small farm next to Braxton's ranch. From there the rustlers begin stealing horses, using the farm as a front for their operation. Determined to stop the thefts at any cost, Braxton retains the services of eccentric sharpshooter Robert E. Lee Clayton, who begins ruthlessly taking down Logan's gang.
Our read: The Missouri Breaks (1976) reads as a sombre, kinetic, inventive western · revisionist · outlaw entry — measured in intensity, mid-stakes in scope, measured in temperature, ambivalent in outlook.
Sombre, kinetic, measured western / revisionist, inventive in texture. Ambivalent, mid-stakes, measured.
- sombre
- brisk
- intense
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How The Missouri Breaks feels to watch.
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Skip it tonight — Skip if eccentric violence and meandering frontier plot feel too indulgent.
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