Rating: 
Summary: Jimmy Stewart heads north
Review:
This is one of the better Westerns, but the West has shifted North, to Skagway and Dawson during the Alaskan (and Canadian) gold rush.
Stewart drives a herd North to Seattle, and then by steamer to Alaska, where a corrupt judge, played by John McIntyre, tries to steal his herd. Stewart comes through, though. This is a Western from another generation--the "good old days." I loved them, with Gable, Stewart, Peck and the rest of the old-timers whose characters showed on their faces. Joseph (Joe) Pierre
author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance
and other books
Rating: 
Summary: What happened to letterbox version?
Review: If you're familiar with Jimmy Stewart westerns, than there's nothing to be said about this one. If you're not, than become a fan and see why we like Jimmy Stewart westerns. This is one of the many great '50's heyday westerns. The usual triumphant loner beats all. One of my favorites. My only beef is, "what happened to the letterbox version"?
Rating:
Summary: Another fine Anthony Mann-Jimmy Stewart Western
Review: In the 1950s, Jimmy Stewart began his second career. In the 1930s and 1940s he had established himself as one of Hollywood's most likeable leading men, and had starred in a string of great comedies, many of them classics. After serving as a bomber pilot in Europe (one of the few Hollywood stars to do a full tour of duty in the field of battle), Stewart returned, but was not as a rule able to reduplicate his pre-war success, his only great films between 1946 and 1950 being the classic holiday film IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE and the gritty Chicago detective film CALL NORTHSIDE 777. But beginning in 1950, Stewart teamed up with director Anthony Mann for a string of superb Westerns that surpass any group of Westerns ever made, with the exception of John Wayne's partnership with John Ford. While in his comedies Stewart had always been a good-hearted, solid, highly likeable gent, in these Westerns he usually was complex, haunted, driven, and as a rule somewhat anti-social. It was a dramatic change from his earlier films. Stewart was able to use these roles as a springboard back to other, sometimes even bigger roles, completely revitalizing his career, and establishing him as an actor capable of some darkly complex, varied roles.
THE FAR COUNTRY is the fourth collaboration between Stewart and Mann. It is not one of the finest films in the series, but that isn't because this isn't a very good film, but because the others were so exceptionally fine. As in most of these films, Mann is concerned to show men and women on the outer edge of Western expansion, struggling not merely with nature, but with the vagaries of human nature. The wildness of the settings always serves as not merely a backdrop but as a symbol of the struggles of human beings against one another. There is little admirable in the men who are involved in fulfilling Manifest Destiny; these are greedy, hard, cruel, capable, and vicious men, and the wise person trusts no one but oneself. But in each film, the smaller, dearer, more human virtues of love, forgiveness, and hope manage miraculously to win out. The frontier turns men into such rugged individuals that they become slightly less than human. These films invariably end with Stewart's character moving gradually and perceptibly towards humanity.
Mann was one of the directors who first broke out of the confining Hollywood back lots to film primarily on location. Unlike John Ford, who continually refilmed in Monument Valley, each Mann film would opt for a new locale: WINCHESTER 73 in Arizona, BEND IN THE RIVER near Mt. Hood another other locations in Oregon, THE NAKED SPUR in Colorado, THE MAN FROM LARIMIE in New Mexico, and this film in Jasper and Banff National Parks in Canada.
The quality of this cast can't be exaggerated. Stewart adds yet another stellar performance to his resume as Jeff Webster, a not-very-nice and profoundly self-interested individual trying to score big enough to get his own spread in Utah. Ruth Roman manages to hold her own with the mean, but she doesn't generate the onscreen charisma that a Barbara Stanwyck would have been able to in the same kind of role. John McIntire is suitably nasty as the film's chief villain. It is the supporting cast that makes the roster so outstanding. Was there some secret contract that every Western made in the fifties had to have either Walter Brennan, Jay C. Flippen, or Jack Elam in it? This one manages to find all three. When you add other veteran character actors like Henry Morgan you have a group of familiar and highly competent actors who managed carry off Mann's vision with great aplomb.
The film features a marvelous score, though curiously no one is credited with it. A search on the Internet revealed that four composers were responsible for it, including the great Henry Mancini, though the style isn't one a person normally associates with him. There is no way to know who was responsible for what in the score, but it is compelling throughout. Like with Mann's other Westerns, this is a glorious thing to watch. With the pristine Canadian locales, it possesses a visual exoticism that is rare in Hollywood Westerns. With such backgrounds as Jasper and Banff provided, the photography is gripping throughout. Unlike many other directors who would film a part of the film on location but much or even most in a Hollywood back lot, this film is clearly photographed in the field. It was an expensive way to make a film, but we today are the beneficiaries of their added efforts and expense.
This isn't the Mann-Stewart film that I would recommend most for the newcomer to their series. That would be either THE NAKED SPUR or THE MAN FROM LARAMIE, but all of these films are exceedingly fine, and all of them are important to the career of both men. No one who loves movies could find any of them disappointing.
The DVD is not stuffed with extras, but the print is decent, and the price is exceptionally reasonable.
Rating:
Summary: Mr. Mann and Mr. Stewart...
Review: Jimmy heads to Alaska with Walter Brennan and a slew of cattle, looking to establish a ranch and finally hang his hat, but a self-proclaimed `lawman' named Gannon (McIntyre) imparts his own style of justice after Stewart inadverdantly disrupts a hanging, and confiscates his herd.
Jimmy Stewart plays a sharpshooting straight talker who just plain doesn't want to be bothered with other peoples' worries. When he sees two men being robbed and murdered, he doesn't pick one off his horse to hamper his escape, but `because he shot at me.' As Gannon's atrocities branch out to a neighboring peaceful Yukon town, the town turns to him...and is rejected. This is the story of a man finding himself drawn into a role which he wants no part of - that of protector. In fact, for three fourths of the movie there is a grudging admiration shared by Gannon and Stewart's character, till Gannon goes too far...and in The Far Country, that's a long way. This is a great story with some fine performances -particularly by the satellite cast...Connie Calvet as a French girl who hustles panners out of gold dust yet persists in telling Stewart to do the right thing (she is admittedly a less likely love interest than Ruth Roman's fiery frontier femme - sort of like a lighter version of Marlene Dietrich in Destry Rides Again) is good, Jay C. Flippen is fine as a well meaning panner, and those three gals that run the hash house (which serves nothing but bear meat) -love their names - Hominy, Grits, and Molasses - are great! Maybe not as involving as Winchester 73 or some of the other Mann/Stewart collaborations, but well worth it nonetheless. Great final shootout. The best line is when Gannon gets the drop on Jimmy and motions to his hand, asking him if he was going to pull that pistol... "Naw," says Jimmy, grinning, as he hand it over butt-first. "I was just showin' you were it is."
Rating: 
Summary: Rating is for the studio's botched work
Review: Maybe they think that, by butchering widescreen formats, it will help to fight piracy (although I'm sure some nerds will like to pirate crap, just for the fun of it), but for me (and, I can see I'm not the only one), the only result of disrespect for original movies' format only helps in not buying until movies are released in the right screen ratio.
Rating:
Summary: I'm gonna hang you, but I'm gonna like you.
Review: Some time back Humphrey Bogart was selected the number one male screen legend by the A.F.I. (American Film Institute or Asinine Film Idiots, take your pick.) Cary Grant came in second and James Stewart third. Without taking away anything from any of these fine actors, I think this is outrageous. I mean, how many light comedies was Bogart in? How many westerns was Grant in? In my opinion James Stewart was the greatest male film actor ever, and I'd knock Bogart all the way down to ninth place (between James Cagney and Spencer Tracy.) Then again, I've never thought CASABLANCA was "The Movie," so I suppose I'll never understand.
Now that I've got that out of my system.... James Stewart DID star in a number of westerns, and his best were made in collaboration with Anthony Mann. THE FAR COUNTRY may not be the best, but it's a strong entry. Stewart plays Jeff Webster, a loner who's only friend is Ben Tatum (Walter Brennan.) Mann works by throwing opposites in the air and watching what gravity does to them - Ben is domestic and social (he talks about settling down with Jeff on a small ranch in Utah), Jeff is anti-social and footloose.
THE FAR COUNTRY begins in the port of Seattle, where Jeff arrives with a herd of cattle intended for the beef hungry (and rich) gold country of Alaska. He also arrives with two fewer drivers than he began with - he shot them, we are told, because they left the drive and took his cattle with them. Watching Stewart's suspicious eyes narrow and his hand hover over his guns after he returns guns to the two remaining drivers ("Here. You've been waiting to use them for 500 miles.") you can tell that he's an effective enforcer of frontier justice.
Jeff and Ben meet an even more effective enforcer when they reach Skagway. Sheriff Gannon (John McIntire) is the only irredeemable character in the movie. Quick on the draw and cop, judge and jury in the wild frontier town of Skagway Gannon is totally corrupt. Stewart's two love interests, Good Girl Renee Vallon (Corinne Calvet) and Bad Girl Ronda Castle (Ruth Roman) round out the strong cast of major characters.
McIntire is delightfully wicked as the stove-pipe hat wearing hanging judge. Sheriff Gannon is motivated by greed and sadism, and McIntire plays him with gusto. Stewart explores the darker side with his customary intelligence and talent - Jeff Webster is a difficult role, and Stewart makes his journey from misanthropy to social consciousness utterly convincing. Roman is the beautiful saloon owner who may be redeemed by love. Calvet is the French gamin whose beauty (Calvet was a pin-up model in the late '40s and early '50s) is hidden beneath a wool stocking cap and behind a heavy flannel shirt.
Brennan, his upper dental plate out in this one, is the bridge between Jeff Webster and the rest of society. His sin is too much sociability. For my money, Brennan is a can't-miss actor. If he's in it, it's probably good.
The film was shot on location in Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada, and it looks magnificent.
If you're familiar only with the MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON/IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE/ HARVEY Jimmy Stewart, and you'd like to see him in an oater exploring the dark side, THE FAR COUNTRY is a good place to start. I recommended this one without qualifications.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting, unusual western
Review: Stewart is fine in a relatively unsympathetic part. Probably one of the baddest good guys ever. Supporting cast very good including Walter Brennen. Has action, suspense, scenery, an engaging bad guy and female character that is corrupt with yen for our star, Stewart. A good film to spend a couple of hours with.
Rating:
Summary: A fine Jimmy Stewart western
Review: The American frontier shifts north to Alaska in this tightly paced Anthony Mann western, starring Jimmy Stewart as a hard-bitten, cynical cowboy loner who finds himself caught up in the Klondike gold rush, and with it, the struggle between lawless injustice and the budding new civility. Walter Brennan gets a choice role as Stewart's stammering, old-timer sidekick; John McIntyre is delicious as the unrepentant villain, Judge Gannon of the border town called Skagway, who runs the place as his own personal company town. Stewart plays his antihero to the hilt, and the on-location cinematography is impressive... A nice, taut, enjoyable film.
Rating:
Summary: Seattle,Skagway,Dawson
Review: The Far Country is the most quintessential collaboration between director Anthony Mann, actor James Stewart and screenplayer Borden Chase. The movie epitomizes the western according to Mann and more precisely the fascinating possibilities offered by the Stewart persona as a rugged, selfish individualist eventually condemned by the mere force of events to stand by the new-born community.Essentially malevolent, Jeff Webster selfishness will have to come to terms with Gannon, a truculent and almost cheerful Roy Bean- liked judge tyrannicaly ruling the booming and muddy city of Skagway : John Mc Intire versus James Stewart.Only the violent death of his old ranching partner Ben (a marvellous Walter Brennan)will transform Stewart into what might be expected from a western hero.
The magic of the film lies as much in its jubilant treatment of western situations( the stampede of Stewart's cattle out of the steamboat in Skagway, the brutal and colored atmosphere of Skagway under Gannon's heels, the crossing of the mountains en route to the gold mines of Yukon...)as in the vivid painting of characters each viewer feels like knowing.It has been said that each scene could justify a whole film, which is just partly true since the film does so perfectly well. The blend of strength, weakness, doubts...in one word ; the humanity Stewart brougth to this now legendary series of films , together with the air-capturing ability of Mann's filming put these films very high( ask Costner, Eastwood, Jarmush, Scorcese...)
This one among the four or five best westerns of movie history. Bruno Parfait
Rating:
Summary: Another Colorful Stewart-Mann Western
Review: This is a "must-have" for any fan of the genre. This film is marked by wonderful cinematography, colorful characters, and a witty script by Borden Chase ("Red River"). Stewart once again portrays a character who is basically a hard-bitten loner with a soft spot only for his side-kick, Walter Brennan. The film has a great supporting cast, including Brennan, Jay C. Flippen, John McIntyre, Harry Morgan, Royal Dano and Jack Elam. Alaska has never looked better than in this Technicolor delight. One minor comment about the tape's packaging: it indicates that this is the first time the film has been made available on video. Not quite true: my copy was issued by Kartes Video Communications under license from MCA Home Video in 1982!
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