SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

MoPoshy Absolutely brilliant

DipitySkillful an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

Teddie Blake The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

adrian-43767 Although it borrows from revisionist Westerns of the 1960s, notably Sam Peckinpah's THE WILD BUNCH (US 1969), THE CULPEPPER CATTLE CO. is good enough to stand on its own because it is so deeply rooted in the reality of the late 19th Century. The stills with which the film opens reflect hard and impoverished living. It sets the tone: this is no film for weak stomachs.Youngster Mockridge (Grimes) dreams of becoming a cowhand and drops the safety of life with Mom to brave a new world. His first contact with Culpepper should have shown him that he does not belong there but he knows no better, and Billy Green Bush makes Culpepper a convincing leader, who Grimes clearly admires. The way Grimes is relieved of his horse by thieves as he is relieving himself in the bush leaves you under no illusion that this film makes no apologies for human nature. He then witnesses the shooting of those thieves by the men he went to fetch for Culpepper, and baby-faced Gary Grimes captures extraordinarily well the surprise and repulsion of what he sees.In movies, the West is often portrayed as a place with no law but where, in the end, justice is done somehow. Not in this film. Here, human life is cheap, and that is brilliantly put across when Geoffrey Lewis demands a duel with a fellow cowhand who is no gunslinger, because the latter insulted him. Conversations around the fire reflect a dire absence of moral values. These men happen to be driving cattle but they would prefer to rob banks, and take considerable pleasure in killing people. Mockridge's innocence inevitably attracts trouble, costing him a broken head and a shattered spirit, and the group's horses are stolen, to Culpepper's considerable irritation.The horse recovery shootout in a salloon is a superb and credible sequence, probably the way things really happened in the West.As mentioned above, THE WILD BUNCH (US 1969) was an influence on THE CULPEPPER CATTLE CO., especially when hardened criminals decide to help a religious community against very high odds and possibly no need. There is just one point I did not understand: where did Culpepper and his men get those weapons from? Why was Mockridge carrying his Colt in a bag when it supposedly was confiscated by John McLiam and his gang?Still, Mockridge is the film's silver lining in a land of no saving grace, not even from God. The preacher who says he wants to settle on the land ("God wants it"), sees the gunmen as help to keep that land, rapidly changes his mind after the final shootout and wants to leave it because it is full of dead bodies. He does not even think to bury them, let alone pray for their souls. If ever I saw a truthful comment on the role of religion in society, this is it: the preacher resembles a vulture picking corpses. Mockridge is decent enough to force burial at gunpoint, and it is on that remotely hopeful and civilized note that this highly satisfying Western ends, to the strains of a well sung "Amazing Grace".Direction, photography, screenplay are all extremely competent. Acting is of the highest order, with Grimes, Billy Green Bush, Geoffrey Lewis, Bo Hopkins and John McLiam particularly outstanding.Strongly recommended.

Benedito Dias Rodrigues At last a fresh and demystifying western "The Culpepper Cattle Co" suprise me with so many characters can easily develop and fit in a real movie,each single small role has your value to discovery through the picture,a real portrait of old west,no fake romance,no beauty girls,no heroes,just a true and cruel all along the journey,violent as shown in many scenes,a true piece of art came to light better late than never,actually this one was a unknown gem by the mostly who loves this specific and unique genre!!Resume:First watch: 2018 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 8.75

dbdumonteil This is an offbeat western ,with a strong documentary side.Gary Grimes is the all-American-boy who wants to experiment the hard cowboys life.And it avoids the usual clichés of the genre;after a bloody odyssey,we are not sure that the boy has grown into a man,like usually in this kind of screenplay.When he rides away,after the massacre,all we can guess is that he has probably lost his faith in God (if he had any) .No love interest, unless the scene with the hooker counts -here again the lad does not behave like he is supposed to .And no sentimental side either ,the Farewell-to-mom scene ,is so short that she has not even the time to ask him whether he will come back. No real friendship with the men,except perhaps from the boss.Bewildering.

Zaphod Beeblebrox Watch this film. It will dispel any romantic notions you might have about cowboys in the wild west. It portrays them as the ignorant wretches that they were. It is equally unkind to religious zealots and capitalists.The film is relatively slow moving, but that is likely a successful attempt to capture the boredom of the life of the cowboy. The sense of isolation in an unforgiving, vast expanse of territory is also brought out well.From a human/ensemble perspective, this film fails to convince. Personally, I did not bond at all with the set of characters whom I was obviously supposed to. The acting is somewhat better than mediocre. An exception is Anthony James, who evoked in me quite an infuriating response, but who has a minor role.