Sexyloutak Absolutely the worst movie.

ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Siflutter It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Spikeopath The Hallelujah Trail is directed by John Sturges and adapted to screenplay by John Gay from the novel written by Bill Gulick. It stars Burt Lancaster, Lee Remick, Jim Hutton, Pamela Tiffin, Brian Keith, John Anderson, Martin Landau and Donald Pleasence. Music is by Elmer Bernstein and cinematography by Robert Surtees.Depending on who you talk to about The Hallelujah Trail, it will either be called an ass numbing bore or a misunderstood gem, such is the reputation of it, it kinda demands to be seen so as to evaluate why so divisive.It flopped on release and was savaged by critics, while it was a tough production from the off, one that badly over ran and was expensive to film. Cast members not getting on, bad weather, bad location provisions for cast, and the awful death of stuntman Bill Williams during one particular scene. Add in that lead man Lancaster looks bored - working at a time that he called his slavery period - then it felt doomed at an early stage.Its failure has been contributed to a number of things, such as timing (comedy Western, and an epic one at that, too early? too late?) but really it's takes too many bites of the pie, rendering the whole as something resembling a garbled mess. The thin plot is stretched unbearably to fifteen minutes shy of three hours, thrusting a number of character groups to trudge around with a screenplay that ironically - given the temperance/alcoholic basis of story - feels like it was written by an inebriate. Yet I personally would be a born liar if I said there wasn't a lot to like in the mix. Filmed not just in Technicolor and Panavision, but Ultra Panavision 70 no less! Pic looks terrific, with Surtees bringing the Gallup locales to vivid life, and Bernstein provides another technical highlight with his rambunctious score, big bold brass and percussion thunders around the settings. Some of the comedy works, when the cast get chance to come alive, and even though some aspects no doubt give the PC brigade kittens, the likes of Martin Landau as an Indian called Chief Walks-Stooped-Over are a joy. While for the red blooded among us, the huge running time at least allows for plenty of the positively yummy Remick...So it's a tough call, I think its harsh to call it a bore, yet it's awfully messy. So with that I sit on the fence, where just one of my butt cheeks gets numb... 5/10

bomboogie This movie is a comedy. Approaching it any other way will naturally be disappointing. What makes it funny mostly is that it is a satire, a satire on the negotiating process. Burt Lancaster plays the CO of a cavalry troop near Denver in 1867. Four or five different factions are trying to make claim to the prize shipment, some by hook, others by crook. He tries to mediate them into some form of agreement. I don't think anyone else reviewing it here has seen it in that light. If you have been following current events (any years) and have observed political negotiations and kept them in mind while watching this movie, you will see what I mean.

Blueghost Don't get me wrong. I grew up watching westerns and comedies, and having seen my healthy share of both, and having grown up with this film shown on various UHF channels, as well as seeing it on Sunday afternoon movie programs by network affiliates, I appreciate the film for what it is. I understand the humor, but I just don't find it all that funny.The positives; there's a lot of good stunt work, and some breathtaking cinematography of the nation's southwest. There's the signature shot of a covered wagon being pulled at full gallop over a Mitchell camera, as well as highly disciplined horses who don't bolt at the sound of gunfire.But is it really funny? The politically incorrect Indian/Firewater-humor is dated, but I don't find it particularly offensive. I just am not sure what it is that's all that funny. Donald Pleasance helps add real comic value with his inebriated clairvoyance, and some of the drunken sequences bring a smile to the viewer (the triple and quadruple exposure effect being effective), but it's not guffaw-funny.The comedic plot, especially for a western, teeters beyond being ridiculous. There's no real incentive for the characters to go and do what they're doing. It's a film about some amusing happenstance.But, the film was given enough of a budget to give it a kind of style and put enough familiar faces, locations and overall production values to make it likable by the then movie-going public.Despite its shortcomings, lack of genuine humor and high-budget gloss, I have to admit to having a fondness for it, even though I don't think it's all that good a comedy (if a comedy it all). But it's an old friend, and thus I added the DVD to my collection.If you really must see a comedic western, then do yourself a favor and buy or rent one of James Garner's excellent "Support your local Gunfighter" or "Support your local Sheriff" films.The "Hallelujah Trail" will probably leave you a little wanting in the end, but, strangely enough, satisfied in an uneven way.Watch at your own risk.

kchuplis-1 It's sheer entertainment. I think (as an adult) judicious trimming would have made this film a real classic, but the performances and the very pointed outrageous humor are just really fun. I love the narration and the "maps" which don't really show anything, making fun of that old technique. I'm sure many audiences of today might not even get how this is kind of the Airplane of the sixties. My family actually went to see another movie with top billing at the drive in and we all loved this one much more. It's just plain fun. A bit too long, I agree, but well worth it for the giggles. It's quite star packed for the time as well, once again, reminding me of Airplane in later years. I'm not a western fan, but this is more than a western, it's really a spoof or satire, with no one taking themselves seriously and that gives it a great deal of fun quotient.