Matcollis This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

ManiakJiggy This is How Movies Should Be Made

Ceticultsot Beautiful, moving film.

Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

MarkCrozier This is a solid western story, although set later than most in the genre, during WWII. There is plenty to enjoy, including gorgeous vistas, fine performances by the leads, and in particular Richard Farnsworth and Jane Fonda and beautiful wide angle photography by the master cinematographer Gordon Willis. On the downside there are some editing issues. The ending especially feels somewhat rushed and could have benefited greatly from an extra five minutes to jack up the suspense. One gets the feeling that the film was already running long and they had to wrap it up. Also, I had some trouble 'buying' James Caan as a cowboy, mostly because I am so used to seeing him in very urban settings. Not that he doesn't acquit himself well as he makes a lot of out a slightly underwritten role. These are minor quibbles and rest assured you will not be wasting your time with this one, it's a very solid effort and ticks many of the boxes you'd want in a movie of this nature. And especially if you're a fan of Jane Fonda, as I am, it's not to be missed. Look out for a very young Mark Harmon of NCIS fame.

fung0 I've rarely been so totally disappointed by a movie as I was by this one. That's because it starts out so well! At the halfway mark, I was thinking I'd discovered one of the great westerns of all time. There's a wonderful sense of realism: the dirt, the sun, the hard work, these come through as in few other westerns I can think of. Jane Fonda does a great job as a weathered cowgirl who just refuses to give up. Caan is a bit out of place, but doesn't let things down, and Farnsworth is perfect as the old cowhand trying to get in just one more roundup. The romance between Caan and Fonda is under-played beautifully... you sense it, but never get the feeling that the writers forced it on the characters.But then it all goes to pieces, with one of the stupidest endings I've ever seen on a major motion picture. Gone is the realism, the logic, the drama... everything, in fact, that you've been enjoying up till that point. All you've got left is cliché and stupidity: Snidely Wiplash twirling his mustachios over a truly moronic murder attempt (why didn't Robards just shoot everybody? or at least tie them up a bit better??), and an abrupt halt (you can't call it an "ending") that fails to resolve ANY of the film's more interesting plot lines. It's like first they ran out of ideas, then they ran out of film.Most of Comes a Horseman is so good, I'd like to say it's worth watching, regardless. But the ultimate sense of frustration overwhelms any possible pleasure. Unless you literally have the discipline to switch off twenty minutes before the end, you definitely shouldn't waste your time on this sad misfire.

BigWhiskers Although this movie came out in 1978 when I was 13 ,I don't remember ever seeing it first run. Tonight on Turner Classic Movies they are doing a Jane Fonda movie night -ho hum. Im not a fan of Ms Fonda rather I enjoy some of the other actors who play alongside her in some of her movies but I do not enjoy watching her ,she is rather annoying in her acting and most times would not surprise me if shes not acting but playing herself.James Caan costars as a cowboy she sells land to and his partner gets killed by Robards henchmen so he joins up with Fonda and Farnsworth. Anyway, the actors who make this movie are Farnsworth and Robards.Two of the sexiest mature stars of that time period ,both of them in their 50's but looking oh so hot. Robards the epitome of evil as a greedy land baron with that killer beard and piercing blue eyes and Farnsworth as Fonda's cowpuncher and friend Dodger-his ruggedly handsome face and western accent just sexy. Farnsworth has some of the best scenes and lines but he is on screen far too short and halfway through the film he dies. The way his death is played out was very upsetting to me and made me wish they hadn't killed him off. The way his death is played out is like this, Earlier in the movie ,Robards greedy oil baron partner starts looking for oil on Fondas land causing an explosion that riles Farnsworths horse causing the horse to fall down the side of a steep hill spilling Farnsworth onto the hard ground breaking several ribs and hurting him badly. In the best scene of the movie ,he is in bed in pain ,Fonda tells him it will be OK and Caan tenderly hands him some chewing tobacco,Farnsworth holds onto Caans hand and tells him what a great cowboy he is ,there is an unspoken bond they share at that moment as if passing the torch. Caan leaves and Farnsworth says to Fonda "Your daddy would be proud "and you know my days of roping and riding are through. She leaves the room upset. Farnsworth rolls over and looks at old pictures of himself and her father ,he looks so sad as if hes about to cry. The next scene has him painfully getting on his horse ,needing a chair to do so - Its obvious he thinks he is no longer useful and is riding off to die.So,He rides off and the next scene shows him lying unconscious on the ground next to a log with 2 riders approaching , fade to a scene of Fonda and Caan filling his grave. This part of the movie really ticked me off, all those years of him playing stunt-men and bit parts and he finally gets an Oscar worthy part and they kill him off. Robards fares better as a sinister man who not only kills his oil baron rival but also tries to kill Fonda and Caan at the end of the movie by tying Fonda up and knocking Caan out and stuffing them in an upstairs closet while he burns the house down. The movie ends abruptly with Caan and Fonda escaping the burning house and facing Robards and his two henchmen. Caan shoots one of the henchmen and Fonda shoots the other leaving Robards. Caan shoots Robards off his horse but his foot catches one of the stirrups,with his life fading and Caan about to finish him off, Robards horse bolts and drags him across the ground viciously slamming him all over the place and then we see the horse fade off into the scenery. The house burns to the ground and then the scene fades out to black then back in to Fonda driving a old truck back to her burned down house. The camera pulls back to where all you can see is her pull into where her house was and you see two figures in the distance hug and the movie ends. It was disappointing ,youd think they would have had some dialog at the end to wrap it up. Im going to miss Mr Farnsworth and Mr Robards who both died in 2000. We will never see actors like that again. I gave the movie a 6 based on the following points - the scenery and Farnsworth/Robards acting rate a 10 but the movies plodding tone,abrupt and unsatisfying ending and Fonda and Caans wooden performances are barely a 2.

jmh2350 The title is kind of dumb for this movie that is very good. Dumb title, because it's not about a horseman coming -- it's about 3 cattle ranchers in Montana (though at least some filming was done in Northern Arizona). Jason Robards is the heavy, as the rancher who owns the most and wants to regain control of the other 2 ranches, which his family once owned. One of the other ranches is owned by Jane Fonda, who gained control of it when her father, a cousin of Jason Robards, died, and whose only help running it is an old cowhand played by the late Richard Farnsworth (for which he received an Academy Award nomination). The other cattle spread is owned by James Caan, recently released from the Army near the end of WWII. Inside Fonda burns a deeply rooted and awful hatred of Robards, for which we gradually learn the reasons. She and Caan form what is at first an alliance of need and indebtedness, which as you might correctly assume develops into something deeper (and nicer, I might add). Throw into this mix a rich oilman played by George Grizzard, who wants to get oil out of the land wherever he finds it, regardless of whose land it is, and who exerts some mighty strong leverage against Robards. What makes this movie good is an interesting plot, made more interesting by the actors -- Fonda and Caan in particular play their roles as authentic western ranch types, as people of relatively few words, with easy-going outward appearances, but strong emotions underlying those facades and hard-edged attitudes attained through a rugged life of hard work. This was one of 3 movies in 1978 for Jane Fonda, one of which being "Coming Home" for which she won an Academy Award. A comparison of her acting in that movie vs. this one, is that this role required more nuance and subtlety, to hold her character's emotions in (which of course she in turn must convey to us, the audience), as she had to completely become a stoic western rancher and horsewoman...which also required greater physical (including facial) control and physical agility. Regardless of which of these 2 major starring roles one might prefer her in that year, it seems obvious that she was at the top of her form. Also to be admired in this film are the cattle herding, roping, and round-up sequences, and one major sequence of chasing and gaining control of stampeding cattle -- the scenes look real, and were obviously done by some professional cowboys. There's also the big, open feel of the country provided by the beautiful cinematography of Gordon Willis, whose movies include "The Godfather" films and Woody Allen's fabulous 1979 black-and-white masterpiece "Manhattan". So, plenty of good reasons to watch this one.