AniInterview
Sorry, this movie sucks
Phillipa
Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.
Billy Ollie
Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
antcol8
The Final Battle...No, not Ecologists vs. Poachers...But the real battle!Auteurists vs. Writer-Driven Cinema!The showing in NY was a trip, with a Schulberg relative coming to the showing - at a Nicholas Ray retrospective, no less! - to announce that this was not only NOT a Nicholas Ray film, but CLEARLY a Schulberg film (this was simply bad manners, given the occasion). And she went on to talk about how drug-addled Ray was during the shooting (that was worse than bad manners, given the occasion).Anyway...if you care...Lots of Ray stuff: the created "family unit" of outlaws, with their twisted bonhomie and their rituals; the sense that living in a particular "natural" environment creates an alternative sense of right and wrong, and that someone who enters into that environment has to confront this other reality, even if it goes against his or her belief system. Christopher Plummer finds himself in a position akin to that of Peter O'Toole in The Savage Innocents, Robert Ryan in On Dangerous Ground,Susan Hayward in The Lusty Men.On the other hand...lots of stagy soliloquies, lots of scenes which don't get to really inflect; they just make their plot points and move on. One can imagine a lot of footage which was discarded because it didn't "advance the story".Some beautiful swamps and animals.It's a real mess - but a beautiful mess.Film-making...it can be a real heartbreak for the directors who believe in their personal vision.
dbdumonteil
And in Nicholas Ray's canon,it's not the only one.Few directors (if there were any) displayed ecological concern fifty years ago.Maybe John Huston did when he filmed the plight of the elephants in "roots of Heaven" at the time.But it was not as successful as "wind across the everglades.They say Ray did not finish the film (once again it was not the only one;see also "55 days at Peking" )but ,apart from his plea for the everglades wildlife,we find one of his permanent features:the Walt/Cottonmouth relationship is very complex and verges on a father and son one (for that matter ,see also " knock on any door" "the lusty men" " run for cover" ..) The picture with these birds flying away is sublime.
weismuller888
I first saw this film as a youngster, and it had a huge impression on me. As this movie showed on TV semi regularly back then I watched it many times. I was blown away the first time and every other time I saw it. With each re-watching I always picked up on new things I'd missed or didn't understand before, I was a kid after all.Wind Across the Everglades invokes raw power, beauty, commitment, wilderness, redemption, morality, Human Nature, Nature.This movie really needs to be re-released on DVD. I haven't seen it in maybe 36 years or more, but still consider it a major "Classic" that has everything going for it..great acting, great story, a non-partisan moral.
galwyn13
I remember seeing this film in 1961 at a local drive in theater.As a native Floridian I enjoyed it very much,especially since it was filmed nearby in Naples, Florida.To me it was an accurate depiction of how life was back then. Poaching was common,wildlife officers and environmentalists were fighting a losing battle against it. It showed Florida as it was at the turn of the century,when it was young and wild. This movie is truly a treasure of history in this area. I have been hoping it would be re-released for many years but to no avail. It is a shame that it cannot be viewed by our children.I would greatly appreciate owning a copy of this great film. Skip Kent,Bonita Springs, Fl.
