Zandy's Bride
Zandy's Bride
| 19 May 1974 (USA)
Zandy's Bride Trailers

Zandy Allan purchases a mail-order bride, Hannah Lund. He treats her as a possession, without respect or humanity, until their shared ordeal as they struggle to survive develops in him a growing love.

Reviews
Interesteg What makes it different from others?
Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.
Sienna-Rose Mclaughlin The movie really just wants to entertain people.
Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
Tracy Winters Stupid cowboy marries a foreigner chick desperate to settle down.Gene Hackman is as good as can be expected, but this story goes nowhere fast with episodic scenes that result to a jumbled collage through a seamless lack of continuity. Some supporting actors are good: Susan Tyrell and Eileen Heckart. Some stink: Joe Santos.Dumb character development includes Hackman being too much of a half-wit to soften up to his new wife (Liv Ullman), and also when he goes on hiatus to San Francisco but decides to return to Ullman bearing gifts and a make-over -- Hackman buys all new clothes except for his hat. He likes that floppy old thing stinking on top of his head.Unnecessary western with a predictable and unsatisfying ending.
suzyhart This is a profoundly realistic and perfectly-acted story that goes much beyond the previous commenter's assertion. It is a portrait of far west ranch life at its most primal and difficult. Love was not the issue in that world. The cinematography and direction were also great. Gene Hackman and Liv Ullman are subtle actors who deliver in this overlooked but wonderful film. Although I only saw it once, the dramatic intensity and truthfulness of the tale stayed with me. I've always remembered this film, as standing outside the norm. The visual memory is black and white, though I think the film is in color. The few but intense human connections were poignant, the imagery lasting.
lanatr Zandy's Bride is a unique film, in that its sense of realism is remarkably good. The character Hackman and Ullman portrayed are believable: strong, simple, independent, honery at times, solemn, determined to survive. Their portrayal is how I would have imagined earlier settlers in a harsh, and unforgiving environment to act. I enjoy researching and reading about the common struggles of people throughout American history. All the more reason to give this film high praise, and again not because its tainted with Matrixisque, and any other high tech movie spillover, with its intense action, and depletion of substantive characterization. This film dealt with human conflict and the mistakes we consistently seem to make, before we are forced to face someone with whom we can trust and care for. This is one of the best films to watch in our day of complexity and lack of inspiration.. How and when can I watch it again, is my comment and question.
Jonathon Dabell Zandy's Bride is quite interesting because it deals with a theme that has become relevant again in the 21st century. It's about a mail order bride, and of course with the introduction of the Internet into the majority of modern homes, the idea shopping for a wife has once again reared its ugly head. Beyond the topicality, however, the film is a failure on most other counts.Gene Hackman plays a rough and rugged pioneer living on a ranch in the middle of nowhere. He is waiting around for a mail order bride from Scandinavia, and when she arrives he mistreats her. It's not that he's a nasty man, more that he has lived a simple and uncomplicated life and he finds it hard to relate properly to another human being (especially of the opposite sex) after so many years of labouring away in such lonely surroundings.The bride is played well by Liv Ullmann. The backdrop to the film is beautifully captured. Beyond the performances and the scenery, there's not much else to hold the attention. It's a boring film, critically hindered by the fact that it has too little to say and no notable plot to follow through to a logical conclusion. The unsuited pair meet, fall out a lot, and that's just about it. As much as I admire Hackman (worth watching in all his films... a real consummate actor), this one just isn't worth the effort. Skip it.