Hang 'em High (1968)

best movie i've ever seen.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Hang Em High is a great Eastwood film. This was Clint Eastwoods American Western debut. Clints first film outside of Sergio Leones sensational Dollars trilogy is none other than...a Western. Hang Em High is a rather overlooked entry in Clints long and impressive film wagon. Hang em High was the first production of the Malpaso Company, Eastwoods production company. Viewers may enjoy seeing a lot of familiar faces. Bob Steele (The Big Sleep). Ben Johnson (The wild bunch, the getaway). Bruce Dern ( Black Sunday, Django Unchained, Nebraska, The Hateful Eight). Alan Hale, Jr. ( The Big Trees, Terror Night). L.Q. Jones ( Hell Is for Heroes, The Wild Bunch). Charles McGraw ( Spartacus, A Boy and His Dog). Ed Begley ( Sweet Bird of Youth, 12 Angry Men). Pat Hingle ( Batman, Splendor in the Grass, Batman Returns, Batman Forever, Batman & Robin, Shaft, On the waterfront). N Dennis Hopper in a tiny role. A slow movie but enjoyable.

(45%) With a plot thinner than good old Clint himself, its fairly standard direction, and characters we've all seen many times before in many different movies, this is some largely overrated wild west set fluff. It is a well made production, and the performances are fine, but the movie boils down to Clint arresting (yes arresting) a bunch of men that tired to kill him, he does, they get hung or shot, the end. The BBFC awarded this film an 18 certificate, I cannot see why myself, besides some men being hung nothing else is even worthy of a PG. Fans of Clint should give this a go, but I doubt I'll ever want to watch it again.

It was in the mid-90s when I first saw Hang 'Em High. I was new to Eastwood's westerns, having just seen the Leone films for the first time. All I knew of this one was a scene that I had seen in television commercials, where Clint says the movie's most famous line "When you hang a man you better look at him." So needless to say I was excited. The movie starts off well enough as innocent Eastwood is lynched by a group of men for cattle rustling, only he survives. From here you have a plot that Anthony Mann or Sergio Leone would have made into a masterpiece.Instead, what you get is a slow meandering film that fixates on and preaches about law & order, the dangers of vigilantism, etc. These kinds of plots were commonplace in virtually every western TV show from the 1950s and 60s. Hang 'Em High offers nothing new to a discussion that was already old by the time the film came out. Although I came into the movie predisposed to root for Clint, after awhile his character's lack of motivation at wanting revenge made me wish the lynch mob had done a better job and spared us an unfulfilling two hours.Like I said I first saw it in the 90s and was disappointed. I just recently rewatched it for the first time since then, hoping to see it with fresh eyes and enjoy it more. But I found myself feeling the same sense of disappointment and boredom I did all those years ago. As a western drama it's watchable and competently put together. As a western action revenge movie it's weak and should be avoided.

An intensely morally conscious Western, Hang 'Em High offered interpretations of violence. When is violence right or wrong? Should there be a point where violence has to be stopped? What are the consequences of violence? These ambiguous interpretations emphasised Hang 'Em High's harrowing and confrontational portrayal of a violent frontier.Mistaken for a wanted murderer Jed Cooper (Clint Eastwood) is left hanging from a tree by a posse bent on delivering 'justice'. Understandably affected by his near-death experience, Jed becomes Deputy Marshall at the behest of Judge Fenton (Pat Hingle) to make the posse accept their consequences even if it means death. However along the way Jed becomes at odds with Judge Fenton regarding violence's complex nature. A Western setting is appropriate to play out Hang 'Em High's themes of violence. A harsh terrain unforgiving of the devoid characters occupying its space which Jed was against perfectly back-dropped the violence. Undertaking three prisoners to face trial, Jed comes up against Miller (Bruce Dern) the most experienced of these prisoners. When Miller tries killing Jed it leads to a fantastic fight sequence, intensified by their opposing personalities. Once Miller realises he's lost the fight, he tells Jed to kill him. Instead Jed ties Miller on a horse intent on Miller facing the law. What makes this scene powerful is the variations of violence at play. Miller knows the consequences of his violence will lead to his execution whereas Jed will not commit violence upon Miller as an easy way out from execution. Hang 'Em High offers violence's portray to audiences with the same complexity as the characters dealing with it through Hang 'Em High's narrative. Whilst we can cheer Jed's revenge, we also have time to reflect upon other forms of violence in Hang 'Em High such as public executions. Clearly presented to be morally questionable with shots of children on a family outing to see condemned men being put to death, the bizarre fulfilment gained from witnessing their executions. Hang 'Em High has to be commended for offering this space of thought to audiences. On a side note a love interest develops between Jed and Rachel (Inger Stevens), a woman with her own checkered past. But this happens with little convincibility and takes place too late in the narrative to be heartfelt. Overall Hang 'Em High should be thought of as tackling variations of violence.