A Gunfight (1971)

One of my all time favorites.

Admirable film.

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Saw this,many,many years ago at the movies and it stayed on my mind. Having gone back to watch it again, more than once in the last couple of years,it seems even better than I remember. I have to confess to being a lifelong fan of Johnny Cash,although never convinced as to his acting skills.Still,he does convince here as Abe Cross and the whole story comes across well. True,not that much action but some Westerns don't need it. I do doubt,however,the information on IMDb that it was filmed in Spain. The Bullring is NOT the Madrid Bullring,as listed,I know that for a fact.Does anyone out there know where it was filmed? Best performance by JC on the screen?I think so. Kirk Douglas is great too and the questions raised about growing old,loneliness,love,money and how an "Outsider" faces up to it all,are explored well. A strange western but a minor masterpiece,a B movie(I love 'em!)in some ways but one that stays with you. A must see for all JC fans,of course. T

See it - As the title suggests, this western is about a gunfight - but not just any gunfight. Kirk Douglas and Johnny Cash (that's right, as in "Walk the Line" Johnny Cash) play two retired gunmen who agree to duel to the death in front of a sold-out crowd for money. The film is similar in concept to "The Quick and the Dead," and the viewer must wait until the climactic ending to see who lives and who dies. But perhaps the main question is whether this is a western or a character study. I would lean more toward character study. The movie is a bit slow and the ending is a bit abrupt, but seeing Johnny Cash as a gunslinger is well worth the watch.

As one of Cash's most ardent music fans, I have unfortunately almost always been disappointed with his performances on the silver screen. His films are usually poorly written, shot, edited (which you can almost always blame the director.) This one, I was almost thrown out of my chair. Though Cash was not a disciplined actor he had his charisma, and the director, for all his faults recognized this and seemed less inclined to dictate him and just let The Man say his lines the way Cash himself would say them. Though this film is not for everyone, those who appreciate westerns and those especially inclined towards the late, great Man In Black will appreciate it. If given the choice, I recommend the 1989 re-release on VHS titled "Dueling Guns."

Spoiler Alert I think, there is no "double-end showdown" in the final sequence of this wonderful movie. It's rather the happiest ending this tragedy could possibly get. Tenneray (Douglas) is the less lovable character, he's the one who made a (pretty poor) living from his fame before, he's the one to come out with the idea to kill one another for money, and he's the one who actually dies in the end. The sequence that shows Cross' death is cut between two deaths of Tenneray with Cross as the survivor, simply to show, that he (T) would not really have profited from staying alive - he just would have remained an a**hole. If only one man will get out alive, why not the not-so-bad guy? "Let the good one die!" simply has become a worn out clichee in the last decades among 'ambitious' directors.