Lawman (1971)

Burt Lancaster was beyond his peak years in the seventies. Nearing 60 and coming off of the success of AIRPORT this movie was released to little fanfare or box office success. The western genre hadn't quite died but too was on its last leg. Gone were the days of white and black hats replaced by pondering over the justification of violent justice.The film opens with a group of cattlemen celebrating the end of their drive in the usual fashion with plenty of drink, women and carousing ending with guns being shot off randomly while in the town of Bannock. Unfortunately those gunshots kill an elderly man in the city. Rather than stay around to answer for this they head home in the hopes all will be forgotten.That isn't the case though when Marshall Jered Maddox (Lancaster) returns and then sets out to arrest the men responsible. Arriving in the town of Sabbath with one of the men he caught along the way dead and strapped on his horse, he checks in with local Marshall Ryan Cotton (Robert Ryan). Cotton tells him the odds are against him as the town is basically owned by Vincent Bronson (Lee J. Cobb), a wealthy land owner who is used to having his way.Both men have a history together as renowned lawmen. While Maddox carried on and developed a name for himself Cotton settled for one shining moment and has coasted by ever since, satisfied to be a paid man on Bronson's payroll.Bronson is willing to admit some wrongdoing as well as to pay off the family of the man shot and killed. But Maddox isn't interested in deals or money, only in justice and performing the job he was hired to do. Cotton was right in his appraisal of things as the townspeople stand against Maddox. The man he killed and brought back was family to a store keeper who holds no love for the lawman.Bronson sends in a contingent to try and find a compromise led by longtime friend Harvey (Albert Salmi). But Harvey, filled with the idea that he is untouchable in this town, instead confronts Maddox only to be shot. With no likelihood of a mutual agreement Bronson now sets out to take down Maddox. The problem is he may have finally come up against a man not willing to go down as easy as all others.The movie depicts Maddox as a gunman turned lawman whose only way of dealing with things is straight down the line. Break the law, pay the price. If you refuse to go peacefully he has no issue killing you and taking your body in. The pay is low, the odds are against you and the support is minor when there. But it is what he knows.Along the way the possibility of something better is waved in front of him, a woman he once knew (Sheree North) whose husband is among those he's seeking. The chance to walk away from it all, to reunite with her and go somewhere else to start fresh. But that would entail walking away from a career he's worked too long at to simply abandon.Does this make him a bad man in the role of a solid citizen or a solid citizen forced into a career that forces him to do bad things? The decision is left in the hands of the viewer to decide by the end of the film. Guns will blaze, dust will fly and bodies will fall before that end in typical western fashion. The movie is well made and entertaining enough without the concepts getting in the way of the standard fare. All involved turn in great performances and director Michael Winner turns in another great film to enjoy. Twilight Time is offering this movie in a clean and clear presentation with nothing much in the way of extras. Those include an isolated music track and the original theatrical trailer. Fans of westerns and of Lancaster will want to make a point of picking this up right away though as the release is set for just 3,000 copies like most Twilight Time offerings.

When drunken cowboys kill an old man while shooting up a town, unbending lawman Burt Lancaster follows the cattle drive to it's end, in order to round up the men responsible. Cattle baron Lee J. Cobb wants to buy him off, like he did town sheriff Robert Ryan, while Cobb's men and the rest of the crooked town have more direct ideas.Shot around the same time as director Michael Winner's Chato's Land (probably back-to-back) and Lancaster's Valdez Is Coming, this is cut from the same grim, hate-filled, violent cloth. Like Winner's later (and more famous) Death Wish, it has a bit to say about the blurring of the line between justice and vengeance, law-and-order and chaos, getting away with it and punishment, with a bit of privilege versus principles thrown in for good measure.Lancaster is intense, but a bit one-note (like his character). Cobb and Ryan are in fine form, while Robert Duvall is excellent in a limited role. A romantic subplot between Lancaster and Sheree North culminates in the film's most shocking act of violence.Recommended.

Recently, when I was creating and synchronizing Croatian subtitles, I noticed that subtitle's timings didn't match between different versions. I have 3 versions of Lawman: 1. DVD PAL (duration 1:34:53) 2. DVD NTSC (duration 1:38:41) 3. DVB-T PAL (Croatian TV) (duration 1:34:37)Besides, there is a version from TCM which I don't have: 4. TCM DVB-S (duration unknown)All versions are different, so there are 4 different cuts of this movie.First, the comparison between PAL and NTSC DVD's: There are 2 distinctive scene cuts and neither version is uncut! NTSC DVD sold on Amazon, claims to be uncut, but it isn't.The scene which is cut from PAL DVD, is a 4 second horse fall (at 1:00:12 h).The scene which is cut from NTSC DVD, is a love scene (starts at 1:22:54 h) in which Sheree North (Laura) has naked boobs. This scene was replaced with a scene in which the boobs were completely covered with a blanket and never seen. The durations of these scenes are different and even the conversations are slightly different. It is interesting to notice Burt Lancaster's attitude in these scenes. In the scene with naked boobs, his face is bitter and his hand never approaches the boobs. But in the alternative scene with covered boobs, his hand repeatedly squeezes the boobs and his face has a cheerful expression. :-)The differences between TV captures are less important, but are as follows:DVB-T PAL (Croatian TV) is basically the same as NTSC DVD, but in PAL TV standard with slight indistinguishable differences in timings, full-screen, very crisp and clear video with more natural colors than on DVD's.TCM DVB-S "…is cut losing the horse fall & the 'squib hit' when Burt Lancaster shoots his wounded horse."

This is not a great film but it deserves viewing if you enjoy the western genre. The setting and scenery are great. Great actors: Burt is solid as man on a mission, Robert Ryan is always good. It is just gritty enough without being cheesy. The final scene will surprise you and made me question the killings. This is not a happy cowboy movie. It is tough and raw as westerns should be. Lots of riding in the rugged countryside. The towns folks are a little boring in their effort to stop the action. I enjoyed the whore house scenes. The cattle roundup scene is pretty good. Overall it is a good western. Lots of moral overtones.