The Grey Fox
Action / Western
100% - Critics
When an aging, but gentlemanly stagecoach robber is released from prison, he decides to go to Canada to become a train robber.
Phillip Borsos
Garry Chalk as Bill Ryan
Richard Farnsworth as Townsman
Timothy Webber as Sergeant Fernie
Wayne Robson as Tug Jones
Reviewed by eltroll 10 / 10 / 10
Extraordinary (& unorthodox) Western!
This really is a masterpiece of film - and, unfortunately, largely unknown to the greater film-watching public in the United States. It is beautiful to watch, to listen to (with its soundtrack including both original work by award-winning composer Michael Conway Baker, of Canada, and the Chieftains), and to examine as a chronicle of the period that concluded the Wild West's grasp on the 19th Century and its reach for the 20th. Bill Miner, the "Gentleman Bandit," was a historical figure whose long prison term for stagecoach robbery left him entirely unprepared (vocationally) for his release back into society - a society that was now devoid of stagecoaches, and beginning to discover the wonders of motorcars and moving pictures. The 29-year-old director, Phillip Borsos (1953-1995), made this film tribute to the last outlaw of the Wild West and to the region that he lived in. While others might have gone heavy-handed and clichéd in such a production, Borsos' eye and ear both figure significantly in the film's direction, and its numerous examples of originality: a senior citizen star (the late Richard Farnsworth - whose Hollywood career had started as a stuntman, in Westerns - playing Bill Miner as a thoughtful and kind gentleman) who even gets to look hunky; a respectful treatment of an early 20th Century feminist (played by Jackie Burroughs); cinematography that highlights the beauty of the Pacific Northwest, rather than some anonymous California desert; a soundtrack that ISN'T Coplandesque (or Morriconesque); a 'cowboy picture' where the hero gets the girl, but doesn't get vulgar or trite or even testosterone-driven; AND an accurate look at the turn-of-the-century a hundred years ago in a landscape that hasn't entirely disappeared. Yet. I have hummed the music from its tuneful soundtrack since the first time I saw it in its initial U.S. theatrical release, and have wanted to visit Kamloops, BC, ever since. If you can stand movies without gratuitous pyrotechnics or violence, don't let another day go by without checking out this film classic.
Reviewed by jcronin-2 10 / 10 / 10
Must Must See. One of the great westerns/films
I think this is one of the most flawless and beautiful movies of all time. The acting and casting is impeccable. What I particularly love is the script; so few words but when something is spoken each line has such weight and impact. And the music is amazing. What a brilliant idea, a western with Celtic (the Chieftains) music. The spirit and emotion of the music enhances every scene and is so fresh and unexpected and ultimately, right. And it's such a wonderful love story. Normally I wouldn't care about a romance between two older characters, but I root for these two characters in each and every scene. Richard Farnsworth was nominated for Best Actor and it is a shame he didn't win. Please, watch it if you haven't.
Reviewed by Agrippa328 10 / 10 / 10
A no-nonsense and credible depiction of a Western outlaw.
Surely one of the most direct, honest and accurate depictions of life in the "Old West," the Grey Fox does not resort to violence, bluster or machismo to present its story. Instead, the film comes across as a story of a man whose life has gone wrong as the result of carefully thought out and well-reasoned choices, though nevertheless bad choices. This alone is particularly refreshing in a Western movie and makes the film a worthwhile experience. The late Richard Farnsworth relies on his considerable skills as an actor and makes his character sympathetic and heroic, never losing sight that he is in fact a thief. The costumes, setting, dialog and yes, even the miserable weather are true to the historical period and makes the viewer feel as if they were there alongside the characters in this elegant story. It's a wonderful film and a visual feast!