Flaming Star
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Movie Reviews of Flaming Star
Movie Review: Flaming Star is not just a great Elvis movie
Summary: 5 Stars
It's a great movie, period! I just saw it in Cinemascope at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood last night and I was stunned by its excellence. I've often heard that this movie proved that Elvis could "act" but I've always been skeptical. I assumed the movie would be full of histrionic treacle and have studiously avoided it.
Big mistake. This movie is first rate, of the highest order. Elvis has gotten knocked over the years for not making more movies like "Flaming Star". But, when you really think about it, NO ONE made movies like "Flaming Star", in any era!
The movie starts tragically and continues it's ever-widening downward spiral until the very end! There's not a light moment in the picture (excluding the very first scene) and it's to be commended for not pulling any punches. Shakespeare didn't write tragedy any better than this.
That is why "Flaming Star" is so satisfying. It stands apart from just about any film you can think of. I LIKE tragedy and would like to see more of it. But, evidently, tragedy doesn't sell and that's why Hollywood stays away from it.
Not only does Elvis play the role of the half-breed Pacer perfectly but he is well-suited to the part. Marlon Brando would not have been a good choice. Elvis looks the part of a half-breed and resembles his Indian "brothers" as much or more than his "real" white brother.
Not enough has been said here at Amazon about the superb perfomances by John McIntire and Steve Forrest in this film. I've seen both of them a million times in films and it's hard to get excited about either one of them. But, in "Flaming Star", their performances are dead-on. They are well-cast and letter perfect in their roles.
Barabara Eden and Delores Del Rio are also superb. Don Siegal knew what he wanted out of all of the actors in this picture and he got what he wanted, in spades.
GREAT film! You don't have to be an Elvis fan to admire it.
Movie Review: Surprisingly good movie and performance
Summary: 5 Stars
I can only concur with all the praise I am reading in these other reviews. I was completely unprepared for how good this movie is. I watched it only because it was an Elvis movie. During the credits, I wondered that there were only 2 songs listed. "How can that be?" But the songs were over 5 minutes into the film, and the rest was a masterful and suspenceful drama that I absolutely didn't expect to see.
The actors are all excellent. There wasn't anyone who seemed to be faking it or just going through the motions. Elvis is very believable in this role, and there are no excuses or apologies made for the feelings of anyone in the movie. This movie shows very much the ugliness that can happen when things go wrong and people band together based on color or background. Pacer, his mother, and their whole family are basically victims caught in the web of prejudice and hatred from *both* the white settlers and the Native-Americans who are protecting their land.
Despite the standard day-for-night shooting, there are some wonderful images in the film, such as the sequence where Pacer's wounded mother struggles across the windy and bare fields near their house. It seems almost allegorical the way the wind and dirt swirl and impede her progress, and she stumbles and struggles to push her way forward, across land that in previous scenes seemed friendly and bucolic. When her husband rushes out to look for her, I felt actual physical pain in my chest from his terror that she would be lost and dying in the bare soil of this land that he had tended for 20 years, and that now seemed like an enemy to him for it hid from him what he loved. Truly an amazing sequence from an excellent director.
Movie Review: Elvis's best film, and a great Western all-around
Summary: 5 Stars
This is definitely the best film Elvis Presley ever starred in; he shed his celebrity persona and delivered a great, dramatic performance in a superb action story with teriffic characterizations. No doubt about it, in "Flaming Star," Preseley is an ACTOR. And a damned good one too. (He only sings two songs, and they are presented right at the beginning so the film can then get down to the heavy business.)Originally, the material was written to star Marlon Brando, but was re-written to accomodate Elvis. He plays a half Kiowa man named Pacer who finds himself jammed in the middle of growing war between the settlers and the Kiowa. In trying not to take sides, he finds his world swirls down into violence and chaos. It is refreshingly devoid of "can't we all get along" cliches and really digs deep into the near-impossibility of life when you are split in two, like Pacer. Elvis really nails the character down.
Director Siegel is at his usual great level of achievement: tight-lipped, boiling drama between the characters, and blasts of sometimes surprising violence. He doesn't let anybody off easily. This isn't a lightweight oater: Siegel took his craft seriously. Helping out are great performances from the superb cast, especially Delores Del Rio as Pacer's Kiowa mother.
If you're looking for an Elvis musical, with the rock star persona in full blast, go for "Jailhouse Rock," his second best film. If you want a fun and silly Elvis movie, go for the endearingly wacky "Via Las Vegas." If you want to see a plain great film with Elvis Preseley showing his potential as a serious actor -- go for FLAMING STAR. You won't regret it.
Movie Review: BEST of ELvis honestly!
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie was the first in a long line of Elvis movies. I especially enjoyed the fact he wasn't ELVIS but an Indian playing a part of an inter racial marriage and the settling of the old west. I cried at the end. Too bad he never got to develop a true acting career instead of the singing, hip hopping movies he was famous for. If you want to see ELvis in a great movie, watch this one. It's wonderful!Movie Review: A Good Movie
Summary: 5 Stars
Barbara Eden is Great in the movie playing Steve Forrest's character's girlfriend.Elvis sings the theme song and in the square dance scene he sings a song though he doesn't sing any other songs after that.The movie is a western drama and a good movie.Dolores Del Rio is in the movie also.Directed by one of the best directors Don Seigel who directed Clint Eastwood.The DVD has the original movie commercial.