The Kentuckian
by Burt Lancaster
List Price:
Our Price: $13.49
You Save: $1.49 (10%)
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy Used: from $2.35 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Clem Bevans, Dianne Foster, James Griffith, John Carradine, Lee EriksonDirector: Burt Lancaster
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen, 2.35:1
Running Time: 104 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-05-08
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Movie Reviews of The Kentuckian
Movie Review: Classic Lancaster
Summary: 5 Stars
I am a middle-aged man now, but I have never forgotten the scene in this movie where Lancaster races through a pond to reach his would-be killer before that man can reload his flintlock. As a kid, I was captivated by this. It is still a remarkable scene. And when, later, I saw Matthau in comedies, I always recalled his menacing character in this picture. This is a fun picture with no disappointments.
Summary of The Kentuckian
Burt Lancaster (Elmer Gantry) makes his directorial debut with this superb, action-packed western. Featuring a poignant, unconventional screenplay by A.B. Guthrie, Jr., and a powerful performance by legendary actor Walter Matthau in his first screen role, The Kentuckian is an unforgettable western adventure of the highest caliber. Big Eli Wakefield (Lancaster) and his youngson, Little Eli (Donald MacDonald), are rugged Kentucky adventurers who long for an exciting life on the Texas frontier. They soon learn, however, that the greatest challenge to their progress lies not in the uncharted wilderness but in the people they meet along the way. Thrust into the midst of abitter family feud, Eli confronts both the deadly rage of a madman (Matthau) and the love of a beautiful woman (Diana Lynn). But when he's lured into a brutal final showdown, Eli discovers that the only way to escape with his life is to stay true to his convictions, his honor and his dream.As an independent producer-star, circus-tough with charisma to burn, Burt Lancaster could be hard on directors. So it wasn't surprising when he decided he could do the job himself. It was a mistake he made only once (apart from cohelming 1974's The Midnight Man). For all his balletic control as an actor-athlete, Lancaster showed no sense of how a film should move and breathe over an hour and a half, or how to make the characters' growth or changes of mind credible. The Kentuckian has a bedrock American folk tale at its core, but scarcely a clue how to tell it.
It's the early 18th century--Monroe is president--and buckskin-clad Lancaster and his son (Donald MacDonald) are lighting out for Texas: "It ain't we don't like people--we like room more." They plan to briefly visit Lancaster's tobacco-dealer brother (John McIntire) in the river town of Humility, then move on. But there are complications from a long-running feud, and some nasty baiting from a whip-cracking storekeeper (Walter Matthau in his film debut); the need to replace their "Texas money" after buying freedom for a bondservant (Dianne Foster); also the matter of deciding who's prettier, her or the local schoolmarm (Diana Lynn). Lancaster aims for some quaint Americana--a sing-along to the tinkling of a pianoforte, a jaw-dropping riverside production number--and there's one nifty bit of action based on how long it took to reload a flintlock rifle. But mostly this film just lies there in overlit CinemaScope. --Richard T. Jameson
Comedy DVD Video
DVD Video
- Action & Adventure
- African American Cinema
- Animation
- Anime & Manga
- Art House & International
- Classics
- Comedy
- Cult Movies
- Documentary
- Drama
- Educational
- Fitness & Yoga
- Gay & Lesbian
- Horror
- Kids & Family
- Military & War
- Music Video & Concerts
- Musicals & Performing Arts
- Mystery & Suspense
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Special Interests
- Sports
- Television
- Westerns
Movies most talked about in If you want to discover Burt Lancaster (1913 - 1994) 2nd part
The Killers - Criterion CollectionImage Entertainment; Release date: 2003-02-18; DVD
Best price: $27.79
Price in other shops:
Brute Force (Criterion Collection)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2007-04-17; DVD
Best price: $27.88
Price in other shops:
![Desert Fury [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.0 Import - Australia ] Image](/images/Desert-Fury-NON-USA-FORMAT-PAL-Reg-0-Import-Australia-B001ANWA8G-X.jpg)
Desert Fury [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.0 Import - Australia ]DVD
Best price: $24.99
Sorry, Wrong NumberParamount; Release date: 2002-05-28; DVD
Best price: $7.41
Price in other shops:
Criss Cross (Universal Noir Collection)Universal; Release date: 2004-07-06; DVD
Best price: $3.93
Price in other shops:
The Flame and the ArrowRelease date: 2007-10-23; DVD
Best price: $22.99
Vengeance ValleyWESTLAKE ENTERTAINMENT INC; Release date: 2004-01-01; DVD
Best price: $0.49
Price in other shops:
Jim Thorpe: All AmericanWarner Brothers; Release date: 2007-10-23; DVD
Best price: $9.24
Price in other shops:
The Crimson PirateRelease date: 2003-07-01; DVD
Best price: $23.91
Come Back, Little ShebaParamount; Release date: 2004-08-31; DVD
Best price: $6.78
Price in other shops:
Similar DVD Movies
Broken ArrowTWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2007-05-22; DVD
Best price: $7.53
Price in other shops:
The Big CountryRelease date: 2001-03-20; DVD
Best price: $6.46
Price in other shops:
Vera CruzTWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2001-03-20; DVD
Best price: $9.94
Price in other shops:
Hell in the PacificTWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2004-05-25; DVD
Best price: $3.06
Price in other shops:
Custer of the WestTWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2004-05-25; DVD
Best price: $1.94
Price in other shops:
Fox Western Classics (Rawhide / The Gunfighter / Garden of Evil)Fox; Release date: 2008-05-13; DVD
Best price: $10.44
Price in other shops:
LawmanRelease date: 2001-09-04; DVD
Best price: $6.58
Price in other shops:
The UnforgivenTWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2003-05-20; Published: 2003-05-20; DVD
Best price: $5.96
Price in other shops:
Duel in the SunTWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2004-05-25; DVD
Best price: $4.89
Price in other shops:
The Hallelujah TrailRelease date: 2001-03-20; DVD
Best price: $2.93
Price in other shops: