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Feb 17, 2018Nursebob rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
John Huston’s grand morality fable set in the wilds of Mexico has deservedly found a place on almost every critic’s “Greatest Movies” list. It is also purported to be among the favourite films of such notables as Robert Redford, Stanley Kubrick, and Sam Raimi. Vast B&W panoramas of arid deserts and rocky crags dwarf the protagonist as they struggle with temptation and nature grown wrathful while suitably biblical metaphors—a deadly serpent, a howling whirlwind, a resurrection, a wronged Samaritan—add a spiritual dimension to their quest. Bogart undergoes a monstrous transformation with theatrical zeal, Holt provides a shaky moral anchor, and Huston steals every scene as a proverbial wise man who’s seen it all before yet still comes back for more. Aside from an often overbearing musical score and a supporting cast of cardboard Mexican caricatures, this is an epic piece of moviemaking that begins with a whimper and ends with a bang drenched in irony and bitter humour.