MovieChat Forums > The Big Country Discussion > Some Missed Opportunities

Some Missed Opportunities

posted 9 years ago by Julian_Pope
4 replies | jump to latest

I really wanted to love this movie, I'm a big fan of Charlton Heston and Gregory Peck. There were certain elements in this film that I thought were missed opportunities however.

First of all a film of this scope should have had much better cinematography than this did. While everything like this obviously can't be Lawrence of Arabia, I feel like this was not a particular area of focus for Wyler.

Secondly and probably the biggest mistake, Heston was almost criminally under-used. He seemed to be this lukewarm villain. Either use him as a full on hero (which they should have done) or use him as a true villain.

For my money I would take a movie like Giant over this any day, much better cinematography and a more layered story as well as great acting all the way around.

[–] catbookss 9 years ago

Secondly and probably the biggest mistake, Heston was almost criminally under-used. He seemed to be this lukewarm villain. Either use him as a full on hero (which they should have done) or use him as a true villain.

Yet for me, that's what I loved about his character. He was complex, neither hero nor villain. Back then most characters wore either black or white hats, but Heston's character was refreshingly nuanced.

[–] Julian_Pope 9 years ago

I just feel like because they did that it didn't allow him to show his range either way.

[–] catbookss 9 years ago

But it gave him unusual (for the time) depth, which is more interesting to me and harder to play.

[–] liscarkat (18605) 2 years ago

No opportunities were missed. The cinematography was spectacular. Heston had a supporting role, but he was so good he left me wishing there was a whole movie about Steve Leach. All of the acting was excellent, including Chuck Connors as the despicable but pitiful Buck Hannassey. And the music score! The music by Jerome Moross is among the best scores of all time.