I am not used to see dramas anymore, since a long time. I am rather a B movie viewer: noir, crime, westerns, adventures, sci-fi...
But I decided to try this one, which was in the middle of the tons of DVD I have to see. And I was amazed. Of course, I have seen this kind of story in the - far - past. Solid dramas, grade A movies, produced by big studios, with major stars.
I had never heard of this one. However I knew Gerald Mayer's films. I have all them, except one, in my library. But I don't remind the topics.
Anyway, this movie tells the rise and fall of a rugged adventurer - David Brian, in the late 1870's in San Francisco. Characters are pretty well described, and the story not breathtaking but interesting. You're stuck to it. Narration is built around flashbacks. This way, you can understand the inner character of the lead - Brian. And, curiously, that's the last flashback, just before the end of the movie, that describes you the best the very meaning of why Brian is such an ambivalent character in this film. It's poignant, and you feel a sort of strange sensation inside of yourself.
Why just before the end ?
I don't say it's the wrong place to tell that. Not at all. Just it's unusual. And the very ending, one minute later, is unforgettable.
Don't miss it.
I'll also mention Lon Chabey Jr who gives here a very interesting performance we usually never witness with him.
But I decided to try this one, which was in the middle of the tons of DVD I have to see. And I was amazed. Of course, I have seen this kind of story in the - far - past. Solid dramas, grade A movies, produced by big studios, with major stars.
I had never heard of this one. However I knew Gerald Mayer's films. I have all them, except one, in my library. But I don't remind the topics.
Anyway, this movie tells the rise and fall of a rugged adventurer - David Brian, in the late 1870's in San Francisco. Characters are pretty well described, and the story not breathtaking but interesting. You're stuck to it. Narration is built around flashbacks. This way, you can understand the inner character of the lead - Brian. And, curiously, that's the last flashback, just before the end of the movie, that describes you the best the very meaning of why Brian is such an ambivalent character in this film. It's poignant, and you feel a sort of strange sensation inside of yourself.
Why just before the end ?
I don't say it's the wrong place to tell that. Not at all. Just it's unusual. And the very ending, one minute later, is unforgettable.
Don't miss it.
I'll also mention Lon Chabey Jr who gives here a very interesting performance we usually never witness with him.