The Outrage

source: The Outrage

The Outrage

The first four-fifths of The Outrage were not bad, but the ending was disappointing, especially compared with Rashomon. And Claire Bloom, though a fine actress, can't approach the amazing performance delivered by Machiko Kyo. Also, the medium used in Rashomon (which is after all set in the 13th century) is far more effective. Not bad overall, but pales in comparison with the original Rashomon.

The minute I saw this film, I immediately thought of 1951's "Rashomon." I didn't care for that film and this interpretation was really the pits, despite a totally unrecognizable Paul Newman giving a superb performance as a Mexican bandit. Everyone has a different interpretation why the Laurence Harvey character died in this film. Truth is that it's usually every type of circumstance depicted with the exception of the truthful one. This one is practically no exception either. Edward G. Robinson is perfect as the con man offering his two cents into the situation. Anyone think of what the baby was supposed to represent in this film? I had no idea either. The film was boring and could have been told in about 20 minutes to half an hour-tops.

[possible spoiler] I was drawn to this film by the cast - Paul Newman, Edward G. Robinson, Laurence Harvey, Claire Bloom, William Shatner, Howard daSilva - a bunch of heavy hitters for sure. The 'Rashomon'-like premise certainly keeps us guessing as to what the NEXT version of events will be, but to me it is somewhat marred by the jarringly comic resolution provided by the prospector. The film is beautifully shot, and Alex North provides a fine score (with a good chunk of faux-Copland at one point). However two stellar performances really make the film. Edward G. Robinson's turn as the cynical huckster reminds us of what a truly great actor he was. And Paul Newman as Carrasco puts in a performance totally at odds with the familiar Hud/Cool Hand Luke/Fast Eddie persona; his performance as the crude, swaggering Mexican bandit was so effective, his Spanish accent so good, that at first I did not recognize him as Newman. A neglected film that is well worth seeing.

Martin Ritt had already directed Paul Newman in "The Long, Hot Summer", "Paris Blues" and "Hud" when he made "The Outrage". A worthy effort but it doesn't quite compare to its source material (Akira Kurosawa's "Rashomon"). To us nowadays it's going to be jarring to see Newman playing a Mexican, especially since there were plenty of Latino actors who could've played the role. As for the movie overall, I thought that the most interesting scenes were of the three men (William Shatner, Edward G. Robinson, Howard DaSilva) going over the different versions of the story. It's worth seeing, but it's far from Ritt's best movie. I recommend the original version over this one, due to Kurosawa's clever way of filming some of the scenes.

This remarkable 1964 film has many virtues, among them a strong script, fine photography, and a pre-Kirk William Shatner (whose idiosyncratic acting style is already well-developed, however). The story is a Westernization of "Rashomon", the story of a rape and murder told from the points of view of three participants and an outsider. The contrast between the subjective stories (told by the bandit, the husband, and the wife) and the story told by the miner who witnesses what really happens is both hilarious and thought provoking. Everyone is in fine form, but DaSilva's miner and Edward G. Robinson's snake oil salesman are especially fine. Newman's portrayal of the Mexican bandit is often over-the-top, but always interesting. This is one of those movies that makes one wonder if Mr. Maltin saw the same thing. I think that it is one of the better films of the 60's, a decade that produced a great many of the best movies ever made.

Newman's fifth film for Martin Ritt, "The Outrage" was based on the classic Japanese film "Rashômon," but Ritt transplanted the tale to the South Western U.S. following the Civil War Carrasco has been convicted of raping a woman (Claire Bloom) and murdering her husband (Laurence Harvey), but four eye-witness accounts conflict… All agree that the bandit raped the woman, but only one asserts that he committed the killing Sadistic, defiant, and challenging, Carrasco snarls, sneers, and walks with macho arrogance, to hide the fact that he can only be strong by tying a man to a tree and raping his wife The role allowed Newman to give a bravura performance, not unlike Toshiro Mifune's in the Kurosawa film, and the stylization would fit the story if everybody else weren't playing it so straight… As it is, the performance seems too showy, easily understandable, exaggerated

Akira Kurosawa's "Rashomon" Americanized and moved to the Old West. A preacher, a con-man, and an old-timer rehash the recent conviction of a notorious Mexican bandit, deemed guilty of killing a newlywed traveler and raping his wife. Gimmick of the differing accounts preceding the crime provides the only interest; the characters, the literate but prosy dialogue, and the over-worked performance of a miscast Paul Newman as the mustachioed bandito are each in their own way utterly false. James Wong Howe's striking black-and-white cinematography provides an appropriately moody feel, and Alex North delivers yet another of his fabulous music scores, but the picture isn't intrinsically exciting--it alienates the audience. The various brutalities are gripping, though rather uncomfortable to watch (due to director Martin Ritt's sensationalist staging), while the final summation is muddled and unsatisfying. *1/2 from ****