The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean | | Cast : | Paul Newman | | Director : | John Huston | | Studio : | Warner Home Video | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen | | Released Date : | December 18, 1972 | | DVD Released Date : | June 03, 2003 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled) | | Audience Rating : | PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON | Customer Reviews
| Rating |      | | Date | May 09, 2005 | | Summary | wkrc wcpo cpo drehz | Content
 | The story of Judge Bean is also a Reader's Digest Condensed
Book selection available in hard bound.
I tell you the truth.. after visiting Val Verde I went
and fetched an Eagle's Nest bumper sticker..
The opening motif.. the music involved in a riparian
right of way is simply enchanting.
A must hear.
spotter109
Grid *n
Truk Island |
| Rating |      | | Date | November 30, 2004 | | Summary | The most surrealist film of John Huston! | Content
 | Once upon a time in Texas a roguish Judge :Roy Bean magnificent acted by Paul Newman . And also a weird preacher : Anthony Perkins and an albino gunman named Stacy Keach .
Blend this cocktail and you will obtain a clever, ironic and unencumbered film winking to Luis Buñuel.
Watch this hidden and treasured movie .
|
| Rating |     | | Date | December 13, 2002 | | Summary | A timeless treasure by one of Hollywood's greatest directors | Content
 | The 60's and early 70's produced several great comedic westerns i.e. Cheyenne Social Club, Dirty Dingus Magee, McClintock, Great Scout, The Rounders, Evil Roy Slade, Support Your Local, etc. The list goes on and on. Those movies were all great, but pretty much one dimensional and set the tone for some collective disappointment over the content of Judge Roy Bean. There are some great hilarious moments in this film but I never really got it until recently. It's actually a love story above all else, and a comedy, as well as John Huston's own statement about the retreating old west. If you view it in that context you'll be very impressed. If you're looking for pure comedy you may find that it drags in moments. However, this is the last time you'll get to see Paul Newman with that devilish Eddie Felson/Ben Quick light in his eyes, he was made for the part as a self-appointed and self-styled Judge/philosopher that dispenses justice to just about everyone that wanders through his town whether they deserve it or not. This film also showcases IMO the best villian of all time in Bad Bob, a murderous long haired psychotic albino come to lay ole' Beano to rest. Victoria Principal is so cute you just want to, well you'll see. Anyway, it's very funny but it is a love story. I found that rather distraction 30 years ago but I didn't get it. Well worth a watch. |
| Rating |      | | Date | October 19, 2002 | | Summary | "Law is the handmaiden of Justice." | Content
 | This is not only my favorite western, but it is also one of my favorite films. I don't buy a lot of videos to own, but I had to have this one in my permanent library. When the DVD comes out I'll be sure to get it, too.
When I first saw this in the theaters in '72 I was attracted by the action, the humor, and the sentimentality ( I still can't keep a dry eye when I watch the final scene with the watch bear....) As I got older I realised that there is a lot more to this movie. There is a consistent theme about Law and Justice, and the distinction between them.
When we first see Roy Bean he is a petty outlaw, less than a man. He has total contempt for law and justice, which he doesn't distinguish between. Then, when he first becomes a "Judge", it is in dubious title only- to fill his own pockets. As time goes on he intuitively dispenses true Justice in the name of the Law. By the final climactic scene, when asked who he is , he replies simply, "Justice." He has gone full cycle, from a scoff-law and less than a man, to the embodyment of Justice itself, to more than a man.
You'll notice that his chief adversary is a Lawyer Gass, a man that knows everything about the Law and nothing about Justice. A "man" that steals more with legal trickery than the old outlaws ever dreamed of stealing. It was this movie that made me see that Law is the creation of men, while Justice is an ideal that emanates directly from God.
I don't know if this is the theme that John Huston had in mind, but it is what I get out of it. |
| Rating |      | | Date | June 16, 2000 | | Summary | A Texan Reviews John Huston's Judge Roy Bean | Content
 | This ace of a flick really catches the spirit of the old judge who made his own law west of the Pecos. They don't make small colorful eccentric little films like this much these days. Everybody in the movie is right on the money too. A beautiful Jaqueline Bisset stars as the judge's tough assertive daughter. This must have been one of her earliest roles, and she turns in a fine endearing performance. And of course there are too many great names in this movie, Ned Beatty, Roddy McDowell, Stacey Keach, Tony Perkins, and of course Paul Newman as the judge himself. Do yourself a treat and pick this one up! You'll be glad you did. |
|