Synopsis
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Reviews (171)
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H
Is this Michael Winner’s best film? To be fair, director Michael Winner managed some solid genre efforts early in his career (“The Mechanic,” “Scorpio”) before he lost the plot and gave way to Eighties excess. And I admittedly have a soft spot for his ‘Nancy Drew but hard R rating’ flick “Scream for Help,” not to mention the delirious Cannon Video shlock of “Death Wish 3.” But 1971’s “Lawman” is a surprisingly classy (for Winner) Western that you could comfortably watch with family members who are fans of the genre—the script offers some great laconic Western dialogue and there are no brutal sexual assaults tossed in here just so Winner can get his jollies off. Restraint…it suits him! Writer Gerald…
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S
With this being a 70s Winner, I was expecting a western bloodbath following a lawman against a corrupt town. Though the opening and climax were strong, this definitely had some issue with pacing in-between. Lancaster gave a great performance as the brooding gunslinger, just a shame it didn’t meet the same highs as Winner’s hyper-violent Death Wish films.
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M
1971 In Review – March #8 During a drunken spree in the small Wild West town of Bannock, one of a half-dozen workers from a nearby ranch accidentally shoots an innocent man. Bannock’s marshal, a righteous man named Jered Maddox (Burt Lancaster), comes to the larger town of Sabbath bearing the dead body of one of the revelers and demands the surrender of the remaining five from sheriff Cotton Ryan (Robert Ryan) and ranch owner Vincent Bronson (Lee J. Cobb), starting a confrontation that threatens to engulf them all. Lawman is a pretty decent American-made western, shot in Mexico by director-for-hire Michael Winner who doesn’t get much chance to show off his later style, although the film is perhaps a…
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SSean Fennessey 8 月 24, 2026
Michael Winner refuses to stop zooming in on and away from faces in this.
108 1 -
A
Everybody has a list of actors and directors that are on their shit list. Reasons can vary, from a simple dislike of their acting style, choice of film role, or the way they come across off-camera? Others have reputations for being difficult, and with Social Media and everybody owning a phone with a camera, fuck ups or rudeness to fans can damage someone’s street cred in the blink of an eye. A Social Media post can cause a star carnage, think J.K. Rowling, or a legal issue can sabotage a once-glittering career, think Johnny Depp pre-court win. There are others however who are simply arseholes, and director/restaurant critic Michael Winner was one of them. He was an obnoxious horrible little…
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S
Unfortunately this is a Micheal Winner film but I think any other director with this script and this wonderful cast could have made of this a western classic. Unfortunately this is just very middle of the road with its very shoddy pacing and quite rocky directing. There’s a strong story here and the script is quite interesting with its moral dilemma of the core story and the opposing moral sides. Lancaster is really quite good here and while his more heroic roles can sometimes be not very interesting I found this to be a bold quite determined performance and in a lot of the quieter moments gives him a lot to work with. I quite likes its western cinematography too…
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P
This movie definitely bucks a lot of tropes but yet plays off of them at the same time. For one we don’t get your conventional bad boss we actually get an understanding and helpful Lee J. Cobb(Vincent Bronson) to the marshal Maddox(Burt Lancaster). Sure it has some dumb headed moves but a lot of the character developments seemed logical but I do have to say the ending was unexpected but I enjoyed it. Fair bit of fun grit in this and a solid cast but I do have to say Robert Ryan(Cotton Ryan) is a standout in this. Worthy of checking out if you like the genre for it’s slight unique take on the revisionist western.
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T
“Do you know what they call you Jared? The Widow Maker.” One dark random night in the town of Bannock, a group of drunk cattlemen raise hell in the town, burning down a saloon and killing an innocent old man in the process. About a year later, lawman Bannock Marshal Jared Maddox rides into the town of Sabbath looking to bring these men to justice dead or alive. Maddox is man who firmly believes in the law and justice system, refusing bribes, unwilling to bend an ear, and deadly quick on the trigger. Killing any man who refuses to comply bringing his own murderous sense of justice to the town of Sabbath. An underrated and very solid western, some excellent…
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D
Now this is the type of movie I love discovering…a lean and mean little western from one of the all-time great, bugnuts-insane directors in the history of the film medium, Mr. Michael Winner. I know Winner can get all kinds of shit in certain film circles (some of it warranted), but I genuinely enjoy watching his films, even the ones he did in the 80s for Cannon. That said, Lawman is a long way from Winner’s late-period days – there’s a level of nuance imbedded in the script, direction, and nearly every performance, which are delivered by a murder’s row of legendary screen actors. Lancaster plays Maddox, the titular lawman who comes to town to get to the bottom…
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C
Every man has his limits, when it comes to the law. Burt Lancaster does Judge Dredd for the post-Civil War Wild West. He goes up against curmudgeonly old Lee J. Cobb and his motley crew of human doormats, by way of shadow of his former self middleman Robert Ryan. Dare I say more? If I must… Burt Lancaster is The Lawman. Whisper his name and men scatter. Others are gone as soon as they can sniff his shadow. Mention ‘The Widow-maker’ and all know what you mean, no mistake. It’s all-too telling how far men will run from the man who represents the eye of the law. Not all. All men follow different degrees of the law. Some want to…
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B
I’m a lawman. Do you know what a lawman is, Crowe? He’s a killer of men. That’s what the job calls for. There are new ways to put it, but it reads the same. That’s the difference between us, and it’s all the difference I need. I’m slightly obsessed with the guy using an ear trumpet! I need to get one of these because the sound quality in modern movies is so bad. As far as I know, this is Michael Winner’s first attempt at a western. However, feel free to correct me if I’m wrong. A year later, he released “Chato’s Land,” which stars Charles Bronson. Interestingly, there is a character named Vincent Brosnon in this film, which might…
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D
A group of cattlemen go on a drunken spree through a town, shooting their guns randomly. An old man is accidentally killed. They run off and go on with their lives. A lawman (Burt Lancaster) arrives in their town a year later and informs all the men involved that they are to surrender immediately for trial, or they are to be shot. This is a very solid western that puts a lot of depth into the western trope of that final confrontation. It’s a sort of upside down High Noon. There aren’t any hardcore villains in this one—each side has a point. The inevitable violence seems unnecessary. I need to watch more Burt Lancaster, because every time I…
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P
Michael Winner directs an all star cast in Lawman (1971), a Western that admirably exercises the genre’s ingredients, but does little to distinguish its presentation from countless other cowboy quests. Still, Winner is the kind of genre director I admire and it’s fun seeing Robert Ryan, Burt Lancaster, Lee J. Cobb, and Robert Duvall mix it up with six shooters and ten-gallon hats. A few scenes stick out, including a fantastic Kuleshov-esque montage sequence rustling and branding cattle.
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F
A western with a great cast, playful use of zooms and close-ups and an occasional bloody shootout that never comes together to be anything more than mediocre and forgettable. Could have used a lot more Duvall.
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R
Western Month: 70s Nihilism
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T
the circulation of violence. as a means for power, as a product of ego, and as a expression of duty in the name of one’s community. certainly not a good man but those he kills are far from it as well. he serves as a haunting reminder of the consequences of not reflecting on our own countries violence against ourselves, natives, and anyone else we see fit or in this case, unfit to commit such an atrocity against. community is…
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22Lightning 7 月 1, 2026
85
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C
A solid western with a great cast of legendary actors and directed by one of the wildly eccentric and pulpy directors of the ‘70s, Michael Winner. It has a lot of the tropes of the genre and delivers them with a fresh and interesting story of morality, greed, obsession, justice, and murder. Burt Lancaster is terrific as the complex and hardened protagonist Jered Maddox who will do anything to accomplish his own sense of justice after the death of an…
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C
” – In his day, you couldn’t walk in the same sun as him.” Faut voir comment une hoe parvient à démotiver un homme.
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J
It was a decent movie slow but the fites was decent and kind of graphic.
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K
Haven’t seen this in a while. Fun re-watch, despite the bleakness. Burt Lancaster has always been a favorite and fascinating actor. He manages to project magnetic presence with utter stillness. Robert Ryan is equally great here; he brings honor and grace to a lawman who has long ago lost his nerve. The rest of the cast is stacked with strong performances. And I forgot how strong the dialogue is, so many memorable lines. My favorite being Lee J. Cobb saying…
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S
Recently rewatched. This 70’s western is centered around Lancaster as the Marshal who upholds the law, but tends to bring men in more dead than alive, he is a cold, hard, remorseless killer, who shades the line between good and bad. Lee J. Cobb is the powerful town boss, that he’s after, he is not necessarily a bad person either, that’s the moral dilemma, the line between the two is blurry. There is a lot of bloody violence in the gunfire that happens, a very dark movie that will have you thinking about it after it’s finished.
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M
Bastante decepcionado me dejó está historia, q parecía dirigirse a algo bueno y termino siendo una historia más sin sentido ni razón Se nota mucho el como intentan imitar el Cine italiano sin éxito. La película se veía q daba para algo más, varios de los personajes parecía q tendrían un desarrollo interesante pero no, NO HAY NINGÚN DESARROLLO EN NINGUNO. La peor cosa q tiene esta peli es su guión, q se contradice a cada rato y no le…
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A
Lawman provides a pretty intriguing revisionist take on a familiar premise for a Western that, rather than being a simple action flick, works as a serious and dark meditation on the impact of violence and justice systems. It’s an approach which puts a really interesting spin on the Western formula and its usual characterizations, which is not necessarily something you’d expect from a director like Michael Winner (I’m mostly familiar with the many trashy Charles Bronson movies he’d make). Still,…
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D
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L
Was interested in checking this out since reading a section about it in Robert Sellers’ book ‘1971: 100 Films From Cinema’s Greatest Year’ which I’m currently making my way through. I think this has made it apparent that not all of the films mentioned in that book will necessarily be great and surely it doesn’t beat the year 1999!? Despite having a somewhat interesting anecdote about director Michael Winner and leading man Burt Lancaster having a fall out, I can’t…
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H
This movie has a great script. Highly nuanced, with great character arcs. Lots of old timers in the big roles but their acting chops are A+. Robert Duvall was emerging into greatness.
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A
Rockstar cast, and awesome camera work similar to the Italian 60s and 70s westerns
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V
Lawman feels like Death Wish on horseback, a Michael Winner western that mistakes moral rigidity for justice. Burt Lancaster plays a lawman tasked with hauling seven cowboys back to town after they drunkenly tear the place apart, accidentally killing a man in the process. The problem is that even if they stand trial, nothing is likely to happen to them, as Lancaster all but admits as much. The judge will probably let them walk. That isn’t his concern. The law…
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NneCROOOWnomicon 6 月 9, 2026
No man needs killing. Didn’t do much for me, but it was great to see Cobb who commanded this whole thing. Apparently he was a big western guy. I’m gathering that the snap zoom is a staple of the genre. Maybe a Leone thing that folks emulated — a borderline comical amount of times here in Winner’s case. Not to say he doesn’t have his own style though, there’s some well composed shots. He also directed The Sentinel (1977), which is an awesome one.
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J
Each time I watch Lawman my enjoyment and love for it grows. It’s just a mean little western, that plays like a 50s western but has that slight revisionist feel to it. Winner is a perplexing director. From all accounts he’s a right piece of shit, but the man knew how to make action pictures. Lancaster is great here, he’s basically the villain. Yet you still can’t wait for him to kill all these men. The men in question caused…
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D
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H
I don’t know how this was received in 1971, but watching this style of muscular, lean and stylistic direction in 2026 felt more modern than many releases of today. Expertly directed and a very interesting morality study, this is a more meditative take on the Revisionist Western genre that is essentially a character study on an interesting protagonist, if you could call him that. He is, for all intents and purposes, a good guy. A sheriff who just wants to…
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S
“The virtuous need us, but they can’t stand the smell.” I liked this a bunch. Burt Lancaster plays Jered Maddox, the titular Lawman, who blows into the town of Sabbath in search of a group of cattlemen who (accidentally) kill a man in Maddox’s town of Bannock. He is a single-minded man, seemingly incapable of compromise. What would normally be our villain in most westerns is Vincent Bronson, the wealthy cattle baron who employs these men. He is, instead, regretful,…
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I
i liked some of the camera work here, it was kinda dramatic. also burt looks so good here i’m sorry.
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J
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S
Burt Lancaster as a force of nature. The biggest reason to watch this film is Burt Lancaster. He plays Marshal Jared Maddox as a man who has devoted himself completely to the law. It’s one of the early revisionist Westerns. Lawman arrived during the period when Westerns were becoming darker and more morally ambiguous. The supporting cast is stacked. You get an incredible lineup of character actors that includes Robert Ryan as a weary sheriff who has lost his idealism,…
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J
filmezinho curto, o ritmo é BEM lento, mas pqp, é um filmezinho bem composto, tanto nos visual quanto no roteiro, enfim, primerio filme que eu vejo do Michael Winner, 8/10
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M
I was particularly impressed by the complexity of the themes of right and wrong. Burt Lancaster plays the titular lawman convincingly, more so than an anti-hero. The acting is generally very good, with Robert Ryan being a standout. Towards the end, some decisions felt rushed. The direction, especially the numerous zoom shots, annoyed me somewhat. Overall, though, a very watchable Western.
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M
Lawman, more like Zoom-man… you know, cuz the amount of zoom-ins the movie has. Anyway, great part of the sauce went to the camera antics.
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T
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L
A drag especially watching Burt Lancaster spoon
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R
A great tale of frontier justice. Maddox was likable and easy to cheer for in his quest to right past wrongs.
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T
“Do you know what they call you Jared? The Widow Maker.” One dark random night in the town of Bannock, a group of drunk cattlemen raise hell in the town, burning down a saloon and killing an innocent old man in the process. About a year later, lawman Bannock Marshal Jared Maddox rides into the town of Sabbath looking to bring these men to justice dead or alive. Maddox is man who firmly believes in the law and justice system,…
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D
Winner’s poor reputation as a director is pretty well-earned but in the early 70s he made some good movies chief among them the spaghettiesques Chato’s Land and this one both written by Gerald Wilson. The direction here is workmanlike and sometimes heavy handed but it does the job and suits the ambiguous morality of the story pretty well. The incredible cast gives it real weight.
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M
الفيلم يوريك كيف ان القانون احيانا يكون العن من الفوضى فيلم جميل جدا قصه بسيطه وممتعه وشخصيات ترسخ بالعقل والإخراج رائعععع لا الوان كثيره ولا مؤثرات تفقع العين.
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M
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S
gerald wilson poses several valid and interesting critiques of the criminal justice system in yet another vigilante flick by go-to lowest common denominator 70s action movie director michael winner, unfortunately it lacks the rocking herbie hancock proto acid jazz soundtrack of death wish to bring it up from a 7 to an 8. also, robert paynter could learn to relax a little on these zoom in/zoom out shots.
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T
Not entirely sure this script knows how to fully handle its various competing ethical ideas, but I was surprised at how complex and layered this archetypal-at-first-glance cast of characters becomes over the course of the film (particularly Lee J. Cobb’s cattle rancher antagonist). Lancaster is especially great here; there’s one moment where he closes his eyes briefly as if to say “Please, not again,” that will forever spring to mind when I think of favorite bits of acting from one…
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J
I’m much more familiar with Michael Winner’s reputation than his actual work, having only seen the (admittedly terrible) ‘Parting Shots’. I’ll watch pretty much anything with Burt Lancaster in though, so decided to give this one a shot and was very pleasantly surprised to find a really great and uncompromising revisionist Western. After a group of drunken cattlemen accidentally kill a man while breezing through a small town, Marshal Jered Maddox (Lancaster) goes after them to bring them back to…
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2
The virtuous need us, but they don’t like the smell. Far more interesting than I ever expected it to be. Great introspect about its main character and everyone else that surrounds him, with great dialogue to accompany.
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B
Estuvo buena.
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J
I’m logged as having seen this previously in 2004 yet remember nothing about it, which seems odd given the calibre of those involved. My late father always rated Lawman, and seeing it tonight confirmed why. The cast is immense, from the leading trio of Burt Lancaster, Lee J. Cobb and the always superb Robert Ryan, to the smaller supporting roles. Familiar faces abound at every level, and they all fit the time and place of the narrative like a glove.…
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F
Justice is absolute and does not waiver in the old west. I really liked this movie yes there are other better westerns, but it can definitely stand on its own. To me this movie was really about a man’s moral code, and devotion to a fair and just world by the law. Burt Lancaster as always delivers a solid performance. Gotta give it to the man he chooses good movies to work on. I found his portrayal of Marshal Jerad…
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D
A couple of cowhands get rowdy in a neighboring town, shoot up the place, and ride off drunk as sailors. Burt Lancaster’s lawman hunts them down, hellbent on seeing them put to trial since they accidentally killed an innocent old man during their whirlwind debauchery. Michael Winner builds his revisionist Western with beautiful ideas, about a law-and-order figure so unyielding, he’s intended to sour into an antihero, willing to shed blood for an old man he purportedly never even knew.…
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M
This is a nicely paced, well-filmed Western. It certainly isn’t a fast action film. It is a slow-burn, taking pains to develop the back-stories of some of the key characters, and their complicated motivations. The lead is not a hero, but more of an anti-hero. It’s gritty and ambiguous, and very well acted. This is a Western worth watching.
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A
وسترن پیرمردها، در دهه هفتاد کم ساخته نشد. مردان قدیم در دنیای جدید. فیلم را خیلی راحت میتوان گذاشت کنار اثر شاخص سیگل ،تیرانداز، که آخرین فیلم جان وین بود. چیزی که در اینجا تفاوت دارد، کارگردانی انگلیسی مایکل وینر است، خشونتی که او ارائه کرده چیزی فراتر از خون و خونریزیست که پس از حماسهی پکینپا در هالیوود رواج یافت. خشونت او یادآور کن راسل بزرگ است، وقتی که دوربین بدل به یک نیروی وحش طبیعت میشود، آن دالی…
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M
Eine Gruppe Cowboys kommt mit einem Viehtreck an einer kleinen Stadt vorbei und hält ein Saufgelage ab. Im Chaos erschießen sie aus Versehen einen alten Mann. Lange wieder auf ihrer Heimatranch angekommen besucht sie ein unbekannter Marshal. Der erste Western von Michael Winner, den man mehr durch Actionfilme kennt. Hier gibt es als Cast in den Hauptrollen Burt Lancaster und Robert Ryan, dazu noch Robert Duvall. Fand den ziemlich gut. Ein typischer, desillusionierter Spätwestern. Die Leichenberge werden von Minute zu…
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L
A dour revisionist western that ultimately doesn’t have much to say. It has a knockout cast – Burt Lancaster, Lee J. Cobb, and Robert Ryan – but squanders it’s wealth of riches by following the monomaniacal quest of a thoroughly uninteresting character (Lancaster’s sheriff). The movie wants you to question Lancaster’s merciless quest for justice, but you start doing that as soon as he comes on screen, and there’s only so long that one can stay interested in a character…
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C
Quel plaisir de retourner sur un western classique, ça faisait un moment ! Lawman est un film qui ne gaspille aucune minute d’écran, dès les deux premières minutes les événements sont posés. Le scénariste a bien compris qu’en 1971, tout le monde est familier avec le western et qu’il n’est plus forcément utile de nous familiariser avec l’univers pendant plusieurs minutes avant de lancer l’intrigue. Beaucoup de visages familiers, Burt Lancaster évidemment mais aussi Robert Duvall, Robert Ryan. La mise…
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M
Burt Lancaster and Lee Cobb, I love them in most things, this was no exception. I’m already looking forward to watching it again.
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A
Non c’è nulla di sbagliato in questo film, e nemmeno qualcosa da ricordare.
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J
#DomingoDeWestern EN NOMBRE DE LA LEY (Michael Winner, 1971). Personajes duros, pero humanos y creíbles. Argumento interesante sobre la obsesión y la testadurez (en nombre de la ley se puede hacer mucho daño…). Gran reparto (Lancaster, Ryan, Cobb, Duvall…) y festival de zooms. Muy buena.
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O
Lawman After drunken cowboys shoot up his town and kill an old man, A sheriff stops at nothing to seek justice or revenge. An anti western, not as profound as the likes of Unforgiven; but Lawman breaks apart the romance of the old west. It slowly shifts from a pursuit of justice to a pursuit of vengeance with blood and deep obsession 5 stars
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S
Burt Lancaster is terrific in the revisionist western Lawman, about a wizened sheriff who seeks vengeance for the wrongful death of an innocent. This has an absolutely stacked cast of recognisable supporting actors (Robert Duvall, Lee J. Cobb, Charles Tyner), and the screenplay from Gerald Wilson has plenty of memorable monologues about killing, the changing West, justice, and retribution. Highly recommend.
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O
41
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R
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H
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P
If you like westerns filled with zooms and moving cameras, this is the one for you. Beyond that, Lawman has decent shades of gray and veteran star power, including a “young” Robert Duvall. But the story feels unnecessarily violent and stretched, even at 99 minutes. Ebert gets it.
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C
Not sure how I was unaware of a 1971 Michael Winner Western starring grizzled old actors, but here we are. Burt Lancaster is an aging lawman hunting a group of men responsible for a murder in his town. Goes pretty hard for a Western of this era, and it’s pretty clear THE WILD BUNCH had made an impression on Winner. Doubtful many viewers will predict how it all ultimately plays out in this one. (Prime)
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C
Burt Lancaster as a robot-like law enforcement officer programmed to arrest a couple of cowboys who accidentally shot and killed a person during festivities. The wealthy benevolent dictator of the small town he rules over, and they work for him in, wants to stop him. Great actors are playing in this, everyone is good in it! This is a great movie! 🍿
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F
What a badass.
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M
Burt Lancaster, impitoyable dans ce western sombre et qui, pour moi, avec “Tom Horn” sont des prémices du film “Impitoyable” d’Eastwood.
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F
A story about how violence leads to more violence. All in all it’s an OK western with an unexpected ending.
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A
Worth the watch for the ending alone. There’s not a conventional “bad guy;” and for actually acknowledging the grief of violence typical of westerns, it ain’t bad at all.
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A
bom pra calica piu piu pei pei
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Jjack 4 月 14, 2026
It’s cool that Burt plays the flute in this It’s also cool that there’s like 5 zooms a minute
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N
Although he only made two, Michael Winner’s understanding of the Western was remarkably astute. Both Lawman and Chato’s Land present a revisionism that extends the subtext latent in the genre for decades prior, themes that Anthony Mann and Budd Boetticher explored in less explicit ways. In this, his sensibility is akin to Peckinpah’s, his view on American society reflected with sardonicism and bloodshot melancholy. A riff on High Noon, but in reverse, Lawman sees Burt Lancaster ride into a town…
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C
Dude this thing fucked, new top 10 western. Dumb bitch that can’t act brought it down half a star.
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A
“Eu sou um homem da lei. Você sabe o que é um homem da lei, Crowe? Ele é um assassino de homens. Isso é o que o trabalho exige. Existem novas maneiras de colocá-lo, mas lê da mesma forma. Essa é a diferença entre nós, e é toda a diferença que eu preciso.“
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B
there’s like two frames of an upside down uncredited wilfred brimley corpse in this and you BEST believe i clocked his ass © copyright michael winner ltd. mcmlxx
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D
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A
Second time watching this, and this time I really noticed how the theme of ‘consequences’ appear, and is played out during the movie. For instance, why did Lucas shoot the townsman who was about to shoot Jered in the back? He wasn’t exactly close with Jered, and his doing so lead to a cascade of violence and death. Revisionist western is a, on the whole, new genre to me, but I like a lot of what I’ve seen so far. Would love for them to come back around.
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M
I aspire to be as cold as Burt in this
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J
Lancaster in lawful evil mode. Scary even with a cup of tea. This is a dour one very much complemented by the shoddy DVD transfer, all grind house grit and high fructose blood packs. A movie about old men. Starts with the death of an old man, who we never see, which then sets off a tear of avenging violence. All for this dude whose name we never even get. Staring down extinction and in the last years of life…
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J
SPOILER Me gusto mucho lo que es la duda moral que genera y si lo que hace el protagonista es correcto o no, por supuesto apoyo al prota. Ademas, me encanta que al final parezca que el prota cambia por amor y al final si cambia, pero no sobre la ley si no al disparar por la espalda al esposo de su amada. Muy buena, tiene cosas de los planos que no me terminan de llamar y me perdi con los nombres
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PPuck 3 月 23, 2026
Inhale, exhale Forward, back Living, dying: Arrows, let flown to each Meet midway and slice The void in aimless flight— Thus I return to the source. “I’m a lawman. Do you know what a lawman is, Crowe? He’s a killer of men. That’s what the job calls for. There are new ways to put it, but it reads the same. That’s the difference between us, and it’s all the difference I need.” *BANG! BANG! BANG!* Screaming, a town is shot…
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B
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C
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S
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P
Fabulous cast. Ponderous and pretty darn bleak.
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P
The great Cotton Ryan… you were good with a gun once, oh, you were beautiful. But Fort Bliss was a long time ago, wasn’t it, Ryan?
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L
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K
Lancaster super, Cobb świetny, ale niewykorzystany.
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L
I wish everything about this was better for the sake of Burt Lancaster and Robert Ryan. They’re both good, especially Ryan, and thankfully Lee J. Cobb didn’t eat the scenery and Robert Duvall was reliably good. It’s not a bad western, but was there an exciting moment in it?
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C
Fucking 70s westerns just hit. They’re so dark and bleak. My kind of western. Burt Lancaster and Robert Duvall are fucking kings.
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B
7️⃣↗️
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M
A lawman from Bannock arrives in Sabbath to arrest all the cattlemen whose wild celebration the year before resulted in the accidental death of an old man. Was not familiar with this one when I came across it on Robert Duvall’s filmography. He’s the reason I watched it It’s a solid western from an era that had so many entries in the genre. Well acted and pretty much perfectly passed. Wish there was more Duvall but Burt Lancaster is pretty great as the lead Another Duvall film logged… many many more to go 2 1/2 bones
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R
A great cast of old school dudes rocking and solid revisionist western themes go a long way here. It’s nowhere near the best looking western you’ll see but it’s a rock solid entry in the cannon. Burt motherfuckin Lancaster right? 1971 ranked
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T
A excellent reminder that Michael Winner could be an effective filmmaker when he wasn’t placating Bronson.
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T
Spätwestern mit Ecken und Kanten Hier kommt das Gesetz in die Stadt, nicht als Befreiung und Zivilisierung, sondern als unnachgiebige ambivalente Macht. Ähnlich wie in „The Searchers“ tritt hier Burt Lancaster als vom Töten abgestumpfter Außenseiter auf, der keinen Platz in einer Gemeinschaft finden kann. Die Plotpunkte sind zum Teil unvorhersehbar und man fragt sich, ob man es dabei mit dem Dehnen von Genrekonventionen oder schierer Randomness zu tun hat.
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M
Thoughtful ‘70’s western from Winner, the director of DEATH WISH. No cut-and-dried villains here… just regular guys who make a tragic mistake then lawman Lancaster is sent to make justice gets its day. Very good.
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C
Rest in peace, Robert Duvall. Bald inspiration. Wild to think that neither Grace nor I would have ever heard of this movie were it not for a random little shot in The Doberman Gang… Thank you, Byron Russ Chudnow 🙏
4 -
G
L’incarnation de la loi arrive dans une ville ou personne ne veut de lui et commence un carnage . Rien ne change aux Etats Unis
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S
Burt Lancaster is my favorite actor of all time. Burt Lancaster in a revisionist Western? Hell yeah. Also RIP to legendary, Robert Duvall who has a smaller but still great role in this.
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B
This western stands with one foot in the colourful barroom door (into the bloody new Hollywood era of its present), but with its other foot still back out the door, on the creaky old boardwalk floor (in the more traditional old school Hollywood era of filmmaking). Its interesting because it settles down into the perfect meeting point of those two different types of westerns. Still, it’s Peckinpah Lite.
3 2 -
J
Everything I love in a western. Runs purely off of vibes and the climax is killer. Some heavy-handed style choices hold it back,!but when it works it’s really something.
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OOlblagg 2 月 4, 2026
Im ersten Moment wirkt Lawman wie ein weiterer vergessener amerikanischer Western. Beliebig und altbekannt. Jedoch, wenn man den Konflikt im Kontext der amerikanischen Politik der 1970er, oder auch der jetzigen, liest, wird aus der einfachen Handlung eine politische Parabel. Maddox (Burt Lancaster) reitet in die Stadt Bannock ein, um mehrere Männer festzunehmen. Den Männern wird fahrlässige Tötung vorgeworfen. Einen Namen konnte er bereits von seiner Liste streichen und dessen Leiche hat er im Schlepptau. Der ansässige Marshall (Robert Ryan) lässt…
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S
Excellent western from the director of Death Wish. Burt Lancaster is the Lawman who is hunting down some men who got drunk and shot up a town, accidentally killing an old man. Brutal and graphic, Lancaster plays the cool and calm killer of men in this early 70’s revisionist where the ‘bad’ guys didn’t even know there had been a death and they originally want to talk it over. But once someone draws against Lancaster, all bets are off. My…
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S
Mediocre western, but Burt Lancaster’s acting was good. As well as Lee J Cobb.
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C
Great movie, even greater Motorhead song.
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B
Great Movie. You’ve probably seen a movie like this many times before. A gang of brutes killed someone. A lawman gets involved, but the gang members are employed by the cattle Baron who runs the town, so arresting them isn’t easy. However, there are enough deviations from the typical formula and such strong performances by the older yet experienced cast that it stands out as one of the best westerns you will see.
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M
raw unsentimental 90 minutes that highlights the real purpose of a lawman which is to kill. beautiful sets and costumes that make you feel like youre also living in a new mexico whore house. burt is a real killer and a pimp. some very cool camera work too for 1971. loved it.
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P
La violencia engendra más violencia. Esa tierra está maldita.
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G
i saw this on a marquee in the back of a scene in the doberman gang and so i knew i needed to watch it. not a westerns gal, but burt clears, as always
3 -
L
Not to be confused with Lawnmower Man.
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T
ปกติชอบหนังคาวบอยอยู่แล้วเท่มากชอบบบ
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D
A group of cattlemen go on a drunken spree through a town, shooting their guns randomly. An old man is accidentally killed. They run off and go on with their lives. A lawman (Burt Lancaster) arrives in their town a year later and informs all the men involved that they are to surrender immediately for trial, or they are to be shot. This is a very solid western that puts a lot of depth into the western trope of…
99 4 -
S
Elemental, hard nosed 70s western stripped of story fat down to the bare essentials of law, order and defiant retribution. Solid cast in Cobb, Ryan, Duvall and co. but this is clearly Lancaster’s movie and in the twilight of a momentous career (despite not having a lot to chew on from a character perspective) he again demonstrates his assured ability to dominate the frame every time he’s given the opportunity. An enjoyably sombre inevitability of violence lingers throughout also; a defining characteristic of the genre’s more modern incarnations and a suitably grim state of mind given the stakes. Upfront and unambiguous but well told.
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B
A revisionist western that still plays into the same tropes of the 50s westerns. You can see the Michael Winner touch in this movie as well. Overall had a good time with this one.
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K
A paint by numbers Western of a Marshall gradually taking out members of a cattle rustling gang. It also loses marks for the horrible sound design that’s just full of distortion and treble (either terrible microphones were used or an absolutely horrendous job was done in mixing and Mastering).
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G
Unyielding straight arrow lawman brings men to justice for indiscretion in his town
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A
On paper this sounds like a very basic premise; a lawman looks to hunt down some bad guys for murder, all being protected by an evil baron. It should be very black and white. Instead you have a world of complicated and nuanced characters. The murder the bad guys are being charged for, is an old man who unfortunately took a stray bullet; yes during a drunken raid on the town, but not intended and the men in question are…
7 -
A
Getting well into Michael winner’s filmography is like uncovering jewels in a desert. But Lancaster is just a solid lead along with Lee cobb
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Ppughpughpugh 12 月 25, 2025
▶️ IMDb: 7.0/10 🟨 Metacritic – Metascore: 52 🍅 Rotten Tomatoes – Tomatometer: 73% 💲 Budget: $3,000,000
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M
Ma ambicje scenariuszową, która objawia się głównie w niejednoznacznych postaciach. Szkoda, że nie pykło. Mam trochę wrażenie, że aktorom nie chciało się grać…
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T
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J
Grandpa had the TV remote tonight which means it’s old school western night With that being said, for as brutally somber it was, Maddox should’ve killed more people than he did
2 -
B
This might be one of my favorites. Never really topped with this fantastic cast.
1 -
C
oh yes, i love to read.
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F
A top-heavy western in which a highly accomplished cast win out over an imperfect script and heavy-handed direction from Michael Winner. There is complexity here, and the film holds the interesting perspective of a lawman so rigid in approach that he has become worse than those he pursues, but Winner was very poor at the nuance of complexity. Better in his world to have overdone face slashes, spurts of crimson blood and close-ups on animal suffering. Burt Lancaster rides into…
18 -
S
A thinking man’s western. What a pleasant gem of a find.
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S
An interesting western movie with a great acting deployed by Burt Lancaster in the role of a Sherif tracking criminals.
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A
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R
Pretty great western with Burt Lancaster in the lead as a no-nonsense sheriff. Straddles the line between moral and amoral decisions within the cast of characters. Excellent cinematography and storytelling – probably the biggest hangup is the opening scene which does a poor job of setting up the main story.
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I
A bit darker than a normal Western that is very entertaining and enjoyable to watch. Good performances throughout and a perfect runtime of 1 hour 39 minutes.
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S
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S
Good solid Western has Lancaster as Maddox an uncompromising lawman who has a list of men he intends to take back to stand trial for murder after they accidentally kill an old man during a drunken rampage. This brings him initially into conflict with local Marshal Cotton (Ryan) who is well past his sell by date and is in the pay of local landowner Bronson ( Cobb) whose men are the ones Maddox is after. Some of Bronsons more hot…
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B
I love how good westerns have actions that hold weight. It’s not just shooting nameless extras till the sun goes down, it’s shooting scum bag Larry and Mad Ron. The action has tension and consequence that makes it feel more meaningful.
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M
stacked cast do the wild west charade, nothings wrong with it but nothing quite worth remembering. adequate popcorn business, reliable fun
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G
Χιλιοειπωμένη ιστορία, στην οποία ο Γουίνερ δεν έχει να πει πολλά. Ο ήρωας δεν γίνεται ποτέ συμπαθής και δεν φταίει ο Λανκάστερ. Πισώπλατος πυροβολισμός στο φινάλε. Την παράσταση κλέβει ο Λη Κομπ (ως Μπρόνσον!) που δίνει ένα βάρος στην ταινία, κι εμφανίζεται με τα αληθινά μαλλάκια του. Ευχάριστο που υπάρχουν ο Ράιαν (ως Ράιαν) κι ο Ντιβάλ , που τηλεγραφούν τις ερμηνείες τους, καθώς και η Σερί Νορθ. Βλέπεται πάντως .
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J
Western Wednesday #38 A man resolute to his moral compass must learn when enough is enough. Burt Lancaster’s Lawman is a shallow character whose dedication to the law is infallible. It is the reactions of the characters around him that are interesting. Be it pride or cowardice or wrath the result remains the same.
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M
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H
Plays like a classic western (just with juicier squibs) right up until the last act, when it becomes thrillingly subversive. It makes life as a gunhand look exhausting, and not only because Lancaster turns the weariness up to ten, but it also captures some of the vibrant Technicolor romanticism of 50s westerns in a way that other 70s revisionist fare (High Plains Drifter or Ulzana’s Raid) vehemently avoided. In 1971, I could see it appealing to both the grey-haired purist and the long-haired cynic.
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K
Or: The Lawman – Directed by Michael Winner? That Michael Winner?? MY MICHAEL WINNER?!?? From the writer of his upcoming ‘Chato’s Land’ but we get to know its namesake. Next reevaluation his property will lose credit.
9 -
M
A formally exciting, mature new-Hollywood Western.
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J
“Backshooter” for coward is crazy vocab I will be adopting that. Great dialogue in this one. Kind of starts out generic but turns into something awesome
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L
Lawman was not so straightforward as it first seemed. It was actually quite dark and violent asking when law enforcement goes too far and turns against itself. The beginning and the ending were strong but middle section was little dragging. Still. Lawman was powerful and thought-provoking film with good actors.
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J
Fun. Burt and Bob say three word sentences and let their expressions do the rest – like “You’re a cowman”. The supporting cast gets lines like “I’m calling you out”. Albert Salmi hamming it up, he might as well have a “shoot me first” sign. Lots of TV show personalities- I see you Higgins.
2 -
B
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D
Pains me as it does to say it but there’s a lean, mean movie at the heart of this that in the hands of a better director could’ve been a minor classic. Still on the Winner scale (add an extra star for effort) it’s an easy 4. Relentlessly downbeat with a great cast.
1 -
N
A solid western film! A breath of fresh air was the ending; it differs from the cliche good ending and gives it a somber, but interesting, aftertaste
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M
Wow! Very powerful and thought provoking western with strong Oscar worthy performances by Burt Lancaster, Robert Ryan and Lee J Cobb. Also starring Robert Duvall. It’s some kind of psychological action wetern with a lot of well written diaogue It’s like Unforgiven before Unforgiven. One of the best movies I’ve recently seen. The ending is shocking!
1 -
R
Burt Lancaster rides into town looking for a bunch of men who got drunk and shot up his town and accidentally killed a man. He’s the Marshall and he wants to bring them back to stand trial. The problem is that the men all work for Lee J. Cobb who is rich and powerful and own the town, including sheriff Robert Ryan. You know this kind of setup well, but it plays out differently. Cobb isn’t a ruthless bad guy.…
1 -
P
Didn’t expect to enjoy this as much as i did. What a great 70s revisionist western starring Burt Lancaster and Lee Cobb. A film about aging morally complex but well-constructed characters coming at odds in this violent and psychological subversive western.
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Z
Apart from the often annoying direction by Michael Winner (flashy camera moves with no intent, choppy editing, severe pacing issues), there’s lots to like here. Solid idea and a large roster of character actors. One of those movies where the villains are much more interesting than the hero. Cobb steals the show in a grounded performance as the main boss with a conscience.
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N
Burt Lancaster’s brutal lawman is Michael Winner’s spaghetti western prequel model for Death Wish
1 1 -
🚙
Robert Ryan gotta be one of the most underrated actors of all time
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C
Burt Lancaster – an ice cold lawman. Robert Ryan was fantastic as well. Also surprised to see a young Richard Jordan.
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T
I enjoyed it for what it was! Predictable though it has a few slight twists
2 -
W
Holy… Kinda blown away by this. Love all the little vignettes of the hunted men’s lives and how everyone reacts to the Lawman. And this movie is DIRECTED. Big Raimi vibes from a 1971 by-the book western
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S
Men of the Wild West had blood like pepto bismol the more you know I guess.
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I
“I remember you at Fort Bliss.” “That’s my problem. Everyone remembers me at Fort Bliss.” This movie suffers from having too many interesting ideas and characters crammed into a runtime which smushes it into something rather chaotic. A lot of the key ideas and themes of the genre are here, and even with some interesting takes on them, but again, anything truly fascinating is squished by the overabundance of ideas. Another draft to flesh all this out and it’d be up there with the greats. Oh well. Competent, but, unfortunately, nothing special.
1 -
R
Bon petit western américain, qui traite d’un “homme de loi” qui vient chercher des gars qui ont déconné. Le schéma est très classique, mais ça fonctionne bien, grâce à une bonne réalisation, une violence frontale et surtout grâce au comportement du héros, tellement sans pitié que cela pose question.
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B
Don’t often watch a Western especially the older ones but just happened to be in the mood today. Burt Lancaster heads up a pretty impressive cast here with Robert Duvall, (a year before he played Tom Hagen in the greatest film of all time The Godfather) Lee J Cobb (absolutely brilliant with Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront) and Robert Ryan. This is more ambiguous instead of your typical good vs evil type of Western however mistakes were made and…
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Q
Some really smooth camerawork here in service of a pretty engaging and at times brutal film that I’m disappointed I didn’t watch earlier.
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J
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E
A pretty good western, while having a lot of the standard tropes it manages to pay them all off, you have reliable actors like Burt Lancaster, Lee J Cob and Robert Ryan, directed by Michael Winner who had a nice little run in the early 70s
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𝐁
😂 The brothel in that town is so elegant that you’ll forget why you came and simply order the Lobster Thermidor. 😂 El burdel de ese pueblo es tan elegante que olvidarás a qué viniste y simplemente pedirás la langosta Thermidor.
2
- Synopsis
- While passing through the town of Bannock, a bunch of drunken cattlemen go overboard with their celebrating and accidentally kill an old man with a stray shot. They return home to Sabbath unaware of his death. Bannock lawman Jered Maddox later arrives there to arrest everyone involved on a charge of murder. Sabbath is run by land baron Vince Bronson, a benevolent despot, who, upon hearing of the death, offers restitution for the incident.
- Director
- Michael Winner
- Writer
- Gerald Wilson
- Studio
- Scimitar Films, United Artists
- Country
- USA
- Language
- English
- Year
- 1971
- Runtime
- 99 mins
- UK11 Mar 1971
- USA04 Aug 1971
- Ireland17 Sep 1971
- France04 Sep 2001
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