Prismark10
Get a slice of life of the fading west in the cult movie Junior Bonner.Directed by Sam Peckinpah he eschews his violent style apart from a rip roaring bar fight. This is a character study of Junior Bonner (Steve McQueen) an ageing modern day rodeo cowboy who may be over the hill, he goes back to visit his dad Ace Bonner (Robert Foster.)Junior finds that his father's home is being bulldozed after selling it to his brother Curly (Joe Don Baker) who is buying land and selling it to developers. He is also making a fortune selling mobile homes. Curly even wants to put his mother Elvira (Ida Lupino) in a mobile home. Ace has plans to go to Australia to mine gold but first he needs money and escape his hospital bed.Junior Bonner rides in the annual rodeo parade on a formidable bull and hopes to last 8 seconds to earn some big bucks for his father.The film is a change of pace for both McQueen and Peckinpah. Nothing much happens apart from the build up to the annual parade and the various rodeo action scenes. It is really a portrait of an honourable, proud but headstrong man in a fading west. It features some nice ensemble acting.
Tweekums
Junior (JR) Bonner is a rodeo cowboy who returns to his home town of Prescott Arizona to take part in the annual Frontier Day rodeo; he will take place in several events but the one he wants to win is the bull riding; not only that he is determined that he will ride the fearsome Sunshine; a bull considered to be unrideable. When he gets back he goes to see his father Ace but discovers he has sold his land to his brother Curly hoping to finance a move to Australia where he is convinced he will make his fortune. Curly meanwhile is making his fortune buying land and selling mobile homes; he even wants to put his mother in one so he can acquire her land. Not that much really happens until the rodeo then we see a variety of events before everybody retires to the bar during the break. Then after a brawl the rodeo concludes and Junior gets to see if he can stay on Sunshine for eight seconds.I got this film on DVD free with the newspaper and was intrigued by the idea of a film made by 'Bloody Sam' Peckinpah, starring Steve McQueen that was only a PG certificate! It is indeed very different to Peckinpah's better known films; the pace is slow but this gave the film an intimate feeling, as though we were just looking in on the lives of real people for a few days. There were moments of action including the brawl and a couple of brief punch-ups between Junior and Curly; these were more comic than brutal though. The rodeo scenes captured the action well making it look genuinely tough for the participants and when Junior finally rode Sunshine I had no idea whether he'd stay on for the eight seconds or die trying. Steve McQueen does a fine job as Junior, the cowboy who is getting a bit old for the game but is determined to carry on. He is ably supported by the rest of the cast; most notably Robert Preston and Ida Lupino who play his parents and a young Joe Don Baker who plays his brother Curly.This may be very different to what one would expect from Sam Peckinpah but I'd recommend it to his fans and detractors alike for precisely that reason; it shows that he is more than blood and guts!
albertoveronese
More than a means of entertainment, this film stays with you forever. It provokes you without moralizing, it's an unique and rich cinematic experience, it overwhelms you with its profound language and culture – if there's is something good in the world then it's worth fighting for - a film which reminds you to be part of this quest; you really can't explain, but you feel it and its good enough; something to be proud, because of the integrity, the commitment and sincerity that most mainstream movies don't have. Sam Peckinpah makes it a very good movie, Steve McQueen, Robert Preston and many others make it worth watching it. Unique. Thanks Sam!
Jackson Booth-Millard
From director Sam Peckinpah (Straw Dogs, The Getaway), this sounded like a worth-trying film, even if I didn't know the theme or concept, I guess the star tempted me. Basically it is a film spent in the company of professional rodeo rider Junior 'JR' Bonner (Steve McQueen) heading to his home town of Prescott. He has his gold-hunting father Ace (Robert Preston), his mother Elvira (Ida Lupino) is wandering by her husband's side, and his brother Curly (young Joe Don Baker) is making it big in real estate. But he is trying to hang on to a bucking bull for more than eight seconds to earn enough for another week's rodeo, and spend more time with love interest Charmagne (Barbara Leigh). There isn't a plot as such, but it is interesting to see Junior living his life, lonely,speaking few words and on the road, how he like's it, in the old West. Also starring Mary Murphy as Ruth Bonner, Ben Johnson as Buck Roan, William 'Bill' McKinney as Red Terwiliger, Sandra Deel as Nurse Arlis, Don 'Red' Barry as Homer Rutledge, Matthew Peckinpah (Sam's son) as Tim Bonner and Charles H. Gray as Burt. The bull riding scenes are of course highly watchable, and McQueen puts on a very cool, quiet but likable performance, and accompanied by some stylish music by Jerry Fielding it is quite an alright find. Very good!
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