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The Shadow Riders

The Shadow Riders

Western · TV Movie · 1982

After starring in "The Sacketts", Tom Selleck and Sam Elliott team up again but this time as Mac and Dal Traven, in a movie based on a classic Louis L'Amour novel. They are brothers, who meet up at the end of the Civil War fighting on opposite sides. They go home only to find their family in dire need and their sisters and brother kidnapped by ruthless raiders. They set out to rescue their family.

Movie details

The Shadow Riders

“Sometimes you have to start a war to finish one.”

1982 Western · TV Movie 1h 36m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.5 / 10

Community rating

After starring in "The Sacketts", Tom Selleck and Sam Elliott team up again but this time as Mac and Dal Traven, in a movie based on a classic Louis L'Amour novel. They are brothers, who meet up at the end of the Civil War fighting on opposite sides. They go home only to find their family in dire need and their sisters and brother kidnapped by ruthless raiders. They set out to rescue their family.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Shadow Riders?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Andrew V. McLaglen

Written by

Jim Byrnes

Tom Selleck

Tom Selleck

Mac Traven

Sam Elliott

Sam Elliott

Dal Traven

Ben Johnson

Ben Johnson

Uncle 'Black Jack' Traven

Geoffrey Lewis

Geoffrey Lewis

Major Cooper Ashbury, Comanchero Leader

J

Jeff Osterhage

Jesse Traven

Gene Evans

Gene Evans

Colonel Holiday Hammond, Gunrunner

Katharine Ross

Katharine Ross

Kate Connery / Sister Katherine

Court is in session

Put The Shadow Riders on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Auteur Devotee

“Patience is part of the point.”

Duration becomes texture. The film asks you to inhabit its world instead of merely processing its plot.

The prosecution The Adrenaline Seeker

“A test of endurance, your honour.”

Stillness keeps submitting itself as meaning. At some point, contemplation needs something worth contemplating.