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.
Back to trending 
Lawman
Western · 1971
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.
Movie details
Lawman
“He gave the West justice right up to its neck... then rammed more down its throat.”
1971 Western 1h 39m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.5 / 10
Community rating
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.
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 Lawman?
For the defence
The Auteur Devotee
“You watch the director, not the movie.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Adrenaline Seeker
“If it slows down, you check your phone.”
Read their objectionThe 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.
Bandolero!
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The Harder They Fall
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Gunning for revenge, outlaw Nat Love saddles up with his gang to take down enemy Rufus Buck, a ruthless crime boss who just got sprung from prison.
Two Rode Together
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Two tough westerners bring home a group of settlers who have spent years as Comanche hostages.
Barquero
Western · 1970
Jake Remy leads a gang of outlaw cutthroats making their escape toward Mexico from a successful robbery. Barring their way is a river--crossable only by means of a ferry barge. The barge operator, Travis, refuses to be bullied into providing transport for the gang and escapes across river with most of the local populace--leaving Remy and his gang behind, desperately seeking a way across. A river-wide stand-off begins between the gang and the townspeople, both groups of which have left people on the wrong side of the river.
Appaloosa
Drama · 2008
Two friends hired to police a small town that is suffering under the rule of a rancher find their job complicated by the arrival of a young widow.
Johnny Guitar
Western · 1954
On the outskirts of town, the hard-nosed Vienna owns a saloon frequented by the undesirables of the region, including Dancin' Kid and his gang. Another patron of Vienna's establishment is Johnny Guitar, a former gunslinger and her lover. When a heist is pulled in town that results in a man's death, Emma Small, Vienna's rival, rallies the townsfolk to take revenge on Vienna's saloon – even without proof of her wrongdoing.
Terror on the Prairie
Western · 2022
A pioneering family fights back against a gang of vicious outlaws that is terrorizing them on their newly-built farm on the plains of Montana.
Pale Rider
Western · 1985
A mysterious preacher protects a humble prospector village from a greedy mining company trying to encroach on their land.
El Dorado
Western · 1966
Cole Thornton, a gunfighter for hire, joins forces with an old friend, Sheriff J.P. Harrah. Together with a fighter and a gambler, they help a rancher and his family fight a rival rancher that is trying to steal their water.
True Grit
Drama · 2010
Following the murder of her father by a hired hand, a 14-year-old farm girl sets out to capture the killer. To aid her, she hires the toughest U.S. Marshal she can find—a man with 'true grit'—Reuben J. 'Rooster' Cogburn.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Michael Winner
Written by
Gerald Wilson
Burt Lancaster
Bannock Marshal Jared Maddox
Robert Ryan
Sabbath Marshal Cotton Ryan
Lee J. Cobb
Vincent Bronson
Robert Duvall
Vernon Adams
Sheree North
Laura Shelby
Albert Salmi
Harvey Stenbaugh
Richard Jordan
Crowe Wheelwright
Court is in session
Put Lawman on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
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.