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The Big Sky

The Big Sky

Adventure · Western · Romance · 1952

Two tough Kentucky mountaineers join a trading expedition from St. Louis up the Missouri River to trade whisky for furs with the Blackfoot Indians. They soon discover that there is much more than the elements to contend with.

Movie details

The Big Sky

“Theirs the great adventure...”

1952 Adventure · Western · Romance 2h 13m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.5 / 10

Community rating

Two tough Kentucky mountaineers join a trading expedition from St. Louis up the Missouri River to trade whisky for furs with the Blackfoot Indians. They soon discover that there is much more than the elements to contend with.

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 Big Sky?

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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Pocahontas

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Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier

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Tall Tale: The Unbelievable Adventure

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Oklahoma!

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Will Penny

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Western · 1967

Will Penny, an aging cowpoke, takes a job on a ranch which requires him to ride the line of the property looking for trespassers or, worse, squatters. He finds that his cabin in the high mountains has been appropriated by a woman whose guide to Oregon has deserted her and her son. Too ashamed to kick mother and child out just as the bitter winter of the mountains sets in, he agrees to share the cabin until the spring thaw. But it isn't just the snow that slowly thaws; the lonely man and woman soon forget their mutual hostility and start developing a deep love for one another.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Howard Hawks

Written by

Dudley Nichols

Kirk Douglas

Kirk Douglas

Jim Deakins

Dewey Martin

Dewey Martin

Boone Caudill

Elizabeth Threatt

Elizabeth Threatt

Teal Eye

Arthur Hunnicutt

Arthur Hunnicutt

Zeb Calloway

Buddy Baer

Buddy Baer

Romaine

Steven Geray

Steven Geray

"Frenchy" Jourdonnais

Henri Letondal

Henri Letondal

La Badie

Court is in session

Put The Big Sky on trial.

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

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.