A hardened marshal called Bannock : Lancaster arrives in a wild and whooly town named Sabbath to look for some outlaws , but these work for the powerful owner Bronson: Lee J Cobb, then things go wrong . As his unexperienced son : John Beck and his band of gunfighters : Robert Duvall, JD Cannon , Richard Jordan , William Watson set out in pursuit Bannock .Later on , Bannock seeking the help of a timid sheriff : Robert Ryan , but he rejects him .Thought-provoking and suspenseful Western about a two-fisted as well as stoic marshal who comes into unfamiliar little town . This Lawman succeeds overall thanks to the skilled playing of its cast and Winner's typically tough style of storytelling , even though it contains some unconvincing moments . The picture packs thrills , go riding , fights , shootouts , violence and a lot of zooms . Lancaster gives a very good acting as a feared sheriff who seeks bandits refusing to sway from duty in spite of entire town turns against him . The acting honors go to Robert Ryan as a shy , reluctant but honorable sheriff .Others costarring providing enjoyable interpretations are the followings : Robert Duvall , JD Cannon , Sheree North , Albert Salmi , John McGiver , Joseph Wiseman , Richard Jordan , Ralph Waite , John Beck ,Richard Bull, and John Hillerman .And veteran Lee J Cobb delivers one of his finest performances as a tough land baron who seeks vengeance .Thrilling and pulsating musical score by Jerry Fielding , Sam Peckinpah's regular . And atmospheric and evocative cinematography by Robert Paynter , Winner's usual .This intriguing motion picture was compellingly directed by Michael Winner , though it has an unsatisfactory conclusion undermining otherwise splendid story .Winner was a prolific craftsman who made all kinds of genres as Terror : The nightcomers , Scream for help , The sentinel ; Costumers : The wicked lady ; Western : Chato the Apache with Charles Bronson ; Film Noir : The big sleep , but specially thrillers such as : Appointment with death , The Mechanic ,Firepower , The stone killer , being his greatest success the Death Wish series I , II , III starred by his fetish actor , Charles Bronson. Rating : 6.5/10 . Decent and acceptable western . It will appeal to Burt Lancaster fans.

Burt Lancaster was beyond his peak years in the seventies. Nearing 60 and coming off of the success of AIRPORT this movie was released to little fanfare or box office success. The western genre hadn't quite died but too was on its last leg. Gone were the days of white and black hats replaced by pondering over the justification of violent justice.The film opens with a group of cattlemen celebrating the end of their drive in the usual fashion with plenty of drink, women and carousing ending with guns being shot off randomly while in the town of Bannock. Unfortunately those gunshots kill an elderly man in the city. Rather than stay around to answer for this they head home in the hopes all will be forgotten.That isn't the case though when Marshall Jered Maddox (Lancaster) returns and then sets out to arrest the men responsible. Arriving in the town of Sabbath with one of the men he caught along the way dead and strapped on his horse, he checks in with local Marshall Ryan Cotton (Robert Ryan). Cotton tells him the odds are against him as the town is basically owned by Vincent Bronson (Lee J. Cobb), a wealthy land owner who is used to having his way.Both men have a history together as renowned lawmen. While Maddox carried on and developed a name for himself Cotton settled for one shining moment and has coasted by ever since, satisfied to be a paid man on Bronson's payroll.Bronson is willing to admit some wrongdoing as well as to pay off the family of the man shot and killed. But Maddox isn't interested in deals or money, only in justice and performing the job he was hired to do. Cotton was right in his appraisal of things as the townspeople stand against Maddox. The man he killed and brought back was family to a store keeper who holds no love for the lawman.Bronson sends in a contingent to try and find a compromise led by longtime friend Harvey (Albert Salmi). But Harvey, filled with the idea that he is untouchable in this town, instead confronts Maddox only to be shot. With no likelihood of a mutual agreement Bronson now sets out to take down Maddox. The problem is he may have finally come up against a man not willing to go down as easy as all others.The movie depicts Maddox as a gunman turned lawman whose only way of dealing with things is straight down the line. Break the law, pay the price. If you refuse to go peacefully he has no issue killing you and taking your body in. The pay is low, the odds are against you and the support is minor when there. But it is what he knows.Along the way the possibility of something better is waved in front of him, a woman he once knew (Sheree North) whose husband is among those he's seeking. The chance to walk away from it all, to reunite with her and go somewhere else to start fresh. But that would entail walking away from a career he's worked too long at to simply abandon.Does this make him a bad man in the role of a solid citizen or a solid citizen forced into a career that forces him to do bad things? The decision is left in the hands of the viewer to decide by the end of the film. Guns will blaze, dust will fly and bodies will fall before that end in typical western fashion. The movie is well made and entertaining enough without the concepts getting in the way of the standard fare. All involved turn in great performances and director Michael Winner turns in another great film to enjoy. Twilight Time is offering this movie in a clean and clear presentation with nothing much in the way of extras. Those include an isolated music track and the original theatrical trailer. Fans of westerns and of Lancaster will want to make a point of picking this up right away though as the release is set for just 3,000 copies like most Twilight Time offerings.

Recently, when I was creating and synchronizing Croatian subtitles, I noticed that subtitle's timings didn't match between different versions. I have 3 versions of Lawman: 1. DVD PAL (duration 1:34:53) 2. DVD NTSC (duration 1:38:41) 3. DVB-T PAL (Croatian TV) (duration 1:34:37)Besides, there is a version from TCM which I don't have: 4. TCM DVB-S (duration unknown)All versions are different, so there are 4 different cuts of this movie.First, the comparison between PAL and NTSC DVD's: There are 2 distinctive scene cuts and neither version is uncut! NTSC DVD sold on Amazon, claims to be uncut, but it isn't.The scene which is cut from PAL DVD, is a 4 second horse fall (at 1:00:12 h).The scene which is cut from NTSC DVD, is a love scene (starts at 1:22:54 h) in which Sheree North (Laura) has naked boobs. This scene was replaced with a scene in which the boobs were completely covered with a blanket and never seen. The durations of these scenes are different and even the conversations are slightly different. It is interesting to notice Burt Lancaster's attitude in these scenes. In the scene with naked boobs, his face is bitter and his hand never approaches the boobs. But in the alternative scene with covered boobs, his hand repeatedly squeezes the boobs and his face has a cheerful expression. :-)The differences between TV captures are less important, but are as follows:DVB-T PAL (Croatian TV) is basically the same as NTSC DVD, but in PAL TV standard with slight indistinguishable differences in timings, full-screen, very crisp and clear video with more natural colors than on DVD's.TCM DVB-S "…is cut losing the horse fall & the 'squib hit' when Burt Lancaster shoots his wounded horse."

Burt Lancaster and Robert Ryan head up an extraordinary cast in this solid western from screenwriter Gerald Wilson and producer-director Michael Winner. After whooping it up in a neighboring town and inadvertently killing an innocent civilian, the cowboys employed by a powerful cattle-herder ride away without conscience, but later face retribution from the town's marshal who wants to bring them to justice dead or alive. No surprises, no deviation from proved western formula, but entertaining and well-acted, particularly by Lancaster (as a stoic loner who also plays the flute!). Robert Paynter's zoom-happy cinematography is a minor nuisance, and the western set doesn't quite convince, but the violent finale is well-wrought and satisfying. **1/2 from ****