Borgarkeri A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

Glimmerubro It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

ChicDragon It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

mark.waltz What's a sheep herder to do when his beloved Italian wife dies? Marry her extra earthy sister of course! Anthony Quinn is the lusty rancher who almost instantaneously looses her not yet full love by referring to her with her sister's name. The luscious. Anna Magnani, fresh from The Rose Tattoo, adds another unforgettable performance to her few English language films, a characterization so rich that you can't see her as anything other as gorgeous even though she lacks typical Hollywood sex appeal.Magnani's appeal comes from deep inside where true beauty exists. Watch her almost girl-like joy erupt when she speaks her first words of English. Then when she finds the wild horse she wants only to tame so much, wait for her sudden disappointment when Quinn makes the now tame stallion pull a buggy for her, a metaphor for her own refusal to be tamed. The wild, yet love-starved Magnani falls for Quinn's trusted ward, Anthony Franciosa, who struggles with guilt over his feelings towards her. In a very emotional scene between the two. Anthony's, Quinn takes male to male affection to a level never seen on screen before which is based on love, unique because there is no macho image desperate to hide it. The result is real and refreshing. Franciosa is not as showy as his earthier co-stars which helps level the intensity. A shocking scene involves the spontaneous birth of a sheep and another where Quinn tries to fool a sheep into thinking that an orphaned baby is hers so she will nurse it. Little details like this help this rise above its familiar story. The frothy opening theme song sets this American version of European new wave into first gear and never switches into neutral.

NYLux This movie demonstrates the wide range in the genius of George Cukor. It is a country, rustic story where all the action is inside the characters and the outside is illustrating what goes on inside their minds and hearts. Ana Magnani is Gioia, superb as the second wife to Anthony Quinn's Gino, a farmer that was widowed form her sister Rosana and is seeking consolation for her death in her physical resemblance to her sister. This obviously starts the marriage on the wrong foot and it is only a matter of time before Gino's foreman, Anthony Franciosa's Bene gravitates to the volcanic personality, of Gioia that is as much a force of nature as the beautiful wild black horse that Gino captures for her as a present, but that when is tamed she sadly remarks "he was a horse, but is now a sheep" understanding that what made him most beautiful was his freedom. Nature itself is one of the important characters in the film, introducing the action, as in the appearance of the wild horses, or illustrating feelings in the characters as for example when Gioia witnesses the birth of a lamb.Anthony Quinn and Ana Magnani give perhaps the best performance of both their careers in very nuanced, expressive characterizations down to the smallest detail or facial expression.The supporting characters are all superb, Joseph Calleia as Gino's patient, understanding brother Alberto, Dolores Hart is outstanding as Gino's daughter Angela "Angie" who wants to welcome Gioia and makes her be part of the family form the first encounter though they can hardly communicate in English and Lili Valenty is appropriately resigned, home-obsessed and judgmental as Teresa, Alberto's wife.

moonspinner55 Anthony Quinn is solid playing a sheep-farmer near Reno--still grieving after the death of his beloved wife--who marries his sister-in-law and brings her over from Italy. Vittorio Nino Novarese's story, which turns into a love-triangle after the new wife falls for the farmer's unofficially-adopted son, may have had some literary freshness...but on-screen the drama which slowly plays out looks like scraps from other pictures. The sheep-farm milieu is interesting if uncompelling, and certainly the brawling Italian family has been seen (and heard) before. The secretive lovers thread recalls Eugene O'Neill's "Desire Under the Elms" (a 1930s play filmed one year after this picture), and although Anna Magnani and Anthony Franciosa give their all to their roles, the relationship between the new Mrs. and the ranch-hand doesn't quite convince. Franciosa has seldom been so rugged and handsome, but what exactly does this strapping young man see in this Old World, somewhat-forlorn lady who is trying to learn English and fit in with this family? It's the missing piece to this puzzle which is never solved, and director George Cukor (doing uncharacteristically unsubtle work) bulldozes straight ahead without looking back. Good-looking melodrama with luscious scoring, some amusing family dynamics, but no intriguing ideas. **1/2 from ****

hildacrane An elemental film, starting with the title. Anna Magnani was a force of nature, so the setting in the rugged Nevada mountains is apt, for this highly melodramatic tale. The passions of the characters are paralleled by images of raging rivers, rearing wild horses, and sheep giving birth, to the thunderous chords of Tiomkin's score. Several years earlier Magnani won an Oscar for her performance in The Rose Tattoo, and in this film she again dominates the screen. One of the most touching scenes is a quiet one at the beginning of the film, when she makes a connection with her niece, sensitively played by Dolores Hart. Anthony Quinn is enjoyable in this, although tending toward overacting. Franciosa holds his own with the two powerhouses.