University of Virginia Library

CINEMA

Gypsies, Whores, Camel Fights...And Omar

By PAUL CHAPLIN

My one fear about "The
Horsemen" was that it would be a
western, and starring Omar Sharif, I
was afraid it would turn out to be
another bomb like "Mackenna's
Gold." As I walked into the
theatre, I noticed two names:
Dalton Trumbo and John
Frankenheimer. Whoa, I thought,
this could be interesting. Happily, it
is.

The story takes place in
Afghanistan, and we realize that the
time is the present, not a hundred
years ago, as the roar of a jet
drowns out conversation on the
screen. Jack Palance is a horse
breeder who sends his son (Omar
Sharif) to Kabul to enter the royal
buzkashi, a rigorous riding
competition which has no equal in
Western culture. Humiliated by his
defeat, Sharif takes the most
treacherous route home, placing
himself in numerous dangers.

In the hands of screenwriter
Trumbo, the dialogue fluctuates
between the banal and what I like
to call "movie-sublime," an attempt
for Shakespearean mastery of
language. The film is very literary,
with an abundance of symbols
occurring throughout. Most frequent
of these symbols is the image of
fighting, which offers one of the
most interesting segments of the
film, namely a camel fight with a
mob of crusty old men betting on
the outcome.

Director Frankenheimer appears
to have mellowed somewhat in his
"old age." Compared to his earlier
films, such as "Seconds" and "The
Manchurian Candidate," his newest
effort is visually tame, with several
nice series of dissolves and stunning
location photography. In terms of
scope, however, "The Horsemen" is
similar to his previous films, in that
Frankenheimer focuses his
attention on an individual
struggling with himself and an
apparent defeat.

What could become high
tragedy never does in
Frankenheimer's films, since he
seems incapable of sustaining
tension and dramatic buildup for
the duration of the film, a problem
he may have developed by working
in television, where stories are
regularly interrupted. Instead of
having a peak of rising action,
climax, and so forth,
Frankenheimer has a series of
plateaus of action and emotion.

As I mentioned earlier, the
photography is excellent, being
directed by Claude Renior, and
there's a mad touch of casting with
Leigh Taylor-Young playing a
nomad whore, complete with tiny
ring on her nose. I found myself
caught-up in the action of the film,
captivated by the buzkashi, the
obvious symbolism, and the acting
of Sharif and Palance.

Due to the plot and location,
however, I find I have to
recommend the film with
reservations: "The Horsemen" is
one of those films that is not a
masterpiece, and may possibly be
interesting only to people who are
familiar with other films by
Frankenheimer.

(Now at the Barracks Road)