Joe Kidd (1972)

Understandably, Joe Kidd isn't the highest regarded of Clint Eastwood's westerns. The basic plot has Clint as Joe Kidd, who's a former gunman turned small-scale rancher who's talked in to tracking down some Mexican outlaws who a local land-baron (Robert Duvall) wants eliminate since they have claim to his land. I think the key problem is that the film attempts to show "Man With No Name" type of amorality, but instead Joe Kidd comes across as fairly aimless: only really getting into things because circumstances push him that way. Since there's no obvious "right" side (although there's clearly supposed to be a bit of sympathy for the Mexican peasants occupying the land, but probably not the bandits who are), and Kidd doesn't seem to have any great objective, it all seems slightly pointless.

A few other observations:

• One the the main henchmen seems to be based on the villain from The Great Silence; he has a similar style gun and similar mannerisms.
• I wasn't quite sure what the point of the land-baron's girlfriend was. She appears briefly, Clint promises he'll give her a seeing to later (paraphrased!), and then she's almost forgotten.
• The stunt when Kidd crashes a train into a saloon at the end is excellent!
• The landscapes are attractive.

The UK DVD is a reasonable quality. However, apparently there are a few missing scenes that are in the TV version (this is mostly referring to the US DVD, but I assume they're all the same); I haven't been able to find out much more detail.