comment #1

MarkVH says ...

Of course I've never seen the original 3D version, but even in its non-3D form, it easily stands next to those other movies (and might be better than a few). It's beautifully acted, runs tighter than any of the other films mentioned (83 mins) and might actually have the best script of any film he ever did (certainly one of the most quotable).

I'm guessing the length and the fact that it wasn't directed by Ford or Hawks are the reasons why it's not considered to be that great, but you really do need to see it - it holds up beautifully. After all, it was Al Bundy's favorite movie.

comment #2

Bilge says ...

It's pretty good. I've never seen it on a big-screen, and I don't care much for 3-D, so I hope that any eventual re-release will also be presented in regular old 2-D.

Farrow doesn't have much of a rep today, but he deserves to be better known: THE BIG CLOCK is one of the greatest films ever made, and he's got several more that are quite excellent, such as NIGHT HAS A THOUSAND EYES and WAKE ISLAND.

comment #3

christian says ...

i just want to see flying flaming arrows in 3-D.

comment #4

berg says ...

HONDO in 3D ran on television in the mid 1990s, you got the 3D glasses at 7-11 stores ... thee are a few shots where someone points a gun or arrow at the viewer, but nothing to write home about ... Lassie had her fur dyed and plays the mutt, John Wayne won the dog from its trainer in a poker game during the filming

comment #5

christian says ...

is there at least a flying flaming dog?

comment #6

Hal says ...

It's not to be missed. John Farrow made many terrific films. Apparently, he was just as wild in real life as his daughter, Mia. And his film noirs are up there with the best, and he worked with the real icons - Mitchum, Edward G., Russell, Ladd, Milland.

comment #7

le corbeau says ...

Wow, that's interesting because there was just some talk on the silent movie newsgroup about how Gretchen Wayne would not allow 3-D showings. I guess she was holding out for a suitably prestigious venue!

The broadcast 3-D has to use a different process which is not nearly as effective as the polaroid-lens dual projector system; if you get a chance to see this in 35mm 3-D I'd jump at it.

More info: http://tinyurl.com/27vkr5

comment #8

Ju-osh says ...

If someone has a pair of 3-D glasses handy (or wears them all the time as a stylish accessory like that balding teenager in the Back To The Future films), can you solve an office bet for me? What sticks out more in the photo above: the kid's elbow or that bearded guy's belly?

comment #9

austin111 says ...

I saw it as a kid at the drive-in, no less. Guess I'm partial to it for that reason and because there is a little town in my state named Hondo. Nice Wayne western. I don't know why it's given such short shrift but it's not at all bad. Worth a look and I can remember it being one of my faves as a youngster, although it may or may not be "politically correct" on the native american side.

comment #10

T. S. Idiot says ...

As a geezer, I saw the original 3-D release but remember nothing about the 3-D. Saw it again on TV many years later, and while it is a minor effort, it is, like most of Farrow's films, well directed. The most unusual thing is seeing the very young Page as the romantic lead opposite Duke. She lacks most of the tiresome mannerisms she would later adopt. Despite an Oscar nom, she didn't make another movie for eight years. This is what happens when people convince themselves that the theater is superior to the cinema. Never was. Never will be.

comment #11

le corbeau says ...

I can tell just by looking at it that the image doesn't have enough 3-D detail for a rounded effect on the belly. Now, in 35mm with polarized lenses, it could be a real competition.

comment #12

nemo says ...

"Hondo" may not be a home run for John Wayne, but it's three-base hit. The opening scenes with Wayne arriving at the ranch in the wilderness on foot after his horse died are especially fine. Wayne is great, the dog is great, the photograpy is great. The Australian actor playing the Apache chief is fine, and so is the main white heavy. Anyone who thinks John Wayne is a one-note actor needs to watch the subtle change in his face and voice as he remembers his late Apache wife.

My only real disappointment with the film was the ending. Wayne clearly identified with the Apaches over the whites -- it would have taken real guts in the 1950s for him to take the Apache side in the final fight.

There is a stunt filmed in a single shot in which Wayne appears to dive off his horse at a full gallop and rises up shooting -- all in a single shot. It looks so seamless you can hardly figure out how they got from the stunt rider to Wayne in a single shot. I can't remember the last time I saw such a beautiful film stunt.

comment #13

btwnproductions says ...

Most people who assert the superiority of one medium over another probably don't sample much of the one they hold inferior. There is plenty of terrific theater, just as there is a lot of dismal cinema. HONDO isn't at all bad but it took a while for Page (and Maggie Smith, and many others) to find their sea legs in movies. Once they did, they handled both with ease. Why must we perpetually rank art forms? It's best to enjoy the best of what each has to offer and avoid the condescending, know-it-all remarks.

comment #14

Cadavra says ...

Its lack of reputation is partly because of its inaccessability for many years, due to the usual Batjac nonsense. It was released on DVD a year or so ago (in 2-D, of course), and that's helped. BTW, Ford actually did direct a little of the picture. Wayne once said that Ford dropped by the location to visit one day and was pressed into service to shoot some second-unit stuff, though he didn't say which scene(s).

comment #15

JoeGreenia says ...

Let me put it this way, I own DVD copies of Red River, The Searchers and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, but I don't feel the need to have Hondo at my fingertips 24/7. Still, it's well worth seeing. The 3-D screening sounds amusing.

comment #16

sardine says ...

THE SEARCHERS IS not a good movie. Red River is a masterpiece.... she wore a yellow ribbon is fun and HONDO IS WONDERFUL.

JEFF, YOU THINK YOU ARE MR. TASTEBUDS AND YOU ARE NOT.

comment #17

lionsfan says ...

"Hondo" is pretty good. Not great, but pretty good. Better than stuff like "Big Jake" and "The Comancheros," minor against "The Searchers" and "Fort Apache." And that's Michael Pate, who's still around, as the Apache chief; he also played Sierra Charriba in "Major Dundee," and the bad gunslinger in the only film in which Randolph Scott played Angela Lansbury's spouse, "A Lawless Street." "Hondo" is from a Louis L'Amour novel if I recall correctly, and my only problem with it is that it just seems to stop, doesn't really end. Oh well, director John Farrow was a sort of well-meaning second-stringer, whereas John Ford westerns always end conclusively as a general rule.