Search - The River's Edge on DVD

First-Rate Western Thriller

David Baldwin | Philadelphia,PA USA | 07/22/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The best way to decribe "The River's Edge" is that it is a hybrid of noir and pulp fiction reminiscent of the work of Jim Thompson. It also works as a smashing adventure story. The two leads here are superb. Ray Milland is menacing as the heavy but does so with great subtlety. Anthony Quinn is intriguing as the rancher and there are many shades to his character. His Ben Cameron is a good man but he is no wilting flower in the face of evil as represented by Milland's Nardo Denning. The confrontations between these two are tense and keep you on the edge of your seat throughout. Though not fatal to the film, Debra Paget as Quinn's wife and Milland's former squeeze is the weak link in the triangle. You don't believe for one minute that Paget was ever a gangster's moll who served time in the pen. I recommend this film ultimately as an opportunity to see two top actors at the top of their game."

Western + noir = River's edge

saada | 11/03/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This wonderful and underrated film is one of Dwan's finest. Allan Dwan's career, which started in the silent era, is amongst the most exciting and prolific of Hollywood's classic era. The River's edge starts like a melodrama: ex crook Ray Milland looks for his former girlfriend (Debra Paget) and eventually finds her, remarried to a simple and honest man (Anthony Quinn at his very best). But the plot then shifts into a manhunt across the mountains, with murder and betrayal. Dwan has a unique sense of time and space, not unlike Anthony Mann's, and his style combines the flamboyence of Sirk with the self contained assurance of John Ford. As a mixture of 50's noir and contemporary western, River's edge, beautifully photographed in technicolor and cinemascope is one of the great "lost films". It's ruthless but filled with extraordinary humanity. The film builds up to a surprising finale with a startling shot alongside "the river's edge". Its a film about greed, lust and love, wonderfully written and acted. A must see."