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Buck and the Preacher

Buck and the Preacher

Western · 1972

A wagon master and a con-man preacher help freed slaves dogged by cheap-labor agents out West.

Movie details

Buck and the Preacher

“The fight was against the raiders... but the feud was between themselves!”

1972 Western 1h 42m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.3 / 10

Community rating

A wagon master and a con-man preacher help freed slaves dogged by cheap-labor agents out West.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Buck and the Preacher?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Death of a Gunfighter

Death of a Gunfighter

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Decision at Sundown

Western · 1957

A man and his partner arrive at a small Western town to kill its most powerful man because the former blames him for his wife's death.

Ramrod

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Tall in the Saddle

Tall in the Saddle

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When Rocklin arrives in a western town he finds that the rancher who hired him as a foreman has been murdered. He is out to solve the murder and thwart the scheming to take the ranch from its rightful owner.

Open Range

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Western · 2003

A former gunslinger is forced to take up arms again when he and his cattle crew are threatened by a corrupt lawman.

The Grey Fox

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Western · 1982

Old West highwayman Bill Miner, known to Pinkertons as "The Gentleman Bandit," is released in 1901 after 33 years in prison. A genial and charming old man, he re-enters a world unfamiliar to him, and returns to the only thing that gives him purpose — robbery.

Rancho Notorious

Rancho Notorious

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A man in search of revenge infiltrates a ranch, hidden in an inhospitable region, where its owner, Altar Keane, gives shelter to outlaws fleeing from the law in exchange for a price.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

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McLintock!

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Aging rancher and self-made man, George Washington McLintock is forced to deal with numerous personal and professional problems. Seemingly everyone wants a piece of his enormous farmstead, including high-ranking government men and nearby Native Americans. As McLintock tries to juggle his various adversaries, his wife—who left him two years previously—suddenly returns. But she isn't interested in George; she wants custody of their daughter.

Rio Bravo

Rio Bravo

Western · 1959

A small-town sheriff in the American West enlists the help of a disabled man, a drunk, and a young gunfighter in his efforts to hold in jail the brother of the local bad guy.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Sidney Poitier

Written by

Ernest Kinoy · Drake Walker

Sidney Poitier

Sidney Poitier

Buck

Harry Belafonte

Harry Belafonte

Preacher

Ruby Dee

Ruby Dee

Ruth

Cameron Mitchell

Cameron Mitchell

Deshay

Denny Miller

Denny Miller

Floyd

Nita Talbot

Nita Talbot

Madam Esther

J

John Kelly

Sheriff

Court is in session

Put Buck and the Preacher on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Auteur Devotee

“Patience is part of the point.”

Duration becomes texture. The film asks you to inhabit its world instead of merely processing its plot.

The prosecution The Adrenaline Seeker

“A test of endurance, your honour.”

Stillness keeps submitting itself as meaning. At some point, contemplation needs something worth contemplating.