An eccentric regulator is hired to settle a dispute between a sadistic land owner and a cattle rustler.
By the late 1960's, the Western genre was regarded as something on its last legs. But the rise of young maverick filmmakers gave it a fresh transfusion, with a string of works that came to be known as "revisionist". Blurring the lines between good and evil, cynically examining America's past through the lens of the recently-ended Vietnam war, and a more stylized depiction of violence were all hallmarks of these films.
Director Arthur Penn had begun his career in television, and then embarked on a long career in film in the late 1950's. His eclectic list of works included the Helen Keller biopic The Miracle Worker, the French New Wave-influenced Mickey One, and the breakthrough New Hollywood hit Bonnie And Clyde.
The Missouri Breaks brings together two acting heavyweights: Marlon Brando, enjoying a career resurgence after his acclaimed performances in The Godfather and Last Tango In Paris, and Jack Nicholson, coming off his Oscar-winning turn in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest and arguably the most exciting actor currently working. Character actors Harry Dean Stanton, Frederick Forrest, and Randy Quaid round out the cast.
The notoriously difficult Brando, despite his high salary, took large liberties with the screenplay, and read many lines off of cue cards. Chinatown screenwriter Robert Towne was brought into the production to rectify script issues caused by Brando's improvisations.
Running time is approximately 2 hours.
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