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Marlon Brando, Jack Nicholson, Randy Quaid, Kathleen Lloyd, Frederic Forrest ... see more see more... , Harry Dean Stanton , John McLiam , John P. Ryan , Sam Gilman , Steve Franken , Richard Bradford , James Greene , Luana Anders , Danny Goldman , Hunter von Leer , Darrell Zwerling , Dan Ades , R.L. Armstrong , Virgil Frye , Dorothy Neumann , Charles Wagenheim

A rancher, a rustler, and a regulator face off in Arthur Penn's eccentric western. As a cover for their horse thievery, a gang of Montana rustlers, led by the laid-back Tom Logan (Jack Nicholson), buy... read more read more...s a small farm adjacent to the ranch of their latest target/nemesis, Braxton (John McLiam). When the gang leaves Tom on the farm and heads to Canada for another score, Tom takes a shine both to farming and Braxton's rebellious, strong-willed daughter, Jane (Kathleen Lloyd). The slightly loco Braxton, however, hires the psychopathic regulator Lee Clayton (Marlon Brando) to root out the rustlers. With a series of unorthodox methods (and costumes), Clayton hunts down Logan and his gang one by one, even after Braxton fires him, but Logan isn't about to let Clayton (or Braxton) make him obsolete. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi

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59% liked it

3,591 ratings

Critics

83% liked it

18 critics

PG, 2 hr. 6 min.

Directed by: Arthur Penn

Release Date: May 19, 1976

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DVD Release Date: November 8, 2005

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Stats: 192 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (192)

  • ajv2688
    January 3, 2011
    ajv2688
    Who would think that a movie with two of the greatest actors ever would be so horrible? I saw this one on TV, and it was so incredibly slow and boring, I couldn't watch the whole thing.
  • ythelastman89
    August 23, 2010
    ythelastman89
    This goes from being a very odd movie to a very good movie about half way in, which is actually why it's so interesting. Jack Nicholson really gives the better performance here, both his character and mannerisms are so natural and deeply thought out. Marlon Brando essentially wen... read moret crazy for his role, which ends up being more scary than funny in the end. I really like the twist sense of mortality and the way murder is such a big part of the story. When the characters meet their fate, it's hardly glorious. It reminds me of what Clint Eastwood later played with in Unforgiven.
  • binky013
    May 30, 2007
    binky013
    Jane Braxton: Are you an outlaw?

    Tom Logan: I'm a jackpot farmer with one milk cow and a hundred-square-foot patch of vegetables.

    Jane: Then how come you have so many guns?

    Tom: Because I'm a sportsman.

    Jane: Why do you have a sawed-off shotgun?

    Tom: Beca

    ... read moreuse I'm a sawed-off sportsman.

    And speaking of Marlon Brando, I was just thinking about what I'd said with regard to On the Waterfront not being Brando's greatest movie, and I was thinking about The Missouri Breaks, and I flip the channel to Turner and lookie here: The Missouri Breaks is showing. I call it fate.

    The supremely gifted Brando plays the "eccentric" gunslinger frightfully well here. Reading cue cards because he didn't want to memorize lines anymore . . . Whatevahs. I don't know if he was on a chocolate and lasagne high when he was making this movie, or if he was just plain off his rocker, but he climbs to the heights of bizarre-dom in this plum role. And I definitely mean this in a good sense. The word "lurid" comes to mind, for some reason. Yeah, lurid, that's a great adjective, I think, and, well, he is so darn real as this psychotic killer, that he literally scares the chitterlins' outta me every time I watch this. The scene where he . . . executes Harry Dean Stanton is maximally spine chilling.

    Flixsters, I caution you in all seriousness, please make note to beware if anyone ever tries the old "round this time of year, Indian summer, you can see the star of Bethlehem" routine on you. Be prepared.

    Brando's own death scene, at the hands of Jack Nicholson, after expressing a fairly odd affection for his horse, that opening of the eyes to experience death, is un-freakin'-forgettable. Nicholson and Brando, eyeball to eyeball. Never ever to happen again in cinematic history. An amazing historical moment.

    Geez! Just the accents coming and going, Marlon Brando, you are extremely creepy. Creeeeepy . . .

    You know what woke yah up? You just had your throat cut.
  • michaelcorleone
    November 13, 2008
    michaelcorleone
    This is such a peculiar movie... it should have been great, considering the dynamic and powerful combination of actors under the direction of Arthur Penn. But it's a distant, sometimes tedious picture that I only enjoyed for the colorful, creative performances from Brando and Nic... read moreholson. As a huge fan of both actors, I liked watching the movie. I would assume that most viewers would not.
  • thirdway821
    July 12, 2011
    thirdway821
    "The Missouri Breaks" isn't as a good as Arthur Penn's "Little Big Man" and I could hint that while filming production must have been rather difficult. Nicholson and Brando give very good performances, Arthur Penn is a master at using violence during key scenes but the length is ... read moreway too long and sometimes one can get lost while trying to figure out what's going on. The landscapes is beautiful and all which leads me to question. Is "The Missouri Breaks" a bad film? It is but to me, it sort of get's a descent pass.
  • jim222001us
    July 31, 2010
    jim222001us
    The poster makes Jack Nicholson and Marlon Brando look like partners or friends in this western, but no they are bitter enemies. Brando stars as Lee Clayton, a creepy and strange gunfighter who's hired to kill Tom Logan (Jack Nicholson) and his gang. Tom just wants to settle down... read more with his gang and start a farm after they robbed a train. He even has eyes for the pretty Jane Braxton (Kathleen Lloyd), but their relationship is put the test, since her father (John McLiam) is the one that hired Lee Clayton.

    Nicholson makes as good of an anti-hero as he did in Goin South which of course came out two years after the Missouri Breaks. He was a bit more clumsy and even a little sleazy in that though. He plays it more straight here and it's Brando who's the one that has a good time hamming it up as the nutty Irish cross dressing gunfighter. I never thought anyone could steal the show from Jack until I saw Brando in this movie. I'm not sure if Brando was nominated but he should have been.
  • jonnycrumley
    May 2, 2010
    jonnycrumley
    Decent Western staring screen gods Jack Nicholson and Marlon Brando. Although very slow, and at quite boring at times, Missouri Breaks is well made with great performances from it's 2 leads.
  • phantopp
    May 8, 2010
    phantopp
    A group of outlaws, lead by "Tom Logan" (Jack Nicholson), settles into a Missouri ranch to hideout from the law. However, a powerful rancher hires a man (Marlon Brando) to run them out.

    The "regulator" (Brando) wipes out the entire band of outlaws, but "Tom," who decides to go... read more straight in his pursuit of a local woman (Kathleen Lloyd).

    Now, the two are heading to a face-off that may be each other's last day on Earth.

    This is not the best movie I've seen. In fact, I noticed myself looking away from my computer screen (I watched it on Hulu) many times.

    I found the characters poorly written, although they were pretty well performed by the actors. They were all pretty one-dimensional, and they just didn't seem to connect with each other.

    The relationships between the characters just didn't work. I could not feel anything in the romantic subplot at all. In fact, I couldn't feel any chemistry between Nicholson and Lloyd at all.

    There was a little chemistry between Nicholson and Brando. But, because of the poor writing, they really had little to work with for their on-screen relationship.

    Surprisingly, the gunplay was minimal. Even when you expected a good amount of shooting, it wasn't there. There is some violence, though it's fairly mild. In the first minute of the movie, there is a fairly graphic hanging that was probably placed that early in the film for shock value.

    The scenery was used pretty well in this movie. It certainly wasn't overplayed. There were some scenes where the scenery was used quite well with camera angles and such.

    John Williams did, in my opinion, a poor job in writing the music for this film. To me, the music was more modern instrumental work, and just didn't work. In fact, despite being composed by a Hollywood legend like Williams, the soundtrack is completely forgettable.

    Wardrobe appeared to be authentic in this film, except the outfit Brando wore through much of the film. His outfit was a little over-the-top, but not too much to be distracting.

    I would have to say that if you find it online on sites like Hulu, check it out if you have nothing better to do. Other than that, don't waste your money.
  • jazzmonk
    March 24, 2008
    jazzmonk
    Kathleen Lloyd almost steals the show from Brando and Nicholson. Brando hands in one of his oddest performances, yet the character is completely convincing--great actors can do that kind of thing. The interaction between Brando and his horse is worth the movie. Nicholson and Bran... read moredo are fantastic together. Why don't they get stars this good together more often in top flight vehicles? This film is worth seeing. Penn is a good director. That said, it isn't a great movie, just a better than average shoot'em up. It was, I'm sure, violent for the time in which it was made, but it's somewhat tame now. All the main characters are morally questionable except for Jane, the daughter of the rancher. Some of Brando's behavior doesn't make sense, but I think that's the point. Lee Clayton (Brando) has let killing and the wide open spaces run him crazy, if he was ever sane. He only exists to ferret out rustlers, kill them and to amuse himself while doing so. I enjoyed this film and there is much to enjoy, but it could have been so much stronger. Penn directed Bonnie and Clyde. Where was that level of intensity?
  • ristrawn
    November 28, 2007
    ristrawn
    Nicholson & Brando were interesting as mortal rivals... Randy Quaid was interesting as a young actor in this movie... Nice sceneries & horses...

View All The Missouri Breaks Reviews

Critic Reviews

Nick Pinkerton
November 12, 2008
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice

A Western-as-capitalist-critique piece shanghaied by Marlon Brando's eccentric bounty hunter trying on brogues, mumus, and buckskin Nudie suits. Full Review

June 24, 2008
Variety

As a film achievement it's corned beef and ham hash. Full Review

Dave Kehr
January 1, 2000
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

Enjoyable, if forgettable, New Hollywood shtick. Full Review

Steve Crum
May 10, 2007
Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com

Interesting, even if not cohesive, Brando & Nicholson western.

December 30, 2006
Empire Magazine

Slightly lacking in tension but with a striking performance from Marlon Brando Full Review

Thomas Delapa
November 18, 2005
Thomas Delapa, Boulder Weekly

If Penn failed to ride herd on his two superstars, he still was able to wrangle some sharp observations on the clash between the mythic old West and its reality Full Review

David Nusair
November 12, 2005
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews

Brando's conversation with his horse, in which he notes that the animal has "the lips of Salome and the eyes of Cleopatra," must be seen to be believed... Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
July 15, 2004
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Brando admittedly improvised quite a bit in his over-the-top role. Full Review

May 24, 2003
Film4

Although there are obvious flaws, there's a lot to recommend what turns out to be a dark, cynical work with some finely honed character acting from both men. Full Review

Tom Dawson
May 20, 2003
Tom Dawson, BBC

This appealingly eccentric revisionist western highlights the critical importance of violence in establishing 'civilized' society in the American wilderness. Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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