Comes a Horseman

"She was as strong as the land for which she fought. And as vulnerable."

1978 1h 58m EN

😐

6.1

MID

★6.1TMDB · 80

WesternDramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Ella Connors is a single woman who gets pressured to sell her failing cattle farm to her corrupt ex-suitor, Jacob Ewing. She asks for help from her neighbor, Frank Athearn. As Ella and Frank fight back through stampedes, jealousy, betrayal, and sabotage... they eventually find love.

“She was as strong as the land for which she fought. And as vulnerable.”

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Cast

James Caan
Frank 'Buck' Athearn
Jane Fonda
Ella Connors
Jason Robards
Jacob 'J.W.' Ewing
George Grizzard
Neil Atkinson
Richard Farnsworth
Dodger
Jim Davis
Julie Blocker
Mark Harmon
Billy Joe Meynert
Basil Hoffman
George Bascomb

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Alan J. Pakula
Writers: Dennis Lynton Clark
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

48 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Alan J. Pakula, shot by Gordon Willis. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Michael Small. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Marion Rothman shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

James Caan and Jane Fonda and Jason Robards carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "She was as strong as the land for which she fought. And as vulnerable.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0077360 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 80 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Alan J. Pakula directs. Gordon Willis behind the camera. Michael Small scores. Marion Rothman cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

148 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Directed by Alan J. Pakula, shot by Gordon Willis. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Michael Small. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Marion Rothman shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5James Caan and Jane Fonda and Jason Robards carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "She was as strong as the land for which she fought. And as vulnerable.".
7IMDB entry: tt0077360 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 80 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Gordon Willis
Original score: Michael Small
Editing: Marion Rothman
Production design: George Jenkins
Costume design: Luster Bayless
Makeup / hair: Bernadine M. Anderson
Stunt coordinator: Walter Scott
Runtime: 118 min · 1h 58m
Status: Released
Box office: $9,585,769
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Comes a Horseman (1978)

Awards

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Alan J. Pakula

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2014-05-08
★ 6.5/10
Horsewoman. Surely? Comes a Horseman is directed by Alan J. Pakula and written by Dennis Lynton Clark. It stars Jane Fonda, James Caan, Jason Robards and Richard Farnsworth. Music is by Michael Small and cinematography by Gordon Willis. It seems the ideas and willing behind Comes a Horseman are made of sturdy stuff, you sense that the makers wanted to make a reflective post-modern Western set in post World War II times. Tonally they get it mostly right, it is very sombre, both in characterisations and the changing of the times thematic beat. Plot is hardly thrilling as Robards' land baron plots to oust Fonda and Caan out of their respective homesteads in readiness for the oil company to come destroy the magnificent landscape. Ella Connors (Fonda) is a feisty but vulnerable woman, Frank Athearn (Caan) is fresh out of service in the war and carries the emotional scars of said battles. They form an unsteady alliance to ward off Jacob Ewing (Robards), but as past turmoil's come to the surface it's touch and go as to who, if anyone, will win out. With the Colorado landscape beautifully captured by Willis, and the performances (including an Academy Award Nomination for Farnsworth as Ella's sage old ranch hand) solid as a rock, the pic retains interest if you can tolerate the laborious pace favoured by Pakula. There a couple of action sequences within, but they feel like afterthoughts, so we are left to buy into the rueful characterisations and their respective attempts at post war living out there on the ranges. 6.5/10

Production companies