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Good concept, poorly executed.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The Outrage is the American version of Rashoman, the famous Japanese story told from multiple points of view. In this stylized tale, a crime has been committed. One man's version is related from start to finish, convincing the audience of what's so. Then, a second witness comes forward. His version is different, planting the seed of doubt into the viewer's head. And so it goes.Those of you who like to discuss philosophy after a movie's end have probably seen this film, or another version of it. I like this version because it was produced right after the end of the Hays Code. Violence and sex were allowed in movies during the 1960s, but since it was all new to filmmakers, they didn't go overboard. While the movie discusses rape and murder, it handles them tastefully. In The Outrage, get ready to see some intriguing performances from Laurence Harvey, Paul Newman, William Shatner, Claire Bloom, Edward G. Robinson, and Howard Da Silva. With a twist during every tale, you won't know who to trust! And you'll be talking about the ending long after the credits roll, trust me.

In casting the very American Paul Newman as a drunken Mexican rapist, director Martin Ritt risked controversy, protest and career suicide. But this portrayal of an ugly soul performing a vile act comes off as art, almost an Ingmar Bergman film in its theme, gripping and emotional, as it dramatizes the different versions of Newman's inhumane violation. Laurence Harvey and Claire Bloom are his victims, Harvey tied to a tree and forced to watch wife Bloom being subjugated to the worst offense a woman can be victim of. Three storytellers, preacher William Shatner, lawman Howard da Silva and bum Edward G. Robinson, give accounts how Newman ended up tried for Harvey's murder, all completely different and all equally compelling.A super cast delivers the goods in this drama of human degradation, the insight into what remains of a supposedly evil man's soul, and the question of what is the truth when something like this is brought to court for justice. Newman gets no sympathy in any of the many versions of what happened, but if there is a shred of decency in him, it's up to the individual viewer to decide. He is amazing, showing the many facets of a type of character often assumed to be scum even without proof. Bloom allows her character's inner death to be exposed, especially when she looks on Harvey glaring at her in disgust after her rape. Harvey pretty much can only act with his eyes, and he does so convincingly. As the three storytellers with their own recollections of what happened, Shatner, Robinson and da Silva give mesmerizing portrayals. Certain scenes remind me of Bergman's masterpiece, "The Seventh Seal", especially the scene with a native American chanting and Bloom's imagined desire for suicide over a huge cliff with rushing water below.

Initially intriguing, though overwrought, but ultimately pointless and silly.A Hollywood adaptation of Akira Kurosawa's "Rashomon". Three men meet at a deserted station in the middle of nowhere. Soon their discussion turns to the trial that occurred in the nearby town the previous say. The trial concerned the death of a man. Three people claim they killed him, and we see their version of the events. Who is correct and why are two of them (at least...) lying?From the outset there is a degree of unnecessary complexity about the script. The script is overly wordy, almost to the point of being Shakespearean, and feels padded. The plot is quite interesting but as it goes on it becomes less and less plausible, and feels complex just for the sake of it. Soon the holes appear, none of which are filled in by the end of the movie.After a point the implausibility and complexity have descended into farce. The last few scenes are quite silly and ultimately you're left wondering what the point was and even possibly what the story was...The casting provides some interesting appearances. Paul Newman puts in a good, almost over-the-top, performance as the Mexican bandit. William Shatner is there, as a preacher (two years later Star Trek started...). Edward G Robinson gets the role of the verbose swindler (he is largely responsible for my "Shakespearean" comment). Laurence Harvey and Claire Bloom put in reasonably solid performances as the married couple. To be honest, even though many regard Rashomon as a classic, I don't. The plot for The Outrage demonstrates why Rashomon is overrated.

If John Sturges made "Seven Samurai" as an A western, and Sergio Leone "Yojimbo" as a spaghetti western, Martin Ritt chose the B western for "Rashomon", in "The Outrage". It follows the path set by "The Ox-Bow Incident", "The Gunfighter", "The Showdown" and "High Noon", the "intellectual" western in black and white. The story is excellent and adapts well for the genre, with four people telling different versions of the same murder. Claire Bloom and Lawrence Harvey are the married couple who get assaulted by Carrasco (Newman). Paul Newman is a great actor, his performance in Martin Ritt's "Hombre" is a proof of that, but there is a limit on how far you can go acting against your type. Newman set an impossible task for himself playing Carrasco, that part should go for actors like Eli Wallach or Anthony Quinn. I would not say his performance is a total failure, but the problem is that it is very important to understand Carrasco's character and that is not achieved by Newman visually, only when he verbalizes it in a Spanish that does not sound right. The irony is that Newman is such a charismatic actor that you actually enjoy his presence in the film. Edward G Robinson is the Con Man, what a performance! "The Outrage" is a very good film, it deserved better reviews than it got from the critics.