The Bandit(1953)

Tall Tale: The Unbelievable Adventure(en)

A young boy draws on the inspiration of legendary western characters to find the strength to fight an evil land baron in the old west who wants to steal his family's farm and destroy their idyllic community. When Daniel Hackett sees his father Jonas gravely wounded by the villainous Stiles, his first urge is for his family to flee the danger, and give up their life on a farm which Daniel has come to despise anyway. Going alone to a lake to try to decide what to do, he falls asleep on a boat and wakes to find himself in the wild west, in the company of such "tall tale" legends as Pecos Bill, Paul Bunyan, John Henry and Calamity Jane. Together, they battle the same villains Daniel is facing in his "real" world, ending with a heroic confrontation in which the boy stands up to Stiles and his henchmen, and rallies his neighbors to fight back against land grabbers who want to destroy their town.

The Mountain Men(en)

The story concerns two grizzled mountain men -- Bill Tyler and Henry Frapp -- during the dying days of the fur-trapping era. The plot begins when Running Moon runs away from her abusive husband Heavy Eagle and comes across the two seedy fur trappers. The mountain men take her in, unaware that Heavy Eagle has dispatched an army of Indian braves to reclaim her.

Jane Got a Gun(en)

After her outlaw husband returns home shot with eight bullets and barely alive, Jane reluctantly reaches out to an ex-lover who she hasn't seen in over ten years to help her defend her farm when the time comes that her husband's gang eventually tracks him down to finish the job.

Two Rode Together(en)

Two tough westerners bring home a group of settlers who have spent years as Comanche hostages.

El Gringo(en)

A man crossing into Mexico with a satchel of $2,000,000—and a bloody past—finds himself under sudden attack in the sleepy town of El Fronteras.

The Warrior(en)

In feudal India, a warrior who renounces his role as the longtime enforcer to a local lord becomes the prey in a murderous hunt through the Himalayan mountains.

Purgatory(en)

An outlaw band flees a posse and rides into Refuge, a small town where no one carries a gun, drinks, or swears. The town is actually Purgatory, and the peaceful inhabitants are all famous dead outlaws and criminals such as Doc Holiday and Wild Bill Hickok who must redeem themselves before gaining admittance to Heaven... or screw up and go to Hell.

Black Gold(en)

On the Arabian Peninsula in the 1930s, two warring leaders come face to face. The victorious Nesib, Emir of Hobeika, lays down his peace terms to rival Amar, Sultan of Salmaah. The two men agree that neither can lay claim to the area of no man’s land between them called The Yellow Belt. In return, Nesib adopts Amar’s two boys Saleeh and Auda as a guarantee against invasion. Twelve years later, Saleeh and Auda have grown into young men. Saleeh, the warrior, itches to escape his gilded cage and return to his father’s land. Auda cares only for books and the pursuit of knowledge. One day, their adopted father Nesib is visited by an American from Texas. He tells the Emir that his land is blessed with oil and promises him riches beyond his wildest imagination. Nesib imagines a realm of infinite possibility, a kingdom with roads, schools and hospitals all paid for by the black gold beneath the barren sand. There is only one problem. The precious oil is located in the Yellow Belt.

The Unholy Trinity(en)

Set against the turbulent backdrop of 1870s Montana, in the moments before the execution of Isaac Broadway, he gives his estranged son, Henry, an impossible task: murder the man who framed him for a crime he didn’t commit. Intent on fulfilling his promise, Henry travels to the remote town of Trinity, where an unexpected turn of events traps him in town and leaves him caught between Gabriel Dove, the town’s upstanding new sheriff, and a mysterious figure named St. Christopher.

Day of Reckoning(en)

Put-upon lawman John Dorsey is on the verge of losing his wife and his job as sheriff, so he posses up with bullish U.S. Marshall Butch Hayden to hold outlaw Emily Rusk hostage. A battle of wills ensues as Emily turns the posse on themselves, but as her marauding husband and his gang approach, Emily and John realize they will need each other to survive.

Rancho Notorious(en)

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.

True Grit(en)

Following the murder of her father by a hired hand, a 14-year-old farm girl sets out to capture the killer. To aid her, she hires the toughest U.S. Marshal she can find—a man with 'true grit'—Reuben J. 'Rooster' Cogburn.

Westward the Women(en)

There's a deficit of good, honest women in the West, and Roy Whitman wants to change that. His solution is to bring a caravan of over 100 mail-order brides from Chicago to California. It will be a long, difficult and dangerous journey for the women. So Whitman hires hardened, cynical Buck Wyatt to be their guide across the inhospitable frontier. But as disaster strikes on the trail, Buck just might discover that these women are stronger than he thinks.

True Grit(en)

The murder of her father sends a teenage tomboy on a mission of 'justice', which involves avenging her father's death. She recruits a tough old marshal, 'Rooster' Cogburn because he has 'true grit', and a reputation of getting the job done.

Blackthorn(en)

In Bolivia, Butch Cassidy (now calling himself James Blackthorn) pines for one last sight of home, an adventure that aligns him with a young robber and makes the duo a target for gangs and lawmen alike.

Limbo(en)

Traumatized by a fishing boat accident many years before, Joe Gastineau has given up his hopes for a life beyond the odd jobs he takes to support himself. That quickly changes when nomadic club singer Donna de Angelo and her troubled teen-age daughter enter Joe’s life. Both mother and daughter fall for Joe, increasing the friction between them. The tension continues to build when Joe invites them on a pleasure cruise up the Alaskan coast, discovering too late that the trip may cost them their lives.

Terror on the Prairie(en)

A pioneering family fights back against a gang of vicious outlaws that is terrorizing them on their newly-built farm on the plains of Montana.

Ramrod(en)

A cattle-vs.-sheepman feud loses Connie Dickason her fiance, but gains her his ranch, which she determines to run alone in opposition to Frank Ivey, "boss" of the valley, whom her father Ben wanted her to marry. She hires recovering alcoholic Dave Nash as foreman and a crew of Ivey's enemies. Ivey fights back with violence and destruction, but Dave is determined to counter him legally... a feeling not shared by his associates. Connie's boast that, as a woman, she doesn't need guns proves justified, but plenty of gunplay results.

The Call of the Wild(en)

John Thornton, is a fearless man who's after more than gold; he wants to do what's right. Thornton works for the U.S. mail and is the only person daring and smart enough to figure out how to travel the deadly 600 miles from Skagway to Dawson, Alaska in the icy winter. His incredibly dog Buck is by his side and part of how he survives.

Broken Lance(en)

Tensions erupt within an Arizona cattle baron's household when his three sons vie for control of the ranch.

Mille scudi(it)

South of Italy, XIX century. A couple of brigands are chased in the woods. The man has a bounty on his head and is terrified by everything, while the woman takes care of her newborn. They will be safe beyond the river, where they are going to abandon their son to some gang members in order to run faster. But the woman secretly hides the desire to keep the baby...

Peak Obsession(en)

Cody Townsend has set out on an audacious goal to climb and ski all 50 lines chronicled in the book, "The Fifty Classic Ski Descents of North America". Peak Obsession is a stand alone film premiered at film festivals around the world and dives into the depths of the mindset behind the project told through the story of two of the more challenging lines in the book, Meteorite Mountain and Pontoon Peak near Valdez, Alaska. Joined by legendary snowboarder Jeremy Jones, along with cameraman Bjarne Salen, they set out on an adventure rife with challenge, exhaustion and a bevy of lessons to learn along the adventure. This is Episode 19 and line 17 and 18 completed for The FIFTY, a project following Cody Townsend as he attempts to climb and ski all fifty of the lines and mountains chronicled in the book, "The 50 Classic Ski Descents of North America."

Wavy 2(en)

watch Niko Schirmer and Celeste Pomerantz sail to the northern Norwegian island and ski arctic conditions in a one-of-a-kind movie Niko Schirmer swore he would never get on this boat again, but his new movie is all about Sofie (that’s the ship’s nickname) and a sailing voyage to Svalbard. Get on board and discover what happened in a trip full of adventure, wild animals, human interactions, and gnarly couloirs.

The POLAR STAR(en)

The most remote classic of The FIFTY, The Polar Star is an iconic ski line. Set on the Arctic island of Baffin, the Polar Star Couloir is aesthetic, breath-taking couloir set among an island of ice, Polar Bears and towering granite walls. Joining up with Cody Townsend on his attempt to ski "The Fifty Classic Ski Descents of North America" is one of the world's best ski mountaineers and steep skiers, Vivian Bruchez. Though the goal of the journey is to ski The Polar Star, a plethora of steep, challenging and beautiful ski lines await in Baffin...and a lesson in just what makes Vivian one of the world's best, comes to light.

The Godless Bandit(pt)

After the proclamation of the Republic, a group of fanatics in the sertão dreamed of and fought for the restoration of the Monarchy. At that bloody time, Fabiano, a quiet boy, becomes a cangaceiro and is attacked by the police. Although wounded, he manages to take refuge on a farm where he is hidden in by Lúcia, the farmer's daughter, with whom he falls in love.

O Cangaceiro(pt)

This is a remake of Brazil's first international success in the cinema world. Just as its same name predecessor was, this film is a fictional version of the story of the "cangaceiros." These were bandits who sacked towns and spread terror throughout Northeastern Brazil in the 1930s. This group of outlaws is led by Captain Galdino and his wife Maria Bonita.

Cangaceiros de Lampião(pt)

On the day of Pedro Boiadeiro's wedding, a band of cangaceiros who survived the Angicos massacre invade his home, then proceed to beat him up, and abuse and murder his wife. Pedro sets out to get revenge on each one.

Maria Bonita, Rainha do Cangaço(pt)

Romantic biography of Maria Bonita, daughter of a poor farmer who was kidnapped by Lampião and became his lover.

Quelé do Pajeú(pt)

A man seeks revenge after his sister get raped by an unknown foreign, identified only by scar and a missing finger. But his payback journey is a long way and bears its surprises.

Bacurau(pt)

Bacurau, a small town in the Brazilian sertão, mourns the loss of its matriarch, Carmelita, who lived to be 94. Days later, its inhabitants notice that their community has vanished from most maps.

Morte di un bandito(it)

Viva Cangaceiro(it)

Brazil, the 1920s. The sadistic colonel Minas massacres the hometown of a famous cangaceiro (a kind of revolutionary bandit). The only survivor is a young farmer called Espedito; he is nursed back to health by a hermit who thinks he has been sent by God and therefore baptizes him the Redeemer. Espedito/The Redeemer forms his own gang of cangaceiros but doesn’t really understand what he’s doing until he befriends the proverbial European intellectual, a Dutch Oil prospector, who introduces him to important people. Espedito is hired by the Dutchman and a corrupt local governor, but then the Dutchman changes sides …

Long Days(en)

From dawn to dusk, a film crew chased storms from Austria to Montenegro, exploring familiar territory and venturing into the unknown. Their goal? Make a stunning ski film.

The Day the Sun Rose(ja)

Shinkichi, a peasant employed as a cloth-dyer, has a dream: in the midst of the civil war which ravages Japan, he hopes to revive the long-banned custom of the Kyoto Gion Festival, and by doing so, bring together the warring clans and rampaging brigands in peaceful celebration.

Perfumed Ball(pt)

A Lebanese photographer living in Brazil in the '30s manages to film the band of Lampião, a legendary Brazilian bandit.

The Sky Piercer(en)

Snow athletes Sam Smoothy, Xavier De Le Rue, Nadine Wallner and Fraser McDougall take on the challenge of skiing down New Zealand’s highest mountain, the notorious Mount Cook (Aoraki). Will extreme weather and icy conditions defeat them?

O Cabeleira(pt)

Based on the novel by Franklin Távora, the film follows the adventures of a father and a son in 18th century Brazil.

Wavy(en)

The voyage to the scariest ski run of my life. The last voyage of Sofie and Captain Crocs. A ski odyssey to the far northern fjords of Norway, presented by Norrøna and Black Crows. After a decade of dreaming of the Kvænangstindan mountain range we board Captain Crocs' vessel Sofie in search of adventure. But when have you pushed it so far over the edge that you may never sail back home?

The Mountain Why(en)

The FIFTY continues...But with a twist. The goal was simple, ride bikes, loaded down with 100 pounds of climbing, skiing and camping equipment, over 1000 miles to ski three of The Fifty Classic Ski Descents of North America. A tiring adventure and a sufferfest of course, but in the context of an ongoing global pandemic, a nation divided by chaos and a populace on the brink, a simple adventure throws the simple act of adventure into question. Why purposely suffer? Why selfishly pursue adventure? Why go into the mountains at all? All questions that a month long adventure begins to throw into your mind. Starring Cody Townsend and Michelle Parker, "The Mountain Why" is a ski adventure unlike any normal escape to the wild. This is a short film in The FIFTY series and line 28, 29, and 30.

Summit Fever(en)

Along this goal to ski all fifty of "The Fifty Classic Ski Descents of North America", there lies a few cruxes. A few lines that stand out as the ultimate test for skiers. Lines that have seen one, maybe two, ski descents in history. One such mountain that is on that list is Mt. St. Elias in Alaska. Mt. St. Elias is a mythical, foreboding peak that jumps straight out of the ocean, 18,008 feet into the sky. It's renowned for violent storms that come straight off the northern pacific and slam into its icy steeps. It is unknown how many people have ever stood on the summit, but it is known that most people that try, fail. In May of 2021, Cody Townsend, Dan Corn, Nick Russell and cinematographer Bjarne Salen set out to climb and ski this Alaskan beast. This is the tale of their adventure.