APACHE RIFLES (KPF Archive)

Just an excellent movie another fine western with my favorite actor as the main character. Audie Murphy. I have purchased every Audie Murphy western available thru Prime Video. I purchased over 100 movies and TV series combined and haven't been offered anything for being a loyal customer. Wasn't aware that if you decide to suspend your account that your not allowed to watch previous purchased programs which SUCKS!KIND REGARDS,JOE 3 1/2 " INCHES

I love Audie Murphy westerns! Too bad most of them are still unreleased on dvd, except for foreign PAL editions and non-studio versions made available from various sources, and in varying degrees of quality. Apache Rifles, released in 1964, is a good, somewhat altered remake of 1952's Indian Uprising starring George Montgomery. Again it's the Apache Indians vs. the invading gold miners, with the U. S. Cavalry caught in the middle. But this time it's Victorio instead of Geronimo. There's even a reference to the fact that Geronimo has already been shipped off to Florida. But to anyone who's seen both movies, the similarities between the two are obvious. It looks like they may have even used some of the same film footage. Still, both movies are well worth watching. I'm also a big George Montgomery fan. He also made a lot of good westerns, several of which are available on dvd. They're worth looking for!

Within recent years the work of Randolph Scott has been substantially re-evaluated and is now highly treasured by film critics and film buffs, alike (especially with the release of the Budd Boetticher set). Now, it seems, is the time to take another look at the films starring Audie Murphy. Critics and the public esteem NO NAME ON THE BULLET, but his other Western films deserve serious consideration, also. Most of Murphy's Westerns were made with Universal, and they are uniformly good. Several titles are available overseas (in the PAL format), but unfortunately not yet available in the US (NTSC format); let's hope Universal will release them here as well.Columbia Studios produced several Murphy vehicles towards the end of his career, and of these I think APACHE RIFLES may be one of the best of the lot. It features good acting by Murphy and a solid cast of familiar faces. The action sequences are well-conceived and expertly filmed. Production values are relatively high for such "B" type Westerns. VCI has found an excellent print. So, in sum, this is a welcomed release in all respects. Highly recommended, and thanks VCI.

Having a large Audie Murphy collection & not having Apache Rifles I could not pass up getting it when the price came right. You don't see it on the market to often. We are BIG Audie Murphy fans & our Grandchildren watch nothing but Audie when they come. Audie does a great job in this movie as usual & a little different to. Audie was born to play good westerns as he does in this movie & it will get played often in our house & if you watch it once you'll know why.....the movie industry didn't know what they had when they had Audie under contract or they'd of made many more good westerns with him.

The above line is actually uttered by James Coburn in Sam Peckinpah's PAT GARRETT & BILLY THE KID, however it seems more than appropriate in describing this Audie Murphy oater. Made at the same time as Sergio Leone's A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS, APACHE RIFLES is definately a throwback to 1950's American Westerns, not that that's a bad thing, it's just that times have definately changed, perhaps not for the overall good, but changed they did. And this "old" style of Hollywood Western is about to morph into something far more cynical, with less emphasis on moral values and entering houses justified. The anti-hero has just been given birth and the true "hero" as savior has just been shattered. THE EXORCIST is only a few years away.Had APACHE RIFLES been made in the 1950's it would have been given a decent budget and high profile director, and most likely would have been an important entry into the genre. This is by no means a criticism toward director William Whitney, who in my opinion was one of the best directors of the 1930's-40's. It's just that he's associated with low budget serial fare even though he could direct circles around the high profilers.The plot is pretty straight-forward. The Apache have left the reservation because greedy miners led by L.Q. Jones (in one of his great as always roles) have encroached upon their given lands, killing Indians to line their pockets with gold. Nothing new here, but with a bigger budget it could have been. Audie, however, is spot-on as Jeff Preston, cavalry officer given command of the situation. He's hard as nails, a known Indian hater, yet he commands the respect of his troops. He sees the error of his ways and comes over to the Indian's point of view. It's a complex character that Audie handles skillfully. Unfortunately, Audie always seemed to get better, more assured of himself as an actor, honing in his acting skills to perfection as the budgets and market for his product lessened. Audie Murphy became a great actor when there was nothing left for him to act in. Very sad.As for the dvd itself, my God, buy it.Nice clear transfer. Another outstanding job from VCI. I could actually imagine myself in the the theater watching this.YOU NEED THIS MOVIE if you are a serious fan of Western films. It's TRULY one of the last of it's kind, a dying breed. Times ARE changing and this type of Western film was soon to be no more. No more heroes, only cold blooded killers pretending to be heroes. This is one of the last true Westerns.

Great western with a lot of action. Shows the injustice to the Indian tribes due to greed for gold and racist nature of American economic expansion in the West. Though he considered (at first) Indians to be animals, the main character played by Audie Murphy, displayed a sense of justice and fairness with encouragement from a lady missionary to the Apache. Good story-line, and a good movie for older children to watch for a non-revisionist history of American westward expansion.