While surveying a telegraph line in 1861, Western Union engineer Edward Creighton (Dean Jagger) is severely injured in an accident. He is discovered by Vance Shaw (Randolph Scott), an outlaw on the run from a posse. Forced to travel on foot after his horse was hurt, Shaw at first considers stealing Creighton's horse, but changes his mind and takes the man with him, saving his life.
Sometime later, following his recovery, Creighton returns to Omaha, Nebraska and plans the construction of a telegraph line from Omaha to Salt Lake City, Utah. Facing considerable opposition to the line from Confederate soldiers, Indians, and outlaws, Creighton elicits the help of his sister Sue (Virginia Gilmore), foreman Pat Grogan (Minor Watson), and assistant Homer Kettle (Chill Wills).
Looking to put his outlaw past behind him, Shaw arrives at Creighton's Western Union office looking for honest work and is hired as a scout by Grogan who is unaware of his past. Creighton recognizes him among the men and allows him to stay despite his suspicions. Creighton also hires tenderfoot Richard Blake (Robert Young), a Harvard-educated engineer as a favor to Blake's father. Shaw and Blake are both attracted to Sue and vie for her attention, but their romantic rivalry is cut short when construction of the telegraph line starts on July 4, 1861.
After work commences on the line, one of the men is killed apparently by a mysterious band of cattle-rustling Indians. Unconvinced that Indians are to blame, Shaw rides out to investigate and follows the rustlers' trail to the camp of Jack Slade, a former friend and cohort, whose gang committed the killing disguised as Indians—the gang Shaw left following his last bank robbery. Slade reveals that they are working for the Confederacy to disrupt Western Union because they believe the telegraph service will help the Union. Shaw rides away and returns to the line. Not wanting to turn in his former friends, Shaw tells Creighton that a large band of Dakota Indians stole the cattle, and recommends that they simply replace the herd and not risk a fight with the Indians.
Sometime later, a confrontation takes place between men working on the forward line and a band of drunken Indians. When one of the Indians tries to steal some equipment, a nervous Blake shoots him, ignoring Shaw's order to remain calm. After word arrives that the main camp is under attack by other Indians, the Western Union men rush back to help with the defense. At the main camp, Slade's men, who are again disguised as Indians, steal the Western Union horses. The company discover the ruse when one of the wounded Indians turns out to be a white man. Forced to buy back their stolen horses from Slade, Creighton becomes suspicious of Shaw's involvement, especially when he admits to knowing the gang.
Soon the U.S. Army arrives and announces the Indians have now refused to allow the telegraph lines to go through their territory in response to Blake's shooting of the drunken Indian. Creighton, Shaw, and Blake ride out to convince Chief Spotted Horse to allow them to build the line through Indian territory, even though the man Blake wounded was Spotted Horse's son. Creighton is finally able to persuade the Indians to allow them passage, and work continues until the company approaches Salt Lake City.
Sometime later, Shaw receives word that Jack Slade wants to meet with him. On the way to see Slade, Shaw is captured and bound by Slade's men. Slade says his group is going to burn down the Western Union camp and they don't want Shaw to interfere. After Slade and his men ride off, Shaw escapes from his ropes but arrives back too late to prevent the fire. He helps rescue some of the Western Union men from the flames and burns his hands in the process.
After the fire, Creighton confronts Shaw for an explanation, but Shaw does not reveal what he knows and is fired by Creighton. As Shaw leaves the camp, he tells Blake that Slade is actually Shaw's brother and that he, Shaw, will find Slade's gang and stop them from interfering with the telegraph project. Shaw rides off and finds Slade and his men in a nearby town. At the barber shop, Shaw confronts his brother, whose gun is concealed under the barber's sheet. Slade shoots Shaw through the sheet. Shaw fights back in spite of his wound, killing some of the gang members, and then dies. Blake arrives and continues the fight with Slade who dies from his wounds. Soon after, the Western Union line is completed and the workers celebrate. When Sue laments the absence of Shaw, Creighton tells her that Shaw can hear them.
如果你身边不知何时有人仅剩被人穿戴的皮囊，而穿戴皮囊的人介入你的生活从零开始进行自我教育且不知何时突然离开，所有的疑惑与悲痛由他人承受。你觉得这件事是恐怖故事还是所谓的感人童话。 3.5
从视听影像来看neo-noir风格做的确实不错
不会出错的深刻论题 但拍的好没意思啊 为什么旁白不用镜头表现出来呢
好缠绵的感情，在那个社会的LGBT真的太难了
主角塑造得有点扁，连他搭档都比他形象圆，实在是个败笔……但是如果说他的特质就是intensity，同Arek所代表的幼稚的“自由”相对，好像又可以说服我自己……片子的部分内容让我感觉，其实导演虽然在拍这样一个群体，但是对群体的关注非常随便，故事是集中在Robert崩断的那根线上，从而把视线投向更宏大的主体（压迫、官僚），而抛弃了深刻省察这种文化特质的机会……把角色扁平化，一方面确实可以在渲染背景上走到极致，一方面，却又太“东欧”了，如果只把同性恋当做受害者刻画……唉我说不下去了，我懂导演想拍出manipulative的感觉，但是主角能不能就是，不要像个提线木偶。？
现在是希望同性合法，但在以前同性恋本身就是一种罪恶，生活在那个年代的同志真的太辛苦了！btw，这一对cp感爆棚啊！
年度最佳预定。小女巫一路诗化呢喃，马力克式镜头语言和配乐结合得恰到好处，温柔又残酷。主角的不语和残暴直给的故事设定不由想到金基德。西方版《画皮》进阶版，不仅幻化人形，男女老少、猪狗狼鹰，“我”变成世间万物，维度广度探索的更大了。这部电影最难能可贵的，是虽以父（男）权、女性主义为主引，但已然超越，甚至超越了爱，而归于对被怆害的命运的态度。老女巫被小女巫杀死前流着泪的一问：“为什么你可以轻易做到？”万物自有其含义，这世界令人刺痛、让人恶心，然而“我”曾在草地上尽情玩耍，与“同类”嬉笑欢闹，沐浴阳光下，同河流、同不同的河流、同内心的河流流淌在一起，“我”不愿让它再干涸。为什么“我”就可以做到？“然而…然而…”也许是因为虽随命运指引，还是“选择”去化身万物，更因为“幸运”，终成为自己，而非其他万物。
不同视角的人类观察和体验记，看似诡异离奇的“女巫”却作为视角的载体有其客观性。有趣的是当你为了一个人all in 的时候你变得越来越像人，同时也不得不表露你的本性。
他也见到了那些身有权利之人与真正的犯罪者相互勾结
氛围感的营造很好，就是男主的取向转变不理解，看不懂了。
感情戏好僵，小胡子一看就是直的……
在我的观感里面，电影算是好看的。悬疑部分不烧脑，感情线略短但也算是递进式，男二选了个帅哥倒也合理解释了男主掰弯的前提，毕竟谁不喜欢好看的脸蛋呢。
很美的画面，节奏也很舒服，看到最后看到的还是压迫，人们给被压迫阶级都冠以了“女巫”，所以便给了压迫以正名。魔鬼哪里比得上人性。
能不能请文艺片导演别霍霍恐怖和科幻题材？？真的艹了。但这种百变人生还是挺不错。
中焦手持和窄画幅让我想起安德里亚·阿诺德，但还是拍得太安全了，从对环境音的不信任就能看出。具体到概念层面来说，啃噬（进食）和填充（变身）居然成了两套毫不相干的动作，如何判断“吞噬”一个人究竟是出于食欲还是性欲，还是两者皆有？导演显然对处理这样的问题不感兴趣，这使整个片子呈现出一种纯粹基于设定的天真的平均想象，它从一开始就锁死了自身的上限。
7.8(2⃣️)，满怀一种充满生命力的悲伤，又在清冷的氛围里孕育爱与希望。独白像是诗句，辅佐着影像——在这里呈现为一种更为纯粹的载体与语言——的表达。晃动的手持镜头和失焦的画面漫溢着自然的纯净之美，追根溯源一般地在生的轮回中还原生命最本真的模样。化为动物，化为男人，化为女人，体验了世间繁杂，在苦难中最终拥有了爱的情感，也意识到爱是对抗愚昧无知残酷蛮荒的最终利器。挥之不去的孤独始终弥漫于来生，又泛起极富诗意的伤感。生命是一条长河，它裹挟着爱，依然在向前奔涌，流淌/ 作为处女作完成度并不算很高，但是意境的表达非常动人
6.5-7分。画面，色调，制作、镜头语言都可谓成熟完备且精巧上乘的电影制作体系。虽说未画太多笔墨说明刻画故事的时代背景，但氛围渲染已足够观众联想———压抑、禁锢、权力至上。但剧情发展太多drama，男主的crush 跟关系推进之迅速，不禁让我怀疑男主到底是情不自禁或只是吊桥效应。若把Eric看作自由的对体制反抗精神的象征，而非简单的某种不可言说的爱情，倒能算作一种更为通顺的解释。
恐怖片中的文艺片，文艺片中的恐怖片。但无论以哪个标准来衡量，都挺空洞的……
既然如此，为什么不用情节呢？
这是一部控诉专制与谎言的影片，拍摄风格鲜明，以冷峻和灰黄的镜头体现了铁幕之下波兰的现状，车轻的主人公，本来可以在体制内安稳成长，然而内心的价值观，努力以一己之力力图查清寄居在体制内的真相，必然会付出毁灭性的代价。然而为真相和自由而努力，是每一个正常社会要追求的价值观。
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