Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Brutal
- austere
- fatalistic
- melancholic
- classic western night
- historical drama viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly recognize an atmospheric, historically grounded western centered on Steve McQueen's committed performance, while finding the troubled production and execution uneven.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Tom Horn's skills as a scout and hired enforcer become liabilities as ranchers and officials impose newer social and legal systems.
The ranchers recruit Horn to suppress rustlers, then distance themselves from him when his methods threaten their ambitions and reputation.
Horn is placed on trial for the death of a boy amid the competing interests of ranchers and corrupt officials.
The film uses Wyoming ranch country, working cattlemen, horses, and gunfights to frame Horn's decline in a materially grounded old west.
Films like Tom Horn, and why
The Wild Bunch
shared revisionist western setting, fading frontier themes, and morally bleak portrait of progress
The Shootist
shared western tragedy, institutional injustice, and an aging gunfighter confronting social change
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid
shared historical western atmosphere, gun violence, and conflict between frontier codes and emerging authority
Movie Details
- Director
- William Wiard
- Release Date
- 1980-03-28
- Runtime
- 94 min
- Rating
- 6.4 / 10 (138)
Cast
- Steve McQueen
- Linda Evans
- Richard Farnsworth
- Billy Green Bush
- Slim Pickens
- Peter Canon
- Elisha Cook Jr.
- Roy Jenson
- James Kline
- Geoffrey Lewis
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- fuboTV
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Tom Horn about?
- A legendary frontier tracker becomes expendable when the ranchers who hired him turn his lethal skills into evidence against him.
- What is Tom Horn like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Tom Horn as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Tom Horn violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Tom Horn as brutal.
- What did critics think of Tom Horn?
- Critics broadly recognize an atmospheric, historically grounded western centered on Steve McQueen's committed performance, while finding the troubled production and execution uneven.
- Which films are like Tom Horn?
- Films with a similar feel include The Wild Bunch, The Shootist, and Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid.
- How long is Tom Horn?
- Tom Horn runs 94 minutes.
- Where can I watch Tom Horn?
- In United States, Tom Horn streams on fuboTV.
