I haven't listened to today's podcast yet, but I didn't see this on the agenda. So maybe I'm talking to myself.
In any case, I have heard that this is a great movie for some time, and saw a clip of it in in a film class, so I bought a copy last year. Thanks for providing a reason to finally watch it.
After watching it, I read Ebert's
review, which is part of his "great movies" series. I have to say that I agree with most of what he writes. The film does have many beautiful shots. John Wayne did give a very good performance.
But I also agree that there are a bunch of problems with the film. The more comic moments, especially those involving the mentally-challenged Mose character, did not work at all for me. Ebert also hints that what Wayne does at the end of the film (which I'll not spoil but Ebert does) may not fit with what we know about the character, and this bothered me more than it seemed to have bothered Ebert.
Bottom line: It's a flawed film, and while the good parts do reduce the impact of the bad, I don't think I could give it higher than 3 out of 4 stars. I'm glad I saw it, but if I never see it again that won't be a tragedy.