Here's a nice WSJ write up about "Rio Bravo," a crowd pleaser of a western that has held up over time: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123802062186941663.html. Apparently, even the French like it, but they like a lot of shit that doesn't make sense so we'll skip that endorsement for now. The best thing about Rio Bravo is that it's not in the least pretentious and Hawks didn't give a damn about that existentialist crap going around at the time. Wayne and Martin are in top form and Angie Dickinson's debut provoked boners in dads all across America for years to come. Damn nice way to spend a couple of hours--the Duke has his hat on right and goes about kicking some ass in a very pleasing manner.
Along with Rio Bravo, here are some westerns to think about:
1."The Searchers"--all time favorite movie for many different reasons. Complex, a masterful story told by Ford, great CINEMAphotography, and marvelous characters. Wayne's finest role.
2. Ford's "cavalry trilogy" of "Fort Apache"/"Rio Grande"/"She Wore a Yellow Ribbon." Sure, they're sentimental, but damn, when you watch the troops ride into the sunset with "The Girl I Left Behind Me" playing in the background, it's tough not to get choked up. At least, for me.
3. "Shane"--Too bad Alan Ladd wasn't Wayne's size because he could sure deliver the lines. The climactic confrontation between Ladd and Jack Palance and the ensuing gunfight is great.
4. "Man Who Shot Liberty Valence"--Wayne, Stewart, Marvin--pretty strong. Great scenes between those giants and most all of it shot on a sound stage. Wonderful character actors, too. Woody Strode is "Pompey," Wayne's right hand man and all around guy there to cover your six and to carry you home when you're hammered. Every man needs a Pompey.
5. "Conagher"--No, it is in no way on the same footing with any of the before mentioned films. But Elliott was perfect in the role of a roaming cowboy and it's got one of the most realistic feels of any period western.
6. "Outlaw Josey Wales"--corny but highly entertaining and engaging--a solid Eastwood effort.
7. "Lonesome Dove"--not a movie but the greatest mini-series ever filmed. No, it didn't win the Emmy. Know which one did? No, neither does anyone else. So much for the dickheads who vote for those things.
8. "Barbarosa"--Willie Nelson in a role that hippie son of a bitch was born to play. "You been shit out of luck ever since you been born, ain't you farm boy" was a flawlessly delivered line.
9. "Open Range"--cracking good film and Duvall and Costner put in a fine day's work. Greatest gunfight scene ever filmed.
10. "The Long Riders"--the movie with four sets of brothers. Greatest were the Quaids. Fantastic score by Ry Cooder.
Like Hawks and others, I never much liked "High Noon." No, not because of the political stuff; I never found it that compelling. Another one is "Red River." I thought Wayne was good but I just did not buy Montgomery Clift--how does a kid who grew up in pre-Civil War Texas have a Yankee accent?
There's more. Feel free to add/delete.
8 comments:
War and Remembrance won the Emmy in 1989. Robert Mitchum. Jane Seymour. WWII trumps the old west.
A quick list of westerns that would be on my list: Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Stagecoach, True Grit, Butch Cassidy, Unforgiven, Pale Rider, Silverado. And, maybe the most entertaining of all time: Blazing Saddles.
I've always liked Rio Bravo. Walter Brennan was superb as "Stumpy". Baby-faced Ricky Nelson was not quite convincing as a dangerous gunfighter but that's the movie's only drawback.
I've always enjoyed the scene where "Colorado" has "Feathers" throw the potted plant through the window to distract the bad guys whilst Ricky tosses Chance his Winchester and then they shoot'em up. This scene was also used at the beginning of "The Shootist."
"Unforgiven" was great--too bad it appears that was Eastwood'd curtain call for westerns. Wayne was excellent in "True Grit" but with the exception of Duvall, I hated the supporting cast, notably the hideous Kim Darby and the dickhead, Glen Campbell. "Butch Cassidy" was great except for the awful musical score which included B.J. Thomas' song that drives me insane whenever I hear it. Goddamn, I hate it! "Pale Rider" was outstanding--it contains Shellback's favorite scene of when Eastwood drags the uppity town lady into the barn for a proper rogering.
One more to add: 3:10 to Yuma. I have both the Glenn Ford and the Russell Crowe versions. I prefer the more recent. From today's perspective, the older version looks stiff and over-acted.
Don't know why, but one throw away line sticks with me: "Byron McElroy, when'd your hair get all gray?"
I frequently ask myself similar questions.
You're thinking of "High Plains Drifter" with that scene with Eastwood.
"High Noon" is bad because it is unrealistic - the whole town scared of the gunmen. Most of the men in the Old West at that time were tough men and mostly Civil War veterans. They had been through a lot and would not be terrified of a few men with guns. Supposedly, the Duke turned the role down for that reason.
Hah! I just now read the WSJ article. I see the Duke had another (and excellent) reason for not liking "High Noon".
I always thought El Dorado was pretty much a remake of Rio Bravo and the article confirms it. I remember watching it when it first came out. James Caan as "Mississippi". Michele Carey is pretty hot.
The big shootout in "Open Range" reminded me of the descriptions in Louis L'Amour books of what real shootouts were like.
L'Amour had several characters do what Costner did to open the ball - just walk up to the guy and shoot him. The other guy wanted to work up to the fight with talk, insults, etc. and wasn't expecting some to just start shooting.
It also didn't have any nonsense about 2 guys standing in the middle of the street and both firing just one shot at each other. There were often lots of shots fired, some missed, some hit but if you were hit, you didn't necessarily crumble slowly to the ground and die like in most Westerns, you kept on shooting till you ran out of ammo.
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