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| bartist |
 Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 10:21 am |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6958
Location: Black Hills
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| Yeah, I guess it's obvious from my list that I'm more into the deconstruction of the classic western than actual classic westerns. I think McCabe was the one that converted me! A masterpiece. I, too, can't get too excited about Alan Ladd. |
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| whiskeypriest |
| Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 10:44 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 6916
Location: "It's a Dry Heat."
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Well, off the top of my head, my favorite Westerns are Stagecoach, The Searchers, High Noon, Shane, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Fort Apache, Little Big Man, McCabe and Mrs. Miller, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and Destry Rides Again - which also my favorite sequel.*
The one Western popping up on lists I cannot warm to is The Good, The Bad and the Ugly. Probably because it takes an act of will for me to mentally separate it out from three other Sergio Leone movies.
* I never tire of that joke. |
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| carrobin |
| Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 10:47 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
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Location: NYC
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| I like "Destry Rides Again" too. I guess I overlook it because Marlene Dietrich and westerns don't go together in my mind. (Despite the memorable parody by Madeline Kahn in "Blazing Saddles.") |
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| whiskeypriest |
| Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 10:48 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: "It's a Dry Heat."
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carrobin wrote: I like "Destry Rides Again" too. I guess I overlook it because Marlene Dietrich and westerns don't go together in my mind. (Despite the memorable parody by Madeline Kahn in "Blazing Saddles.") |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 10:54 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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| I keep forgetting Stagecoach, which is possibly my favorite Western of them all. Have never even liked (much less loved) Blazing Saddles. Never have seen Destry Rides Again--and that's just silly, since Jimmy Stewart and Marlene Dietrich are two of my ravorite stars of all time. That has got to be remedied right away. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 10:55 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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| The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly is a great movie--and I too cannot stand any other Leone film. |
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| whiskeypriest |
| Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 11:03 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: "It's a Dry Heat."
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carrobin wrote: I guess I overlook it because Marlene Dietrich and westerns don't go together in my mind. (Despite the memorable parody by Madeline Kahn in "Blazing Saddles.") |
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I ask you, Velvel, as a rational man, which of us is possessed? |
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| whiskeypriest |
| Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 11:10 am |
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Location: "It's a Dry Heat."
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billyweeds wrote: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly is a great movie--and I too cannot stand any other Leone film. |
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I ask you, Velvel, as a rational man, which of us is possessed? |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 12:54 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: Houston
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| Once Upon A Time in the West is the greatest Leone Western. And how can you not tell it apart from the others? It's three times as long! |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 2:08 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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whiskeypriest wrote: billyweeds wrote: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly is a great movie--and I too cannot stand any other Leone film. Well, I don't dislike the other Leone Westerns; I just cannot tell them apart. I mean, I have a general outline in my head - the one that ends in the Mexican standoff, the one that remade Yojimbo, the one with Claudia Cardinale, the other one with Lee Van Cleef - and I have to stop and force myself to figure out which scene goes with which movie. In part it is a matter of similar tone and style, in part it's because Clint Eastwood plays the same role in all of them including the one where he looks suspiciously like Henry Fonda and in part it's because most of the scenes would fit rather nicely in any of te other movies.
The sure way to differentiate TG,TB,ATU is that it's the one for which Eli Wallach should have won the Supporting Actor Oscar. |
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| Marc |
| Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 7:07 pm |
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Joined: 19 May 2004
Posts: 8424
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Two spaghetti westerns worth seeing are Django and The Great Silence.
I liked Silverado alot. |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 8:08 pm |
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| I liked Silverado too but there were a few plots that disappeared. It could have used some more editing. |
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| jeremy |
| Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 8:36 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 6794
Location: Derby, England and Hamilton, New Zealand (yes they are about 12,000 miles apart)
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Sorry Marc, but your reputation proceeds you; when I saw your name down as the latest poster I presumed you'd come to chastise us for talikng about Westerns in the 'Current Film' forum.
I really need to re-vist a lot of Westerns that I saw before I had developed a proper appreciation of film. It would be interesting to find out if I am still in agreement with my younger self.
One issue with watching too many historical dramas and Western's as a boy is that it may have skewed my idea of feminine beauty. 
Not the bondage, but the portrayal of impossibly kempt, but strong women with tiny waists and petticoats. Mybe I can get treatment.
Going back to the first picture, I think High Noon is almost the definitive Western. It is the idea of the lone individual standing up for what is right that Leone Westerns both deconstructs and develops. I think they were popular partially because at the time there amorality was refreshing. I would not say these hyper-real fantasies were revisionist as much as they were paring down of what was an was already a minimalist genre to its barest essentials. They did not eschew morality, but made the case for pragmatism. They also extended the concept, strong in Westerns, of the avenging angel (for a while Clint Eastwood didn't seem capable of being anything else). Usually, a morally ambivalent figure or force of nature who gains some sort of redemption by his actions. He is not so much guided by his desire to do good, but drawn into the space vacated by those unable to defend themselves. In some ways he is the vehicle for their sins, a Christ-like figure.
Getting back to current, the new cartoon, Rango appears to a parody of High Noon . It's far from the first, but it seems to be as much a homage as a spoof and very nicely realised, with the artwork being creative yet detailed. The cast featuring Johnny Depp and Ray Wistone is not half-bad either.
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Last edited by jeremy on Tue Jan 04, 2011 5:12 pm; edited 2 times in total
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 9:09 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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| What movie is the color picture from? |
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| jeremy |
| Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 9:42 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 6794
Location: Derby, England and Hamilton, New Zealand (yes they are about 12,000 miles apart)
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| The critically vilified Jonah Hex. I haven't seen it, but I couldn't resist the picture of Megan Fox. Still she's no patch on Salma Hayek in a corset in the equally risible, Wild Wild West . |
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I am angry, I am ill, and I'm as ugly as sin.
My irritability keeps me alive and kicking.
I know the meaning of life, it doesn't help me a bit.
I know beauty and I know a good thing when I see it. |
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