Western movie - help... need DVD recommendation (1 Viewer)

[dana martin]

So is this a lost art form, the problem isn't that there aren't great westerns out there, but Hollywood rarely makes them any more, and unless you have TCM, you have to look to find them any more. Its not like days past, before Oprah, when local stations would actually program the afternoon block, as a child i have fond memories of "The Early Show" from Columbus Oh, in the 70's, man what a great time.
if you want to see how the genre has changed, think of it this way we have gone from the days of guys in white hats, to todays, deeper meaning.
For those that are bashing the Spaghetti westerns, saying they are not real westerns. is like saying that Godzilla. is not a monster movie because it was made in Japan, as compared to Them,
Just as an after though was discussing this thread with my wife who will tell you that she hates westerns, because as she said that was all her dad watched, and she said tell them that City Slickers is a good comedy western, or Don Knotts Shakiest gun in the West, is a good laugh, funny that coming from someone who "hates" these

 

[Simon Howson]

Fistful of Dynamite is currently on special at cd101.co.uk. It is just 3.99 pounds. Which is just under US$8, excluding postage.

http://www.101cd.com/detail.aspx?productid=280088

 

[Simon Howson]

I don't think Hollywood makes (very many) Westerns anymore, because making those films no longer fulfills an ideological need. That is the telling (and retelling) of the stories of how North America was settled. The late Westerns of Peckinpah replaced the simplified dichotomy of civilised / uncivilised, good / bad with a much more screwed up alternative - the idea that those people in the West were often cold killers lacking in a true moral direction. They were opportunists not patriots and good capitalists as how they were portrayed in the past.

 

[dana martin]

how is that any different than today, the western has been replaced by the corporate movie, where there are acquisitions , backstabbing, and mergers, to make a buck.

 

[Richard--W]

To answer the misconceptions and inaccuries you propound would fill a book, or at least another thread. Let's not derail this thread by turning it into a different discussion.

If someone wants to explore these issues let them start a new thread under Movies, and I will respond therein.

Caution: it is nice that your wife has opinions, but quoting her any further won't help your case.

 

[dana martin]

Richard--W
what misconceptions and inaccuracies , how many westerns have been release since Open Range, how many directors can tell that kind of story, Spielberg has never tackled a western, nor did Hitchcock, and the bulk of young Hollywood does not lend its self to this either, with a few exceptions, Young Guns 1 & 2 , and American Outlaws.

 

[Richard--W]

I would like to refer Mr. Huffstutler to some other westerns, for future reference, in case he decides to pursue the genre beyond one or two titles.

Ride In the Whirlwind and The Shooting are two of the best westerns of the 1960s. Authentic and innovative. Filmed back-to-back on miniscule budgets in isolated Utah locations. No-nonsense director Monte Hellman proved that inventive writing and intelligent direction could upstage Hollywood's big-budget star-driven product.

Actor Jack Nicholson wrote Ride In the Whirlwind, a relntless manhunt about the pursuit of two innocent cowboys (Nicholson and Cameron Mitchell) who are mistaken for cattle thieves by a sheriff's posse that means to hang them no questions asked. The only way they can escape with their lives is to steal fresh horses from a poor family that can't live without them. In other words it's the posse that turns them into criminals. Millie Perkins (who won the Oscar for Diary of Ann Frank) does a nice turn as a chicken-brained farm girl.

Carolyn Eastman (who also wrote Five Easy Pieces) wrote The Shooting, an oblique odyssey about two miners (Warren Oates and Will Hutchins) who guide a strange woman (Millie Perkins) across the desert only to start questioning her motives along the way. The miners know she's up to no good, but they can't help themselves; they'll follow her anywhere. The journey takes a sinister turn when she is joined by a psychotic killer (Nicholson) who may or may not be her brother or her husband.

VCI offered immaculate restorations (supervised by the director) of both films in 2001 with audio commentaries by director Hellman, star Perkins, and sponsor Bartok of the American Cinematheque, but these are now out of print. If you can't buy them somewhere, rent them. Avoid the public domain editions. If anyone else has seen these under-rated and over-looked classics, chime in, won't you?

Hombre(1967) is an austere, hardscabble western written by Elmore Leonard, starring Paul Newman and Frederic March and directed by Martin Ritt. It's a shame Elmore Leonard didn't write more westerns because he understood the genre better than anyone, and this is his best (he wrote five).

A Man Called Horse (1970) was considered the most brutal and authentic western ever made when it was new. Richard Harris stars in the true story of an English hunter on holiday on the American frontier whose hunting party is wiped out by savage indians. He is taken prisoner and must learn to survive in the tribe by getting in touch with the savage within himself, which he does very well (he's English, after all).

On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest, each of these westerns is a 5-star movie.

 

[dana martin]

3:10 to Yuma for Elmore Leonard , good turns from Ford and Heflin
and a 2nd on Hombre, haven't seen it in a while

Richard--W starting a thread in movies that you might be interested in.

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...hreadid=251634

 

[Richard--W]

Thanks.

Tempting.
Maybe I should buy that one instead.

But first, tell me if the horse falls are in fact censored on this edition?

Or maybe I should ask, which editions censor the horse falls and which don't?

 

[Jeff Gatie]

Actually, it is (sort of) the other way around. Although Seven Samurai was a new concept, Kurosawa was highly influenced by the american western and his films are basically a retelling of the american west using samurai instead of gunfighters/cowboys. So the Magnificent Seven really is a case of art imitating art that is imitating art.

BTW, Seven Samurai also inspired a cartoon.

PS. In the genre of "Western that is not a western", one of my favorites and a really underrated movie is 'Quigley Down Under' with Tom Selleck as a marksman brought to Australia to shoot the native aboriginals. Very enjoyable and certainly a hidden gem.

 

[Steve Christou]

A favorite of mine too, not just Italians who can make great 'westerns' you know!

Great soundtrack by Basil Poledouris too!

So, Quigley Down Under might than be um labeled an 'Austern', no? Just asking.

 

[dana martin]

agreed , and if influences plays a part do you see Leone's influences in Eastwood's work.
Good call on Quigly,

 

[John Hodson]

Only the UK R2 edition is cut by the BBFC, such as the one for sale at CD Wow. Other European editions - French, Danish, etc. - are fine.

 

[Jeff Gatie]

His earliest work, certainly. Obvious ones are his ultra closeup "rule of thirds" shots showing from the eyes to the chin coupled with Eastwood's iconic squint. The Beguiled and/or Josey Wales could have had Leone's name listed as Director and no one would know the difference and High Plains Drifter was just a continuation of the "Man With No Name".

 

[Richard--W]

Rating the Western on DVD:

+++++Excellent
++++ Very Good
+++ Good
++ Fair
+ Poor
- Bad

does not include Contemporary Westerns or Foreign westerns.

++The Legend of Zorro (2005)
++The Alamo (2005)
+Renegade (2004)
+++Open Range (2003)
-The Missing (2003)
++And Starring Pancho Villa As Himself (2003)
++Monte Walsh (2002 TVM Remake)
+Johnson County War (2002 TVM)
+Texas Rangers (2001)
+The Journeyman (2001)
++Crossfire Trail (2001)
+South of Heaven, West of Hell (2000)
-High Noon (2000 TVM remake)
++All the Pretty Horses (2000)
+Purgatory (1999 TVM)
+++The Jack Bull (1999 TVM)
+++The Mask of Zorro (1998)
++Last Stand at Saber River (1997)
+Dead Man's Walk (1996 mini-series)
++Wild Bill (1995)
+Streets of Laredo (1995 mini-series)
++The Quick and the Dead (1995)
+Hard Bounty (1995)
++The Desperate Trail (1995 TVM)
++Wyatt Earp (1994)
++Maverick (1994)
++Lightnin' Jack (1994)
+Bad Girls (1994)
++Unforgiven (1993)
+++Tombstone (1993)
+++Return to Lonesome Dove (1993 mini-series)
++Geronimo (1993)
+++Ballad of Little Jo (1993)
++++Conagher (1991 TVM)

-Young Guns 2 (1990)
++Dances With Wolves (1990)
+Young Guns (1988)
+++Old Gringo (1989)
+++The Tracker (1988 TVM)
++++The Quick and the Dead (1987 TVM)
+++++Lonesome Dove (1987 mini-series)
+++Silverado (1985)
++I Married Wyatt Earp (1983 TVM)

+++Tom Horn (1980)
+++++The Long Riders (1980)
+++Heaven's Gate (1980)
+Butch & Sundance: the Early Days (1979)
+++Goin' South (1978)
++++The Shootist (1976)
++Return of a Man Called Horse (1976)
++++The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
++Buffalo Bill and the Indians (1976)
++Rooster Cogburn (1975)
+++Posse (1975)
++Breakheart Pass (1975)
+++Bite the Bullet (1975)
+++The Train Robbers (1973)
+++++Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)
++High Plains Drifter (1973)
+++++Ulzana's Raid (1972) R2
++The Magnificent 7 Ride (1972)
+++Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972)
++Joe Kidd (1972)
+++Jeremiah Johnson (1972)
++++The Cowboys (1972)
++++Bad Company (1972)
+++Buck and the Preacher (1972)
+++Support Your Local Sheriff (1971)
+++++McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)
++++The Hired Hand (1971)
+++Hannie Caulder (1971) R2
++Chato's Land (1971)
+++Big Jake (1971)

+++Two Mules For Sister Sara (1970)
++Rio Lobo (1970)
++++A Man Called Horse (1970)
+++Lawman (1970)
+++Chisum (1970)
+++The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970)
+++++The Wild Bunch (1969)
++The Undefeated (1969)
+++++True Grit (1969)
++++Support Your Local Sheriff (1969)
++McKenna's Gold (1969)
++Guns of the Magnificent 7 (1969)
++++Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
+++Will Henry (1968)
+Shalako (1968)
+++Hang 'Em High (1968)
++Five Card Stud (1968)
+++Bandolero! (1968)
+++Waterhole #3 (1967
++The War Wagon (1967)
++++Hour of the Gun (1967)
+++++Hombre (1967)
+++El Dorado (1967)
++The Texican (1966)
+++Return of the Magnificent 7 (1966)
+++The Rare Breed (1966)
+++++The Professionals (1966)
+++Nevada Smith (1966}
++++Duel At Diablo (1966)
+++Sons of Katie Elder (1965)
++++The Shooting (1965/7)
++++Ride In the Whirlwind (1965/7)
+++Major Dundee (1965)
+++Cat Ballou (1965)
++Invitation to a Gunfighter (1964)
++++How the West Was Won (1963)
+++++Ride the High Country (1962)
+++++The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
++++One-Eyed Jacks (1961)
+++The Deadly Companions (1961)
+++The Comancheros (1961)

++++The Unforgiven (1960)
+++North to Alaska (1960)
+++The Magnificent Seven (1960)
++++Flaming Star (1960)
+++The Alamo (1960)
+++Warlock (1959)
+++Rio Bravo (1959)
+++No Name On the Bullet (1959)
++++Man Of the West (1958) R2
+++The Last Train From Gun Hill (1958)
+++The Bravados (1958)
++++The Big Country (1958)
++++3:10 to Yuma (1957)
++++The Tin Star (1957)
+++the Ride Back (1957)
+++Night Passage (1957)
+++The Lonely Man (1957)
+++Gunfight At the O.K. Corral (1957)
+++Forty Guns (1957)
++++7 Men From Now (1956)
+++++The Searchers (1956)
+++Jubal (1956)
+++Ten Wanted Men (1955)
++++The Man From Laramie (1955)
++A Lawless Street (1955)
++The Last Frontier (1955)
+++The Kentuckian (1955)
+++The Indian Fighter (1955)
+++Silver Lode (1954)
++++The Far Country (1954)
++Vera Cruz (1954)
++++Garden of Evil (1954)
++Broken Lance (1954)
++++Apache (1954)
++War Arrow (1953)
++Redhead From Wyoming (1953)
+++++Shane (1953)
++++Hondo (1953)
+++Gun Fury (1953)
+++Arrowhead (1953)
++Hangman's Knot (1952)
++++Bend of the River (1952)
++Man In the Saddle (1951)
+++++High Noon (1951)

++++Winchester '73 (1950)
++++Wagon Master (1950) R2
+++The Sundowners (1950)
++++Rio Grande (1950)
+++High Lonesome (1950)
+++++The Gunfighter (1950) R2
++++Broken Arrow (1950) R2
+++Branded (1950)
+++++She Wore A Yellow Ribbon (1949)
+++Lust For Gold (1949)
++++3 Godfathers (1948)
+++++Red River (1948)
+++++Fort Apache (1948) R2
+++Man From Colorado (1948)
++Albuquerque (1948)
+++Pursued (1947)
++++Angel and the Badman (1947)
+++++My Darling Clementine (1946)
+++Along Came Jones (1945)
+++Tall In the Saddle (1944)
++++Duel In the Sun (1946)
++++The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)
+++The Desperadoes (1943)
+++Western Union (1941)
+++++They Died With Their Boots On (1941)
+++Arizona (1941)

++++The Mark of Zorro (1940)
+++Dark Command (1940)
+++++Stagecaoch (1939)
++++Dodge City (1939)
++++The Plainsman (1937)
+++Cimarron (1931)
+++The Big Trail (1930)
++++The Iron Horse (1924 silent) R2
+++The Covered Wagon (1923 silent) R2

I know I've overlooked titles, I will edit them in as they come to me.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

I forgot Support Your Local Sheriff which
is an all-time favorite from my childhood.

You should follow that up with Support Your
Local Gunfighter.

Also, after years of hearing members rave about
it, I recently saw Lonesome Dove for
the very first time. I thought it was as an
amazingly outstanding miniseries with one of
the finest performances I have ever seen from
Robert Duvall. This is a 2-disc DVD that I
would urge you to buy blindly, though I wasn't
overly impressed with the transfer. I believe
it's released by Hallmark video.

 

[dana martin]

Now that is a great list!!!!
it's odd that as the story of the ok corral progresses that the movies, evolve to a lesser degree

+++++My Darling Clementine (1946)
+++Gunfight At the O.K. Corral (1957)
+++Tombstone (1993)
++Wyatt Earp (1994)

 

[Richard--W]

Lonesome Dove is an amazing achievement. A minor miracle that a mini-series like this could get made in the first place. The people who made this film had their hearts and minds wide open. No pre-conceived notions, no hidden agendas, no prejudices, no attitude problems to hold it back or keep it down. Robert Duvall said that Gus macCrea is a character greater than Shakespeare's Hamlet and that it was an honor and privilege to play him.

I second the motion to buy it blind. It's discounted now everywhere you look, averaging about $10, a steal for a 2-disc mini-series. You'll never find more western for your money.

 

[Charles H]

Nobody has mentioned COWBOY (1958), part of the remarkable Glenn Ford/Delmar Daves trilogy (JUBAL, 3:10 TO YUMA). It's based on the early parts of Frank Harris's autobiography (the later part became a pornographic classic). It stars Jack Lemmon as Harris. The fate of the Brian Donlevy character is most unusual for a western. (Sadly, Sony saw unfit to pan-&-scan this remarkable film).
George Marshall, who directed THE SHEEPMAN, specialized in comedy-westerns (the most famous being DESTRY RIDES AGAIN). An unususual, stylized western-musical RED GARTERS directed by Marshall starring Rosemary Clooney and Jack Carson is well worth a look.

 

[dana martin]

Wonder at the possibility of seeing Angel and the Badman released from Paramount, since they have signed for his Batjac properties, i know this was done before when it was John Wayne Productions, very good film.