(no subject)
I'll get to a response for the previous post in a day or two. For now, let's talk about movies. Westerns, even.
The Western is sort of unusual in that it's a genre that has a worldwide association with American character and the American frontier, but has been largely embraced and even produced by foreign countries. American Westerns and Asian martial arts and samurai films strongly overlap in influence and style; many of the most popular and timeless Westerns were filmed in Spain with largely Italian writers and crews (the "Spaghetti Westerns"). In fact, this top five, which is of Westerns if you haven't already guessed, contains one film adapted from a Japanese movie and two of the best Spaghetti Westerns. But enough of this, onward to the list!
Honorable Mention: No Country For Old Men
If you haven't seen this movie, which is quite possible because it's only been out for around seven or eight months, then go and do it. It's a brilliant film that falls in between crime drama, Western, and general thriller, and it's loaded with suspense and incredible performances (Javier Bardem is fucking SCARY as the villain). I call it a Western because it's maybe the closest thing I can think of to a true "modern Western" set in more recent times but characterized by the style and setting that's absolutely Western and believable. I hesitated to include it with the other five in this list because A) it's so new and B) it doesn't really have any cowboys in it.
Honorable Mention II: Brokeback Mountain
Yeah, I've seen it. It's EXTREMELY different from what you might expect in a Western movie, but it also has beautiful art direction, great performances, and some surprisingly moving sequences. And as a testimonial to the fact that American Westerns are an international genre, Brokeback Mountain was directed by the brilliant Taiwanese director Ang Lee. Basically, if you don't feel too squeamish about the subject matter, I wholeheartedly recommend this movie as sort of an alternative love story in a classic Western setting.
5. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Robert Redford and Paul Newman are two extremely classy oldschoolers that have some of the best "buddy chemistry" of all time in this film as well as The Sting. Butch and Sundance is an interesting sorta-hybrid of a Western and a caper film, and the somewhat inglorious downfall of the title duo and the increased strain on their friendship as they run from the feds provides for some brilliant moments, culminating in a tremendously entertaining gunfight. Well, I guess I could that gunfight bit about every movie on this list, but this one's worthy, trust me.
4. The Magnificent Seven
This excellent adaptation of Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai is an all-time great. While most of the main characters are simply analogues of the Kurosawa film, some of the new characters create subplots interesting in their own right. Overall, The Magnificent Seven is a quality film for its classic storyline and execution, in addition to its stable of 1950s and 60s Hollywood badasses - Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, James Coburn, Charles Bronson, and Eli Wallach, just to name a few.
3. Once Upon a Time in the West
One of the last great Sergio Leone Spaghetti Westerns is amazing in particular for its two stars: Charles Bronson as the hero and Henry Fonda as the villain. Yes, that Henry Fonda. Henry Fonda's black hat Frank is terrifying, a truly sadistic and evil bastard with a gentle smile, blue eyes, and no scruples or conscience whatsoever. Sergio Leone was actually through with Westerns prior to making this film, but the promise of a large budget and the opportunity to work with Henry Fonda brought Leone back to filming in the Andalusian desert. The result is one of the greatest (IMO the second-greatest) of the Spaghetti Westerns.
2. High Noon
This movie was slightly controversial in its time, despite being successful and well acclaimed; it's about a retiring town marshal who decides to return to his hometown one last time to defeat a group of outlaws, even though almost everyone else in the town doesn't want anything to do with the outlaws passing through. In the end, both the marshal and his young wife need to compromise their beliefs in order to do the right thing, and shun the townspeople for their inaction. Some people viewed this as a critique of the current culture of McCarthyism, and as a result thought of it as thoroughly un-American and subversive, including John Wayne. But enough of that - this is a great movie that uses a very innovative and effective real-time narrative style (the movie begins at 10:30 and ends around 12:15) with amazing performances by Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly (who are a newlywed couple in the movie, despite an obvious and hilarious age difference). I definitely spent too much time talking about background stuff here - this is as good a Western as you'll find almost anywhere.
1. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Not only one of the best Westerns of all time, but one of the best movies of all time. The third movie in Leone's Fistful of Dollars trilogy (aka the Man With No Name trilogy), the three central characters are each either a study in badassery (Blondie and Angel Eyes) or lovable stereotypes (Tuco). The storyline moves along at a much more manageable clip than One Upon a Time in the West, and as a whole is less frustrating than watching other slightly-dated Westerns, as the characters and plot are brilliant. Really, there shouldn't have been any question here. If you haven't seen The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, then you are missing out on one of the greatest classics of American cinema.
That's all, folks. Now it's time for sleeping.
The Western is sort of unusual in that it's a genre that has a worldwide association with American character and the American frontier, but has been largely embraced and even produced by foreign countries. American Westerns and Asian martial arts and samurai films strongly overlap in influence and style; many of the most popular and timeless Westerns were filmed in Spain with largely Italian writers and crews (the "Spaghetti Westerns"). In fact, this top five, which is of Westerns if you haven't already guessed, contains one film adapted from a Japanese movie and two of the best Spaghetti Westerns. But enough of this, onward to the list!
Honorable Mention: No Country For Old Men
If you haven't seen this movie, which is quite possible because it's only been out for around seven or eight months, then go and do it. It's a brilliant film that falls in between crime drama, Western, and general thriller, and it's loaded with suspense and incredible performances (Javier Bardem is fucking SCARY as the villain). I call it a Western because it's maybe the closest thing I can think of to a true "modern Western" set in more recent times but characterized by the style and setting that's absolutely Western and believable. I hesitated to include it with the other five in this list because A) it's so new and B) it doesn't really have any cowboys in it.
Honorable Mention II: Brokeback Mountain
Yeah, I've seen it. It's EXTREMELY different from what you might expect in a Western movie, but it also has beautiful art direction, great performances, and some surprisingly moving sequences. And as a testimonial to the fact that American Westerns are an international genre, Brokeback Mountain was directed by the brilliant Taiwanese director Ang Lee. Basically, if you don't feel too squeamish about the subject matter, I wholeheartedly recommend this movie as sort of an alternative love story in a classic Western setting.
5. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Robert Redford and Paul Newman are two extremely classy oldschoolers that have some of the best "buddy chemistry" of all time in this film as well as The Sting. Butch and Sundance is an interesting sorta-hybrid of a Western and a caper film, and the somewhat inglorious downfall of the title duo and the increased strain on their friendship as they run from the feds provides for some brilliant moments, culminating in a tremendously entertaining gunfight. Well, I guess I could that gunfight bit about every movie on this list, but this one's worthy, trust me.
4. The Magnificent Seven
This excellent adaptation of Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai is an all-time great. While most of the main characters are simply analogues of the Kurosawa film, some of the new characters create subplots interesting in their own right. Overall, The Magnificent Seven is a quality film for its classic storyline and execution, in addition to its stable of 1950s and 60s Hollywood badasses - Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, James Coburn, Charles Bronson, and Eli Wallach, just to name a few.
3. Once Upon a Time in the West
One of the last great Sergio Leone Spaghetti Westerns is amazing in particular for its two stars: Charles Bronson as the hero and Henry Fonda as the villain. Yes, that Henry Fonda. Henry Fonda's black hat Frank is terrifying, a truly sadistic and evil bastard with a gentle smile, blue eyes, and no scruples or conscience whatsoever. Sergio Leone was actually through with Westerns prior to making this film, but the promise of a large budget and the opportunity to work with Henry Fonda brought Leone back to filming in the Andalusian desert. The result is one of the greatest (IMO the second-greatest) of the Spaghetti Westerns.
2. High Noon
This movie was slightly controversial in its time, despite being successful and well acclaimed; it's about a retiring town marshal who decides to return to his hometown one last time to defeat a group of outlaws, even though almost everyone else in the town doesn't want anything to do with the outlaws passing through. In the end, both the marshal and his young wife need to compromise their beliefs in order to do the right thing, and shun the townspeople for their inaction. Some people viewed this as a critique of the current culture of McCarthyism, and as a result thought of it as thoroughly un-American and subversive, including John Wayne. But enough of that - this is a great movie that uses a very innovative and effective real-time narrative style (the movie begins at 10:30 and ends around 12:15) with amazing performances by Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly (who are a newlywed couple in the movie, despite an obvious and hilarious age difference). I definitely spent too much time talking about background stuff here - this is as good a Western as you'll find almost anywhere.
1. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Not only one of the best Westerns of all time, but one of the best movies of all time. The third movie in Leone's Fistful of Dollars trilogy (aka the Man With No Name trilogy), the three central characters are each either a study in badassery (Blondie and Angel Eyes) or lovable stereotypes (Tuco). The storyline moves along at a much more manageable clip than One Upon a Time in the West, and as a whole is less frustrating than watching other slightly-dated Westerns, as the characters and plot are brilliant. Really, there shouldn't have been any question here. If you haven't seen The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, then you are missing out on one of the greatest classics of American cinema.
That's all, folks. Now it's time for sleeping.