Comments | rockmarooned: Stacy-crazy boy

rockmarooned

Stacy-crazy boy

Dec 25, 2010 23:32

It's been a busy couple of days followed by a spectacularly, and typically Rochesterian, Christmas. Here's one way to explain it: I was in D.A.'s in Saratoga on Christmas Eve Eve and ran into my friend Stacy, from Saratoga, who I hadn't seen in years and years, except on Facebook which we all know doesn't count. "Stacy" is not a very specific way ( Read more... )

vacation, upstate

Comments 3

mushroom_kitty December 29 2010, 03:38:16 UTC

Nick and I watched the original True Grit the other day when it was on TCM. The Coens' is waaaay better, although we liked the original quite a bit. Our consensus is that the original was altered too much in order to be a "John Wayne Movie". The Coens get way more comedy and dramatic tension out of the material. And, as you note, the movie is beautiful. Starry night on prairie? Check. Backlit horse running against a sunset prairie? Check.

"Dryly moving," indeed: "Keep your seat, Trash."

mushroom_kitty December 29 2010, 03:41:08 UTC

Also: The bear doctor was not in the original. When he came out and started talking, I turned to Nick and said, "Dude, that guy is so 'Coen Brothers,'" to which he replied, "I was just about to say that."

rockmarooned December 30 2010, 01:55:04 UTC

Knowing this delights me, because I agree about how Coensy that guy was... but at the same time, he may have been in the novel, which I guess is really what they were using as a source (sort of like how Charlie and the Chocolate Factory isn't really a remake of the Gene Wilder movie). I was struck by how many characters in the movie seemed so perfectly Coen Brothers even though at least some of them had to be from the novel or the old movie. I guess it was just incredibly well-matched. In general I want them to do fully original projects but this was so damn good... and also they would do an amazing version of The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon, which I guess they might tackle down the road. So I'll allow it.

I meant to see if my late grandpa had a taped-off-TV VHS of True Grit (he loved John Wayne and taped tons of old movies) when I was in Rochester, but I couldn't find his record books. Maybe I'll check the TCM listings.