Great Westerns

[Steve Jordan]

I'll bid Support Your Local Sheriff. James Garner made the most laid-back cowboy since the Waco Kid!

[paranoid marvin]

Well , there don't seem to be many true-to-life westerns
I guess my favourite 'fun' films are Young Guns I & II
Favourite 'serious' films are The Unforgiven - great performances by Richard 'English Bob' Harris and Gene 'Little Bill' Hackman , and Tombstone

And of course , don't forget the fantastic swearathon that is Deadwood - seems realistic , but did they really cuss that much?

My overall favourite has to be Little Big Man , part comedy , part biopic of General Custer and the Cheyenne nation , but a film that is greater than the sum of it's parts.19th century America as viewed through the eyes of a bewildered Hoffman , one could almost say it is a social commentary on this period , in the same way that Forrest Gump was

[manephelien]

I think they probably did cuss that much. I love Deadwood because you can almost smell it. The only thing that bugs me about it (as nearly all historical dramas) is that the actors have far better teeth than they would have had during that period. Most Westerns glamorize a very unglamorous lifestyle far too much. Most people died young at that time, mainly through disease, although a part of the population did die violently. Probably not more than in any inner city these days, in proportion to the population numbers.

My favorite Westerns are by Sergio Leone.

[j. d. worthington]

Originally Posted by unclejack

Historical ficton...uh...no. If it's historical how can it be fiction. And obviously SOMEONE cares about historical accuracy or we wouldn't be having this conversation.

Um, historical fiction is fiction set in a particular historical period... while the details in the life of a particular characer (or historical personage who is being utilized as a character) may not be entirely accurate, attention is paid to the general detail of the time (if you will)... the prevailing mores, social currents, technologies available at the time in that region, etc., as well as keeping by and large to the known facts of that person's life....

And yes, Support Your Local Sheriff is a very enjoyable film....

[paranoid marvin]

Originally Posted by manephelien

I think they probably did cuss that much. I love Deadwood because you can almost smell it. The only thing that bugs me about it (as nearly all historical dramas) is that the actors have far better teeth than they would have had during that period. Most Westerns glamorize a very unglamorous lifestyle far too much. Most people died young at that time, mainly through disease, although a part of the population did die violently. Probably not more than in any inner city these days, in proportion to the population numbers.

My favorite Westerns are by Sergio Leone.

I guess it's something we have to accept with virtually all tv - all the characters have perfect pearly-white teeth. The fact that it ws actually fashionable in periods of history to have blackened teeth (to show off how rich you were , being able to afford sugar) , and that it is highly unlikely that ANYONE prior to the 20th century would have had a perfect set of gnashers is ignored by tv/film producers largely presumably because bad teeth is unpopular with the audience - perhaps Mr. Darcy may not have been as fashionable with the ladies if he had a set of bright yellow broken teeth!

[qwik]

The old john Wayne movies rock!!!

[Rosemary]

My favourite would have to be 'The Magnificent Seven'. Not really a great fan of Westerns but I have watched that a few times!

[Connavar]

I just saw High Noon with Cary Cooper. My brother took it from the library just because it was a western. He didnt even know it was 4 time Oscar winner.

Cooper was amazing in it ! It flew right in my top 5 all time best Western among Eastwood movies. I also liked how realistic it was. The town sure let down the Sheriff they admired so much. Tragic how when it counted no one was willing to help him.

I really hope Cooper did other westerns !

[nj1]

My fav's are A MAN CALLED HORSE - amazing film.
THE GOOD, THE BAD and THE UGLY and THE OUTLAW JOSY WALES clint at his best.

[j. d. worthington]

Originally Posted by Connavar

I really hope Cooper did other westerns !

Indeed he did. Here's his filmography -- I'll leave it to you to find which might suit what you're looking for:

Gary Cooper - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[clovis-man]

I just read through all the posts on this thread and find it interesting that two John Wayne movies haven't been mentioned (not specifically, anyway):

The Searchers - a classic with a great cast and a troublesome topic. Lots of symbolism in this one.

Red River - One of the greatest. Another fabulous collection of actors. They finally "gave" JW an Oscar for True Grit, but he earned one in this movie.

[clovis-man]

Originally Posted by littlemissattitude

Ride the High Country (1962)

The last movie ever made by both Randolph Scott and Joel McCrea. They were both at the end of their careers and thought that they should stop with this one because they thought it was good and wanted to go out with a winner. Typical Sam Peckinpah film with lots of action. The other thing I liked about it was that it was centered in my local area with references to the town of Coarsegold and "the sheriff of Madera County". James Drury and Warren Oates were the villains, IIRC, and a very young Mariette Hartley as the love interest.

[littlemissattitude]

Originally Posted by clovis-man

The last movie ever made by both Randolph Scott and Joel McCrea. They were both at the end of their careers and thought that they should stop with this one because they thought it was good and wanted to go out with a winner. Typical Sam Peckinpah film with lots of action. The other thing I liked about it was that it was centered in my local area with references to the town of Coarsegold and "the sheriff of Madera County". James Drury and Warren Oates were the villains, IIRC, and a very young Mariette Hartley as the love interest.

Yeah. I've noticed some of those references.

I first saw this film when I was in high school. Joel McCrea was a local where I grew up, and he brought a copy of it to one of my classes when I was in 11th grade (that would have been about 1973) and showed it and answered questions afterward. Cool way to see a movie, and one of the benefits of having grown up in Southern California.

Oh, and it was actually Mariette Hartley's first film role.