The Western is the quintessential American movie genre. Its iconography has been seared into our collective conscious: the solitary cowboy riding the endless frontier, towns struggling to survive in a lawless land, the quick-drawing gunfighter. Generations of filmmakers have engaged with those symbols, building an entire cinematic language on a genre that began with the simple premise of good “white hats” vs. bad “black hats.” In doing so, they have created mythologies, torn down legends and subverted what it means to be an American.
My exposure to the West began in the living room of my parents’ house. My father, a Sephardic Jew born and raised in Greece, shared with me the movies he loved as a child. Over the years my enthusiasm for the genre only grew as I became a history buff, a lover of myths, and eventually a filmmaker. In interviews, I’m often asked to name my favorite Western,...
My exposure to the West began in the living room of my parents’ house. My father, a Sephardic Jew born and raised in Greece, shared with me the movies he loved as a child. Over the years my enthusiasm for the genre only grew as I became a history buff, a lover of myths, and eventually a filmmaker. In interviews, I’m often asked to name my favorite Western,...
- 12/14/2017
- by Jared Moshé
- Indiewire
Westerns are all about values: good and bad, law and lawlessness, etc. Joel McCrea and Frances Dee’s ‘bad man’ saga isn’t faith based, exactly, but it’s great for humanitarian values, the simple notion that the good in people should be encouraged. And one important detail may make it unique. Hint: John Milius might be strongly prejudiced against this picture.
Four Faces West
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1948 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 89 min. / Street Date December 19, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Joel McCrea, Frances Dee, Charles Bickford, Joseph Calleia, William Conrad.
Cinematography: Russell Harlan
Film Editor: Edward Mann
Original Music: Paul Sawtell
Written by C. Graham Baker, Teddi Sherman, William & Milarde Brent from the novel Pasó por aquí by Eugene Manlove Rhodes
Produced by Vernon E. Clark, Harry Sherman
Directed by Alfred E. Green
Faith-based westerns exist, but much more numerous are lightly inspirational sagebrush pictures that deal...
Four Faces West
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1948 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 89 min. / Street Date December 19, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Joel McCrea, Frances Dee, Charles Bickford, Joseph Calleia, William Conrad.
Cinematography: Russell Harlan
Film Editor: Edward Mann
Original Music: Paul Sawtell
Written by C. Graham Baker, Teddi Sherman, William & Milarde Brent from the novel Pasó por aquí by Eugene Manlove Rhodes
Produced by Vernon E. Clark, Harry Sherman
Directed by Alfred E. Green
Faith-based westerns exist, but much more numerous are lightly inspirational sagebrush pictures that deal...
- 12/12/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
George R.R. Martin and Stephen King recently sat down together in Albuquerque, New Mexico at the Kiva Auditorium to have a discussion about various topics. If you're a fan of either of these writers, the hour-long conversation is a must watch. Or you could just skip to the highlight where Martin asks King the question that we’ve all been wondering… “How the fuck to you write so many books so fast!?”
It seems like King releases a book every six months, and it seems crazy that he’s able to write so many of them so quick. Martin jokes, “I think, ‘Oh, I’ve had a really good six months – I’ve written three chapters!’ and you’ve finished three books in that time.”
King has just mastered the art of writing a discipline. He explains that he spends three to four hours a day writing six “fairly clean” pages.
It seems like King releases a book every six months, and it seems crazy that he’s able to write so many of them so quick. Martin jokes, “I think, ‘Oh, I’ve had a really good six months – I’ve written three chapters!’ and you’ve finished three books in that time.”
King has just mastered the art of writing a discipline. He explains that he spends three to four hours a day writing six “fairly clean” pages.
- 6/24/2016
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
Halloween doesn’t have to be over once the last trick-or-treater has crept back into the shadows of the night. You may still be possessed by the spirit of the holiday and in desperate need of some real scares. In an effort to address that need and help you find a choice that goes beyond the usual iconography of the season, I’ve picked three titles that may not immediately jump to mind when it comes to autumn-tinged chills and terror. They are not self-consciously seasonal choices, like John Carpenter’s Halloween or Michael Dougherty’s 2007 anthology Trick ‘R Treat, both excellent choices for cinematic fear on the pumpkin circuit. Two of them rely more on mood, creeping dread, an insinuating style and, dare I say, even a poetic approach to storytelling than the usual Samhain-appropriate fare. And one has an inexplicably bad reputation in the halls of conventional wisdom,...
- 10/31/2015
- by Dennis Cozzalio
- Trailers from Hell
I'll trade you two RKOs for two Warners', an even swap! This quartet of movie-magic wonderments offer a full course on old-school film effects wizardry at its best. Willis O'Brien passes the baton to disciple Ray Harryhausen, who dazzles us with his own effects magic for the first '50s giant monster epic. And the best monster thriller of the decade is offered at its original widescreen aspect ratio. It's all special enough to merit a mid-week review. Special Effects Collection Blu-ray The Son of Kong, Mighty Joe Young, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, Them! Warner Home Video 1933-1954 / B&W / 1:37 Academy - 1:85 widescreen / 335 min. / Street Date October 27, 2015 / 54.96 or 19.98 separately Starring Robert Armstrong, Helen Mack,, Frank Reicher, Victor Wong; Robert Armstrong, Terry Moore, Ben Johnson, Frank McHugh; Paul Christian, Paula Raymond, Cecil Kellaway, Kenneth Tobey, Donald Woods, Lee Van Cleef; James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon, James Arness, Onslow Stevens,...
- 10/23/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
I interviewed James Coburn in late 1998 for the cover story of the February 1999 issue of Venice Magazine. I had grown up watching Coburn on the late show, but also seeing him on the big screen, first-run. Meeting him was a thrill as he entered the living room of his manager, the late Hilly Elkins', home in Beverly Hills. Coburn was elegant, charming and had the grace of a cat. The only thing that revealed the health problems that had nearly done him in were his gnarled hands, the result of severe arthritis. We spoke about his role in Paul Schrader's newest film, "Affliction," which would earn him a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award. Later, as I walked Coburn to his Acura Nsx sport coupe, he bid me a warm farewell.
Several months later, I encountered him again at The Independent Spirit Awards, in Santa Monica. I went up...
Several months later, I encountered him again at The Independent Spirit Awards, in Santa Monica. I went up...
- 7/15/2015
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
Looking back over the year at what films moved and impressed us, it is clear that watching old films is a crucial part of making new films meaningful. Thus, the annual tradition of our end of year poll, which calls upon our writers to pick both a new and an old film: they were challenged to choose a new film they saw in 2013—in theaters or at a festival—and creatively pair it with an old film they also saw in 2013 to create a unique double feature.
All the contributors were given the option to write some text explaining their 2013 fantasy double feature. What's more, each writer was given the option to list more pairings, with or without explanation, as further imaginative film programming we'd be lucky to catch in that perfect world we know doesn't exist but can keep dreaming of every time we go to the movies.
How...
All the contributors were given the option to write some text explaining their 2013 fantasy double feature. What's more, each writer was given the option to list more pairings, with or without explanation, as further imaginative film programming we'd be lucky to catch in that perfect world we know doesn't exist but can keep dreaming of every time we go to the movies.
How...
- 1/13/2014
- by Notebook
- MUBI
Curiously, with all the bold, ambitious, fresh talent storming into Hollywood in the 1960s/1970s – directors who’d cut their teeth in TV like Sidney Lumet and John Frankenheimer; imports like Roman Polanski and Peter Yates; the first wave of film school “film brats” like Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese — one of the most popular genres during the period was one of Old Hollywood’s most traditional: the Western. But the Western often wrought at the hands of that new generation of moviemakers was rarely traditional.
During the Old Hollywood era, Westerns typically had been B-caliber productions, most of them favoring gunfights and barroom brawls over dramatic substance, and nearly all adhering to Western tropes which ran back to the pre-cinema days of dime novelist Ned Buntline. With the 1960s, however, the genre began to change; or, more accurately, expand, twist, and even invert.
To be sure, there would...
During the Old Hollywood era, Westerns typically had been B-caliber productions, most of them favoring gunfights and barroom brawls over dramatic substance, and nearly all adhering to Western tropes which ran back to the pre-cinema days of dime novelist Ned Buntline. With the 1960s, however, the genre began to change; or, more accurately, expand, twist, and even invert.
To be sure, there would...
- 1/4/2013
- by Bill Mesce
- SoundOnSight
Following postponement in April due to nerve damage, Eddie Vedder's solo tour is gearing back up. While tickets purchased for the tour's original dates are still valid, tickets are now available for most of the new dates. Vedder will be touring with A.V. Fest alum Glen Hansard. Oct. 31-Nov. 1—The Pearl—Las Vegas, Nevada Nov. 4—Comerica Theater—Phoenix, Arizona Nov. 6—Kiva Auditorium—Albuquerque, New Mexico Nov. 7—Plaza Theater—El Paso, Texas Nov. 9-11—Bass Concert Hall—Austin, Texas* Nov. 12-13—Jones Hall for the Performing Arts—Houston, Texas Nov. 15—The Music Hall ...
- 9/28/2012
- avclub.com
"It's easy to enjoy Raffaello Matarazzo's melodramas for the campy excess of their acting and story lines," blogs Dave Kehr, "but it's more productive to take them seriously, I think — to see how cleanly and elegantly Matarazzo presents this bezerko material, with a visual style that reminded Jacques Lourcelles of Lang, Dreyer and Mizoguchi, and how perfectly engineered his narratives are, with every outlandish episode incorporated into a serene, symmetrical structure. The new Matarazzo box set (my New York Times review is here) from Criterion's budget Eclipse line contains four of Matarazzo's seven films with the towering star couple Amedeo Nazzari and Yvonne Sanson (literally — Matarazzo's mise-en-scene somehow makes them seem larger, both physically and emotionally, than any of the other characters on the screen), all subtitled in English for the first time: Chains (1949) [image above], Tormento (1950), Nobody's Children (1952) and The White Angel (1955)."
"Though immensely popular, the films were dismissed by...
"Though immensely popular, the films were dismissed by...
- 6/30/2011
- MUBI
Netflix has revolutionized the home movie experience for fans of film with its instant streaming technology. Netflix Nuggets is my way of spreading the word about independent, classic and foreign films made available by Netflix for instant streaming.
Sorry, folks… there are simply too many great films streaming this week to post an image for them all, but that’s a good thing, eh? You’ve got your movie watching work cut out for you, due in great part to Miramax releasing damn near their entire catalog of films on one day!
B. Monkey (1999)
Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
Director: Michael Radford
Synopsis: Good-hearted schoolteacher Alan Furnace (Jared Harris) desperately wants some excitement in his life — and he may just get some. One lonely night at a London bar, Alan spies the raven-haired beauty Beatrice (Asia Argento) arguing with two friends, Paul (Rupert Everett) and Bruno (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers). Beatrice quickly befriends Alan and...
Sorry, folks… there are simply too many great films streaming this week to post an image for them all, but that’s a good thing, eh? You’ve got your movie watching work cut out for you, due in great part to Miramax releasing damn near their entire catalog of films on one day!
B. Monkey (1999)
Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
Director: Michael Radford
Synopsis: Good-hearted schoolteacher Alan Furnace (Jared Harris) desperately wants some excitement in his life — and he may just get some. One lonely night at a London bar, Alan spies the raven-haired beauty Beatrice (Asia Argento) arguing with two friends, Paul (Rupert Everett) and Bruno (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers). Beatrice quickly befriends Alan and...
- 4/29/2011
- by Travis Keune
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Stagecoach Directed by: John Ford Written by: Dudley Nichols Starring: John Wayne, Claire Trevor, John Carradine, Andy Devine With comic book movies and fantasy films ruling the box office, it's safe to say that the 'B movie' is now 'the A movie'. While the idea of the blockbuster is nothing new, there seems to have been a shift in the quality of talent that have attached themselves to films that years ago might have been considered substandard (actually, most of it still is substandard). Similarly, the western was once considered pure pulp filmmaking until John Ford's Stagecoach set a standard that legitimized the American western and turned a B movie actor (John Wayne) into a legend. While the plot of Stagecoach is pretty straightforward, the characterizations are fairly subversive considering this was Ford's first 'talkie' western. The first act of the film takes its time setting up the multitude...
- 5/27/2010
- by Jay C.
- FilmJunk
Albuquerque – This sleepy town is getting rocked awake by a mad bomber in Deadly Impact. Thomas Armstrong (Boondock Saints’s Sean Patrick Flanery) is a cop that is forced to shoot his wife in order to save 10 people that are being held hostage by The Lion (The Matrix’s Joe Pantoliano). The ugliness of the moment cause Armstrong to quit the force and devote himself to booze. Eight years later The Lion reappears. The FBI wants Armstrong’s help in identifying him, but can he tangle with the diabolical madman who has promised to blow up the city?
Deadly Impact is an action rush with Pantoliano using the power of Bluetooth for evil. Here’s the trailer for the film:
The movie is out on DVD this week. I had a chance to swap email with Director Robert Kurtzman and Producer David S. Greathouse. The duo had previously made Buried Alive.
Deadly Impact is an action rush with Pantoliano using the power of Bluetooth for evil. Here’s the trailer for the film:
The movie is out on DVD this week. I had a chance to swap email with Director Robert Kurtzman and Producer David S. Greathouse. The duo had previously made Buried Alive.
- 4/28/2010
- by UncaScroogeMcD
Newcomer Hailee Steinfeld has been cast as 14-year-old Mattie Ross in Joel and Ethan Coen's True Grit, reports Variety. The film begin production next month in New Mexico.
The Paramount feature is based on Charles Portis' novel about a 14-year-old girl who, along with an aging U.S. marshal and another lawman, tracks her father's killer in hostile Indian territory.
Director Henry Hathaway's original 1969 film starred Kim Darby as the teen, John Wayne and Glen Campbell as the lawmen, Jeff Corey as the killer and featured Robert Duvall and Dennis Hopper as fellow outlaws.
While that film was a showcase for Wayne, the Coens' version will tell the tale from the girl's point of view.
Scheduled for a December 25, 2010 release, the Western drama stars Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and Josh Brolin.
The Paramount feature is based on Charles Portis' novel about a 14-year-old girl who, along with an aging U.S. marshal and another lawman, tracks her father's killer in hostile Indian territory.
Director Henry Hathaway's original 1969 film starred Kim Darby as the teen, John Wayne and Glen Campbell as the lawmen, Jeff Corey as the killer and featured Robert Duvall and Dennis Hopper as fellow outlaws.
While that film was a showcase for Wayne, the Coens' version will tell the tale from the girl's point of view.
Scheduled for a December 25, 2010 release, the Western drama stars Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and Josh Brolin.
- 2/24/2010
- CinemaSpy
Newcomer Hailee Steinfeld has been cast in the role of Mattie Ross in Joel and Ethan Coen's True Grit at Paramount Pictures. Scheduled for a December 25, 2010 release, the Western drama stars Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and Josh Brolin. Filming is scheduled to begin next month in New Mexico. The film is based on Charles Portis' novel, which is about a 14-year-old girl who, along with an aging U.S. marshal and another lawman, tracks her father's killer in hostile Indian territory. While the original film was a showcase for John Wayne, the Coens' version will tell the tale from the girl's point of view. The original starred Kim Darby as the teen, Wayne and Glen Campbell as the lawmen, Jeff Corey as the killer and featured Robert Duvall and Dennis Hopper as fellow outlaws.
- 2/23/2010
- Comingsoon.net
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