#505 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Thursday November 10)
Good morning,
IT’S THE LITTLE THINGS WE DO TOGETHER
Try as I might, I can’t remember the small, daily interactions of my youth. Sure, I remember the gestalt view, writ large. But the tiny events are a blur. Many of the clearest memories of one’s youth are the “big events” that broke through the ordinary day-to-day, like family vacations, as well as several “firsts” (first dance, first date, first kiss, first party at someone’s house when parents were away…), moments of great pleasure, tragic losses, and shocking events. The more quotidien events tend to fall into a blur—what did we talk about every day at the dinner table? What was it like getting ready for school? What did we do at recess in elementary school?
I think some of the best memories, however, fall between the big events and the ordinary. One of these is the love of great Westerns I shared with my father. I can remember together watching The Wild Bunch, Butch Cassidy, The Magnificent Seven, The Sons of Katie Elder, The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly, and True Grit. I can even remember going with him to see Blazing Saddles and his observation that the campfire scene just wasn’t funny (making this comment while laughing!)…
My father had a “Mount Rushmore” of great actors—Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster, Henry Fonda, and Jimmy Stewart—whose earlier movies were regularly shown on late-night TV, in addition to the current films at the theatre. Imagine that—in those days we watched the “CBS Friday Night Movie” (or the equivalents on other networks on other days), based solely on what the programmers thought best to show that evening.
MODERN WESTERNS WITH MESSAGES
As I have waxed on before, Westerns are not really just about the West or our perceptions of the West. They are a palette upon which issues of community, law and order, physical challenge, confrontation of evil, the value of the lone moral individual, issues of iconoclasm and conformity, clashes of cultures, and conquering nature all are at play.
Modern Westerns take on a revisionist tone and often offer the greatest ethical conflict and moral ambiguity. Jake suggested that “modern westerns” are a “cool sub-genre.” I agree. Here is a compilation of some of our favorites:
3:10 to Yuma
No Country for Old Men
Slow West
The Power of the Dog
True Grit
The Assassination of Jessie James by the Coward Robert Ford
Silverado
Brokeback Mountain
Hell or High Water
Unforgiven
Wind River
Open Range
Django Unchained
Dances With Wolves
The Sisters Brothers
Tombstone
Meek’s Cutoff
Lone Star
And for television:
Deadwood
1883
Some thoughts on a few classics:
Silverado. An expansive story of several characters who meet and share their adventures. This is, in my opinion, Lawrence Kasden’s best and it is a great favorite of mine. Kevin Kline, Danny Glover, Scott Glenn and Kevin Costner are the key friends. Rosanna Arquette, John Cleese, Jeff Goldblum and Linda Hunt are in supporting, yet important, roles. So many tropes of the old west and the western movie. Hard to believe this was made 35 years ago. It is not as dark as the westerns below, though just as revisionist a take on the old west.
The Outlaw Josie Wales and Unforgiven. Clint Eastwood has been in so many great western and cop movies (the “man with no name” spaghetti westerns, the Dirty Harry movies, High Plains Drifter, even the campy Paint Your Wagon). But to my mind, Josie Wales and Unforgiven are the most affecting and far reaching of his efforts, even including his well acclaimed more recent efforts (e.g., Gran Torino, Million Dollar Baby). Josie Wales tells the story of a former Confederate soldier (who enlists solely because a Union soldier murders his wife and son), who sets out to live a life after the war, notwithstanding being labeled an outlaw and pursued by bounty hunters. The character is iconic and the story of a broken man living in a broken country is extraordinary. Along the way, he embraces different characters who join him in his quest of redemption (including the under-appreciated actress, Sondra Locke, and the great Chief Dan George). It is in the Library of Congress Film Registry and was lauded by Howard Hawks, Orson Welles and Roger Ebert (now that’s a triple crown…).
Have a great day and have fun watching!
Glenn
From the archives: