Westerns.

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Apr 24, 2008
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I really enjoyed Seraphim Falls.

It chucks you in the deep end, and refuses to give you context for what's happening or who you should be sympathising with for the majority of the film.

I would rather be confused than bored.
 

Wadders

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Sexual Harassment Panda said:
I really enjoyed Seraphim Falls.

It chucks you in the deep end, and refuses to give you context for what's happening or who you should be sympathising with for the majority of the film.

I would rather be confused than bored.
Good choice sir! I checked that out on a whim because it was on BBC iPlayer, and I was pleasantly surprised. Further proof that Liam Neeson can do no wrong.

I especially liked the hallucination type sequence with the lady on the caraven in the desert. It's a shame it's not more well known.
SomeBritishDude said:
Honestly "Once Upon a Time in the West" was a movie I really didn't enjoy all that much. It had it's moments but honestly for me it was way too slow. It takes 40 or 50 minutes before you really have a good idea what the motivation is or what the movie is really about, and once I worked it out I didn't really care all that much anymore. It's shame seeing as there were some great performances.
Funny, that's exactly the reason I fell for it. The build up kept me guessing for a fair while (maybe I'm just stupid though) and kept me interested in the film. Add to that the great acting, cinematography and music, and you have one of my all time favourite films. But to each his own as they say :)

I gotta say one thing about that movie though. Claudia Cardinale. Just wow! :p
 

The Night Shade

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I like mostly westerns with Clint Eastwood,Fist full of dollars,For a few dollars more and The good the bad and the ugly are my favorites they are basicaly a trilogy.
 

Wadders

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BobDobolina said:
Love me some westerns. The Magnificent Seven is a classic. The Sergio Leone westerns are still great, for sure; some of the other Spaghetti westerns, mostly forgotten now, were great too, like A Pistol for Ringo and Django. Many of the older westerns haven't aged as well for the most part, but there are some that are still amazing, like Warlock with Anthony Quinn and Henry Fonda.

Far as modern Westerns go, The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford is amazing. Also Silverado, Unforgiven, Open Range, Appaloosa, The Missing, Wyatt Earp, Ned Kelly... all entertaining. Even the cheese: Young Guns 1 & 2, The Quick and the Dead (ludicrous, but fun), Maverick... Tombstone (sort of a terrible movie, actually, except it has Val Kilmer as the best Doc Holliday ever put on film). But I have a special place in my heart for Dead Man with Johnny Depp, The Proposition with Guy Pearce, and Ang Lee's Ride With the Devil.
Woah, there's a wealth of films there that I've never even heard of, thanks for that they should keep me going for a while :)

Open Range! How could I forget? Costner and Duvall = awesome.
 

captaincabbage

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The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is a brilliant movie.

Also The Proposition is epic.

You can never go past any of Clint Eastwood's films tho. Some of my favs are The Outlaw Josey Wales and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
 
Apr 24, 2008
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Sexual Harassment Panda said:
Wadders said:
I really enjoyed Seraphim Falls.

It chucks you in the deep end, and refuses to give you context for what's happening or who you should be sympathising with for the majority of the film.

I would rather be confused than bored.
Good choice sir! I checked that out on a whim because it was on BBC iPlayer, and I was pleasantly surprised. Further proof that Liam Neeson can do no wrong.

I especially liked the hallucination type sequence with the lady on the caraven in the desert. It's a shame it's not more well known.
I do really like Liam Neeson. The logical part of me knows that Taken wasn't a great film, but I enjoyed the heck out of it...entirely based on his performance.

The last scene of Seraphim Falls was interesting.
The proprietor that they dealt with, was called Louise C. Fair(probably meant to sound like "Lucifer"), the scene has a cool deal with the devil vibe. I'm pretty sure that they have both taken a bullet at this point, so maybe they are already dead...who knows?
I don't think the film did well, which is a damn shame, I would like more films that buck Hollywood convention whilst not sacrificing watchability, like this did.

edit - Screwed up the quoting...
 

fletch_talon

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Nov 6, 2008
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mmhmmm... Not only is the chick hot, but the movie was pretty entertaining too.

I also like fievel goes west. Unfortunately I havn't seen much else in the way of westerns.
 

Brisingr

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I love the Western Genre. I haven't seen too many western films but I do love to reading them.

Although, not technically a movie. You should check out the Lonesome Dove mini-series. Great series based off an amazing book.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiFpjPNNH1I
 

Blindswordmaster

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Wadders said:
Westerns are not a genre of film I hear much about on this forum, so I was wondering if any of you wonderful people are fans of the genre.

I've only got into them relatively recently, but I love most of the ones I've seen so far. Most of Sergio Leone's so-called spaghetti westerns, a lot of the later Clint Eastwood ones and a few modern ones. I've not yet seen any John Wayne westerns though!

So far I'd say my two favourites are Once Upon a Time in the West and 3:10 to Yuma (the new one) They both utterly absorbed me with their gripping stories, fantastic scenery and quality acting and brilliant soundtracks. Also, thanks to Sergio Leone, I am now obsessed with the music of Ennio Morricone, who did most of the stuff for the Dollars Trilogy, Once Upon a Time (and Inglorious Bastards) as well as many others I'm sure.

So yeah, what western films do you love, what ones dont you love and why? Also, any reccomendations would be good :)



EDIT:

DAMN! I knew I had forgotten something. Namely; The Wild Bunch.

And why has no one mentioned this cornerstone of the Western Genre thus far?!
Escapist, I am dissapoint.

I disagree with you, sir. We talk about Westerns all the time here. I'm fairly sure there's a good amount of Western fans here. That said, it's hard to go wrong with those Sergio Leone spaghetti westerns.
 

Treefingers

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Wadders said:
Treefingers said:
However i really don't like any of the John Wayne westerns that i've watched, of which i've seen about 4.
Why is this, may I ask?

I've never seen any of his Westerns and am curious to see what others think of them :D
I'm not too sure really, they just didn't particularly appeal to me. I prefer the over the top stylization of Spaghetti westerns. John Wayne's (at least the ones i've seen) are a bit more straight forward action flicks. That and the blatant racism in some of them makes me a little uncomfortable.

That said though, you ought to check them out as a fan of westerns just cos of the man's reputation.
 

Treefingers

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ilovemyLunchbox said:
If you'd like a western that doesn't actually take place in the west, Gran Torino is fantastic.
Interesting, but i definitely wouldn't class Gran Torino as a western. I'd sooner call the original Star Wars trilogy a western.
 

manaman

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Wadders said:
ilovemyLunchbox said:
Wadders said:
ilovemyLunchbox said:
I'd like to second Red Dead Redemption. One of the best westerns I've ever seen, and the fact that it is a video game just makes it more immersive as a story. Seriously, OP, just wait until that climax. Holy shit.

Film-wise, "Fist Full of Dollars" trilogy is an essential. If you'd like a western that doesn't actually take place in the west, Gran Torino is fantastic.
I cannot wait to see what happens in RDR but at the same time, I never want the game to end haha!

And yes Gran Torino is amazing, but is it really a western? Sure it's got Clint Eastwood, but that don't make it a western. It's a moral story as many westerns are, but I'd hesitate to classify it as one :p
I can understand that, but I'd argue that Eastwood played an older character who was stuck in the ways of the past, reluctant to adapt as the world changed around him. The central conflict of the movie revolved around a community full of people being harassed by a gang who considered itself the real authority in the area. He swooped in to protect and save them.
Then, by ultimately sacrificing himself for the sake of the neighborhood, he completed the perfect hero role.
Though it may not be considered a traditional western, I'd definitely group it in with the classics.
Well shit, I'm sold. :D

I guess you're right. Now you put it like that, the similarities between it and traditional Westerns are too hard to ignore. I just didnt want to call it a western because there were no cowboy hats, horses and super-accurate revolvers :p
There are loads of subcategories of westerns, and a couple of them account for what is basically a western story set in modern or even futuristic sci-fi settings.
 

cheese_wizington

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The Good The Bad and The Ugly.

3:10 to Yuma Remake

And of course, Red Dead Redemption. That game has revived the Western industry in a way I never expected, I applaud Rockstar.
 

Forgetitnow344

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Treefingers said:
ilovemyLunchbox said:
If you'd like a western that doesn't actually take place in the west, Gran Torino is fantastic.
Interesting, but i definitely wouldn't class Gran Torino as a western. I'd sooner call the original Star Wars trilogy a western.
Now THAT'S an interesting opinion. I'd like to hear your reasoning, if you don't mind.
 

Treefingers

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ilovemyLunchbox said:
Treefingers said:
ilovemyLunchbox said:
If you'd like a western that doesn't actually take place in the west, Gran Torino is fantastic.
Interesting, but i definitely wouldn't class Gran Torino as a western. I'd sooner call the original Star Wars trilogy a western.
Now THAT'S an interesting opinion. I'd like to hear your reasoning, if you don't mind.
Sure.

I'm not the first to draw a comparison. Whether or not Star Wars ought to be classed as a Western (or Space Western) is debatable, but it definitely draws a lot of influence from Westerns.

Space as a final frontier mimics the traditional western setting. Epic storylines and adventure on a grand open landscape. Tatooine (Mos Eisley in particular) is hugely reminiscent of the old west. Seriously, watch this but imagine everyone wearing big hats, boots and long coats and you'll see what i mean.


Many characters and character elements seem to be derived from westerns - Luke is similar to the western cliché of the initally unknown figure riding into town, becoming it's saviour and finding himself on the way. Han Solo, a gun-slinging cowboy-esque rogue with his offbeat sidekick, Chewie. Darth Vader, a masked villan. Bounty hunters too, such as Boba Fett. Rogue gangs, like Jabba the Hutt and co. Obi-Wan as an old mysterious hermit type. The stark Good vs Evil, Black hat/White hat morality complete with strong opposing figures (Luke/Vader) parallels western themes. The Rebel Alliance parallel vigilante outlaws.

Luke finding his home burned and Aunt and Uncle killed is similar to the scene in The Searchers where another young hero-to-be finds his home burned and his family murdered. Both then set out on a quest largely driven by vengance.

The whole mythology of the 'old ways', in this case the ways of the Jedi, echoes the 'old ways' of the west often alluded to in westerns (like in RDR for example).
 

Swny Nerdgasm

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Let's see here's my list.

Tombstone (Val Kilmer still deserves a god-damned oscar for that role)
The Man With No Name Trilogy
The Assassination of Jesse James
Anything with The Duke
and while not technically a western the TV show Justified has a slight cowboy vibe to it