Author Topic: This is the West, sir.  (Read 42875 times)

Junior

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Re: This is the West, sir.
« Reply #70 on: May 04, 2013, 11:27:19 PM »
I should watch that again. Saw it in theaters, before I saw any of the classics. I liked it, too.

I always love a Sandy review. You do a wonderful job of getting to the center of a film.
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Sandy

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Re: This is the West, sir.
« Reply #71 on: May 04, 2013, 11:51:53 PM »
 :))

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Devil

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Re: This is the West, sir.
« Reply #72 on: May 05, 2013, 07:11:57 PM »
This was a really good movie that I can't remember anything about other than the amazing shootout. It's one I want to go back and watch again because I know I liked more about it than the gun play but I just can't recall why.
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oldkid

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Re: This is the West, sir.
« Reply #73 on: May 06, 2013, 12:14:59 PM »
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

Sandy

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Re: This is the West, sir.
« Reply #74 on: May 06, 2013, 02:39:07 PM »
 :))



Well, you know what Will Rogers says about literacy.


There are three kinds of men. The one
that learns by reading. The few who
learn by observation. The rest of them
have to pee on the electric fence for
themselves.



« Last Edit: July 17, 2013, 10:00:44 PM by Sandy »

Bondo

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Re: This is the West, sir.
« Reply #75 on: May 12, 2013, 03:52:15 AM »
What? You say you didn't notice the mountains because of the colossal shoot out? I don't blame you. Hoooowee! That was something to see, so I rewound it and watched again. Can a rifle really do this?

My roommate informs me that getting shot doesn't make you go flying, though I think shotguns would be more likely to do so. I'm voting for he went flying not from the impact of the shot but the impact of the side of the house flying at him.

Sandy

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Re: This is the West, sir.
« Reply #76 on: May 12, 2013, 04:20:50 AM »
I can go for that explanation. :D

Sandy

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Re: This is the West, sir.
« Reply #77 on: July 17, 2013, 10:00:18 PM »
Ruggles of Red Gap



Adorable

Best word to describe Ruggles. No, not Ruggles of Red Gap, Charlie Ruggles the actor. I’m not surprised he got a part in this film. Maybe his name got him in the door, but I’m sure his charm, dimples and the twinkle in his eyes kept him there. Alright, that’s enough. I’ve already fawned over him when I wrote about It Happened on Fifth Avenue. Okay, one more thing. Even though he’s a broad caricature in this film, he’s still all kinds of cute.

As for the Red Gap Ruggles, that would be Marmaduke Ruggles, played by Charles Laughton. I haven’t decided what I think about his portrayal yet. At the beginning his character has a look about him that says he’s either mentally flown the coop, or looking around for an exit to do so. Laughton’s decision to show a man resigned to his task is an interesting exercise, but it’s a quirky tick that has me a little stymied. Later in the story, as he changes, I enjoy the character without any reservations.

As for being a Western, except for accents, cowboy hats and a desert landscape outside a train window, there isn’t much to go by physically. Theme wise, the frontier idea of making your own mark is central to Marmaduke’s transformation. Constraints of servitude chafe in those wide open spaces, until the idea of stepping out of that traditional garment looks pretty good.

Super slight trappings of the film almost gloss over the more weighty issues of class structure and the worth of a man. Almost. It ends up being a happy lark with residual effects. 
« Last Edit: July 17, 2013, 10:05:33 PM by Sandy »

Sandy

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Re: This is the West, sir.
« Reply #78 on: August 01, 2013, 02:45:29 AM »
The Ox-Bow Incident



12 Angry Men, Western style.


When Henry Fonda's Gil asks what there is to do in town, the bartender lays out their options, "Well, unless you want to get in line and woo Drew's daughter... The only other unmarried woman I know is 82, blind and a Payute. That leaves you five choices: eat, sleep, drink, play poker or fight. Or you can shoot some pool." Or... if wrongdoing is afoot, you can always form a vigilante posse.

The painting above the bar reflects the restless atmosphere of the town; that champing at the bit.


“That guy’s awful slow getting there.”
“I feel sorry for him. Always in reach and never able to do anything about it.”
“Ain’t that guy got there yet?”


It doesn't take any persuasion to heed the call to action, as they rush off without true proper authority. Frenzied justice is what spurs them on. Truncated interrogation (This movie is so short!) and dismissed representation are the byproducts of taking the law into one's hands. Powerful speech at the end of the film. It holds it's power in the simplicity of it's truth.

[spoilery]A man just naturally can't take the law into his own hands and hang people without hurtin' everybody in the world, 'cause then he's just not breaking one law but all laws. Law is a lot more than words you put in a book, or judges or lawyers or sheriffs you hire to carry it out. It's everything people ever have found out about justice and what's right and wrong. It's the very conscience of humanity. There can't be any such thing as civilization unless people have a conscience, because if people touch God anywhere, where is it except through their conscience? And what is anybody's conscience except a little piece of the conscience of all men that ever lived?[/spoilery]

Sandy

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Re: This is the West, sir.
« Reply #79 on: August 23, 2013, 10:20:44 AM »
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance




Step aside. Forget what your heart is telling you and pack away your hopes and dreams. They're obsolete now, having hitched your wagon to an outdated post. All that you are and come to represent comes up short, when the world is advancing, headless of who it leaves behind. If it's any consolation, you'll be thought of fondly when a breeze carries the smell of a blossom and triggers a nostalgic reminder of what was.



A few more thoughts over in the Top 100 Club thread.

« Last Edit: August 23, 2013, 10:48:51 AM by Sandy »

 

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