list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around High Noon on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 http://www.spout.com/films/High_Noon/15356/default.aspx Title: High Noon
Year: 1952
Director: Fred Zinnemann
Plot: This Western classic stars Gary Cooper as Hadleyville marshal Will Kane, about to retire from office and go on his honeymoon with his new Quaker bride, Amy (Grace Kelly). But his happiness is short-lived when he is informed that the Miller gang, whose leader (Ian McDonald) Will had arrested, is due on the 12:00 train. Pacifist Amy urges Will to leave town and forget about the Millers, but this isn't his style; protecting Hadleyburg has always been his duty, and it remains so now. But when he asks for deputies to fend off the Millers, virtually nobody will stand by him. Chief Deputy Harvey Pell (Lloyd Bridges) covets Will's job and ex-mistress (Katy Jurado); his mentor, former lawman Martin Howe (Lon Chaney Jr.) is now arthritic and unable to wield a gun. Even Amy, who doesn't want to be around for her husband's apparently certain demise, deserts him. Meanwhile, the clocks tick off the minutes to High Noon -- the film is shot in "real time," so that its 85-minute length corresponds to the story's actual timeframe. Utterly alone, Kane walks into the center of town, steeling himself for his showdown with the murderous Millers. Considered a landmark of the "adult western," High Noon won four Academy Awards (including Best Actor for Cooper) and Best Song for the hit, "Do Not Forsake Me, O My Darling" sung by Tex Ritter. The screenplay was written by Carl Foreman, whose blacklisting was temporarily prevented by star Cooper, one of Hollywood's most virulent anti-Communists. John Wayne, another notable showbiz right-winger and Western hero, was so appalled at the notion that a Western marshal would beg for help in a showdown that he and director Howard Hawks "answered" High Noon with Rio Bravo (1959). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 21
Number of Lists: 34
Number of blog posts: 6
Number of discussion threads: 6
SpoutRating: 3
]]>Sat, 04 Jul 2009 05:58:40 GMTHigh Noon1952Fred ZinnemannThis Western classic stars <a href="/players/P____14817/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Gary Cooper</a> as Hadleyville marshal Will Kane, about to retire from office and go on his honeymoon with his new Quaker bride, Amy (<a href="/players/P____37518/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Grace Kelly</a>). But his happiness is short-lived when he is informed that the Miller gang, whose leader (Ian McDonald) Will had arrested, is due on the 12:00 train. Pacifist Amy urges Will to leave town and forget about the Millers, but this isn't his style; protecting Hadleyburg has always been his duty, and it remains so now. But when he asks for deputies to fend off the Millers, virtually nobody will stand by him. Chief Deputy Harvey Pell (<a href="/players/P_____3198/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Lloyd Bridges</a>) covets Will's job and ex-mistress (<a href="/players/P____36544/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Katy Jurado</a>); his mentor, former lawman Martin Howe (Lon Chaney Jr.) is now arthritic and unable to wield a gun. Even Amy, who doesn't want to be around for her husband's apparently certain demise, deserts him. Meanwhile, the clocks tick off the minutes to High Noon -- the film is shot in "real time," so that its 85-minute length corresponds to the story's actual timeframe. Utterly alone, Kane walks into the center of town, steeling himself for his showdown with the murderous Millers. Considered a landmark of the "adult western," High Noon won four Academy Awards (including Best Actor for Cooper) and Best Song for the hit, "Do Not Forsake Me, O My Darling" sung by Tex Ritter. The screenplay was written by <a href="/players/P___118574/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Carl Foreman</a>, whose blacklisting was temporarily prevented by star Cooper, one of Hollywood's most virulent anti-Communists. <a href="/players/P___116130/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>John Wayne</a>, another notable showbiz right-winger and Western hero, was so appalled at the notion that a Western marshal would beg for help in a showdown that he and director <a href="/players/P____93764/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Howard Hawks</a> "answered" High Noon with <a href=/films/28998/default.aspx style='text-decoration:underline'>Rio Bravo</a> (1959). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide21Tag Target (>10)34663http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t24213mc5hs.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/High_Noon/15356/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/blogs/babslkirsh/archive/2009/9/14/43897.aspx Post By: Babslkirsh
Post To: Babslkirsh Blog
Post Date: 9/14/2009 3:30:55 PM
Body: This now fits in with one of the best western movies that I have seen. And, for me, it all boiled down to one man, against all adds, standing tall. Gary Cooper stood very tall in this. Grace Kelly gave her beauty. It seems like director Fred Zinnemann created a classic with this film, which was written by Carl Foreman
]]>Mon, 14 Sep 2009 19:30:55 GMTBabslkirshBabslkirsh Blog9/14/2009 3:30:55 PM This now fits in with one of the best western movies that I have seen. And, for me, it all boiled down to one man, against all adds, standing tall. Gary Cooper stood very tall in this. Grace Kelly gave her beauty. It seems like director Fred Zinnemann created a classic with this film, which was written by Carl Foreman http://www.spout.com/blogs/pippin06/archive/2008/11/11/37198.aspx Post By: pippin06
Post To: Reel Thoughts
Post Date: 11/11/2008 11:23:34 AM
Body: What's the AFI project, you ask? For more information, or if you just enjoy my bemused ramblings, read here: http://www.spout.com/blogs/pippin06/archive/2008/3/1/25756.aspx High Noon is on the following AFI lists: The Original Top 100 (#33)100 Most Heart-Pounding Movies (#20)100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains (Will Kane is the #5 hero)100 Greatest Film Songs (#25 - "High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin)")25 Film Scores (#10)100 Most Inspiring Movies (#27)The Revised Top 100 (#2710 Top 10's (#2 Western) Taking a break from more recent movie fare (and cutting into the string of message movies about Africa to which I alluded in my last entry), my weekly red envelope brought my next AFI film, High Noon. As this film is a western, and as westerns are my least favorite film genre, I had never seen it before. Now, when I say that westerns are my least favorite genre, repeatedly, it's not to say that I don't like westerns in general. There are some westerns that I do kind of like quite a bit, such as Wyatt Earp and Tombstone and Dances with Wolves and True Grit and the Searchers and Stagecoach and a few others. As a genre, though, it's not my favorite because westerns generally follow a largely predictable pattern, or formula, if you will. There is always a good guy - he could be upstandingly, heroically good or morally ambiguous with a heart of gold, but there's an undisputed good guy. There is always a bad guy - some doofus who wants to rob, cheat, steal, murder, and make general mayhem. He often has a sinister moustache. There is always a showdown or shootout or big battle with pistols and horses. Sometimes, there are Indians involved (which is problematic on all levels, but I'm not getting into that here). And there is almost always either a damsel in distress or a damsel with panache who could never be in distress because she's too busy standing by and fighting with her man to beat down the bad guys. Oh, and the good guys always win, and it's usually very dusty. And more often than not, there's a train involved. What is it about trains? Ok, I admit it, I'm oversimplifying a bit. Even the best westerns, though, adhere to this formula at least in part, and High Noon is no exception. The best westerns are the best, however, because some part of the formula will be tweaked enough, even turned on its ear, to make that western film more special. High Noon is one of the special ones. In the film, Will Kane (the ever-handsome Gary Cooper) is about to retire as the Hadleyville town marshal and settle down with his new Quaker and pacifist bride, Amy (Grace Kelly, very young), until he hears that the Miller gang is back in town, and that Frank Miller, who he sent up for murder and who was pardoned by the judge, is due on the noon train. Despite the townspeople's - and his wife's - constant protests and encouragements to leave, Will finds he can't go. He feels a duty and a loyalty to the town he served, and since the replacement marshal won't be arriving until the following day, Kane puts off his retirement in the hopes of rounding up a posse and making a stand against Miller, who will no doubt be bent on revenge. The trouble is, as he visits every able-bodied man he can think of, whom he at one time considered his friend, he finds himself standing alone, as each friend abandons him in turn. His deputy, Harvey (Lloyd Bridges), covets his job and his ex-mistress. His mentor (Lon Chaney, Jr.) is old, bitter, and tired. His other friends (one of which is played by Thomas Mitchell) don't want any trouble for the town and believe that Miller won't cause it if Will is good and gone. So, Will readies himself to face Miller and his gang and to stand up for what he believes. High Noon is special because it tweaks the formula in a way that leaves me feeling very satisfied, at least, and in a way that was kind of groundbreaking for the year it was released (1952). Usually, the hero in a western, especially a classic western, would never show vulnerability. He would be balls-blazing courageous, ready to fight off the meanies about to besmirch his town. Will Kane is not that kind of hero. Oh, he's courageous alright and morally decent - he can't fathom leaving the town defenseless, even if there's a good chance that Miller might give it a pass if Will's not there. But: he's realistic. He knows he'll be outnumbered, and he knows that what he's doing may not be the wisest choice, when he could just run off to his honeymoon with Amy and forget the perils of being a town marshal. So: he asks for help. He does everything but beg for it, and he shows a vulnerable side that I haven't seen too often in our manly heroes, even in more modern western films. Gary Cooper played Kane with such a quiet grace, dignity, and integrity that sort of reminded me of a cowboy-version of Atticus Finch, it was easy to be taken in and, truly, inspired by the performance and the character. That's probably why this film pops up on the AFI's Inspiring films list, and that's probably why Cooper won a Best Actor Oscar for his performance in this film. The other way this western film is unique is the way director Fred Zinnemann and the screenwriters snuck in some sly social commentary. The townspeople in this film are kind of selfish, scared, and unwilling to do their part. They all agree that Will has served them righteously and excellently during his career, and yet, when he asks for their help, they turn tails and hide. This movie was produced during the rise of the Cold War and McCarthyism - reading the All Movie Guide description on the bottom of this Spout page provides the laundry list of Communist sympathizers and conservative patriots involved in the film. And yet, on one point, they all seemingly agreed: the reactions of the country at large were, perhaps, selfish and scared and over-the-top, not unlike Hadleyville's finest. Apparently, John Wayne, a conservative himself, thought the film un-American for the way it depicted the responses of the masses, but for my money, this film is quite American because it exemplified free speech in art by providing a mirror for the moviegoing public at a time when the message would have been controversial. Some of the subtext of this film is timeless in that it still applies today. Technically, this film had some unique and excellent elements. Much has been made of the score; it won an Oscar and cropped up on the AFI's top 25. I liked it because it was not a conventional score for a western - which often relies heavily on harmonicas and rolling basses. This score combined some of those traditionally western instruments with a full orchestra. Then, it was combined with that theme song sung by Tex Ritter, which at first I thought was kind of amusingly hokey, and yet, I find myself humming it two days later. Plus, if written just for the film, it was a perfect musical summation of the plot and, yet, profound enough to stand on its own. I also liked the costumes, though I wondered what year this was set in, which was never mentioned. The only thing I didn't like about High Noon was how the story being told had some holes in it that normally would have been fleshed out. The events of High Noon transpire in real time, however, 50 years before 24 thought of it, so I don't fault the screenwriters or filmmakers too much - there's only so much one is going to learn in 85 minutes, and that concept alone was highly original for its time. There were quite a few references to past events that were never explained, though, and I would have liked to have known more without making so many assumptions. The Miller gang as villains become more of an abstract, even cartoonish, only because their leader is referenced as "crazy," and the viewer is told that he murdered someone, but that's as much as we're given. And we know Will had liaisons with Helen (Katy Jurado) at one point or another, possibly because he saved her from Frank Miller, with whom she also had liaisons, but that's an inference I'm making even now. There are other such quick references, and, like I said, it's not a big complaint from me. Restricting the events to real time kept the story simple, but I pay attention to the details, so I notice when bits are left hanging. My only other tiny gripe is the fact that Gary Cooper had to be at least in his late 40s by this movie, and Grace Kelly looked like she was 16 (in reality, he was 51, and she was 22)! I know men were likely to take young brides in the old west, but that took some suspension of disbelief on my part. As a romantic couple, I didn't see the chemistry; they felt a little awkward, really. I can't imagine anyone else in either part, but it's just something I noticed from the outset that I couldn't shake. The film wasn't about the romance between these two, though. High Noon is more about standing up for what one knows is right against that which s/he knows is wrong, so that's why this reaction of mine is tiny at best. In any event, even as a western (and I say that with the highest respect), High Noon was more enjoyable than most. I really loved Gary Cooper and the Will Kane character the best; I think, without him, the film would not have been the pinnacle it eventually became. I wish Spout had an additional rating, like Netflix, where you can say "really like" between "like" and "love." That's kind of where I am with this picture. I didn't love it - it was a western, like I said, and that's my personal bias, but I liked it a whole lot better than lots of other westerns. I see this film as an 8.5 in my ratings world for those eensy peccadillos (not armadillos) that I previously mentioned. The test doesn't really pass, though. As much as I really like High Noon, I don't really like it enough, western or no, to watch it repeatedly, so I see no need to purchase it. It's a great movie, though, and well worth the watch - besides, at 85 minutes' running time, it's minimal risk as movie-watching goes.
]]>Tue, 11 Nov 2008 16:23:34 GMTpippin06Reel Thoughts11/11/2008 11:23:34 AMWhat's the AFI project, you ask? For more information, or if you just enjoy my bemused ramblings, read here: http://www.spout.com/blogs/pippin06/archive/2008/3/1/25756.aspx High Noon is on the following AFI lists: The Original Top 100 (#33)100 Most Heart-Pounding Movies (#20)100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains (Will Kane is the #5 hero)100 Greatest Film Songs (#25 - "High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin)")25 Film Scores (#10)100 Most Inspiring Movies (#27)The Revised Top 100 (#2710 Top 10's (#2 Western) Taking a break from more recent movie fare (and cutting into the string of message movies about Africa to which I alluded in my last entry), my weekly red envelope brought my next AFI film, High Noon. As this film is a western, and as westerns are my least favorite film genre, I had never seen it before. Now, when I say that westerns are my least favorite genre, repeatedly, it's not to say that I don't like westerns in general. There are some westerns that I do kind of like quite a bit, such as Wyatt Earp and Tombstone and Dances with Wolves and True Grit and the Searchers and Stagecoach and a few others. As a genre, though, it's not my favorite because westerns generally follow a largely predictable pattern, or formula, if you will. There is always a good guy - he could be upstandingly, heroically good or morally ambiguous with a heart of gold, but there's an undisputed good guy. There is always a bad guy - some doofus who wants to rob, cheat, steal, murder, and make general mayhem. He often has a sinister moustache. There is always a showdown or shootout or big battle with pistols and horses. Sometimes, there are Indians involved (which is problematic on all levels, but I'm not getting into that here). And there is almost always either a damsel in distress or a damsel with panache who could never be in distress because she's too busy standing by and fighting with her man to beat down the bad guys. Oh, and the good guys always win, and it's usually very dusty. And more often than not, there's a train involved. What is it about trains? Ok, I admit it, I'm oversimplifying a bit. Even the best westerns, though, adhere to this formula at least in part, and High Noon is no exception. The best westerns are the best, however, because some part of the formula will be tweaked enough, even turned on its ear, to make that western film more special. High Noon is one of the special ones. In the film, Will Kane (the ever-handsome Gary Cooper) is about to retire as the Hadleyville town marshal and settle down with his new Quaker and pacifist bride, Amy (Grace Kelly, very young), until he hears that the Miller gang is back in town, and that Frank Miller, who he sent up for murder and who was pardoned by the judge, is due on the noon train. Despite the townspeople's - and his wife's - constant protests and encouragements to leave, Will finds he can't go. He feels a duty and a loyalty to the town he served, and since the replacement marshal won't be arriving until the following day, Kane puts off his retirement in the hopes of rounding up a posse and making a stand against Miller, who will no doubt be bent on revenge. The trouble is, as he visits every able-bodied man he can think of, whom he at one time considered his friend, he finds himself standing alone, as each friend abandons him in turn. His deputy, Harvey (Lloyd Bridges), covets his job and his ex-mistress. His mentor (Lon Chaney, Jr.) is old, bitter, and tired. His other friends (one of which is played by Thomas Mitchell) don't want any trouble for the town and believe that Miller won't cause it if Will is good and gone. So, Will readies himself to face Miller and his gang and to stand up for what he believes. High Noon is special because it tweaks the formula in a way that leaves me feeling very satisfied, at least, and in a way that was kind of groundbreaking for the year it was released (1952). Usually, the hero in a western, especially a classic western, would never show vulnerability. He would be balls-blazing courageous, ready to fight off the meanies about to besmirch his town. Will Kane is not that kind of hero. Oh, he's courageous alright and morally decent - he can't fathom leaving the town defenseless, even if there's a good chance that Miller might give it a pass if Will's not there. But: he's realistic. He knows he'll be outnumbered, and he knows that what he's doing may not be the wisest choice, when he could just run off to his honeymoon with Amy and forget the perils of being a town marshal. So: he asks for help. He does everything but beg for it, and he shows a vulnerable side that I haven't seen too often in our manly heroes, even in more modern western films. Gary Cooper played Kane with such a quiet grace, dignity, and integrity that sort of reminded me of a cowboy-version of Atticus Finch, it was easy to be taken in and, truly, inspired by the performance and the character. That's probably why this film pops up on the AFI's Inspiring films list, and that's probably why Cooper won a Best Actor Oscar for his performance in this film. The other way this western film is unique is the way director Fred Zinnemann and the screenwriters snuck in some sly social commentary. The townspeople in this film are kind of selfish, scared, and unwilling to do their part. They all agree that Will has served them righteously and excellently during his career, and yet, when he asks for their help, they turn tails and hide. This movie was produced during the rise of the Cold War and McCarthyism - reading the All Movie Guide description on the bottom of this Spout page provides the laundry list of Communist sympathizers and conservative patriots involved in the film. And yet, on one point, they all seemingly agreed: the reactions of the country at large were, perhaps, selfish and scared and over-the-top, not unlike Hadleyville's finest. Apparently, John Wayne, a conservative himself, thought the film un-American for the way it depicted the responses of the masses, but for my money, this film is quite American because it exemplified free speech in art by providing a mirror for the moviegoing public at a time when the message would have been controversial. Some of the subtext of this film is timeless in that it still applies today. Technically, this film had some unique and excellent elements. Much has been made of the score; it won an Oscar and cropped up on the AFI's top 25. I liked it because it was not a conventional score for a western - which often relies heavily on harmonicas and rolling basses. This score combined some of those traditionally western instruments with a full orchestra. Then, it was combined with that theme song sung by Tex Ritter, which at first I thought was kind of amusingly hokey, and yet, I find myself humming it two days later. Plus, if written just for the film, it was a perfect musical summation of the plot and, yet, profound enough to stand on its own. I also liked the costumes, though I wondered what year this was set in, which was never mentioned. The only thing I didn't like about High Noon was how the story being told had some holes in it that normally would have been fleshed out. The events of High Noon transpire in real time, however, 50 years before 24 thought of it, so I don't fault the screenwriters or filmmakers too much - there's only so much one is going to learn in 85 minutes, and that concept alone was highly original for its time. There were quite a few references to past events that were never explained, though, and I would have liked to have known more without making so many assumptions. The Miller gang as villains become more of an abstract, even cartoonish, only because their leader is referenced as "crazy," and the viewer is told that he murdered someone, but that's as much as we're given. And we know Will had liaisons with Helen (Katy Jurado) at one point or another, possibly because he saved her from Frank Miller, with whom she also had liaisons, but that's an inference I'm making even now. There are other such quick references, and, like I said, it's not a big complaint from me. Restricting the events to real time kept the story simple, but I pay attention to the details, so I notice when bits are left hanging. My only other tiny gripe is the fact that Gary Cooper had to be at least in his late 40s by this movie, and Grace Kelly looked like she was 16 (in reality, he was 51, and she was 22)! I know men were likely to take young brides in the old west, but that took some suspension of disbelief on my part. As a romantic couple, I didn't see the chemistry; they felt a little awkward, really. I can't imagine anyone else in either part, but it's just something I noticed from the outset that I couldn't shake. The film wasn't about the romance between these two, though. High Noon is more about standing up for what one knows is right against that which s/he knows is wrong, so that's why this reaction of mine is tiny at best. In any event, even as a western (and I say that with the highest respect), High Noon was more enjoyable than most. I really loved Gary Cooper and the Will Kane character the best; I think, without him, the film would not have been the pinnacle it eventually became. I wish Spout had an additional rating, like Netflix, where you can say "really like" between "like" and "love." That's kind of where I am with this picture. I didn't love it - it was a western, like I said, and that's my personal bias, but I liked it a whole lot better than lots of other westerns. I see this film as an 8.5 in my ratings world for those eensy peccadillos (not armadillos) that I previously mentioned. The test doesn't really pass, though. As much as I really like High Noon, I don't really like it enough, western or no, to watch it repeatedly, so I see no need to purchase it. It's a great movie, though, and well worth the watch - besides, at 85 minutes' running time, it's minimal risk as movie-watching goes. http://www.spout.com/groups/Weekly_Theme/Re_Weekly_Theme_for_October_13_Just_One_Day/625/36297/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: Risselada
Post To: Weekly Theme
Post Date: 10/14/2008 2:55:59 PM
Body: The Taking of Pelham One Two Three - one of the best action/thriller/comedy movies ever made. A lot of it takes place in almost real time. 12 Angry Men - another one that's almost in real time, so certainly within a day. Magnolia - the EPIC of one day films. Clerks. - he was supposed to have that day off High Noon - also almost real time Kids - I think this was just one day. It feels like it. Rope - real time My Dinner with Andre - real time Most movies based on classical theater will take place within 24 hours since this was one of the ancient restriction of good theatre. Time, space, and subject were all supposed to be remain the same. More Linklater films - Before Sunrise / Before Sunset / Slacker These come up under one night I think Night of the Living Dead Goonies Die Hard Escape from New York Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle
]]>Tue, 14 Oct 2008 18:55:59 GMTRisseladaWeekly Theme10/14/2008 2:55:59 PMThe Taking of Pelham One Two Three - one of the best action/thriller/comedy movies ever made. A lot of it takes place in almost real time. 12 Angry Men - another one that's almost in real time, so certainly within a day. Magnolia - the EPIC of one day films. Clerks. - he was supposed to have that day off High Noon - also almost real time Kids - I think this was just one day. It feels like it. Rope - real time My Dinner with Andre - real time Most movies based on classical theater will take place within 24 hours since this was one of the ancient restriction of good theatre. Time, space, and subject were all supposed to be remain the same. More Linklater films - Before Sunrise / Before Sunset / Slacker These come up under one night I think Night of the Living Dead Goonies Die Hard Escape from New York Harold &amp; Kumar Go to White Castle http://www.spout.com/groups/Filmgaming/Re_A_new_pack_of_RESERVOIR_DOGS_1992/563/32750/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: theunemployedshortstop
Post To: Filmgaming
Post Date: 7/18/2008 9:44:33 PM
Body: The Epic Tale of "The Wolves of Gomorrah Gorge." The Conceit: Due to a trans-dimensional rift caused by the AWESOMENESS of the Inglorious Bastards screenplay Quentin Tarantino is able to jump into a dimension where the world is perpetually in the early fifties. The impish auteur (also great collaborator) is eager to see what some of his favorite directors and writers would do with his material. He gives a vague outline of Reservoir Dogs to Carl Foreman. Bitter over the HUAC hearings of 1947, Forman takes the idea of the mole cop and turns it into a commentary on witch hunting (like the Crucible set in the American West… with action and no weeping, whining, or three hour yawn-fest… just kidding). Production: The studio loved the concept and saw Anthony Mann as the director. His surprising presentation of the morally grey double agents in T – Men and his success as a visual director of both noir and westerns would yield a fantastic visual motif. Foreman set the film in an abandoned camp… rumored to have once been a lush valley, the area is now a barren gorge of salt (Hence Gomorrah Gorge though the studio would want to back off of this title… hence the title of Guthrie's song). Mann shot the film in the Colombia River Gorge and the surrounding desert like region of Eastern Washington. It was more visually arresting than the Rocky Mountain back drop of The Naked Spur. Rewrites: Leigh Brackett (script doctor supreme: The Big Sleep, Rio Bravo, The Empire Strikes Back) is hired to tone down the political commentary and add some sex appeal. Miss Brackett split the role of Nice Guy Eddy (now Cow Puncher Bob) into two roles: Two siblings competing for their father's approval (much like Duel in the Sun) Cow Puncher Bob, a slick but incompetent rustler, and Grifter Gurdy, modeled after Lauren Bacall's con women / gambler characters from To Have and Have Not and The Big Sleep. The love triangle between Cub, Timber Wolf, and Grifter Gurdy pleased the studio (however they were angered when they saw Anthony Mann's finished product because of the homosexual overtones that Clift brought out in the mentor relationship between Cub and Timber Wolf). Casting: Gary Cooper as Mr. White/ Timber Wolf: Cooper's leadership and bravery in taking a role that John Wayne thought was un-American is stellar, comparable only to his work on High Noon. Cooper's earnest desire to save the dying "Cub" is palpable. And his seeming asexuality highlights Clift's subversive performance. Montgomery Clift as Mr. Orange / Cub: Mann chose Clift because of the actor's work in Red River. His youth and energy light up as the conflicted double agent. And the women love him in those chaps (this is why the studio eventually shelved the film, which was never to see the light of day) Jack Palance as Mr. Blonde / Coyote: Actor Alan Ladd happened to see the dailies of The Wolves of Gomorrah Gorge before the studio locked them away. The star was so impressed by Palance's cool contained rage that he forced Shane director George Stevens to put Palance on the short list for the role of Jack Wilson. The rest, as they say, is history Denis O'Keefe / Loren Bacall as Nice Guy Eddy / Cow Puncher Bob / Grifter Gurdy: O'Keefe's star had fallen a bit after poor reviews of Mann's Raw Deal. Mann liked to see the suave actor portray slick con men (part of his role in T – Men) so he snuck him into the film despite argument from the studio. Bacall was obvious due to Brackett's revisions, however Jennifer Jones was considered until Mann saw and disliked her in King Vidor's Duel in the Sun. Dean Martin as Mr. Pink / Skunk: Martin was originally offered the role of Coyote. Mann thought his cool domineer would create great contrast between the perception of the character and his violent actions. Dean Martin's record label was afraid that their star was being derogatively stereotyped… an Italian in the role of an evil thief, gangster and ear removing murderer (though Frank thought it would be o.k.). Dino opted to go with the drunken comic relief instead. The scene during the second act brake where he belts out "The Ballad of the Scavengers of Dry Gorge" to the nervous thieves pined down in the gorge by the Cavalry (eerily similar to a scene in Rio Bravo) is something I wish all could see. In the time line of the story this is where Coyote removes the young deputy's ear… off camera and covered in vague dialog. Jimmy Stewart as Joe Cabot. As always the elder statesmen Stewart gave his all in a both commanding and haunting performance as the ring leader of the train robbery gang (this would be the beginning of the psychologically conflicted, obsessive characters Stewart would be remembered for: Vertigo and The Naked Spur). Only Jimmy Stewart could corral these wild wolves. Though on the set for just a few days this cameo would prove to form a lasting friendship and yield much collaboration between Mann and Stewart. Ralph Meeker as Mr. Brown / Hyena: Ah crazy Ralph Meeker. I think if you watch Kiss Me Deadly or The Naked Spur you can see why he would be fantastic spouting off long, near incoherent, hyper macho dialog trying to get approval from the other thieves. He's a forgotten American treasure (And from MPLS!!! Walter Brennen as Mr. Blue / Grey Wolf: It's hard to imagine a western with out Walter Brennen playing the old coot that tells the hero they are full of it. In this film he is taunting poor Dean Martin for his alcohol problems: Joe Cabot (Jimmy Stewart): And you're Skunk. Skunk (Dean Martin): AH… now that ain't even a Wolf, Joe?! Grey Wolf (Walter Brennen): Ye don't gits ta be no Wolf cas' ya stink ta' high heaven boy. (High pitch HEYUCK sound… repeat). Meebe if ya lay of that HOOCH ya could be a wolf. Right now yas just a smelly varmint (continues laughing). Skunk (Dean Martin): Ah cram it old timer! (Skunk shoots at Grey Wolf and misses). Joe Cabot (Jimmy Stewart): Knock it off you two! Now (stutter) Now where was I… oh yeah the train. Alfred Ryder as Young Cop who gets his ear cut off (Deputy who gets his ear cut off… off camera [revealed in illusive dialog]): Alfred Ryder played the other undercover agent in Anthony Mann's T – Men. His character is found out and killed by the gangsters he is trying to infiltrate. His ability to show both competence as an agent for the government and fear as a mortal in trouble is HAUNTING. Ward Bond as Holdaway (Mr. Orange's Undercover training officer) (Sheriff Holdaway): Much like Walter Brennen, it's not a great western unless you've got Ward Bond (high school football team mate of John Wayne, famous for his roles in many of Wayne's films such as the Calvary Captain/ Reverend Samuel Johnston Clayton in The Searchers). Carl Foreman envisioned this part as a Fortinbras like character that the thieves would talk about but would only appear on screen a few times to create suspense. Sheriff Holdaway leads the posse that traps the bandits in Gomorrah Gorge, which forces Cub, Timber Wolf, and Grifter Gurdy to play their final hands. Hank Worden as Bumbling Train Operator: Foreman didn't go for the flash back structure of Tarantino's outline. His story is much more linear, leaving Cub's allegiance a mystery. He replaces the drawn out training sequence in Reservoir Dogs with the train heist that Tarantino was too cleaver to bother with. It was played for both laughs and action. Most of the laughs came from Hank Worden who some of you will remember as Mose Harper in The Searchers ("thank you… thaaank you kindly"), but more of you will remember as senior drool cup (ancient room service guy) in Twin Peaks ("thank you… thaaank you kindly"). That's it. Thanks for reading all of this non-sense.
]]>Sat, 19 Jul 2008 01:44:33 GMTtheunemployedshortstopFilmgaming7/18/2008 9:44:33 PMThe Epic Tale of "The Wolves of Gomorrah Gorge." The Conceit: Due to a trans-dimensional rift caused by the AWESOMENESS of the Inglorious Bastards screenplay Quentin Tarantino is able to jump into a dimension where the world is perpetually in the early fifties. The impish auteur (also great collaborator) is eager to see what some of his favorite directors and writers would do with his material. He gives a vague outline of Reservoir Dogs to Carl Foreman. Bitter over the HUAC hearings of 1947, Forman takes the idea of the mole cop and turns it into a commentary on witch hunting (like the Crucible set in the American West&hellip; with action and no weeping, whining, or three hour yawn-fest&hellip; just kidding). Production: The studio loved the concept and saw Anthony Mann as the director. His surprising presentation of the morally grey double agents in T &ndash; Men and his success as a visual director of both noir and westerns would yield a fantastic visual motif. Foreman set the film in an abandoned camp&hellip; rumored to have once been a lush valley, the area is now a barren gorge of salt (Hence Gomorrah Gorge though the studio would want to back off of this title&hellip; hence the title of Guthrie's song). Mann shot the film in the Colombia River Gorge and the surrounding desert like region of Eastern Washington. It was more visually arresting than the Rocky Mountain back drop of The Naked Spur. Rewrites: Leigh Brackett (script doctor supreme: The Big Sleep, Rio Bravo, The Empire Strikes Back) is hired to tone down the political commentary and add some sex appeal. Miss Brackett split the role of Nice Guy Eddy (now Cow Puncher Bob) into two roles: Two siblings competing for their father's approval (much like Duel in the Sun) Cow Puncher Bob, a slick but incompetent rustler, and Grifter Gurdy, modeled after Lauren Bacall's con women / gambler characters from To Have and Have Not and The Big Sleep. The love triangle between Cub, Timber Wolf, and Grifter Gurdy pleased the studio (however they were angered when they saw Anthony Mann's finished product because of the homosexual overtones that Clift brought out in the mentor relationship between Cub and Timber Wolf). Casting: Gary Cooper as Mr. White/ Timber Wolf: Cooper's leadership and bravery in taking a role that John Wayne thought was un-American is stellar, comparable only to his work on High Noon. Cooper's earnest desire to save the dying "Cub" is palpable. And his seeming asexuality highlights Clift's subversive performance. Montgomery Clift as Mr. Orange / Cub: Mann chose Clift because of the actor's work in Red River. His youth and energy light up as the conflicted double agent. And the women love him in those chaps (this is why the studio eventually shelved the film, which was never to see the light of day) Jack Palance as Mr. Blonde / Coyote: Actor Alan Ladd happened to see the dailies of The Wolves of Gomorrah Gorge before the studio locked them away. The star was so impressed by Palance's cool contained rage that he forced Shane director George Stevens to put Palance on the short list for the role of Jack Wilson. The rest, as they say, is history Denis O'Keefe / Loren Bacall as Nice Guy Eddy / Cow Puncher Bob / Grifter Gurdy: O'Keefe's star had fallen a bit after poor reviews of Mann's Raw Deal. Mann liked to see the suave actor portray slick con men (part of his role in T &ndash; Men) so he snuck him into the film despite argument from the studio. Bacall was obvious due to Brackett's revisions, however Jennifer Jones was considered until Mann saw and disliked her in King Vidor's Duel in the Sun. Dean Martin as Mr. Pink / Skunk: Martin was originally offered the role of Coyote. Mann thought his cool domineer would create great contrast between the perception of the character and his violent actions. Dean Martin's record label was afraid that their star was being derogatively stereotyped&hellip; an Italian in the role of an evil thief, gangster and ear removing murderer (though Frank thought it would be o.k.). Dino opted to go with the drunken comic relief instead. The scene during the second act brake where he belts out "The Ballad of the Scavengers of Dry Gorge" to the nervous thieves pined down in the gorge by the Cavalry (eerily similar to a scene in Rio Bravo) is something I wish all could see. In the time line of the story this is where Coyote removes the young deputy's ear&hellip; off camera and covered in vague dialog. Jimmy Stewart as Joe Cabot. As always the elder statesmen Stewart gave his all in a both commanding and haunting performance as the ring leader of the train robbery gang (this would be the beginning of the psychologically conflicted, obsessive characters Stewart would be remembered for: Vertigo and The Naked Spur). Only Jimmy Stewart could corral these wild wolves. Though on the set for just a few days this cameo would prove to form a lasting friendship and yield much collaboration between Mann and Stewart. Ralph Meeker as Mr. Brown / Hyena: Ah crazy Ralph Meeker. I think if you watch Kiss Me Deadly or The Naked Spur you can see why he would be fantastic spouting off long, near incoherent, hyper macho dialog trying to get approval from the other thieves. He's a forgotten American treasure (And from MPLS!!! Walter Brennen as Mr. Blue / Grey Wolf: It's hard to imagine a western with out Walter Brennen playing the old coot that tells the hero they are full of it. In this film he is taunting poor Dean Martin for his alcohol problems: Joe Cabot (Jimmy Stewart): And you're Skunk. Skunk (Dean Martin): AH&hellip; now that ain't even a Wolf, Joe?! Grey Wolf (Walter Brennen): Ye don't gits ta be no Wolf cas' ya stink ta' high heaven boy. (High pitch HEYUCK sound&hellip; repeat). Meebe if ya lay of that HOOCH ya could be a wolf. Right now yas just a smelly varmint (continues laughing). Skunk (Dean Martin): Ah cram it old timer! (Skunk shoots at Grey Wolf and misses). Joe Cabot (Jimmy Stewart): Knock it off you two! Now (stutter) Now where was I&hellip; oh yeah the train. Alfred Ryder as Young Cop who gets his ear cut off (Deputy who gets his ear cut off&hellip; off camera [revealed in illusive dialog]): Alfred Ryder played the other undercover agent in Anthony Mann's T &ndash; Men. His character is found out and killed by the gangsters he is trying to infiltrate. His ability to show both competence as an agent for the government and fear as a mortal in trouble is HAUNTING. Ward Bond as Holdaway (Mr. Orange's Undercover training officer) (Sheriff Holdaway): Much like Walter Brennen, it's not a great western unless you've got Ward Bond (high school football team mate of John Wayne, famous for his roles in many of Wayne's films such as the Calvary Captain/ Reverend Samuel Johnston Clayton in The Searchers). Carl Foreman envisioned this part as a Fortinbras like character that the thieves would talk about but would only appear on screen a few times to create suspense. Sheriff Holdaway leads the posse that traps the bandits in Gomorrah Gorge, which forces Cub, Timber Wolf, and Grifter Gurdy to play their final hands. Hank Worden as Bumbling Train Operator: Foreman didn't go for the flash back structure of Tarantino's outline. His story is much more linear, leaving Cub's allegiance a mystery. He replaces the drawn out training sequence in Reservoir Dogs with the train heist that Tarantino was too cleaver to bother with. It was played for both laughs and action. Most of the laughs came from Hank Worden who some of you will remember as Mose Harper in The Searchers ("thank you&hellip; thaaank you kindly"), but more of you will remember as senior drool cup (ancient room service guy) in Twin Peaks ("thank you&hellip; thaaank you kindly"). That's it. Thanks for reading all of this non-sense. http://www.spout.com/blogs/shaunhuston/archive/2008/7/13/32497.aspx Post By: ShaunHuston
Post To: ShaunHuston filmblog
Post Date: 7/13/2008 4:01:07 PM
Body: I have a review of the new, "Ultimate Collector's Edition" DVD of High Noon (1952) up at PopMatters. Getting to review High Noon is one the upsides of the new film economy, although generally I'm not all that enthused by the practice of turning out periodic new, "special", "definitive", blah, blah editions, especially when there is no particular value or purpose to it (no compelling reason to revisit the film, no new meaningful material, etc.). There's also a certain symmetry to my reviewing this film for PM, as I'm sure I've cited it in no less than three other pieces I've written for the site. PopMatters home.The review. Originally posted on:Short-Circuit Signs
]]>Sun, 13 Jul 2008 20:01:07 GMTShaunHustonShaunHuston filmblog7/13/2008 4:01:07 PMI have a review of the new, "Ultimate Collector's Edition" DVD of High Noon (1952) up at PopMatters. Getting to review High Noon is one the upsides of the new film economy, although generally I'm not all that enthused by the practice of turning out periodic new, "special", "definitive", blah, blah editions, especially when there is no particular value or purpose to it (no compelling reason to revisit the film, no new meaningful material, etc.). There's also a certain symmetry to my reviewing this film for PM, as I'm sure I've cited it in no less than three other pieces I've written for the site. PopMatters home.The review. Originally posted on:Short-Circuit Signs http://www.spout.com/blogs/shaunhuston/archive/2008/6/18/31390.aspx Post By: ShaunHuston
Post To: ShaunHuston filmblog
Post Date: 6/18/2008 9:01:56 PM
Body: The Western Top 10 is the toughest for me. As some of you may know, while I'm hardly Richard Slotkin or Jane Tompkins, I write, teach, and think about this genre on a regular basis, and, as a result, my views are not only fairly strong, but well-informed. And, where certain well regarded classics are concerned, they are also iconoclastic. This is probably nowhere more obvious than with The Searchers (1956), the film that tops the AFI list. This film does not resonate with me on any level. I have never found the ending credible. John Wayne does not portray Ethan Edwards with any of the complexity needed for his embrace of Debbie (Natalie Wood) to ring true after his 118 (or so) minutes of hard, racist ranting about Native Americans and his intent to kill her. I also find the photography and production design to be garish without purpose, and for all of its superficial sophistication about Native peoples, the talk of ritual, the use of indigenous language, it only serves to perpetuate the myth of white mastery. After all, it is white men who “know” and understand Native peoples, not the other way around. Native Americans are no less the brutish savages in this film than they are in Stagecoach (1939), but at least that film doesn't pretend to be anything but pulpy fantasy (indeed, it remains my favorite John Ford/John Wayne Western). And the landscape changes in The Searchers drive me crazy. Even though no one seems to actually leave Texas, the weather and land change in absurd ways during the course of the quest. Where are these people supposed to be? I fully recognize that I am a freak when it comes to this film, and as a result, I'm not going to make a pitch for taking it off of the list, although I do think that it needs to be demoted. The other film worth arguing about is one that I would knock of the AFI list, and that is Shane (1953). My biggest block with this film is Joey (Brandon de Wilde). The whining, oh the whining. Gah. I can't get past it. At the same time, I don't think that Alan Ladd makes for a convincing hero; he has too much of a “contemporary” presence. Van Heflin's Joe Starrett is virtually the same guy as Dan Evans, Heflin's character in 3:10 to Yuma (1957), and much less interesting. As menacing as Jack Palance's black hatted gunfighter is, he's also more hollow than the norm. And, yes, I understand the subtext about the Frontiersman and his lack of place in civilization, but that theme is punctuated in many a film without Shane's weaknesses. The selection of Cat Ballou (1965) still seems like some kind of a joke, but it is perhaps typical of an industry that has wanted to bury this genre for the past five decades or so. Red River (1948) made no impression on me when I saw it. Is that a reason to take it off the list? I don't know, but I would have no shortage of replacements if it is. Part of the difficulty with these lists is how the boundary is drawn around “American” film. I can see where Sergio Leone's movies with Clint Eastwood might be precluded as “American”, but, given some of the other selections on other lists, Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) seems perfectly fair game to me (it was, after all, co-produced by Paramount, not to mention featuring a group of notable American actors in all of the lead male roles). Were it up to me, this film would certainly be on the list, and possibly even on top (I might just elevate High Noon, 1952, to the top spot depending on how much of a classisist I want to be). Undoubtedly, The Wild Bunch (1969) is Sam Peckinpah's magnum opus, but that's hardly a reason to make it his only film on the list. Ride the High Country (1962), for example, is an early elegiac Western that explores Western archetypes in more interesting ways than most of the films on the list from its same general period. The AFI's definition of the Western - “a genre of films set in the American West that embodies the spirit, the struggle and the demise of the new frontier” - also seems to leave room for a movie like Lone Star (1996), or, and I know I'm pushing it here, Serenity (2005) (and you can scoff at this if you want, but Joss Whedon's movie re-imagines the Frontier and the supposed line between savagery and civilization in interesting and vital ways; I think that it certainly makes a more original contribution to the genre than does Shane). Two other recent Westerns for which I have a great deal of affection are The Claim (2000) and Open Range (2003). I'm not sure I'd end up placing all of the films listed above on a reconstructed list, but I do think that there is a tendency to treat the Western as a “dead” genre, killed at some point in the 1960s, with an occasional raising from the dead, and it's not so. It's also a genre with a fairly well-rehearsed canon. Placing The Searchers at the top of a list like this is much like putting Citizen Kane (1941) at the top of the AFI's ur-list: it's almost reflexive. Link to introduction. Originally posted on:Short-Circuit Signs
]]>Thu, 19 Jun 2008 01:01:56 GMTShaunHustonShaunHuston filmblog6/18/2008 9:01:56 PMThe Western Top 10 is the toughest for me. As some of you may know, while I'm hardly Richard Slotkin or Jane Tompkins, I write, teach, and think about this genre on a regular basis, and, as a result, my views are not only fairly strong, but well-informed. And, where certain well regarded classics are concerned, they are also iconoclastic. This is probably nowhere more obvious than with The Searchers (1956), the film that tops the AFI list. This film does not resonate with me on any level. I have never found the ending credible. John Wayne does not portray Ethan Edwards with any of the complexity needed for his embrace of Debbie (Natalie Wood) to ring true after his 118 (or so) minutes of hard, racist ranting about Native Americans and his intent to kill her. I also find the photography and production design to be garish without purpose, and for all of its superficial sophistication about Native peoples, the talk of ritual, the use of indigenous language, it only serves to perpetuate the myth of white mastery. After all, it is white men who &ldquo;know&rdquo; and understand Native peoples, not the other way around. Native Americans are no less the brutish savages in this film than they are in Stagecoach (1939), but at least that film doesn't pretend to be anything but pulpy fantasy (indeed, it remains my favorite John Ford/John Wayne Western). And the landscape changes in The Searchers drive me crazy. Even though no one seems to actually leave Texas, the weather and land change in absurd ways during the course of the quest. Where are these people supposed to be? I fully recognize that I am a freak when it comes to this film, and as a result, I'm not going to make a pitch for taking it off of the list, although I do think that it needs to be demoted. The other film worth arguing about is one that I would knock of the AFI list, and that is Shane (1953). My biggest block with this film is Joey (Brandon de Wilde). The whining, oh the whining. Gah. I can't get past it. At the same time, I don't think that Alan Ladd makes for a convincing hero; he has too much of a &ldquo;contemporary&rdquo; presence. Van Heflin's Joe Starrett is virtually the same guy as Dan Evans, Heflin's character in 3:10 to Yuma (1957), and much less interesting. As menacing as Jack Palance's black hatted gunfighter is, he's also more hollow than the norm. And, yes, I understand the subtext about the Frontiersman and his lack of place in civilization, but that theme is punctuated in many a film without Shane's weaknesses. The selection of Cat Ballou (1965) still seems like some kind of a joke, but it is perhaps typical of an industry that has wanted to bury this genre for the past five decades or so. Red River (1948) made no impression on me when I saw it. Is that a reason to take it off the list? I don't know, but I would have no shortage of replacements if it is. Part of the difficulty with these lists is how the boundary is drawn around &ldquo;American&rdquo; film. I can see where Sergio Leone's movies with Clint Eastwood might be precluded as &ldquo;American&rdquo;, but, given some of the other selections on other lists, Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) seems perfectly fair game to me (it was, after all, co-produced by Paramount, not to mention featuring a group of notable American actors in all of the lead male roles). Were it up to me, this film would certainly be on the list, and possibly even on top (I might just elevate High Noon, 1952, to the top spot depending on how much of a classisist I want to be). Undoubtedly, The Wild Bunch (1969) is Sam Peckinpah's magnum opus, but that's hardly a reason to make it his only film on the list. Ride the High Country (1962), for example, is an early elegiac Western that explores Western archetypes in more interesting ways than most of the films on the list from its same general period. The AFI's definition of the Western - &ldquo;a genre of films set in the American West that embodies the spirit, the struggle and the demise of the new frontier&rdquo; - also seems to leave room for a movie like Lone Star (1996), or, and I know I'm pushing it here, Serenity (2005) (and you can scoff at this if you want, but Joss Whedon's movie re-imagines the Frontier and the supposed line between savagery and civilization in interesting and vital ways; I think that it certainly makes a more original contribution to the genre than does Shane). Two other recent Westerns for which I have a great deal of affection are The Claim (2000) and Open Range (2003). I'm not sure I'd end up placing all of the films listed above on a reconstructed list, but I do think that there is a tendency to treat the Western as a &ldquo;dead&rdquo; genre, killed at some point in the 1960s, with an occasional raising from the dead, and it's not so. It's also a genre with a fairly well-rehearsed canon. Placing The Searchers at the top of a list like this is much like putting Citizen Kane (1941) at the top of the AFI's ur-list: it's almost reflexive. Link to introduction. Originally posted on:Short-Circuit Signs http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/1/29/24518.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 1/29/2008 4:01:21 PM
Body: I know star power isn’t what it used to be, but doesn’t it seem like we still give Al Pacino more credit than he’s worth? Despite his receiving an Oscar fifteen years ago, the guy hasn’t been a completely dependable actor in more than two decades. And yet a lot of people write about his upcoming movies as if they could maybe, possibly, hopefully be on par with the actor’s ’70s work. I’m not denying that he’s excellent in a few films of even the past ten years (particularly The Insider), but let’s not forget he was also in Gigli, so it isn’t like he’s making the same smart choices he was making as a younger man. And now here’s 88 Minutes, another movie that attempts to give us a thrilling plot in real time, a la 24. But despite such a gimmick working with old films like High Noon and 12 Angry Men, when it’s presented as a gimmick, and clearly as the only reason a movie is made (as in the cases of Nick of Time, Timecode and Phone Booth), it always comes off as forced and (obviously) gimmicky. But at least Pacino is in it, right? Eh, maybe if American moviegoers still gave a damn about marquee names. Maybe that’s why 88 Minutes was released to many foreign markets six months to a year ago; star power is still marketable in many places outside the U.S. Meanwhile, Sony is finally dropping the thing here on April 18. I can’t say that I would never see a movie just because Pacino is in it (I can’t wait to see him as Salvador Dali in Dali & I: The Surreal Story, only because the idea is half-genius, half-ludicrous), but even my nostalgia for a seemingly real time movie like Dog Day Afternoon (it’s not in real time, but it feels like it) can’t get me to see 88 Minutes just for him. And there doesn’t appear to be much else that’s appealing about the generic frame-job film either. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Tue, 29 Jan 2008 21:01:21 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com1/29/2008 4:01:21 PM I know star power isn’t what it used to be, but doesn’t it seem like we still give Al Pacino more credit than he’s worth? Despite his receiving an Oscar fifteen years ago, the guy hasn’t been a completely dependable actor in more than two decades. And yet a lot of people write about his upcoming movies as if they could maybe, possibly, hopefully be on par with the actor’s ’70s work. I’m not denying that he’s excellent in a few films of even the past ten years (particularly The Insider), but let’s not forget he was also in Gigli, so it isn’t like he’s making the same smart choices he was making as a younger man. And now here’s 88 Minutes, another movie that attempts to give us a thrilling plot in real time, a la 24. But despite such a gimmick working with old films like High Noon and 12 Angry Men, when it’s presented as a gimmick, and clearly as the only reason a movie is made (as in the cases of Nick of Time, Timecode and Phone Booth), it always comes off as forced and (obviously) gimmicky. But at least Pacino is in it, right? Eh, maybe if American moviegoers still gave a damn about marquee names. Maybe that’s why 88 Minutes was released to many foreign markets six months to a year ago; star power is still marketable in many places outside the U.S. Meanwhile, Sony is finally dropping the thing here on April 18. I can’t say that I would never see a movie just because Pacino is in it (I can’t wait to see him as Salvador Dali in Dali & I: The Surreal Story, only because the idea is half-genius, half-ludicrous), but even my nostalgia for a seemingly real time movie like Dog Day Afternoon (it’s not in real time, but it feels like it) can’t get me to see 88 Minutes just for him. And there doesn’t appear to be much else that’s appealing about the generic frame-job film either. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/blogs/jakestevens/archive/2007/11/19/21781.aspx Post By: JakeStevens
Post To: JakeStevens Blog
Post Date: 11/19/2007 4:49:12 PM
Body: I have a penchant for black and white films. I also have a penchant for old films that challenged the audiences of the day and threw convention to the wind. This is one of those films. Reading the synopsis of the film, you'd never think something like this could get made - but it did...and the world (and films in general) are the better because of it. By the way, Grace Kelly was one smokin' hottie! I can see why this is considered one of the best American films ever made according to AFI.
]]>Mon, 19 Nov 2007 21:49:12 GMTJakeStevensJakeStevens Blog11/19/2007 4:49:12 PMI have a penchant for black and white films. I also have a penchant for old films that challenged the audiences of the day and threw convention to the wind. This is one of those films. Reading the synopsis of the film, you&#39;d never think something like this could get made - but it did...and the world (and films in general) are the better because of it. By the way, Grace Kelly was one smokin&#39; hottie! I can see why this is considered one of the best American films ever made according to AFI. http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2007/11/6/21459.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 11/6/2007 11:00:58 AM
Body: Robert Mitchum’s son Christopher Mitchum and two partners acquired remake rights to High Noon at AFM. The team is on the hunt f0r a director and a star to make the remake for about $20 million. A poster and a synopsis for a sequel to George Romero’s Diary of the Dead were unveiled at AFM, but Romero claims there’s not yet a deal to make the film. “I don’t have an idea yet, but if the idea and the money can meet somewhere in the middle, it’s possible.” For Craig Kennedy, Chop Shop is “a nicely rendered slice of life at the fringes of civilization with a near documentary feel and a series of fascinating observances.” Short reviews of Honeydripper, Blind Mountain and 1000 Journals at the same link. Scott Foundas had a long profile of Robert Redford, the director of AFI’s opening night selection Lions For Lambs, in last week’s LA Weekly. Photo evidence: Michael Jones has snap shots and swag shots at The Circuit; Mark Rabinowitz captures a 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days dinner at The Rabbi Report. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Tue, 06 Nov 2007 16:00:58 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com11/6/2007 11:00:58 AM Robert Mitchum’s son Christopher Mitchum and two partners acquired remake rights to High Noon at AFM. The team is on the hunt f0r a director and a star to make the remake for about $20 million. A poster and a synopsis for a sequel to George Romero’s Diary of the Dead were unveiled at AFM, but Romero claims there’s not yet a deal to make the film. “I don’t have an idea yet, but if the idea and the money can meet somewhere in the middle, it’s possible.” For Craig Kennedy, Chop Shop is “a nicely rendered slice of life at the fringes of civilization with a near documentary feel and a series of fascinating observances.” Short reviews of Honeydripper, Blind Mountain and 1000 Journals at the same link. Scott Foundas had a long profile of Robert Redford, the director of AFI’s opening night selection Lions For Lambs, in last week’s LA Weekly. Photo evidence: Michael Jones has snap shots and swag shots at The Circuit; Mark Rabinowitz captures a 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days dinner at The Rabbi Report. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/groups/Top_5/Re_Top_Westerns/190/18757/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: ShaunHuston
Post To: Top 5
Post Date: 8/25/2007 2:32:58 PM
Body: While I'm thinking of titles to toss out for discussion - I'd have a hard time coming up with a Top 5, although Once Upon a Time in the West is also my favorite, and I would make the case for McCabe and Mrs. Miller (as implied by one of my previous comments) - I'd like to suggest High Noon (1952; another candidate for my 5 were I to come up with a real one). It's an artfully made film, thoughtfully photographed, and with one of the best uses of a single, simple musical theme in all of Hollywood moviemaking (and if you doubt me about that, just watch a few minutes and you'll have "Do not forsake me, oh my darling" stuck in your head for days). It also lays bare the key tensions of the genre, particularly the one between civilization and the violent men that that same civilization uses to "tame the frontier." The moment where Will and Amy Kane are rushed out of town after dispatching the Millers is, to me, as poignant as any statement from The Searchers about the frontiersman's alienation from the society he works in service of. The conventional Cold War interpretation is also the classic illustration of claims regarding the genre's unique relevance to American history and culture.I also think that John Ford's Stagecoach (1939) merits mention because it's the template for the modern Western, as well as being highly entertaining despite its retrograde politics. The Western is a genre that has been reworked in a variety ways, most notably translocated to space ("the final frontier"). If Star Wars (1977) is the space Western's Stagecoach, then Serenity/Firefly is its Unforgiven.
]]>Sat, 25 Aug 2007 18:32:58 GMTShaunHustonTop 58/25/2007 2:32:58 PMWhile I&#39;m thinking of titles to toss out for discussion - I&#39;d have a hard time coming up with a Top 5, although Once Upon a Time in the West is also my favorite, and I would make the case for McCabe and Mrs. Miller (as implied by one of my previous comments) - I&#39;d like to suggest High Noon (1952; another candidate for my 5 were I to come up with a real one). It&#39;s an artfully made film, thoughtfully photographed, and with one of the best uses of a single, simple musical theme in all of Hollywood moviemaking (and if you doubt me about that, just watch a few minutes and you&#39;ll have "Do not forsake me, oh my darling" stuck in your head for days). It also lays bare the key tensions of the genre, particularly the one between civilization and the violent men that that same civilization uses to "tame the frontier." The moment where Will and Amy Kane are rushed out of town after dispatching the Millers is, to me, as poignant as any statement from The Searchers about the frontiersman&#39;s alienation from the society he works in service of. The conventional Cold War interpretation is also the classic illustration of claims regarding the genre&#39;s unique relevance to American history and culture.I also think that John Ford&#39;s Stagecoach (1939) merits mention because it&#39;s the template for the modern Western, as well as being highly entertaining despite its retrograde politics. The Western is a genre that has been reworked in a variety ways, most notably translocated to space ("the final frontier"). If Star Wars (1977) is the space Western&#39;s Stagecoach, then Serenity/Firefly is its Unforgiven. http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/Classic/MemberTagFilms.aspxClassic
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