The Western III Hall of Fame

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The trick is not minding
It’s been awhile since I’ve seen it but I always thought he survived.
I never liked the ending and how it just wipes away all that tension in one fell swoop, and ignored Valance being shot.
Felt not only abrupt, but disingenuous.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
@Citizen Rules, @ahwell, @John-Connor, @neiba, @Wyldesyde19, @Zotis, @Siddon

ANNND one more to the round up!

Bone Tomahawk (2015) Director: S. Craig Zahler 2h 12min
Nominated by Siddon

WELCOME Siddon!!
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Women will be your undoing, Pépé
Also, I found out why our host only rides into town come nightfall
WHAAAAA??? NOOO
That's not me! Can't be!! Doesn't even look like me -- clearly I have blue eyes and this guy has. . . what is that? Sepia? Is that even an eye color?
And where the hell is Bolivia?!? Is that south of 110th Street? I don't know -- I'm not from that neighborhood.
Fake News! FAKE NEWS!!



only a $1000, puh-lease. Better add another zero, at least



The Grey Fox (1982)

An award winning, biographical Canadian film, that's not like other westerns. The Grey Fox is an introspective, personal tale of a 'gentleman bandit' who robbed stage coaches in the 19th century and eventually was caught and set to prison for 33 years. When The Grey Fox (Richard Farnsworth) finally gets out of prison, it's the 20th century and he's now a senior citizen. The film is done in a subtle manor and mostly non violent with the emphasize on the aged outlaw trying to cope with the changing times. I liked the personal tale style of the movie and the more low key approach which fits the filming style of the movie. The filming sites were in British Columbia Canada and in my state of Washington, which I thought was cool and gave the film a much different look and feel than the typical hot, dry and dusty western.

++
I love this film, and it's in my top 10 favorite film group. It's a unusual but light-hearted film with wonderful cinematography, and Irish music from the Chieftans that just blew me away. It's also likely Farnsworth's premier portrayal of his lengthy career. It won best Canadian film in Canada, but it should have easily won Best Foreign Film in the U.S. Farnsworth too.

~Doc




Meek's Cutoff (2010)
Western
Dir. Kelly Reichardt

In 1845 a small group of immigrants on their way to the Oregon Territory become hopelessly lost in the vast openness of the prairie, after taking a chance on a shortcut....Meek's Cutoff.

What struck me about this film is the way it completely embodies an emotion, while capturing a specific moment in time. That emotion is one we all can relate to, the feeling that one has made a horribly wrong turn and now all is hopelessly lost. The moment in time was real, this is based on a story of a group of early pioneers heading to the Oregon Territory in 1845. That's some 30-40 years earlier than the time frame most western films take place. In 1845 these people would have been literally charting new territory. And a wrong turn could spell doom.

It's the underlying emotion of uncertainty as one heads into the unknown, that Meek's Cutoff captures. The film takes us on a journey and comes as close as any film ever has to giving us the experience these early pioneers would've felt.

I loved that image I used, the film uses spacial distances to make one feel the vastness of the journey these people took. Meek's Cutoff is a subtle film, it never spoon feeds it's message with cinematic cues and overly high drama. It allows the viewer to have their own experience...and that is something quite different than the average movie.

+



Dirty Little Billy

Well, that Billy sure was Dirty and Little

Pretty much a mess. The acting was pretty good actually, there wasn't a bad performance for such an unknown movie. However, the entire plot had no direction at all. The middle especially was so tiresome and pointless, it was literally the prostitute getting slapped around and called a "bitch" by Goldie.

This felt a lot like Joker actually. It was an innocent enough kid, Billy, who tries to make a name for himself in the world and ends up getting corrupted by "society" and turning into a criminal. Except it's in the old west, and somehow even worse than Joker. The production value/budget is just pretty awful, unless it's the low quality version I watched.

Hey, that main tune is fun, though! I'm sure it'll be stuck in my head for days now

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Women will be your undoing, Pépé
Helluva start, going in. Great job!!

Loving what I'm hearing about Grey Fox. It's definitely turning into a real find. I've been wanting to see it since @Holden Pike recommended it, along several others in the Countdown and I'm pretty excited about seeing it. He had also recommended Dirty Little Billy so I'm pretty happy to see that here as well.
In fact, I nearly did, tonight, but went with Red River instead. Great film and I see what others were talking about the abrupt ending. I'm going to check out the thread about the discussions in the first Western HoF.





The Scalphunters (1968)
Nominated by: Wyldesyde19

I wasn't a fan of this one. It was a little cheesy for my taste. Burt Lancaster played Joe Bass, a fur hunter who also happened to be a crack shot. Tagging along for the ride was Joseph Lee, a runaway slave with a goofy nature and sorely lacking principles. He was played by Ossie Davis. Telly Savalas played Jim Howie, a generic villain. And Shelly Winters played Kate, Jim Howie's nagging annoying mistress. I found the plot to be dry, and oversaturated with flat comic relief.




Meek’s Cutoff 2010 Directed by Kelly Reichardt*

Nontraditional Western road movie, that allows the viewer to join a group of settlers and be part of a grueling migration journey in 1845. Very realistic and immersive look at a specific moment in time. Facing conflicts and confrontations involving trust, instinct and survival. Great acting by Rod Rondeaux (The Indian) and strong out of comfort zone performances by Bruce Greenwood and Michelle Williams.
With yet another very interesting, risky and discussion worthy ending. (Unless we all interpret the ending in the same way of course).
Meek's Cutoff is probably one of the best looking Westerns nominated in this Hall of Fame. I suggest watching it in the best possible picture quality you can find, it really looked stunning on my 4K TV. The camera angles were unorthodox and experimental but it all worked for me.
A film not intended for the masses, all involved from director to actors, took a risk with this film, for me the risk paid-off. Beautiful nomination, currently sitting pretty high on my ballot.

*You can scratch this one off your MoFo Top 100 Films Directed By Women list.



The thing isolated becomes incomprehensible
This will be so easy to preview: Haven't heard of any of them, except from my nom,which is one of my favourite non-Leone Spaghetti westerns, just behind The Great Silence and Django!



This will be so easy to preview: Haven't heard of any of them, except from my nom,which is one of my favourite non-Leone Spaghetti westerns, just behind The Great Silence and Django!
You haven't heard of McCabe & Mrs Miller, Red River, and Meek's Cutoff? I'm surprised...



I need links for these movies, I can't afford to buy them and I didn't see them on youtube and there not at my library.

The Big Gundown (1966) Director: Sergio Sollima 1h 50min
Nominated by @neiba

The Scalphunters (1968) Director: Sydney Pollack 1h 42min
Nominated by @Wyldesyde19

Dirty Little Billy (1972) Director: Stan Dragoti 1h 33min
Nominated by @Zotis



The trick is not minding
I need links for these movies, I can't afford to buy them and I didn't see them on youtube and there not at my library.

The Big Gundown (1966) Director: Sergio Sollima 1h 50min
Nominated by @neiba

The Scalphunters (1968) Director: Sydney Pollack 1h 42min
Nominated by @Wyldesyde19

Dirty Little Billy (1972) Director: Stan Dragoti 1h 33min
Nominated by @Zotis
Scalphunters are available to watch on Amazon prime



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
I need links for these movies, I can't afford to buy them and I didn't see them on youtube and there not at my library.

The Big Gundown (1966) Director: Sergio Sollima 1h 50min
Nominated by @neiba

The Scalphunters (1968) Director: Sydney Pollack 1h 42min
Nominated by @Wyldesyde19

Dirty Little Billy (1972) Director: Stan Dragoti 1h 33min
Nominated by @Zotis
sent you links for the first two, gonna have to look a little harder for Dirty Billy, let you know when I find one



The trick is not minding
Scalphunters are available to watch on Amazon prime
I don't do Amazon prime, but Ed sent me two good links. I still need to find;

Dirty Little Billy (1972)
You should 😜
No seriously, Amazon is better then Netflix. Better selection from past decades. Think of all the older westerns and noir that would be available to you.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
You should 😜
No seriously, Amazon is better then Netflix. Better selection from past decades. Think of all the older westerns and noir that would be available to you.
tried amazon about a year or two ago. The majority of films I went looking for only had links to purchase them off amazon.



The trick is not minding
You should 😜
No seriously, Amazon is better then Netflix. Better selection from past decades. Think of all the older westerns and noir that would be available to you.
tried amazon about a year or two ago. The majority of films I went looking for only had links to purchase them off amazon.
It’s different now, plenty to view for free