The Western III Hall of Fame

That's for waiting for me guys. Sorry I got mixed up about the deadline. I don't mind watching 4 movies in one sitting. It's fun actually, when you give it the added benefit of being a forum game/event.

It’s fine, no big deal to be honest. It happens. This gives me a chance now to watch Dirty Little Billy, which looks interesting.
I’ll get to it tonight, and will revise my ballot.

I wasn't a fan of this one. The story and plot were decent, but I found the acting pretty wooden. I wasn't crazy about some of the dialogue either. I thought the characters were developed and distinct, and enjoyed some of the dynamics. It was set in a very interesting time, when the gun was the only law. I had mixed feelings about John Wayne's character who seemed a bit morally ambiguous, but I liked how the various characters responded to moral dilemmas.

Alright, well I'm about half way done Meek's Cutoff, and it's a rewatch. But I'm running on fumes and starting to nod off. So, I'm going to crash for the evening, and first thing when I wake up I'll finish it and submit my ballot.

you're doing AWESOME @Zotis!!
BRAVO
curl up, let the campfire cool down and see on the morrow!

__________________
What I actually said to win MovieGal's heart:
- I might not be a real King of Kinkiness, but I make good pancakes

~Mr Minio

You want to be fresh for Meek's Cutoff as you and me are going to be the only two who don't vote it last. Everyone else seemed to hate it

Anyone on here who knows me knows that I love unconventional narrative structure. This movie was a gourmet treat catered perfectly to my taste. It's rare to see a movie this subtle even in arthouse cinema. There was dialogue off in the distance that I had to strain to hear and missed parts of just like the women who weren't privy to their male counter parts' discussion. They had to stand off in the distance and could barely hear even though the conversation directly affected their fates. I strongly related to Michelle Williams' character, Emily, with her passionate but measured anger towards the ignorance and stupidity that threatened to get them all killed. One line particularly stood out to me, "I don't blame him for not knowing. I blame him for saying that he did." A lot of movies force situations to reach the desired outcome of the plot, and as a result they feel unrealistic and lack emotional impact. The plot in this movie was natural and realistic. The characters were sensible, and on both sides reasonable. Meek himself was a moderate example of a fool who talks too much, and lies in a compelling manner. The others who struggled with belief and doubt proposed reasonable perspectives to each other as they discussed their course of action. How often I've found myself frustrated with the stupidity of characters who make choices that just don't seem thoughtful enough, because the plot needs to go in a certain direction. The sensibility of the characters in this movie was very refreshing. The gorgeous shots of the cast walking across dreary landscapes sunk in the atmosphere of exhaustion and gave me a sense of just how tiresome it must have been, and how much walking they had to do. Across barren desert, rocky hills, winding valleys, and muddy rivers they dragged their weathered souls towards the uncertain hope of a better future. The variety of landscapes, and the landscapes themselves were quite fascinating. I can certainly understand why most people would not enjoy this movie. Unless you love cinematography for the sake of cinematography alone, and enjoy seeing actors walking in costume across various landscapes and doing normal things like lighting fires and setting up camp, I don't think a person can enjoy this type of film. The camera angles themselves, and the different types of shots, tickled me gleefully. I get so tired and bored of the constant straight on shots and over the shoulder dialogue shots that most movies have. I just love it when the camera is put all over the place, and you really get to enjoy cinematography as an art form. I can't stand the formulaic dialogue that most movies have, where characters never talk out of turn, and generally lack the awkwardness and quarreling that real life has. I think a lot of things were improvised in this movie. I got the sense they were just literally setting up camp and the camera was capturing whatever naturally unfolded. I haven't seen any movie quite like this. For my second watch I enjoyed it even more than the first time. I already want to watch it again.

I sent in my ballot. For me the toughest decision was which I liked more between Dirty Little Billy and McCabe & Mrs. Miller.

Good job bud, I was doubting you for a minute a while back.

Thanks, I see you got a Hannie Caulder avatar.

I’ll be finishing this shortly

Sorry, guys. Busy weekend. Didn’t watch anything at all. Going to start on Dirty Little Billy in a few mins. Will have a review up tomorrow.
Again, sorry for the delay.

you're good, just let us know and send me a new ballot with Dirty included

I’m at work currently, but I’ll have a write up later tonight after I get home and eat. Ballot will be sent as well

Dirty Little Billy

Emphasis on dirty. Mud covers the street, quite suitable actually. I like that it doesn’t glamorize the old west. Everyone is covered in mud, or dirt. And the streets are quagmires where everyone seems to fall in.
Pollard was fine as Billy. Not great, but better then I expected. It was Berle, played by Lee Purcell who got my attention. Looking impossibly stunning even amongst all that mud. She portrays Berle with a little bit of sexiness with some steel resolve hidden behind those eyes.
She proves it during the knife fight.
This is a film I really wish I could see proper, as I feel watching it on my laptop doesn’t do it justice.
Still, it’s not bad actually. It’s definitely not your typical western. And the violence never felt forced.
Good nomination.

I seriously wish I could have viewed a better version of this, as I feel the one I watched (YouTube, ugh) totally doesn’t do it any justice.
I don’t recognize Lee Purcell in anything else, I wonder why her career never took off after this?

I liked the movie but the copy I watched had Spanish subtitles that I found distracting. I real nice copy would've been a plus.

Mine didn’t have Spanish subtitles, but I agree with you. Good movie, where a real copy would have been great.

What about The Gray Fox? Did you find a decent copy of that? I couldn't.

Ed sent me a link that was actually not bad. It’s a shame that some of these movies were so hard to find really. Fox, Billy and Gundown were all worth watching in my opinion, but I feel like I lost something watching it on my laptop. Oh well. 3 move sill have to track down in the future to watch “properly”.