Westerns are fantastic and have some of my favorite soundtracks from movies. Shout out to Ennio Morricone for some magnificent pieces.
Who Likes Westerns?
Anyone ever watched Heaven's Gate?
I've been curious about it since I've read it was such a box office bust, it created the modern trend of studios sticking to "safe" summer blockbusters instead of letting directors have free reign.
I've been curious about it since I've read it was such a box office bust, it created the modern trend of studios sticking to "safe" summer blockbusters instead of letting directors have free reign.
Heaven's Gate (Michael Cimino, 1980)
I was one of those people who actually saw Heaven's Gate in 1980 in its original version before UA pulled it, recut it and dumped it back on the market five months later. At 219 minutes, it certainly is a formidable film and one which you have to be prepared for. (Of course, any movie over three-and-a-half hours needs your dedication, especially at the theatre.) What got Heaven's Gate into trouble with most viewers (and critics) is that it started out with several long, mostly-impressive (in and of themselves) set pieces which didn't especially seem to connect to each other and further the plot. In other words, the most-difficult part of the film was the beginning. Of course, several foreign epics have been structured similarly and hailed as masterpieces, and although I won't namedrop them right now, most of them are Italian. Then, there is the other thing which caused Heaven's Gate to bomb, and that was that there was a backlash against Cimino for winning the Oscar Best Picture (The Deer Hunter) with what some wrong-headed people (including Jane Fonda) thought was a pro-war, right-wing flick.
Now, I went back in 1981 and rewatched the film, cut by 70 minutes, and it's true that it was faster-paced and that it seemed action-packed (most all of the action was rear-loaded originally), but it also seemed choppy because the set pieces which used to be 20 minutes were now five minutes long. It also eviscerated much of the character motivations, the acting, the thematic complexity, and left you wondering who some people were. Today, I rewatched the restored version, and although it's still something of a tough row to hoe, it's certainly the way to watch the film. For one thing, Vilmos Zsigmond's sepia-toned cinematography is both spectacular in the context of the film and in the way we see history often through old sepia photos of the West. The film is about the Johnson County Wars of Wyoming in 1892, and the scenery is impressive and makes you feel as if you were close to Heaven's Gate, but in this version, there's just as much hellfire as anything.
Heaven's Gate is a big flick, and it has a big cast. The central character is obviously the man played by Kris Kristofferson who sides with the European immigrant settlers against the Cattleman's Association and eventually the U.S. Army. He meets and falls in love with a wild Frenchwoman (Isabelle Huppert), but she also loves Christopher Walken who's actually on the wrong side of the situation. Sam Waterston plays a scumbag who's basically in charge of arranging the killing of the settlers, and John Hurt, who doesn't believe in what he stands for, is also on his side just because he's too ineffectual. The cast is full of many other names, including Jeff Bridges, Brad Dourif, Joseph Cotten, Mickey Rourke, Terry O'Quinn, Geoffrey Lewis, Richard Masur, Tom Noonan, and a few others. David Mansfield's elegaic musical score is a strong asset (he's the violinist in the movie every time you see one), and the sets and costumes are spectacular. Ultimately, Heaven's Gate comes across as some strange melding of 1900, McCabe and Mrs. Miller and Soldier Blue. Some people will hate it, others will love it, and many will scratch their heads. But if you get through it to the end, it's obvious that it's trying to be about something important, and in more than one way, it succeeds.
I was one of those people who actually saw Heaven's Gate in 1980 in its original version before UA pulled it, recut it and dumped it back on the market five months later. At 219 minutes, it certainly is a formidable film and one which you have to be prepared for. (Of course, any movie over three-and-a-half hours needs your dedication, especially at the theatre.) What got Heaven's Gate into trouble with most viewers (and critics) is that it started out with several long, mostly-impressive (in and of themselves) set pieces which didn't especially seem to connect to each other and further the plot. In other words, the most-difficult part of the film was the beginning. Of course, several foreign epics have been structured similarly and hailed as masterpieces, and although I won't namedrop them right now, most of them are Italian. Then, there is the other thing which caused Heaven's Gate to bomb, and that was that there was a backlash against Cimino for winning the Oscar Best Picture (The Deer Hunter) with what some wrong-headed people (including Jane Fonda) thought was a pro-war, right-wing flick.
Now, I went back in 1981 and rewatched the film, cut by 70 minutes, and it's true that it was faster-paced and that it seemed action-packed (most all of the action was rear-loaded originally), but it also seemed choppy because the set pieces which used to be 20 minutes were now five minutes long. It also eviscerated much of the character motivations, the acting, the thematic complexity, and left you wondering who some people were. Today, I rewatched the restored version, and although it's still something of a tough row to hoe, it's certainly the way to watch the film. For one thing, Vilmos Zsigmond's sepia-toned cinematography is both spectacular in the context of the film and in the way we see history often through old sepia photos of the West. The film is about the Johnson County Wars of Wyoming in 1892, and the scenery is impressive and makes you feel as if you were close to Heaven's Gate, but in this version, there's just as much hellfire as anything.
Heaven's Gate is a big flick, and it has a big cast. The central character is obviously the man played by Kris Kristofferson who sides with the European immigrant settlers against the Cattleman's Association and eventually the U.S. Army. He meets and falls in love with a wild Frenchwoman (Isabelle Huppert), but she also loves Christopher Walken who's actually on the wrong side of the situation. Sam Waterston plays a scumbag who's basically in charge of arranging the killing of the settlers, and John Hurt, who doesn't believe in what he stands for, is also on his side just because he's too ineffectual. The cast is full of many other names, including Jeff Bridges, Brad Dourif, Joseph Cotten, Mickey Rourke, Terry O'Quinn, Geoffrey Lewis, Richard Masur, Tom Noonan, and a few others. David Mansfield's elegaic musical score is a strong asset (he's the violinist in the movie every time you see one), and the sets and costumes are spectacular. Ultimately, Heaven's Gate comes across as some strange melding of 1900, McCabe and Mrs. Miller and Soldier Blue. Some people will hate it, others will love it, and many will scratch their heads. But if you get through it to the end, it's obvious that it's trying to be about something important, and in more than one way, it succeeds.
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Top 10 lists without The Wild Bunch?
Sketchy...
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speaking of Westerns they are remaking the Magnificent Seven and I don't know how I feel about that.....
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1. The Outlaw Josey Wales
2. The Wild Bunch
3. Unforgiven
4. High Plains Drifter
5. Once Upon a Time in the West
6. Little Big Man
7. McCabe and Mrs. Miller
8. Shane
9. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
10. The Magnificent Seven
Dammit I forgot Blazing Saddles!
2. The Wild Bunch
3. Unforgiven
4. High Plains Drifter
5. Once Upon a Time in the West
6. Little Big Man
7. McCabe and Mrs. Miller
8. Shane
9. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
10. The Magnificent Seven
Dammit I forgot Blazing Saddles!
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Top 10 lists without The Wild Bunch?
Sketchy...
Sketchy...
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100 Favourites From The Future: REWIRED
100 Favourites From The Future: REWIRED
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The Wild Bunch is fun, even if just for the fact that I pretend Pike Bishop is Holden Pike from MoFo.
"Hey, I know that guy..."
"Hey, I know that guy..."
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1. The man who shot Liberty Valance
2. For a few dollars more
3. The treasure of the Sierra Madre
4. The Ox-Bow incident
5. The good, the bad and the ugly
6. Once upon a time in the West
7. The wild bunch - Yeah, it's here
8. Unforgiven
9. Man of the West
10. My darling Clementine
In short, I tend to like the genre. But I have watched only a few essentials. While I enjoy westerns when I watch them, it's difficult to find the mood.
2. For a few dollars more
3. The treasure of the Sierra Madre
4. The Ox-Bow incident
5. The good, the bad and the ugly
6. Once upon a time in the West
7. The wild bunch - Yeah, it's here
8. Unforgiven
9. Man of the West
10. My darling Clementine
In short, I tend to like the genre. But I have watched only a few essentials. While I enjoy westerns when I watch them, it's difficult to find the mood.
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Open Range is a good one that slipped under the radar a bit. (2002 I think).
My favs
Pale Rider
Unforgiven
Open Range
Outlaw Josey Whales
Good Bad and The Ugly
High Plains Drifter
Loads I haven't seen though.
My favs
Pale Rider
Unforgiven
Open Range
Outlaw Josey Whales
Good Bad and The Ugly
High Plains Drifter
Loads I haven't seen though.
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1.Once Upon a Time in the West
2.Unforgiven
3.TGTBATU
4.The Wild Bunch
5.The Outlaw Josey Wales
6.Stagecoach
7.A Fistful of Dollars
8.High Noon
9.High Plains Drifter
10.For a Few Dollars More
I really need to go on a western marathon at some point.
2.Unforgiven
3.TGTBATU
4.The Wild Bunch
5.The Outlaw Josey Wales
6.Stagecoach
7.A Fistful of Dollars
8.High Noon
9.High Plains Drifter
10.For a Few Dollars More
I really need to go on a western marathon at some point.
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Out the way kids, best ranking coming through.
1.TGTBATU
2.Once Upon A Time in the West
3.For A Few Dollars More
4.The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
5.A Fistful of Dollars
6.Unforgiven
7.High Noon
8.The Searchers
9.The Wild Bunch
10.The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
1.TGTBATU
2.Once Upon A Time in the West
3.For A Few Dollars More
4.The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
5.A Fistful of Dollars
6.Unforgiven
7.High Noon
8.The Searchers
9.The Wild Bunch
10.The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
For the record I forgot Sierre Madre, that would be my #3 in between Unforgiven and TGTBATU.
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So, when is that best ranking coming, Lucas ??
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1.Once Upon a Time in the West
2.Unforgiven
3.TGTBATU
4.The Wild Bunch
5.The Outlaw Josey Wales
6.Stagecoach
7.A Fistful of Dollars
8.High Noon
9.High Plains Drifter
10.For a Few Dollars More
I really need to go on a western marathon at some point.
2.Unforgiven
3.TGTBATU
4.The Wild Bunch
5.The Outlaw Josey Wales
6.Stagecoach
7.A Fistful of Dollars
8.High Noon
9.High Plains Drifter
10.For a Few Dollars More
I really need to go on a western marathon at some point.
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