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The Shootist
(Don Siegel, 1976)
(Starring: John Wayne; Lauren Bacall; Ron Howard; James Stewart)
In a sense, the same cancer that is diagnosed in John Wayne's character in The Shootist, as well as the cancer that, three years after filming for The Shootist wrapped, would claim the life of The Duke himself, had also afflicted the entire genre. The Traditional American Western was dying. After all, a decade earlier, Peckinpah had infused the Western with a darker, more violent and nihilistic sensibility. And the Italians--- Sergio Leone, in particular--- had started serving the Western with a side of spaghetti. John Wayne's brand of Westerns, however, with their idealism and old-fashioned values, had long since grown stale. The mold, the cancer, was a lack of interest from the movie-going public. This makes The Shootist all the more poignant. Not only is it John Wayne's last film, it's essentially the last film of an entire era.
Everything about The Shootist feels like a funeral, as if Wayne was participating in his own procession. When he struggles for breath in certain scenes, it doesn't feel like acting (and it probably wasn't, considering that his entire left lung had already been removed). When he discusses his inevitable death and how he wants to be remembered, it doesn't feel like a line of dialogue, but a man in the twilight of his life speaking directly to his fans. Considering how well the character and the movie mirrors Wayne's real life, you'd think that The Shootist was written specifically for him, so it's surprising to learn that he almost wasn't cast in the role. What a crime that would have been. Without The Duke, this old-fashioned Western would've been average at best and already forgotten.
It's fitting that James Stewart, Wayne's close friend and co-star of the brilliant The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, is also in this movie, and he adds a certain somber respect to the scenes in which he appears. An aging Lauren Bacall, as well as a young Ron Howard (with hair!), are also great. The directing from Don Siegel is nothing special, but it gets the job done, and perhaps it's appropriate, given the material and the actors involved, that his direction is so straight forward. The main draw, of course, is Wayne himself. I think it's one of the best performances of his career. (Not that I've seen enough to make that claim; the dude appeared in over 140 films!)
From the opening montage to the climactic showdown to the poignant final scenes, The Shootist is a proper, dignified, elegiac farewell to an American icon. Long live the legendary Duke and his extraordinary legacy!
(Don Siegel, 1976)
(Starring: John Wayne; Lauren Bacall; Ron Howard; James Stewart)
In a sense, the same cancer that is diagnosed in John Wayne's character in The Shootist, as well as the cancer that, three years after filming for The Shootist wrapped, would claim the life of The Duke himself, had also afflicted the entire genre. The Traditional American Western was dying. After all, a decade earlier, Peckinpah had infused the Western with a darker, more violent and nihilistic sensibility. And the Italians--- Sergio Leone, in particular--- had started serving the Western with a side of spaghetti. John Wayne's brand of Westerns, however, with their idealism and old-fashioned values, had long since grown stale. The mold, the cancer, was a lack of interest from the movie-going public. This makes The Shootist all the more poignant. Not only is it John Wayne's last film, it's essentially the last film of an entire era.
Everything about The Shootist feels like a funeral, as if Wayne was participating in his own procession. When he struggles for breath in certain scenes, it doesn't feel like acting (and it probably wasn't, considering that his entire left lung had already been removed). When he discusses his inevitable death and how he wants to be remembered, it doesn't feel like a line of dialogue, but a man in the twilight of his life speaking directly to his fans. Considering how well the character and the movie mirrors Wayne's real life, you'd think that The Shootist was written specifically for him, so it's surprising to learn that he almost wasn't cast in the role. What a crime that would have been. Without The Duke, this old-fashioned Western would've been average at best and already forgotten.
It's fitting that James Stewart, Wayne's close friend and co-star of the brilliant The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, is also in this movie, and he adds a certain somber respect to the scenes in which he appears. An aging Lauren Bacall, as well as a young Ron Howard (with hair!), are also great. The directing from Don Siegel is nothing special, but it gets the job done, and perhaps it's appropriate, given the material and the actors involved, that his direction is so straight forward. The main draw, of course, is Wayne himself. I think it's one of the best performances of his career. (Not that I've seen enough to make that claim; the dude appeared in over 140 films!)
From the opening montage to the climactic showdown to the poignant final scenes, The Shootist is a proper, dignified, elegiac farewell to an American icon. Long live the legendary Duke and his extraordinary legacy!