True Grit (Coens, 2010)

[Manny Calavera]

This looks as if it could be the pinnacle of what has been a truly great string of modern Westerns (The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, The Assassination of Jesse James..., Deadwood, etc):

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/paramount/truegrit/

 

[Nil]

Looks amazing.

 

[Mark from Plano]

I liked the original. Glen Campbell was an acting genius. People are still talking about his performance 40 years later.

Yes, of course I am kidding.

 

[redcaimen]

Loved the original. The script was outstanding. Even Glen Campbell couldnt stop that movie from being good.

 

[FLMountainMan]

Originally Posted by redcaimen

Loved the original. The script was outstanding. Even John Wayne couldnt stop that movie from being good.

FTFY. Guess it just shows how subjective art is....

 

[robbie]

I am hoping the fact this is out Christmas means I'll be able to steal my father and grandfather away, and make tracks for the theater.

-rF

 

[Ataturk]

Who the hell thought this was a good idea?

 

[Mark from Plano]

Originally Posted by FLMountainMan

FTFY. Guess it just shows how subjective art is....

I think that John Wayne movies have not aged well. It's hard to translate them to today. That said, as John Wayne movies go I'd have to say this was up there pretty high, IMO. I really liked The Shootist (his last movie) and True Grit. Some of the others are hard to watch.

I really love the fact that Rio Bravo and El Dorado are the exact same movie: Aging, and ultimately likeable gunfighter (John Wayne in both movies) returns to town to find that his old friend the Sheriff (Dean Martin in Rio Bravo; Robert Mitchem in El Dorado) has become a drunk who is being cared for by the crotchety, but good natured deputy (Walter Brennan in Rio Bravo; can't remember the guy in El Dorado) who provides the comic relief. Meanwhile the bad land/cattle baron (Ed Asner in one, can't remember the other) is taking over the town and the Sheriff is in no condition to stop him, so John Wayne comes to the rescue aided by a young, brassy gunfighter with a good heart (Ricky Nelson in Rio Bravo; James Caan* in El Dorado). Oh, and there's also a love interest for John Wayne who helps out too by providing information/food/nursing (Angie Dickenson in Rio Bravo, can't remember in El Dorado). Ultimately winds up in a show down where John Wayne is incapacitated (Can't remember in Rio Bravo, paralyzed by a prior injury in El Dorado) and the Sheriff must find the strength to overcome the odds and his own sloth to win the day.

I don't know another example of two so nearly identical movies being made by the same person in their career, but maybe there is one.

(EDIT: May have a couple of these facts wrong. Going by memory and didn't consult IMDB on any of it.)



*Actually just to add a twist, James Caan's character can't really shoot, but is an expert with a knife. He does wind up carrying a sawed off shotgun for the final battle, but winds up shooting John Wayne in the leg with it accidentally.

 

[Nil]

In case it matters to anyone, this apparently is based directly off the book and is not a remake of the film. The differences may be minor (not sure, never read the book) but they will exist.

 

[Ataturk]

Is this the one where the girl gets bit by the snake at the end? I remember hearing somewhere that at the end of the book she ended up a spinster because they amputated her arm. In the movie she "gets better."

The other ending is better for the "revenge is bad" message, but kinda tough for the audience to swallow, I guess.

 

[Manny Calavera]

Originally Posted by Nil

In case it matters to anyone, this apparently is based directly off the book and is not a remake of the film. The differences may be minor (not sure, never read the book) but they will exist.

Yeah, I was coming it to post this in response to Ataturk. The book is hyper-violent, so this is going to be a completely different beast. Coens already have a really successful Western under their belt, so I couldn't be more excited for them on a neo-Western.

Also, I like old Wayne. The schmaltz against the dark undertones of the Fantasy Fifties. The Searchers, Red River, Stagecoach. When he was working under an auteur that was smart enough to just let Wayne be Wayne (admittedly, a ******* asshole) is when he was at his best (in my opinion).

 

[Mark from Plano]

Originally Posted by Ataturk

Is this the one where the girl gets bit by the snake at the end? I remember hearing somewhere that at the end of the book she ended up a spinster because they amputated her arm. In the movie she "gets better."

The other ending is better for the "revenge is bad" message, but kinda tough for the audience to swallow, I guess.

Yes

 

[w.o.e.is.me.]

im excited as ****.