#221- The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Quick recap: 3 men (the good, the bad and the ugly) go after a large sum of money buried in a cemetery.

No wagon painting, thank god

Fun (?) fact: From IMDb: “The skeleton found by Tuco inside the wrong coffin at Sad Hill cemetery, was a real human skeleton. A deceased Spanish actress wrote in her will she wanted to act even after her death.”

I know that Clint Eastwood is basically Grandpa Simpson these days but a long time ago……YES, PLEASE.

My thoughts: Whereas before, my relationship with Westerns was ‘friends with benefits’ bordering on a breakup, I think we are now in the ‘It’s Complicated’ era. One movie can’t undo the psychological trauma inflicted on me from past films (I’m looking at you, El Topo), but The Good, the Bad and the Ugly certainly help heal some wounds. And by The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, what I really mean is Clint Eastwood.

Honestly, all of the acting was top notch and I felt like I was watching an actual western and not just Marlon Brando making me feel uncomfortable. Sure, it was over the top with tropes and long drawls, but that’s just what I want. And, like I said, it was Clint Eastwood that made the film. I’m not sure why he was necessarily the good guy, but he certainly killed less than the other two main characters which I think practically makes him a saint or something. I won’t spoil the ending because I’m cool like that, but I love the way he solved everything. And his eyes. Have I mentioned that I love his eyes? Sigh.

cowboys aren’t my thing but Clint Eastwood is making me feel…things.

The story for The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is very basic- 3 guys fighting over money. And the characters themselves are whittled down to their basic traits, but it all works somehow. A movie doesn’t have to be complicated or even try to make a point in order to be classic. I enjoyed every minute and would gladly watch it again. Plus, the showdown at the end (come on, you knew that was going to happen) filled in several pop culture holes, which is always nice.

1aac5717780381.562bf0326c177

Final review: 5/5

Up next: Se7en- where I finally find out what’s in the box!

6 Comments

#220-One-Eyed Jacks

Quick recap: Marlon Brando in a Western, doing Western stuff.

Not that One-Eyed Jacks

Fun (!) fact: Marlon Brando replaced Stanley Kubrick as director and shot 6 times the footage that he needed. This ended up being his only directorial role, which he said was too much work. Considering he spent hours staring at the waves waiting for a perfect shot, he might’ve been doing it wrong? I’ve never directed anything so I guess I can’t say much.

He wore this scarf the whole time and although I think it looks fierce, it kind of looked odd in a Western setting

My thoughts: I’m beginning to not like Westerns. I remember watching Shane for the first time, bright-eyed and bushy tailed at the prospect of a new genre to potentially love. It disappointed me in ways that I’m still not comfortable talking about in public, but I continued on, determined to find something to latch on to. Red River wasn’t as bad as Shane, but was still a disappointment. There were some other pseudo-Westerns thrown in between these movies but I wanted more.Something authentic. Something gritty. Something…not Marlon Brando.

Marlon Brando didn’t necessarily do a bad job in One-Eyed Jacks, but he laid on the ‘vengeance’ thing a little thick. Most of the time he reminded me of a sullen teenager whose mom has taken him to JC Penny’s to buy clothes when he would much rather be at Hot Topic. There is one scene in particular after he escapes from prison in which he rolls his eyes THE ENTIRE TIME. His hat is pushed so far down into his face but you can still see the whites of his eyes. It looked creepy and made me wonder if that whole thing about ‘if you roll your eyes enough, they are going to get stuck like that’ thing was true.

Another thing One-Eyed Jacks lacked was subtlety. In the story, Rio (played by Brando) is a robber, along with his best friend Dad. Yup. Dad. So after one heist, Dad takes the money and leaves Rio to be caught. He is thrown in prison, escapes after 5 years. When he gets out, he learns that Dad ( I KNOW) is now the sheriff of a town and has turned into a model citizen. The two meet again with Dad trying to teach Rio a lesson and help him repent of his stealing ways. In comes the whipping scene. After shooting a guy, Dad strips Rio’s shirt off and whips him for a few minutes. If you think this sounds a little erotic…….it totally does. I was both repulsed and intrigued.

MV5BMTMyMzE2MDU3Nl5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwMDM0MTU2._V1_SX640_SY720_

As we later find out, Rio has knocked up Dad’s Step-daughter ( just go with it). He now has to make a choice whether to continue his vengeance or let it go and be with the woman he loves (and knocked up). I won’t spoil the ending, although I really suggest not watching this movie, but let’s just say that Rio has his cake and eats it too. And by cake, I mean that he kills Dad and rides off into the sunset with the girl. Oops.

Final review: 1/5. Please don’t watch One-Eyed Jacks. Might I suggest an episode of Twin Peaks instead?

Up next: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly………..another Western

#198- Little Big Man

Quick recap: A 121 year old man recounts his various adventures growing up in the wild west.

Fun (?) fact: I’m sure there’s some really interesting stuff out there about this movie, but what stuck out most to me was that Dustin Hoffman is 78 years old. No one else seems to think anything of this, but I’m still trying to wrap my head around it.

I don’t see him looking like this at 121, but you never know

My thoughts: As with anything Native American related, it’s usually very difficult to pull off anything that isn’t completely offensive, so I didn’t have high hopes going into Little big Man. In fact, I had already planned some of the snark I would say on this post related to such insensitivity. Alas, that version won’t happen because I thought everyone did a really good job (impressive, even) with the subject matter, managing to create something hilarious and heartbreaking and giving me the motivation to learn more.

Little Big Man is mostly about Jack Crabb’s (played by Dustin Hoffman) relationship with the Cheyenne nation. As a child, his entire family was wiped out from the Pawnee tribe, except for him and his sister, and a member of the Cheyenne took him in. His sister ran away, but he stayed until he was a young adult and became an honorary brother. Sure, there were some questionable things like the manner of speech the Cheyenne had and their various traditions, but overall, they were seen in a very positive light. Crabb fights with white men at some point and once he is discovered as one of them, he is shipped off to a town to learn some religion. It’s from here that the movie begins to bounce back and forth. He goes through every Western cliche you can think of ( helper at a medicine show, gun fighter, helping a woman at a whorehouse, and so on), but that’s what made the movie funny. This is a tall tale, you see, and I never really got whether or not we are supposed to believe it ( think Big Fish), but it was very entertaining, nonetheless.

One of my reasons for liking this movie so much is the way Crabb always finds his way back to the Cheyenne. He is white, yet it is with these people that he connects with the most. There were several stereotypical characters, but they were portrayed with compassion, especially compared to the white people Crabb encountered elsewhere. The scenes where Custer and his men tore through the villages killing women and children were very difficult to watch and it was shocking, compared to the lightheartedness of the rest of the movie. This movie was made in 1970, at the height of the Vietnam war so there were many parallels to what was going on in that part of the world at the time.

The movie isn’t perfect and my biggest annoyance was how Forrest Gumpy the plot felt at times. For example, Crabb meets up with Wild Bill during his gun fighter stage, and sees him accidentally kill a man. Seven years later, the two meet up again at a bar and out of nowhere, a kid comes in and shoots Wild Bill dead. It turns out the kid was the son of the man Bill killed earlier and Crabb just happened to be there when it all went down. I have nothing against Gumpy, but it got old after awhile knowing that some ironic thing was about to happen.

Final review: 4/5. For a long film, I didn’t get bored once

Up next: Orphans of the Storm

#123- Dead Man

A big thank you to S for recommending this movie. My favorite part was that it was an ‘art house’ film that didn’t make me want to drink heavily.

Quick recap: Johnny Depp plays William Blake (not the poet), an accountant on the run from the law. After murdering a guy, Blake is shot. Thus begins his journey as a dead man (wanted for murder) and a dead man (because he got shot).

Johnny Depp pre judging himself on later film roles

Fun (?) fact: Many of the lines spoken by Nobody are taken from the real William Blake’s poetry.

My thoughts: My thoughts on Johnny Depp the actor are as follows: I have none. I’m aware of his career and I’ve seen many of his films but I wouldn’t call him a favorite by any means. Or even an actor that I hate (yeah, Bill Paxton, you’re still number one for that). I don’t really think it’s that big of a deal that he has done so many films with Tim Burton because he is well suited for those roles. It is nice, however, to watch a movie like Dead Man and be reminded how talented Depp really is.

Of the many aspects of the film, it was the scenery I was drawn to most. I read trivia that cinematographer Robert Müller ‘s idea to shoot in black and white was based off of Ansel Adam’s photographs. For a fantasy film, the setting was entirely realistic and I imagine that’s exactly how it would’ve looked and felt back in the 19th century. With the school year starting, my wanderlust has picked back up and I now find myself fantasizing a trip up north to make my own trek through the woods that Blake and Nobody rode through.

What interested me most about Dead Man is that although there are plot elements, the emphasis is really on the journey. There aren’t any monologues concerning Blake’s thoughts on his impending death or what he will leave behind. He is just along for the ride and for whatever happens. The scene where Nobody brings him to his tribe is a great example of this, as Blake just lays there and watches what is being done around him. He doesn’t fight death or argue about it. It just is.

Final review: 5/5. I’m shocked at this rating because immediately after watching it, I had planned on giving it just a 3. Considering I’m still talking about it to people and thinking about the meaning behind some parts, I felt it best to bump it up to a more deserving score.

Up next: The Thin Blue Line

1001 Movie Nights

Tag Archives: western

#221- The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

#220-One-Eyed Jacks

#198- Little Big Man

#123- Dead Man

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: