There's a certain kind of sophistication that oozes from this movie from the get go. Anthony Mann's take on the western is much more concerned with the motivations and consequences of it's characters actions. He cleverly avoids overtly typical western plot points. Now I'm not saying that this is some revolutionary take on Western filmmaking because it has it's fair share of "Oh, I was wondering when this scene would come" moments but the approach is grounded in human emotion rather than trying to just quicken your pulse. WESTERN WESTERN WESTERN. Okay, I've said it 6 times now. That might be enough... No? WESSSSSSSSSSSTERN. I'm done.
One of the most surprising aspects of this film was the reluctance to form a clear hero. This film has one pure-hearted character but the rest are impelled by the always seductive sin that is GREED. Though, that's why this story works so well. The progression of the story is literally fueled by mistakes of the characters which sounds like I'm criticizing but it's anything but. It's one of those instances where "that guy" would discredit this entire film by saying "Well, all this could've been diverted if he/she just didn't...". That dumb guy that refuses to accept people in movies as actual human beings. So, yeah. This all COULD'VE been diverted but then again you could've understood this movie if you weren't so retarded. We all make mistakes.
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Lessons in Movie Reviewing #1: Never have imaginary verbal fights with made up people just to further a point.
This sounds pretty cool. I've seen Mann's Winchester '73, which was fairly boss.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I was reading about his awesome collaborations with Stewart. I'll be sure to check 'em out.
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