Oh yeah. I knew that. sorry...
I don't believe we will see Tarentino directing a real Western but who knows?
Which director do you think, outside of Eastwood, would/could make a good, strong Western today?
eoe wrote:Which director do you think, outside of Eastwood, would/could make a good, strong Western today?
David Lynch, Quentin Tarantino, and Martin Scorsese (sp?) would be my favorite canidates. I absolutely don't believe Spike Lee would ever do it, but I think he would do a very good job directing a Western about fugitive slaves, or if the story was told against some similar context that could bring some race conflict into the plot.
Kevin Costner might be a good director for a western. The film Merry mentioned is Black Rain (1989) with Andy Garcia as the sidekick. High Noon in my opinion was the best western ever made. As I recall it was made from a book titled The Tin Star. The film had an excellent cast (Katy Jurado, Lloyd Bridges, Lee Van Cleef,, Thomas Mitchell besides others already mentioned).
bobsmythhawk wrote:Kevin Costner might be a good director for a western.
We know he is --
Dances with Wolves was one of the best movies of the nineties!
bobsmythhawk wrote: High Noon in my opinion was the best western ever made.
I'm a partisan of
Once Upon a Time in the West myself. Americans just can't make Westerns the way Italians can.
Don't know if this would be classified as a "western" or not but "Lonely are the Brave" from the book "The Brave Cowboy" is certainly on my top 10 list of films.
Kirk Douglas mentioned that film as his favorite. Walter Matthau had a very important role in it as a determined albeit sympathetic sherriff.
Kevin Costner has directed two Westerns, the recent being one of the few new Westerns "Open Range."
Thomas wrote:eoe wrote:Which director do you think, outside of Eastwood, would/could make a good, strong Western today?
David Lynch, Quentin Tarantino, and Martin Scorsese (sp?) would be my favorite canidates. I absolutely don't believe Spike Lee would ever do it, but I think he would do a very good job directing a Western about fugitive slaves, or if the story was told against some similar context that could bring some race conflict into the plot.
Mario Van Peebles directed a Western, "Posse", featuring an all-black cast some years ago.
Why would anyone want to see a western these days?
Movies sell based on the number of car crashes. Teens are the largest ticket buyers and teens want to see car chases and ELM effects. Niether of which are needed in westerns. Movies are all about making money.
Or sex, teens want lots of sex. How about a film called "The mustang ranch?" It could take place in a cat house. The title would fool a lot of kids into thinking it has cars in it and you could sell the sex angle.
(Remember this was my idea and I'll be happy to sue anyone that produces a similar film and get my millions that way.)
You're right -- although Westerns or any drama involving horses will show what could be called horse crashes, there's alway the obligatory "not aminals were hurt" disclaimer so they keep that imagery to a minimum.
That's very funny -- "The Mustang Ranch." but it would have to be rated a minimum of NC17.
parados wrote:Why would anyone want to see a western these days?
Why would anyone want to see a bunch of nerds fly across the universe in a spaceship these days? Yet the various
Star Trek series were among the longest-lived in the history of television, and the Star Trek movies were, to my knowledge, decent if unspectacular box-office successes.
Thomas wrote:parados wrote:Why would anyone want to see a western these days?
Why would anyone want to see a bunch of nerds fly across the universe in a spaceship these days? Yet the various
Star Trek series were among the longest-lived in the history of television, and the Star Trek movies were, to my knowledge, decent if unspectacular box-office successes.
"Star Trek: The Voyage Home" grossed a bit over $120 million.
I hardly think it is a matter of what the public wants to see but what the producers and the sponsors want to fund. "Consultants" ruined radio. "Ratings" almost eliminated intelligent television. We target teachers and the schools as things that need improvement, but what "free market entertainment"?
Once upon a time, films were released to a few theatres, and, if word of mouth promoted a picture, it eventually became a hit. Now, films are generally (but not always) released nationally, and those vapid, made up models on shows like Entertainment Tonight let us know what sort of "box office" these movies generated, not how engaging the script is or how wonderful the actors are.
Box office can mean there is something elemental in the entertainment factor which nearly every moviegoer will enjoy. It doesn't mean it's the most enlightenting experience but we're all inspired by different drummers. It's still one man's engaging script or wonderful acting may be someone else's snoozer. The great movies in Hollywood history even if they didn't rack up big numbers on theatrical release have passed the test of time and critics have reconsidered what might have first seemed to be less-than-earthshaking material. Unfortunatly, box office can be deceiving because it lures in the typical cineplex audience and can make more money that it likely deserves.
Just saw "Mean Streets" again and it's an amazing movie that did only lukewarm box office -- the film is as if there is no camera at all but that you're along for the ride, down in the gritty world Scorcese observed rather than created.
Box office just means that people will shell out the money for a movie. There is no word of mouth in the movie industry anymore -- even the critics are complaining about that.
Word-of-mouth has been very sketchy and seems to promote the wrong films.
Word-of-mouth has been very sketchy and seems to promote the wrong films.
Really? Explain. Dont you think posting the box office at the end of the weekend does more to promote the wrong -- with wrong meaning the bad film that is the vehicle for the latest hunk -- film?
I think word of mouth promotes films people really want to see.
I just saw the preview for 3:10 TO YUMA
maybe the western isn't dead after all
