Franchise Reviews - For a Few Dollars More

For a Few Dollars More is a film I'd compare to Aliens, From Russia with Love, or The Empire Strikes Back; a sequel that is far superior to its predecessor.

Clint Eastwood returns as The Man with No Name, but is now referred to as "Manco" (One Armed) due to his habit of doing everything with his left hand to leave his right hand free for shooting. However, the real hero of this story is rival bounty hunter Colonel Douglas Mortimer, played by Lee Van Cleef. The two hunters end up pooling their resources to go after the notorious bandit El Indio, played by Gian Maria Volonte.

While Clint Eastwood is still great, it's Lee Van Cleef and Volonte who steal the show. Colonel Mortimer is a great contrast to Manco, a smartly-dressed sharpshooter instead of a rugged quickshooter. Meanwhile, Volonte once again plays a ruthless villain, but one more ruthless than the last one. El Indio is a psychopathic, cannabis-smoking killer, but he is also a cunning manipulator who seeks to pull off a seemingly impossible heist at the Bank of El Paso. He also likes to toy with his enemies using a musical pocket-watch. He's not someone you'd want to meet on a dark night.

For a Few Dollars More is probably my favourite film in the series. All three leads are fantastic, the shootouts are tense, and the Morricone score ties everything together really well.

Franchise Reviews - A Fistful of Dollars

Since I don't have to be up in the morning, I figured that I'd start the reviews, beginning with A Fistful of Dollars - Sergio Leone's unofficial remake of Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo.

Clint Eastwood makes his first appearance as the eponymous Man with No Name (sometimes referred to as Joe), who has found himself at the border town of San Miguel. Upon arrival, "Joe" finds himself in the middle of a conflict between to rival smuggler gangs: The Rojos and the Baxters. He soon decides to play off the two gangs against each other in order to profit from it. Unfortunately, his plan gets complicated when he sticks his neck out for the beautiful Marisol - the reluctant mistress of Ramon Rojo, the youngest but most intelligent and ruthless of the Rojo brothers, played by Gian Maria Volonte.

Eastwood is fantastic. He says very little, but when he does speak, he commands presence. When he isn't speaking, he's delivering hard stares and out-drawing his opponents. Volonte is also great as Ramon - but he really shines in the sequel.

Because the film was originally Italian, most of the actors are dubbed, and the dubbing isn't always done well - but that's fair enough. It was the 60s after all.

All in all, it's a good film, but probably the weakest of the trilogy. This is a series where the sequels do get better.

Franchise Reviews/Western Weekend - The Dollars Trilogy

Well, it's Easter. And I've got a four day weekend thanks to an undead carpenter and an egg-laying mammal. Since it involves time away from work, I'm fine with that.

Anyway, I figured I'd take the opportunity to look at Sergio Leone's Man with No Name Trilogy - the Spaghetti Westerns which made a star out of Clint Eastwood. Time to contrast the idealistic look of Hollywood's old west with Italy's cynical look, depicting the west as a violent and immoral place. Granted, they're both equally romanticised depictions, but anyway.

I'll see you soon to start the first review.

Western Weekends - Django Unchained

Three months without any holidays or long weekends can make anyone a mite ornery. And a month where you have both will go real slowly. Sorry, my mind seems to be going. But my mood's the same, so I figured I'd unwind with a Tarantino bloodbath.

Taking place in a pre-Civil War Deep South, we follow Django Freeman, an ex-slave turned bounty hunter played by Jamie Foxx, and his German mentor Dr King Schultz, played by Cristoph Waltz. The film is divided into three parts: It initially follows Dr Schultz as he buys Django to help him find the Brittle Brothers, then goes on to show Shultz take Django on as his protege. The main story involves Schultz helping Django rescue his wife Broomhilda von Shaft from Calvin Candie, a ruthless plantation owner played by Leonardo DiCaprio. So, it's a pretty long film.

Both Jamie Foxx and Cristoph Waltz give great performances, especially Waltz. The best scene is when he shoots the sheriff in the town they're in, and then gives himself up to the marshal - in the process revealing the sheriff's identity as a criminal and requesting the bounty.

The main story can get pretty tense as Django and Schultz deal with Candie and his head house slave Stephen, played by Samuel L Jackson. Candie presents himself as charming and affable, but he is an utterly horrible person, while Stephen is a lot more cunning than he presents himself to be. The tension arises not from whether or not Stephen will see through their scheme, but whether Candie becomes so unbearable that they give themselves away.

Of course, there is a lot of gratuitous violence (it was directed by Quentin Tarantino after all), with a lot of inappropriate language. The anti-slavery message conjures up a lot of unpleasant imagery with this, but it certainly doesn't sugar-coat it.

All in all, the film is a combination of Blazing Saddles and The Wild Bunch.

Western Weekends: Unforgiven

I can't review western films without bringing up Clint Eastwood, so I might as well start with the last western film he did - a gritty exploration of the genre.

Clint Eastwood directs and stars as William Munny, a retired outlaw trying to run a homestead in Kansas when he's approached by The Schofield Kid. The Kid is travelling to the town of Big Whiskey in Wyoming to kill two cowboys who disfigured a prostitute and claim the reward offered by her companions. Will is reluctant at first, but relents as he needs the money, inviting his old partner Ned Logan, played by Morgan Freeman.

The trio soon find themselves coming into conflict with Little Bill Daggett, Big Whiskey's sheriff, played by Gene Hackman. Little Bill doesn't take kindly to criminals and gunfighters in his town, which he demonstrates to English Bob, played by Richard Harris - who is also seeking the reward.

Unforgiven takes apart the myths and romance associated with the West and tries to explore the complicated truths. This is emphasised with English Bob's story arc, with Little Bill telling his biographer the truth about the gunfighter's depicted exploits. Clint Eastwood also depicts himself differently than before; Will Munny struggles to get on an unruly horse, spends a lot of time recovering from a fever, and even struggles to shoot someone when the time comes.

It's the classic example of a revisionist western, and one that is worth checking out.

What Makes a Western? - Part 2: Spirit, Struggle, and Demise

Last week I discussed what makes a story a Western in therms of the historical and geographical aspects. I figured that this week I'll try and interpret an existing definition.

I'm looking at the American Film Institute's definition, which is a story "set in the American West, that embodies the spirit, the struggle, and the demise of the new frontier".

Well, we already know it doesn't have to be set in the American West, as they can also be set in Mexico or even Australia. But I've already discussed that.

By 'Spirit', I'm going to guess that they are referring to "Manifest Destiny" - a belief which emerged in the 19th Century that Americans were meant to expand. How the West was Won seems to be the strongest embodiment of that belief. Ultimately, the Spirit was about having your own land and cultivating it while raising a family and being able to survive.

This brings us to the Struggle. Frontier life could be very unforgiving, with natural, animal, or human threats. In films like Stagecoach or The Searchers, this could be Indians or outlaws - possibly illustrating the notion that settlers are bringing "civilisation" to the West, while revisionist westerns might reverse this - often with the subject of fighting change in films like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid or The Wild Bunch. The Homesman actually illustrated the Struggle as being against nature combined with the isolation of settlements.

Speaking of fighting change, this can also be a subject of the Demise. As stated previously, the Western period "officially" ended in 1890 when the US Census Bureau declared the frontier to be closed. However, change doesn't happen quickly or smoothly. Red Dead Redemption is a game all about the demise of the frontier, and how slow that demise is.

I'm getting nowhere with this, so I'll say that any story that has some kind of frontier could be considered a western.

What Makes a Western? - Part One: History and Geography

While I've started doing these Western Weekends after my regular writing has hit a slump again, I've been thinking about the Western genre and how it's defined.

Let's look at the geographical side first. I think "West" at that time was defined as anything west of the Mississippi River, and most classic western films take place in the Southwest - often Texas or the Arizona and New Mexico Territories (which didn't achieve statehood until 1912). Later revisionist Westerns might take place on the High Plains further north, often Wyoming or Montana.

Hell, sometimes they don't even have to be in the USA. Films like The Wild Bunch, The Professionals, and a lot of Spaghetti Westerns take place in Mexico, while Northwest Mounted Police takes place in Canada. There's even a sub-genre of westerns that take place in the Australian Outback - like Quigley Down Under and The Proposition.

Going further afield, you could argue that Star Wars borrows elements from western films. The Mos Eisley Cantina is essentially a western saloon with more aliens. Firefly is practically a western set in space, showing the Manifest Destiny that encouraged frontier settlement.

Anyway, geography aside, let's look at history. In early Hollywood westerns, the time span is shorter than you think. The earliest year is generally 1865, when the Civil War ended, while the period "officially" ended in 1890, when the US Census Bureau declared the frontier closed. This was also the year of Wounded Knee.

Having studied this period for my GCSEs, I know that it lasted longer than that. The biggest push West would be the California Gold Rush in 1848, but there was also the Mormons travelling to Utah before that, along with the mountain men earlier than that. You could even say that the earliest western story could be the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

As for finishing in 1890, it could be argued that the latest end date for period was as late as 1920. The Mexican Revolution (which is depicted as attracting numerous American adventurers, mercenaries, and outlaws) had come to a close, while the classic western image of the saloon had been put down with the passage of Prohibition on a national scale.

Looking at that, I suppose the popular image of the Western genre is that of deserts or plains with expansive space - which is why films set in the Outback could be called westerns. If that's the case, you could say that No Country for Old Men and Breaking Bad could be considered westerns to some extent.

The American Film Institute defines Westerns as being "set in the American West, that embodies the spirit, the struggle, and the demise of the new frontier".

I'll talk about in more detail another time. It might need a bit more space.

Western Weekends: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

It's been a while, so I figured I'd do another review, this time looking at Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, a semi-historical film about the leaders of one of the last outlaw gangs operating in the West.

Taking place in Wyoming in the late 1890s, we follow Paul Newman as Robert Leroy Parker, more commonly known as Butch Cassidy, the affable and talkative leader of the Hole in the Wall Gang. Starring alongside him is Robert Redford as his laconic right-hand man Harry 'The Sundance Kid' Longabaugh. After a botched train robbery, the two outlaws find themselves being pursued relentlessly by a special posse formed by the railroad company. Unable to elude them, they flee to Bolivia with Sundance's girlfriend Etta Place, played by Katharine Ross, where they make a living as bank robbers known as "Los Bandidos Yanquis".

While the history might not be entirely accurate, it can be agreed that Paul Newman and Robert Redford have fantastic chemistry. Yes, they're outlaws, but they're so likeable. They're not even violent outlaws - in fact it's in an honest job where Butch kills someone for the first time. You want to root for these thieves, especially when they're being chased and can't catch a break. Everyone knows the scene when they're cornered on the cliffside.

The humorous dialogue between the two stars carries the film, and the daring escapes and poignant ending add to this to create an engaging story about the twilight years of the American West.

The on-screen chemistry actually worked so well that Newman and Redford reunited with director George Roy Hill four years later in The Sting.

"Well, we're back in business boys and girls, just like the old days."

Western Weekends: The Mask of Zorro

Sorry, I seem to have missed a week. You could say that I have managed to get some writing done but that would be a lie. Or are we supposed to call those 'alternative facts' now?

Actually, I have started working on my swashbuckler series again. So I thought I might look at something which combines Swashbucklers and Westerns; The Mask of Zorro, a summer blockbuster from 1998 based on the works of Johnston McCulley.

A prologue takes place in California in 1821. Anthony Hopkins plays Don Diego de la Vega, a nobleman leading a double life as Zorro, the masked swordsman who fights against oppression and injustice. As the Mexican War of Independence draws to a close, Diego believes that he can retire. This hope is dashed by the intervention of Don Rafael Montero, the now-former Spanish Governor of California who has deduced his secret identity - partially motivated by his desire for Diego's wife Esperanza. Diego tries to resist arrest until Esperanza is accidentally killed. However, Montero spares his life but destroys his estate and takes his infant daughter Elena to raise as his own.

Twenty years later, Diego has been living in anonymity until learning that Montero has returned to California with a now-adult Elena played by Catherine Zeta-Jones. Not long afterwards, he encounters Alejandro Murietta, a drunken thief played by Antonio Banderas. Alejandro becomes Diego's apprentice, hoping to avenge the death of his brother Joaquin at the hands of Montero's henchman, Captain Harrison Love. 

I saw this film a while back, and watched it again recently to see if it still holds up. It actually does so surprisingly well. There's plenty of swordfights, a good mix of comedy and drama, and even some rather dark imagery in places. I love the hero's journey Alejandro goes through. He starts off as a drunken thief, learns to fight, and becomes an impulsive fame-seeker before developing into the Zorro for a new age.

It is a little cliched, but they're fun cliches, and the film still works with them.

Anyway, I'd best get back to my writing.

A Series of Unfortunate Events

So, we had a Friday 13th this month. And while a Finnish airline had a flight designated as 666 that day (Sadly not piloted by Bruce Dickinson), Netflix decided to use this perceived unlucky day to premier A Series of Unfortunate Events - an adaptation of the children's novels written by Daniel Handler under the pen-name Lemony Snicket.

The series follows the misfortunes of the Baudelaire siblings: fourteen-year-old inventor Violet, twelve-year-old bookworm Klaus, and the bitey infant Sunny. After their parents are killed in a mysterious fire, the three are forced to travel from foster home to foster home while being targeted by the villainous Count Olaf, a distant relative and stage actor who seeks to inherit the sizeable fortune their parents left them. Along the way, they try to learn about a mysterious organisation their parents were involved with.

While I was in a generation of kids who grew up with these books, I never really read them. However, I did dip into the first book once, and I understand that they are known to be very bleak and depressing - even the books themselves acknowledge this. There was a film too, released thirteen years ago. I saw a bit of it once while laid up, but I can't say I was hooked. Hell, if you read into some of the jokes in this series, it's apparent that the show's producers (including Handler himself) weren't particularly keen on it either. And this time I was hooked.

Neil Patrick Harris does a fantastic job as Count Olaf. While Olaf is an appalling actor who the kids always recognise despite fooling the adults (a recurring theme in the books), Harris delights in chewing the scenery, even though his character is more or less a complete monster. Meanwhile, Patrick Warburton stars as Lemony Snicket, the show's omni-present narrator, who I find very reminiscent of Rod Serling. I'm especially interested in finding out his role in the events of the series.

The show has a very strange tone. You want to laugh at Olaf's hamming, but you also want to feel sorry for the Baudelaires, and this can create some real, gut-wrenching tension. I love the visuals as well - courtesy of Bo Welch, who has done a lot of work with Tim Burton and Barry Sonnenfeld (who's also involved in the series as a director and producer). There's only eight episodes at the moment, which cover the events of the first four books (out of thirteen). However, I managed to binge them in one weekend, and I'm eager to find out what happens next.

While I didn't really read the books when they came out, this series actually makes me want to. 

I suppose that's the sign of an adaptation done well.

Western Weekends: The Homesman

Last weekend I looked at a classic western epic. This weekend I'm going to look at something newer - and a lot more depressing.

Hilary Swank plays Mary Bea Cuddy, an unmarried homesteader living in Nebraska. Following a harsh winter, she takes a job as a 'Homesman' who takes three mentally unstable women to a church in Iowa. Along the way, she enlists the help of George Briggs, a scoundrel and claim jumper played by Tommy Lee Jones, who also directs the film.

I consider this film to be groundbreaking for exploring an issue of Prairie Madness. The harsh living conditions of frontier life combined with the isolated nature could have a poor effect on the mind. I can't think of any other film that has truly explored this.

Cuddy is a great protagonist. She is very strong-willed and independent, but at the same time, she is also feeling the effects of the isolation. Meanwhile, George Briggs is somewhat conflicted. He is reluctant to go on the journey, only agreeing so Mary stops him from being lynched. Even afterwards, he's not willing to stay with her without the promise of a payment. Nonetheless, he goes through some interesting development.

The visuals are dreary, but that's the effect they're going for and it's done well. The shots of the High Plains really hammer in the theme of isolation.

It's a good film with a strong revisionist tone, but a very mean-spirited one. Not one for the faint of heart.