The Legends of Western Cinema Tag

I saw this over @ Marian’s Blog ‘Classics Considered’ and thought I’d respond here. Although (so far at least) I’ve only read a single Western novel [Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey] I’m a HUGE fan of the genre in the movies – thanks Dad! – and have enjoyed them from an early age. So, here we go!

Western movies or western TV shows?

Generally movies although I did grow up with the classic western series like ‘Bonanza’, ‘The Virginian’, ‘Wagon Train’ (mostly in re-runs probably), ‘Rawhide’ (ditto), ‘The Big Valley’, ‘The High Chaparral’, ‘Alias Smith and Jones’ and ‘Branded’.

Funny westerns or dramatic westerns?

Dramatic. I’m not a huge fan of comedy in any genre (I’m difficult to please on a regular basis) so I’m far more engaged in drama than humour.

Westerns that focus on loners or westerns that focus on families?

As a loner myself it’s good to have a central character to identify with whether it be ‘Shane’ or ‘The Man with No Name’ played so ably by Clint Eastwood.  

Male-centric westerns or female-centric westerns?

There’s honestly not that many female centric westerns so I’d have to go with male centric here.

1930s to 1960s westerns or 1970s to 2020s westerns?

Definitely both. I enjoy classic westerns (most seemingly with John Wayne in them) as well as fully modern westerns. I actually liked both versions of ‘The Magnificent Seven’ 1960/2016 for different reasons although the 1960 version is one of my all-time favourite films. I enjoy ‘High Noon’ but I also enjoy ‘3:10 to Yuma’ again for very different reasons.

Westerns that take place in America or westerns that take place internationally?

Well, as the Western is THE archetypical American genre I’d have to say America.

Family-friendly Westerns or edgier Westerns?

Edgy. Family friendly movies are OK from time to time for a bit of light relief but I prefer my entertainment to be more realistic, gritty and visceral.

Straightforward good guy or conflicted hero?

As there are no ‘straightforward good-guys’ I’d take a more realistic, more nuanced and more interesting conflicted hero every time – as long as the ‘conflicts’ aren’t too contrived and actually meld with the plot and character development (if any) in the movie.

Historically accurate Westerns or Westerns that aren’t afraid to take some creative liberties?

Historical accuracy is OK but you need to remember that these are movies and not documentaries. Something like ‘Pale Rider’ is likely to be highly inaccurate but it’s also highly entertaining. A later movie ‘Hell or High Water’ is another variation of the Western that works really well in a very modern setting. Going a little further out there you have things like the original 1973 ‘Westworld’ which very knowingly plays with the genre complete with Yul Brynner playing the archetypical ‘black hat’ gunslinger essentially the opposite of his role in ‘The Magnificent Seven’. Going further still we have ‘Outland’ starring Sean Connery in 1981 which is essentially High Noon on an asteroid being mined in the future. Going out on a limb a bit further and then cutting off the branch behind them in the 2011 ‘Cowboys & Aliens’ starring Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford where a New Mexican town in 1873 is attacked by aliens looking for gold. Despite the fact that such a mashup really shouldn’t work it actually turned into a highly entertaining movie.   

Bittersweet or happily-ever-after endings?

Again, as happily-ever-after endings only really make sense in fantasy I’d go for the more realistic bittersweet.