I think this raises a really interesting question.
Is it possible to like the work of an actor that you dislike as a person for their politics or behaviour?
It’s a difficult one, but for me, the work and the man have to be seperated. Otherwise I have to avoid the films of Polanski (statutary rape of a 13 year old girl) and Charlton Heston (Right wing, gun toting nutcase) amongst others. Not to mention the fact I’d have to stop liking James Brown records (wife beating egomaniac).
At the end of the day, when it comes to art (whether film, literature, music or whatever), I like to leave real life personalities out of it and concentrate on whether or not I like the work.
I do appreciate, however, that that can sometimes be hard to do.
Hasn’t the reason for liking spaghettis more to do with their style, atmosphere and music, and not because they are less “black and white” then the Hollywood counterpart?
[quote=“Silvanito, post:22, topic:709”]Hasn’t the reason for liking spaghettis more to do with their style, atmosphere and music, and not because they are less “black and white” then the Hollywood counterpart?
At least it’s like that to me.[/quote][quote=“Silvanito, post:22, topic:709”]Hasn’t the reason for liking spaghettis more to do with their style, atmosphere and music, and not because they are less “black and white” then the Hollywood counterpart?
At least it’s like that to me.[/quote]
I personally like Spaghettis not because of black and white but because of the over the top characters. They are simply cooler and more bad ass. Clint Eastwood’s man with no name, Lee Van Cleef’s Angel Eyes, Franco Nero’s Django, Charles Bronson’s Harmonica, you just can’t beat that brotha!!
In high noon, Gary Cooper was all nervous about taking on four gunmen by himself. In A fistful of dollars Clint Eastwood killed four guys all at once within the first 10 minutes of the movie! Now that’s spaghetti!
[quote=“Phil H, post:21, topic:709”]I think this raises a really interesting question.
Is it possible to like the work of an actor that you dislike as a person for their politics or behaviour?
It’s a difficult one, but for me, the work and the man have to be seperated. Otherwise I have to avoid the films of Polanski (statutary rape of a 13 year old girl) and Charlton Heston (Right wing, gun toting nutcase) amongst others. Not to mention the fact I’d have to stop liking James Brown records (wife beating egomaniac).
At the end of the day, when it comes to art (whether film, literature, music or whatever), I like to leave real life personalities out of it and concentrate on whether or not I like the work.
I do appreciate, however, that that can sometimes be hard to do.[/quote]
I hear you there. As a kid, i really did like Charlton Heston Then my dad bought me his autobiography…and i started seeing some of his pro gun interviews. Have to say i always feel kind of uncomfortable when i see the guy on the TV nowadays…
Gian Maria Volonte was an avowed Communist yet I could care less when watching him in FISTFUL OF DOLLARS and FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE. I can’t think of any other actor that could take his place. I forget his politics and enjoy his acting.
I also look at SWs as cartoon type characters in a dream world of what we want our imaginary west to look like. Yet the west was more like these films then the clean, painted fancy towns in the American westerns. The Spaniards used as villagers look just like what you would expect to see in a village at that time period. Hard people surviving in a harsh land. To me the SWs feel far more realistic then many of the American westerns I used to see in the 50s and 60s.
[quote=“Silver, post:24, topic:709”]I hear you there. As a kid, i really did like Charlton Heston Then my dad bought me his autobiography…and i started seeing some of his pro gun interviews. Have to say i always feel kind of uncomfortable when i see the guy on the TV nowadays…[/quote]From my cold dead hands!
Hehe, classic! Personally I don’t care about the man behind an artist. I merely made mention of it, because in Wayne’s case his personal views seem to parallel his professional career and career decisions. For instance, he dodged te draft to pursue his acting career. Besides that, he only took on right win type roles.
To be honest the only Westerns I’m really passionate about are the Italian ones, and even then only those released between 1964-1973 (with a few later exceptions and some Spanish ones as well). American Westerns have always been far more popular in the UK and have enjoyed a lot of TV airtime. I used to watch many as a kid and enjoyed them but when I first saw “For A Few Dollars More” I knew I had seen something exceptional. There are many American Westerns I do still like though, “The Outlaw” (with the amazing Jane Russell and a quite disturbing ear nicking scene), “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”, “Tombstone”, Eastwood’s US Westerns, Peckinpah’s etc. I like to keep an open mind, wouldn’t want to miss out on the fun (and that’s the reason I watch these films). There are many American Westerns I’m still yet to see and am looking forward to. “3:10 to Yuma” is released in UK cinemas 14th Sep 2007 which I will be seeing and I have just sent off for the original film on DVD so I can compare the two.
I just saw Yuma last night and it was very very good. It was actually very spaghetti western like. It had bad guys that were not all bad, flawed good guys, a spaghetti like musical score, and lots of violence.
The commercial says that its the best western since unforgiven but I actually like this one better than unforgiven.
Better than Unforgiven? This would have to be one hell of a film for this to be true for me. I am looking forward to it even more now but will be very surprised if it beats Clint’s masterpiece. Unforgiven is one of my favourite films of all time.
[quote=“stanton, post:33, topic:709”]Unforgiven is doubtless a good western, and that it’s the best since Heaven’s Gate is no great surprise, because there was not so much competition.
But imo Unforgiven is also a slightly overrated film, compared with the classics of the genre.
Eastwood isn’t the director for creating masterpieces, he’s a solid craftsman, not more, but also not less.[/quote]
You know, amigo, as much as I absolutely love Eastwood…I have to agree with you on all of the above.
Fellas we are going to have to agree to disagree on this one.
I thought Unforgiven was one of the most thoughtful westerns ever made. An excellent story populated by multi faceted characters. You know, we have spoken a bit on this thread about black and white characters in westerns and I believe this film is a perfect case of how that simplistic approach can be avoided and yet still be a really satisfying genre film with tense action sequences.
Definitely a classic in my book.
[quote=“Phil H, post:35, topic:709”]Fellas we are going to have to agree to disagree on this one.
I thought Unforgiven was one of the most thoughtful westerns ever made. An excellent story populated by multi faceted characters. You know, we have spoken a bit on this thread about black and white characters in westerns and I believe this film is a perfect case of how that simplistic approach can be avoided and yet still be a really satisfying genre film with tense action sequences.
Definitely a classic in my book.[/quote]I agree a classic,in fact i think two of the best westerns ever came from the 90’s .tombstone being the other.
Well, I completely agree with you about TOMBSTONE, that’s for sure! That is just a grand film.
Don’t get me totally wrong, I like UNFORGIVEN and I think it is one of the best films Clint has done. However, I don’t think it was truly Academy Award material (in my humble opinion TOMBSTONE would have been a better choice).
And, that is why I rank it as overrated.
Is it a great Western movie? Sure! Was it truly Oscar worthy? No, not in my estimation.
I think Eastwood, as a director, simply gets the job done and that isn’t a bad thing.
I am just saying I enjoyed 3:10 TO YUMA more than I did UNFORGIVEN.
Just as I have said that I enjoy the films of Budd Boetticher more than I enjoy those of John Ford.
I understand the greatness of Ford…but he is not a favorite of mine. To a certain, somewhat lessor extent, I perfectly understand what folks see as the greatness of Eastwood’s UNFORGIVEN. But, personally…I prefer 3:10 TO YUMA.
Val kilmer deserved a oscar for tombstone without a doubt! i didnt care for eastwoods directing for flag of our fathers the action was kinda dull ,but after private ryan and band of brothers its hard to compete.
[quote=“Chris_Casey, post:37, topic:709”]Don’t get me totally wrong, I like UNFORGIVEN and I think it is one of the best films Clint has done. However, I don’t think it was truly Academy Award material (in my humble opinion TOMBSTONE would have been a better choice).
And, that is why I rank it as overrated.
Is it a great Western movie? Sure! Was it truly Oscar worthy? No, not in my estimation.[/quote]
I hear you on that Chris and it’s a fair point, although I’d still vote for Unforgiven. However, the whole Oscar thing is another bag of worms entirely. The history of the academy awards is absolutely awash with great films that were beaten to the Oscar by some truly bizarre winners.
Here’s a few examples just for starters:
1997 Titanic Practically any other film made that year!
The list endless.
[/quote]
Titanic one an Oscar? How disturbing…If I had 200 Million dollars to make a movie I’d probably win an Oscar too hahaha
But seriously, I like Unforgiven alot. Its no doubt a great movie. I like Clint Eastwood a hell of a lot better than i like Russell Crowe. With all that being said, I still maintain that 3:10 to Yuma is a slightly better movie than Unforgiven.
I personally also think that Outlaw Josey Wales was also a better movie than Unforgiven.
You you what movie I think is overrated? Million dollar baby. I happen to work as a boxing trainer in real life (my boss appeared in Cinderella man) and Hilary Swanks character would have won by Disqualification in a real boxing match. Just too unrealistic boxing-wise to be a truly great movie in my opinion.