Indeed it is! My mistake.
Well spotted! ⌠I never made that connection before, but now itâs so obvious. Wonder if McMurtry did that in any of his other stories ? ⌠at least the compliment was returned with the use of âHudâ, for the lead character in Corbucciâs âThe Specialistsâ
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I hope so too! @Laban
My weekend watches were from the Westerns Unchained collection of 25 films. The only 3 films I donât have a better quality releases of. I would rate them in this order as far as quality of the movie goes.
From most enjoyable to least
- Kill Django, Kill First
- Ringoâs Big Night Out
- Go with God Gringo
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Watched And the Crows will Dig your Grave last night for the first time, rather enjoyed itâŚnot huge on action and a bit of a slow burn but well made with a pretty good score. I watched it on Tubi and the print they used as a source was fantastic, this couldnât have been the print WE released 13 years ago, this looked like it came from a fresh scan.
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I never connected that Hud name with McMurtry, but that makes perfect sense now that you say it. I read âHorseman, Pass Byâ over a decade ago but remember really liking that book. Somehow McMurtry and spaghetti westerns always seem farther apart, though both worked to reinvent the genre, and it makes sense there would be overlap, even if only with the movie Hud.
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Though it isnât strictly a western, I watched âTrain Dreamsâ on Netflix. It is set around 1900 and into the 1910s. Thought it was a really interesting meditation of the value or worth of a man who lives a pretty isolated existence. It was a slow burn, but if one is in the mood for something philosophical, Iâd recommend it. 8/10.
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Watched âNews of the worldâ. I liked the original point of view of a newspaper reader traveling around. Also, Tom Hanks did not dissapoint me in his first western role.
Also watched âThe unholy Trinityâ. Some mixed feelings about it. Not all works well and not very consistent. After the beating of Henry he was very quick on his legs to cntinue fighting.
(And the fact that I am not a big fan of Samuel Jackson does not help either. I see the actor, not the character when he is onscreen)
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Black Eagle of Santa Fe - 5/10
Jeden stateÄnĂ˝ - 3/10
Death Knows No Time - 8/10
Bastard, Go and Kill - 5/10
The Ruthless Four Koch DVD
Nice with a little different SW.
I think Hilton is the weakest actor of the four.
You could really feel that it is not going to end well for any of the characters.
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Sabata: a highy needed re-watch.Still very nice movie to spend some time.
Valdez i coming: Mixed it up with Ulzanaâs raid which I wanted to see. This one was not so good. Overall the movie was good but the story itself and Burt Lancaste as a Mexican were not my cup of tea
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The Train Robbers (Kennedy). Pretty solid!
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Did you not find it one of the âDukeâsâ lesser later efforts, with a pretty weak plot?
The plus sideâŚAnn-Margaret⌠
did I? Not sure I had seen it before today
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Glad you enjoyed it⌠
I thought it was fine, with some great scenery and action, a solid cast and decent dialogue. It was all a bit superficial but heyâŚ
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My view too, a forgettable film with bad dialogues. 3/10
Unfortunately, but Wayne made several lesser westerns in his post True Grit years.
Iâm just re-watching thousands of John Wayne films, especially most of his westerns, I even try now to watch all his 40s westerns, the unknown ones between the classics Stagecoach (1939) and Fort Apache (1947).
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High Noon Part II: The Return of Will Kane (1980)
The reviews on IMBD are very negative but I enjoyed this one a lot. The version I watched had recycled music from The Forgotten Pistolero but I have a feeling that it wasnât on the original broadcast.
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What do you think of âBig Jakeâ, âThe Cowboysâ, and âThe Shootistâ? Iâm kinda curious to hear your thoughts on these later JW Westerns.
I am tempted, also, to ask for your thoughts on Wayneâs most personal project, âThe Alamoâ (1960).
Iâll leave that one with you.
These are actually the interesting ones post True Grit, which gets a 9/10
Rio Lobo: no doubt it is far less good than either Rio Bravo and El Dorado, but the Hawks feeling is there, it is fun to watch. 6/10
Big Jake: not bad, a director like Hathaway would maybe have done it better. 6/10
The Cowboys: could have also be improved by more inspired directing, but it was a fine role for the ageing Wayne. 7/10
The Shootist: luckily he ended his career on a high note, but unfortunately I have to repeat myself, cause Don Siegel, who was great director for a certain type of films, but not exactly for this type. Still well enough done. It is a twilight western in the mould of Peckinpah, and Wayne couldnât find a better role for his last film (unless he had stopped with True Grit). 8/10
So actually all of these films could have been a step above, but they are all good.
But unfortunately the other 6 westerns he made after True Grit are all forgettable, also his 2 Dirty Harry style cop films.
But before nearly all his westerns from Fort Apache to True Grit rank from good to great.
The Alamo is not a favourite, too much talk, too much cliched dialogues, overlong, but the action is powerful. Davy Crocket in the interpretation of John Wayne is basically John Wayne with a beaver fur bonnet. Overall a good one tough. 6/10
(I only watched so far the shorter theatrical version.)
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