LOL - it even looked shoddy right from the credit sequence … if it looks like shit and smells like shit, it probably is shit! 
2 Likes
Wagon Master (1950) Good, cool bad guys & the scene where they make their entrance to the camp is very spaggish with the silent close up shots on individual faces. Still not quite hitting the mark for me. If it wasn’t for the music, singing and general goofery I’d probably like it twice as much. As with Tall T, I recognize a well made film but its overall too oldie style for my taste. The good guys are too goofy, happy go lucky and aw jeez shucks wally nice guys (actually this is my impression of the overall tone of these films, moreso than the characters themselves). The romantic side plot isn’t interesting & obviously only there for the wives being dragged to the show. Music is a big turn off & I feel like I’m watching day time TV bored out of my mind as a kid when I hear it. I suppose my elder millennial is showing in my views of these old westerns. Excellent final shootout though. Some entertaining horse riding bits.
Maybe you could do a special re-dub … Spag it up a bit ? 
2 Likes
Shit, I had forgotten I had seen Joshua so I watched it again. Oh why, oh why? Terrible film.
2 Likes
I apologize for bringing this misfortune upon you
I never watched it. I’ve got it on a double feature with Cutthroats Nine.
that’s the one to have, if you’re going to have it 
Maybe I’ll be brave enough at some point. I once sat through The Comic (1985) starring Steven Munroe from beginning to end and considered suicide as a viable option afterwards.
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973) 
- Only the 2nd Peckinpah I’ve seen, the first being Wild Bunch. I liked it much more than I remember liking Wild Bunch, although its now been several years since I watched so I will now have to revisit it. But first, The Ballad of Cable Hogue.
I didn’t much like the theme song for Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid, but did appreciate the usage of Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.
I didn’t like the Ballad of Cable Hogue. I just couldn’t get into it. It had a really good cast. But I found it boring. A young Stella Stevens is very easy on the eye though!
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid is a top film, my favourite Peckinpah western. I think Kristofferson is a bit too big for the role but he performs well. I will rewatch The Wild Bunch, watched it that long ago. I remember not liking it but I can’t remember why not.
The last western I watched soberly and in its entirety I will refer to as B J. I watched it back back with my favourite British gangster film GET CARTER. After viewing both I starting making parrels between the two main characters.
I didn’t really care for Kris Kristofferson as Billy the Kid. He just kinda looked goofy to me. But maybe that’s why he was chosen. James Coburn stole the show quite easily. Some excellent violence and nice pacing in this one.
My memory of Wild Bunch is that it was good, but quite slow going with a big end. Seems like its one that will possibly improve on repeat viewings. I’ve only seen it once.
Just finished The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (1982) - quite good recounting of a story I wasn’t familiar with. Strong cast, made very well, but more of a historical legal drama about racism than a western genre film.
Agreed Coburn owns that role, I don’t think anyone will ever top him! I am not familiar with the CORTEZ film. Themes of racism in westerns are usually interesting but legal drama? Is it good?
Yes, it is very good. The first part of the film is more western, the second more legal drama. There are a few excellent scenes of violence which are handled very well, but they are short.Calling the entire film a legal drama is not accurate, I’m not sure what to call it. Its a western but its not a western genre film. Its a historically accurate western, as opposed to a genre western. It has quite a large cast as well, no huge names but a lot of recognizable ones.
It was released on bluray by Criterion. That should give you some idea of what to expect. Also only 325 total ratings on IMDB, quite unknown film.
Thank you Autephex. I will put that on the list. I will try and watch the trailer. If that gets me going I will definitely watch it. Criterion is region 1 isn’t it?
I watched the first half of A PISTOL FOR RINGO. I thought it still felt ‘fresh’. Morricone’s score really irirtated my household though!
Not sure if Criterion release is only region 1 or if they have released outside the US as well. You can watch the whole thing on on youtube, but its an older fullscreen copy:
I’ll just take this chance to say that I do appreciate a well made western film, even if it isn’t full of violence and genre elements, but instead is focused on serious story telling, as long as it does a good job of creating real characters and a real story - something which all the classic westerns I’ve attempted to watch fail at over and over - to me anyway
We all should be able to appreciate a western with less violence and other tropes. I went through a period of not being able to do that.
I do thing older westerns did use violence sparingly because of Censor. Thus they became over talkative and slowed things down. I have struggled with modern westerns like Open Ranch for similar reasons.
I don’t really have a problem with slowness, talkiness or things like that. What I do have a problem with is if the movie is slow, talkative, and spending too much time on plot/characters that are shallow and I don’t care about.
If your movie is going to focus on the characters instead of action advancement, then it had better be a worthwhile story that has my full attention and with characters that are nuanced & interesting.
If the characters are shallow, transparent depictions of societal ideals (caricatures instead of characters) and the story is similarly shallow, and the movie spends all its time here, I just cannot enjoy the movie.
I’m ok with poorly written movies so long as the action is done well, moves right a long and contains other interesting things such as artistic camera work, good music, etc.
Simply being a movie that came first and inspired what followed really isn’t enough for me to consider it an enjoyable watch.
1 Like
Points well made.
A slow pace can be relieved witn good camerawork and music etc. Take Once Upon a Time in in the West is a long film, just like GBU. But they are straightforward stories stretched out. Most filmmakers could not succeed in doing this. But I get into the characters and forget the pace or simplicity of the plots.
Oh it is really good to know someone else doesn’t mind a decent B movie!