Rio Bravo

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....Rio Bravo!

Original image located here. Accessed 10th August 2018

Of course, it's fitting that I should follow High Noon with this movie. For those not in the know, both actor John Wayne and director Howard Hawks were unimpressed with High Noon, So they whipped out this movie as a response.

As is often the case with movies made before the New Hollywood (circa 1968-1980), I got the impression that the elements of this movie has been replicated many times over that it's kinda hard to look at the source. Example: The final showdown sees the main characters in a gunfight but still has room for them each to exchange quips and have their personalities work off of one another. Sound familiar? It may seem impressive in it;s day but now it's become something of the norm.

Still, I did enjoy this movie. Clearly this is one made by someone (Hawks) thoroughly enjoying his job and there's some great lines throughout. But is it better than High Noon? Now that's a damn good question....

High Noon

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....High Noon!

Original image located here. Accessed 3rd August 2018

"Do not for-sake me oh my Dar-lyn...."

Okay seriously this must be one of the most famous films ever made, let alone one of the most famous westerns. So there is a degree of intimidation that comes approaching it. Personally, i was impressed with this movie on three fronts: a) the whole thing is done in real time which is still remarkable over sixty years later, b) it has a degree of suspense that I haven't seen in any western prior and c) the final shootout still holds up, even with the passage of time and the whole 'one-man-army' trope that has been done a thousand times since.
Throw in some solid directing, Gary Cooper's performance (which snared him a well-deserved Oscar) and this is still an excellent movie.

Funny thing though: This movie is often regarded as a product of it's time: It was made during the era known as McCarthyism hence there are some themes tied to it within the movie itself. Personally I didn't really see it, so I think it;s safe to say that this is one of those rare movies that transcend the era they were made (treasure them folks for they are rare indeed). If anything, the idea of one person who is committed to doing the right thing even when everyone else is walking out on them is remarkably universal theme.
Even with the distance of sixty six years