A most impressive revisionist western twists traditional myths on their heads, such as the scene where sheriff Gene Hackman explains to writer Saul Rubinek how Richard Harris really killed a man - drunk, and in a cowardly and unprofessional way; that it's not the fastest gun, but the coolest who wins; the difficulty of killing a man; the lack of rights of women. This undermining of tradition is brilliantly shown when Clint - master horse rider all his career, since the 1950s - struggles to get on (and stay on) his horse.
He and Morgan Freeman join 'killer' Jaimz Woolvett to kill two cowboys who have defaced a young prostitute. The Sheriff will have none of it, and turns out to need murdering more than anyone else. Humour evident too, such as that the young gunfighter is extremely short sighted.
Won Oscars for Film, Director, Hackman and editor Joel Cox. Clint as an actor was nominated as was David Webb Peoples for his script, Jack Green for cinematography (Tom Stern is gaffer), Henry Bumstead for art direction and various people for sound.
The ending is particularly tense. In my ending, Clint takes the damaged prostitute home to become his kids' new mom.
It's dedicated to 'Sergio and Don'.
No comments:
Post a Comment