In Praise of the Western

I gave up my love of Western movies many years ago. It was one of those "putting away childish things" decisions. Westerns represented all that was bad about western civilization and individualism, at least I thought so. I grew up reading Louis L'amour in between my dives into Moorcock, Burroughs, Donaldson, and Howard, and those were really westerns set in a different context. Growing up meant accepting a harsher realism than the romantic image painted by Big Valley, The Sacketts, and Gunsmoke. People weren't good or bad, cowboys weren't really chivalrous most of the time, and the West was won with small pox, whiskey and guns, as much as Puritan ethics and hard work.

Four things have combined to make me reconsider my abandonment of the Western movie. Deadwood is simply the best television show I've ever seen. It helps that the stories are Shakespeare in a different context, and it helps that Ian McShane is a genius in his role as Swearengen. The supporting cast is uniformly excellent, but don't ever pretend this isn't McShane's show. We have two episodes left in the final season, and the hottie and I are grieving the loss of friends. (IMDb says the two HBO movies may or may not get made. It would be a tragedy if they weren't, but I'm not sure I want someone to tie up all the loose ends for me either.)

Unforgiven, the 1992 Clint Eastwood Oscar winner about a cowboy's futile search for redemption, clued me in that the Western was a viable setting for redemptive myth-making. The film is relentlessly bleak, but it's very much worth watching.

I blogged at length about The Proposition in September last year. It remains one of the best and most underappreciated movies of the past several years. It too asked questions about what it means to be human, moral, and deeply connected to others.

Last week I saw the 1971 film Lawman. I'm not much for early 70's movies, but Lawman has gone onto my list of favorite stories in the movies, if not a favorite movie. Burt Lancaster plays a by the book sherriff out to bring several men to justice for the accidental killing of an old man in his town. Lee J. Cobb plays the rancher whose cowboys caused the death. Lancaster wants all of them to come back to his town to stand trial. Cobb's ranch is the economic centerpiece of another community though, and no one in that town is interested in seeing Cobb or his men stand trial. Lancaster is ruthless in his application of law and order, and Cobb, who won his land and money with violence, is weary of guns and death, and wants nothing more than to live out his life in peace. Lancaster is very ready to kill in order to bring the men to trial, and when he kills Cobb's best friend emotion, remorse, and revenge--all more powerful than law--set circumstances into motion that Lancaster can't predict or avoid. Even when he decides the letter of the law has been satisfied, the painfully human responses of his prey thwart his desire to walk away. The film concludes with a very typical Old West shootout, except that this shootout produces surprising responses in its participants, most notably Cobb's final decision. Lawman is a reminder that the West's insistence on civilization built on law and order doesn't often take into account the realities of being human, and sometimes, just sometimes, justice should probably be overcome by mercy.

In September, James Mangold's 3:10 to Yuma will debut. Mangold has directed some of the more subtle, humane stories in recent years: Copland, Girl Interrupted, and Walk the Line. Though this film features Russell Crowe, it looks promising. Another story of human will versus law, grace, mercy, and redemption. The Western seems to be finding room in our culture to tell provocative, redemptive stories again. So, here's to Louis L'Amour and Zane Grey and Al Swearengen--thanks for not giving up faith in the setting.

Comments

[Scott]

You should read Cormac McCarthy. I'd be curious what you thought.

[Jason]

The inability of HBO and Paramount to get their collective act together for the fourth season of Deadwood will be looked upon by future generations as on par with RKO taking The Magnificent Ambersons away for Orson Welles.

Milch did report in January that he's found a writing partner for the wrap up movies, so perhaps all is not lost (especially since John from Cincinnati, as intermittently brilliant as it was, didn't really catch on).

[Dave Rattigan]

The Jimmy Stewart westerns did with director Anthony Mann were real classics. They really get me on a gut level. The Man from Laramie, Bend of the River etc.

[Fremen_Warrior66]

You can't forget Peckinpah's. The wildbunch is an excellent western film with almost no redeemable character.

When The Wild Bunch was first released in 1969 it was given the highest rating possible, an R.

Almost 23 years later in 1993 it was reviewed again and was almost given an NC-17 rating for its violence until it was appealed by the studio.

Here's a filmsite.org article on it.

http://www.filmsite.org/wildb.html

[Ben]

If you like the Western genre, you should look into Firefly and Serenity, Joss Whedon's one season TV show and the movie that followed. It's considered a space western, in that there are many parallels between its world and a typical western.

[David]

Deadwood is an amazing show, my wife and I have been hooked since the first episode. We're checking out Rome now...

Ben is right, Firefly is one of my all time favorite TV shows, it's a shame it was cancelled. I definately recommend giving it a go.

[greg]

I loved Serenity. Need to watch Firefly on dvd, I guess. I also need to see The Wild Bunch. It was, apparently, pretty ground-breaking stuff.

[Leighton]

Firefly rocks. It's only twelve episodes, so it doesn't take too much time to get through.

[Amanda]

tell me more about the good fairies book...looks interesting...is it good?

[Dallas Tim]

"Badges... we don't need no stinking badges..."

There is no greater western than "Blazing Saddles."

[Leighton]

Did I say twelve episodes of Firefly? There are fourteen, or fifteen if you want to count the double-length pilot as two. I can't count today.

[emergentninja]

there is also a firefly movie that is worth watching

[Captain Freedom]

The Maginficent Seven is my favorite western of all time. The first one not the crummy remakes. Steve McQueen is just too cool.

[Jason]

If you're interested in myths of redemptive violence, you must see The Wild Bunch and Peckinpah's film from a few years later, Straw Dogs.