Category: Western

Panning for Gold: Discovering the New Golden Era of the Western

Perhaps the only genre of film that has ever feared the status of going extinct is the western. For many, it may seem that’s already the case. Believe it or not, this quintessential American genre of filmmaking is still holding on by its bootstraps.

However, despite the abundant history of western movies, the bulk of the filmography pre-dates the 1960s. I argue that the modern era is the true golden age of the western and the showcase for what potential the genre holds.

For me, the western is the epitome of quantity over quality. Prior to the 1960s, the Hollywood machine churned out countless examples of mostly formulaic flicks. Only a select portion of these deserved any significant praise.

Our contemporary fare, however, shows the opposite to be very true. As uncommon as it is to see a new western film hit theaters, or even direct-to-streaming, we find a much higher ratio of quality attached to these films.

Relative to the sheer number of titles in the genre, I far more frequently pleased with the outcome of the modern western than I am discovering an old one for the first time. One theory is obvious, given we have virtually no rules of content anymore, in comparison to the pre-1960s motion picture codes of decency.

More directly, I feel like the ease of access to technology and resources and relatively lower cost of filmmaking is what has reintroduced modern filmmakers to this genre. Indie filmmakers have especially found the western to be a rich and fertile playground.

So much of the western focuses on the actor and location. The western typically is not subject to the burdens of special effects. This is a genre once known for lacking involved plots or any real character development, instead focusing on action and popcorn entertainment.

Now, it’s an opportunity for eager writers and filmmakers to take a dying genre and infuse it with fresh blood. This has proven time and again to be a vibrant, often volatile cocktail, leading to powerful and occasionally controversial storytelling.

Consider taking some time during this time of quarantine to introduce yourself to some great new films and a few legendary classics of the genre. I’ve developed a list of some of the best western movies currently streaming for free, current as of April 1st, 2020.

With all the gritty, gunslinging and riding off into the sunsets available in the list below, remember this is just a drop in the bucket of the greatness that is the modern western. Amongst the many options not currently available to stream for free include, but are not limited to The Wild Bunch, Silverado, Unforgiven and Maverick. Another point of interest that I chose not to include are the modern crossover westerns, such as the comedy/western Blazing Saddles or the vampire/western Near Dark. Finally, if you blow through this list and need more, there are a slew of spaghetti westerns from Italian filmmakers available online, many of which are streaming from the Amazon Prime catalogue, but beware, as many are of poor transfer quality.

(*Hoopla and *Kanopy are free apps that allow you to “borrow” and stream books, movies and music for FREE with a valid library membership card.)

1. ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST (1968) – Netflix, Prime, Crackle

2. THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS (2018) – Netflix

3. BONE TOMAHAWK (2015) – Prime

4. THE HATEFUL EIGHT (2015) – Netflix

5. WALKER (1987) – *Hoopla

6. THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (1960) – Prime

7. THE PROPOSITION (2005) – Prime

8. THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY (1966) – Prime

9. TRUE GRIT (1969) – Netflix, Prime

10. TRUE GRIT (2011) – Prime, Hulu

11. THE SISTERS BROTHERS (2018) – Hulu

12. THE KEEPING ROOM (2014) – Prime, Vudu

13. MEEK’S CUTOFF (2010) – Prime, Hulu

14. SLOW WEST (2015) – Netflix, *Hoopla, *Kanopy

15. THE LONG RIDERS (1980) – Tubi, Prime

16. BAD COMPANY (1972) – Prime, Hulu

17. STAGECOACH (1939) – Prime

18. SUKIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO (2007) – Prime

19. THE QUICK AND THE DEAD (1995) – Crackle

20. THE HOMESMAN (2014) – Prime, Hulu

Check Out The New DJANGO UNCHAINED Character Posters And International Trailer

Get an eyeful of these Spaghetti Western posters and a new international trailer for Quentin Tarantino’s DJANGO “The D is silent” UNCHAINED. Due Christmas Day, the film stars Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington and Samuel L. Jackson.

For one night only, Miramax, NCM Fathom and IGN are presenting two of Tarantino’s most acclaimed works RESERVOIR DOGS and PULP FICTION this December. “Tarantino XX: ‘Reservoir Dogs’ 20th Anniversary Event” will hit select movie theaters nationwide on Tuesday, Dec. 4 at 7:00 p.m. local time, and “Tarantino XX: ‘Pulp Fiction’ Event” will follow two days later on Thursday, Dec. 6 at 7:00 p.m. local time, with matinees in select markets. Each cinema event will include a special feature showcasing Tarantino’s 20-year career and a selection of hand-picked movie trailers from films that inspired him as a filmmaker. Miramax and Lionsgate Home Entertainment will release the “Tarantino XX: 8-Film Collection,” on Blu-ray Nov. 20.

Set in the South two years before the Civil War, DJANGO UNCHAINED stars Academy Award®-winner Jamie Foxx as Django, a slave whose brutal history with his former owners lands him face-to-face with German-born bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz (Academy Award®-winner Christoph Waltz). Schultz is on the trail of the murderous Brittle brothers, and only Django can lead him to his bounty. The unorthodox Schultz acquires Django with a promise to free him upon the capture of the Brittles – dead or alive. Success leads Schultz to free Django, though the two men choose not to go their separate ways. Instead, Schultz seeks out the South’s most wanted criminals with Django by his side. Honing vital hunting skills, Django remains focused on one goal: finding and rescuing Broomhilda (Kerry Washington), the wife he lost to the slave trade long ago. Django and Schultz’s search ultimately leads them to Calvin Candie (Academy Award®-nominee Leonardo DiCaprio), the proprietor of “Candyland,” an infamous plantation. Exploring the compound under false pretenses, Django and Schultz arouse the suspicion of Stephen (Academy Award®-nominee Samuel L. Jackson), Candie’s trusted house slave. Their moves are marked, and a treacherous organization closes in on them. If Django and Schultz are to escape with Broomhilda, they must choose between independence and solidarity, between sacrifice and survival… ‘

Written and directed by Academy Award®-winner Quentin Tarantino, DJANGO UNCHAINED will be released in the U.S. by The Weinstein Company on December 25, 2012, and internationally by Sony Pictures.

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THE LONG RIDERS – The Blu Review

Howdy fans of HBO’s recent series “Deadwood” and the Coen brothers’ TRUE GRIT! Look out! Galloping down the Blu Ray trail is the 1980 epic “oater” THE LONG RIDERS. It tells the story of several of the great outlaw gangs. You may have seen other films concerning the exploits of these desperados. Well this version is worth a look for two reasons. It’s directed by one of the great action film makers to come out of the 1980’s-Walter Hill ( THE WARRIORS, 48 HOURS ). The other reason, and the film’s big marketing point, is the casting of the brothers with real life siblings-David, Keith, and Robert Carradine play the Younger brothers, Randy and Dennis Quaid are the Miller brothers, Nicholas and Christoper Guest are the Ford brothers, and James and Stacy Keach are the James brothers. This might seem like gimmick or “stunt” casting, but the family resemblances and dynamics enhance the story. Davis Carradine’s a great, swaggering thug as Cole Younger and James Keach brings a sad, haunted quality to Jesse James. There’s several great supporting actors here, too. James Whitmore, Jr. is wonderfully smarmy as an over-confident Pinkerton agent who soon realizes that he and his men are in over their heads. Chris Mulkey and Harry Carey, Jr. score big laughs as victims of a stagecoach hold-up. James Remar is scary in a savage saloon knife fight with Cole. Fans of TV’s “Parks and Recreation” will be stunned to see the mother of Leslie Knope ( Amy Poehler ), Pamela Reed playing a very spirited and sexy Belle Starr. She almost makes the screen sizzle.

There’s no extras here beside the theatrical trailer ( doesn’t count as an extra, Hollywood! ), so let’s focus on the film transfer. THE LONG RIDERS  will really give your sound system a test. Some of the dialogue is soft, but the gun shots roar like cannons. The score by Ry Cooder sounds exceptional especially in a square dance scene. Picture quality is supurb except for a few interior shots which were slightly grainy. The scenery is stunning, and the gun battles are beautiful and brutal. Like Sam Peckinpah, Hill made good use of slow motion in the final action sequence. If the film had been made today I’m sure the bullet hits would have been added after filming with digital effects. Back then they used small explosive packs called ‘squibs’. I’d bet that the actors were pretty sore at the end of the day even if they were heavily padded. I’d not seen the film before and aside from Dennis Quaid’s ‘babyface’ ( wonder if that moustache was real ), you might  think it had been made a couple of years ago and not over thirty! THE LONG RIDERS  holds up very well indeed and deserves a spot on the shelf of any western or action film fan.

MEEK’S CUTOFF – The Review

A staple of many classic western movies is the wagon train. Each wagon’s full of eager settlers about to begin a new life. There was even a TV show called “Wagon Train”. Most times these folks would arrive at their new home on the prairie and put sown stakes. But what happens when they don’t make it to their promised land? The most extreme case maybe the story of the Donner party. Things don’t quite get that desperate in Kelly Reichardt’s new film MEEK’S CUTOFF. but the new West isn’t the utopia depicted in many classic film portrayals. Here, the roughest part of the journey may be the conflicts within this small group.

The first images we see are the three wagons being pulled by their animals while the men and women ( and one young boy) trudge alongside over the barren landscape. Eventually we meet the travelers: newlyweds Thomas and Millie Gately ( Paul Dano and Zoe Kazan ), the White family-Thomas ( Neal Huff ), Glory ( Shirley Henderson ) and their pre-teen son Jimmy ( Tommy Nelson ), and Soloman Tetherow ( Will Patton ) and his much younger second wife Emily ( Michelle Williams ). They are being lead by a scout, Stephen Meek ( Bruce Greenwood ). Although the blustery Meek insists that they are going in the right direction, most of the group believes that they are hopelessly lost and are quickly running out of food and water. The women pressure their husbands to confront Meek, but they cannot bring themselves to it. Tensions mount as they trudge on. One day while gathering firewood, Emily encounters an Indian brave ( Ron Rondeaux ). She alerts the others and soon her husband and Meek ride ahead to capture him before he can contact his tribe. Eventually they return with the battered brave, Meek regales them with tales of his Indian battles and insists that they kill their prisoner. Emily steps forward to spare him, believing that the Indian will lead them to fresh water. Will he bring them to their new home or lead them into a trap?

Reichardt gives this old West tale a somber, quiet almost documentary feel. The desperation and weariness of these settlers seeps off the screen. The actors playing them give great understated performances with Williams standing out as the gutsy Emily. Her best scenes may be the ones opposite the bombastic, egotistical Meek played with gusto ( and an impressive overflowing beard ) by Bruce Greenwood. Like the travelers, we don’t know what his motives are. Reichardt generates a lot of tension in the encounters with the Indian and later in a harrowing scene where the wagons are guided down a steep hill using a crude pulley. Unfortunately the director may be too successful in showing the tedium and drudgery of life in transit over this desolate land. The ending may frustrate you, but you’ll go away with a greater respect for the pioneers you first saw in those old John Ford epics.

Overall rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Harrison Ford & Daniel Craig Whoop It Up In The New COWBOYS & ALIENS Trailer…Plus New Photos Of Olivia Wilde

Time to saddle up. Yahoo! Movies has debuted the new trailer for Universal Pictures’ COWBOYS AND ALIENS. Watch as Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford team up to battle invaders in the Western action/adventure directed by Jon Favreau. Check out the new pictures below after the trailer.

I can’t wait to see this film – its like UNFORGIVEN meets INDEPENDENCE DAY! How totally awesome that Harrison Ford is in this? Sounds like he did in THE FUGITIVE. “I didn’t kill my wife ….You find the One-Armed Man!!” Ford even looks all jacked up like he did in that movie. And the thing on Daniel Craig’s arm makes me think of WESTWORLD too…no? A total throwback to Yul Brenner.

Synopsis:

Blockbuster filmmaker Jon Favreau directs Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford in an event film for summer 2011 that crosses the classic Western with the alien-invasion movie in a blazingly original way: Cowboys & Aliens. Joined by an arsenal of top moviemakers – Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci – he brings an all-new action thriller that will take audiences into the Old West, where a lone cowboy leads an uprising against a terror from beyond our world.

1873. Arizona Territory. A stranger (Craig) with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. The only hint to his history is a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. What he discovers is that the people of Absolution don’t welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move on its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde (Ford). It’s a town that lives in fear.

But Absolution is about to experience fear it can scarcely comprehend as the desolate city is attacked by marauders from the sky. Screaming down with breathtaking velocity and blinding lights to abduct the helpless one by one, these monsters challenge everything the residents have ever known.

Now, the stranger they rejected is their only hope for salvation. As this gunslinger slowly starts to remember who he is and where he’s been, he realizes he holds a secret that could give the town a fighting chance against the alien force. With the help of the elusive traveler Ella (Olivia Wilde), he pulls together a posse comprised of former opponents – townsfolk, Dolarhyde and his boys, outlaws and Apache warriors – all in danger of annihilation. United against a common enemy, they will prepare for an epic showdown for survival.

The script for Cowboys & Aliens is by Star Trek’s Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci and Damon Lindelof (television’s Lost), based on Platinum Studios’ graphic novel created by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg. Grazer, Howard, Rosenberg, Kurtzman and Orci produce. Spielberg and Denis L. Stewart executive produce.

     

From Universal Pictures, COWBOYS AND ALIENS will be in theaters on July 29, 2011.

Visit the film’s official website here, on Facebook here and on Twitter here.

Source: Yahoo! Movies

New TRUE GRIT Theatrical Trailer

Late last week, we showed you the teaser trailer for the Coen Brothers’ much-anticipated film, TRUE GRIT. On Friday, InContention had the exclusive first look at the teaser poster for this Oscar contender.

Today, Yahoo! Movies has the premiere of the theatrical trailer that was shown before THE SOCIAL NETWORK this past weekend.

Synopsis:

Fourteen-year-old Mattie Ross’s (Hailee Steinfeld) father has been shot in cold blood by the coward Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin), and she is determined to bring him to justice. Enlisting the help of a trigger-happy, drunken U.S. Marshal, Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges), she sets out with him — over his objections — to hunt down Chaney. Her father’s blood demands that she pursue the criminal into Indian territory and find him before a Texas Ranger named LeBoeuf (Matt Damon) catches him and brings him back to Texas for the murder of another man.

From Paramount Pictures, TRUE GRIT will be in theaters on December 25th – Retribution comes on Christmas Day. Visit the film’s official site here and on Facebook here.

New PRIEST Trailer

Here’s the exciting, new trailer for Screen Gems PRIEST starring Paul Bettany, Stephen Moyer, Karl Urban, Cam Gigandet and Christopher Plummer – aka, Captain Von Trapp. Too obscure of a reference? Check out the trailer below.

Synopsis:

PRIEST, a post-apocalyptic sci fi thriller, is set in an alternate world — one ravaged by centuries of war between man and vampires. The story revolves around a legendary Warrior Priest (Paul Bettany) from the last Vampire War who now lives in obscurity among the other downtrodden human inhabitants in walled-in dystopian cities ruled by the Church. When his niece (Lily Collins) is abducted by a murderous pack of vampires, Priest breaks his sacred vows to venture out on an obsessive quest to find her before they turn her into one of them. He is joined on his crusade by his niece’s boyfriend (Cam Gigandet), a trigger-fingered young wasteland sheriff, and a former Warrior Priestess (Maggie Q) who possesses otherworldly fighting skills

From Screen Gems, PRIEST will hit theaters in 3D next spring on May 13, 2011. Visit the film’s official website here and on Facebook.

PRIEST Teaser Trailer Wields The Hand Of God At Comic Con

Here’s a first look at the teaser for Scott Charles Stewart’s PRIEST that was shown during Sony’s panel at Comic-Con.

Show of hands. Anyone else think this looks like Stewart’s and Bettany’s last film LEGION and part I AM LEGEND. Nice to see Stephen Moyer, aka Bill Compton on HBO’s True Blood, doing double vampire duty. He plays Paul’s human scientist brother, Aaron, in the movie. Tidbit alert: Gerard Butler was originally cast in the film.

Synopsis:

Based on the graphic novel series “Priest” by Min-Woo Hyung, PRIEST, a post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller, is set in an alternate world — one ravaged by centuries of war between man and vampires. The story revolves around a legendary Warrior Priest (Paul Bettany) from the last Vampire War who now lives in obscurity among the other downtrodden human inhabitants in walled-in dystopian cities ruled by the Church. When his niece (Lily Collins) is abducted by a murderous pack of vampires, Priest breaks his sacred vows to venture out on a quest to find her before they turn her into one of them. He is joined on his crusade by his niece’s boyfriend (Cam Gigandet), a trigger-fingered young wasteland sheriff, and a former Warrior Priestess (Maggie Q) who possesses otherworldly fighting skills.

From Screen Gems, PRIEST will hit theaters in 3D next spring on May 13, 2011. Visit the film’s official website at FaithWorkSecurity.com here.

Source: TrailerAddict.com

Check Out This First Picture Of COWBOYS & ALIENS

Here’s a first look at director Jon Favreau’s COWBOYS AND ALIENS starring Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford. Favreau showed footage of COWBOYS & ALIENS at Comic Con on Saturday and both Ford and Craig made their first Comic Con appearances at Universal’s panel. Lord have mercy, COWBOYS AND ALIENS, THOR, CAPTAIN AMERICA, GREEN LANTERN, X-MEN: FIRST CLASS, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES, TRANSFORMERS 3 – does the 2011 summer movie season spell f-u-n or what?

Synopsis:

Blockbuster filmmaker Jon Favreau directs Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford in an event film for summer 2011 that crosses the classic Western with the alien-invasion movie in a blazingly original way: Cowboys & Aliens. Joined by an arsenal of top moviemakers — Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci — he brings an all-new action thriller that will take audiences into the Old West, where a lone cowboy leads an uprising against a terror from beyond our world.

1873. Arizona Territory. A stranger (Craig) with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. The only hint to his history is a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. What he discovers is that the people of Absolution don’t welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move on its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde (Ford). It’s a town that lives in fear.

But Absolution is about to experience fear it can scarcely comprehend as the desolate city is attacked by marauders from the sky. Screaming down with breathtaking velocity and blinding lights to abduct the helpless one by one, these monsters challenge everything the residents have ever known.

Now, the stranger they rejected is their only hope for salvation. As this gunslinger slowly starts to remember who he is and where he’s been, he realizes he holds a secret that could give the town a fighting chance against the alien force. With the help of the elusive traveler Ella (Olivia Wilde), he pulls together a posse comprised of former opponents — townsfolk, Dolarhyde and his boys, outlaws and Apache warriors — all in danger of annihilation. United against a common enemy, they will prepare for an epic showdown for survival.

The script for Cowboys & Aliens is by Star Trek’s Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci and Damon Lindelof (television’s Lost), based on Platinum Studios’ graphic novel created by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg. Grazer, Howard, Rosenberg, Kurtzman and Orci produce. Spielberg and Denis L. Stewart executive produce.

From Universal Pictures, COWBOYS AND ALIENS will be in theaters on July 29, 2011.

Visit the film’s official website here and fan COWBOYS AND ALIENS on Facebook. You can also catch up on the progress of the film by following director @Jon_Favreau on Twitter.

On The Set of Favreau’s COWBOYS & ALIENS

Director Jon Favreau tweeted this peek at the set of his new film COWBOYS & ALIENS, Dreamworks’ and Universal Pictures’ upcoming adaptation of Platinum Studios cross-genre comic. A source on the set told me it’s filled deep with a lot of extras and that shooting began on Thursday, June 10th in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Even one of the film’s stars, Olivia Wilde, tweeted “Its the coolest set ever.”

Favreau is directing Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Sam Rockwell, Olivia Wilde, Noah Ringer, Paul Dano, Clancy Brown, Adam Beach, and Ana De La Reguera in a film that crosses the classic Western with the alien-invasion movie in a blazingly original way. Joined by Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Damon Lindelof, Denis L. Stewart, and Dan Forcey, COWBOYS & ALIENS will be an action thriller that will take audiences into the Old West, where a lone cowboy leads an uprising against a terror beyond our world.

The film’s synopsis:

1873. Arizona Territory. A stranger (Craig) with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. The only hint to his history is a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. What he discovers is that the people of Absolution don’t welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move onto its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde (Ford). Its a town that lives in fear…But Absolution is about to experience fear it can scarcely comprehend as the desolate city is attacked by marauders from the sky. Screaming down with breathtaking velocity and blinding lights to abduct the helpless one-by-one, these monsters challenge everything the residents have ever known.

Now, the stranger they rejected is their only hope for salvation. As this gunslinger slowly starts to remember who he is and where he’s been, he realizes he holds a secret that could give the town a fighting chance against the alien force. With the help of the elusive traveler Ella (Olivia Wilde), he pulls together a posse comprised of former opponents’ townsfolk, Dolarhyde and his boys, outlaws and Apache warriors, all in danger of annihilation. United against a common enemy, they will prepare for an epic showdown for survival.

You can follow the movie’s progress on Twitter or Facebook. From DreamworksSKG and Universal Pictures, COWBOYS & ALIENS will be in theaters next summer on July 29, 2011.