First ...
- Did you make a blog post about a sub-genre?
Features of the Western movie genre
Western movies often tell stories of America’s westward expansion of the 1800s. That makes them a sub-genre of Historical Movies. (Some Westerns, however, are set in modern times.) Most commonly, Westerns feature cowboys and gunfights. Also seen in many Westerns are:
- horses, Indians, Mexican people, Spanish place names, cattle, ranches, stagecoaches, trains, saloons, saloon girls, sheriffs, outlaws, wanted posters, revolvers, rifles, deserts, canyons, cowboy hats, bandanas, cowboy boots
The soundtrack of Western movies may feature Mexican music or some variation of country, bluegrass or folk music. Here are links to some well-known western theme songs:
- Bonanza (1959-1973) - American TV western drama
- The Magnificent Seven (1960)
- The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
Japanese Connection
A comparison can be made between Japan’s jidaigeki and the Western genre. While the cultures and settings are very different, they both show their societies in a former time, with the costumes of their respective eras, and often violent situations where people take the law into their own hands. The weapon of choice of the ronin is the sword, while the characteristic weapon of the cowboy is the 6-shot revolver.
Japan’s most famous and respected movie director of all time is Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998). Some of his most well-known movies were jidaigeki, including “Seven Samurai” (1954) and “Yojimbo” (1961). Both of these were remade into Westerns – “The Magnificent Seven” (1960) and “A Fistful of Dollars” (1964).
Compare for yourself:
Seven Samurai (1954) - swordfight clip
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) - final gunfight scene; from about the 4:30 minute mark
The Unforgiven (1992) - trailer; starring Clint Eastwood & Morgan Freeman
Yurusarezaru Mono (許されざる者, 2013) - trailer; starring Ken Watanabe
Yojimbo & A Fistfull of Dollars - How the Western was changed forever
And finally ...
A mix of both Western and Samurai; Sukiyaki Western Django (2007), directed by Takashi Miike.
Spaghetti Westerns
Spaghetti Westerns were Western movies filmed in Italy or Spain during the 1960s, especially those by Italian director, Sergio Leone. At first, Spaghetti Westerns were derided by Americans as inauthentic, but gradually, their unique style and European sensibility won many fans to the genre.
A person who got his start as a movie actor in Spaghetti Westerns was Clint Eastwood, who starred in the Dollars Trilogy; “A Fistful of Dollars” (1964), “For A Few Dollars More” (1965), “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” (1966). His characteristic hat, cigar and poncho created an image of the Spaghetti Western cowboy.
Few Academy Awards
While Westerns have been a popular movie genre (though not so much lately), they are rarely nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, and only three Westerns have won the top prize. The three Best Picture winners were:
- Cimarron (1931)
- Dances With Wolves (1990)
- Unforgiven (1992)
A few notable Westerns that were nominated for Best Picture, but did not win, were:
- Stagecoach (1939) - horse chase scene
- High Noon (1952) - trailer
- Giant (1956) - trailer
- The Alamo (1960) - trailer
- How the West Was Won (1963)
- Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
- Brokeback Mountain (2005)
- True Grit (2010)
Kevin’s personal favorite Western: “Little Big Man” (clip; 1970) starring Dustin Hoffman.
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018) - Coen Brothers, western-comedy movie clip / Handout PDF
Top 10 Western Movie Heroes (WatchMojo) PDF
In class or at home, write a blog post on your blog below about Westerns. Try to comment on the connection between Japanese jidaigeki and Westerns. What is similar? What is different?
Review Game for all genres to date.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
Please help me identify these EdPuzzle nicknames ...
- 田, 宮
- ジョー, G
- けあるん, TV
- けーたろー, 中村
- 遠野, 月彩
_________
Past Tense Verbs Practice Form
_________
To Do List
1) Watch Western video trailers and make a blog post. In particular, compare Westerns to Japanese jidaigeki.
2) Watch Ballad of Buster Scruggs clip and do PDF; take photo and send to Kevin
3) Top 10 Western Movie Heroes PDF / WatchMojo
4) Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - EdPuzzle
5) Movie Genres review game
6) Past Tense Verbs Practice Form
No comments:
Post a Comment