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October 1999, Week 5

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Subject:
From:
Lang Thompson <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Film and TV Studies Discussion List <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sat, 30 Oct 1999 23:57:42 -0400
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>Westerns? There have been only a few great ones made during the last fifty
>years. Only Shane comes to mind as the "standard" by which all others might

Thirty years might be more accurate:  the 50s were probably the genre's
high water mark and there were still quite a few "great ones" during the
60s from the likes of Ford, Peckinpah, Hawks, etc (& if you want to go
beyond Hollywood, the spaghetti Westerns were a major contribution and
extension).  You might argue that many of the elements that attracted
audiences (not the least of which would be young males) is what drives
action films:  good vs. evil, with manly men settling their differences via
guns and quick wits.  (Which means the next big genre will be the singing
action hero:  Bruce Willis and John Travolta have both had hit records
after all.  You heard it on Screen-L first.)  Something much harder to
evaluate would be a declining sense of "the frontier" but which certainly
can't be dismissed.  And as for current Westerns, TNT has had a fair amount
of success with its string of Westerns.

LT

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