Heroes in Western Film In the genre of western films, the hero plays a key role. Humanity portrays civilization overcoming the hostile country (Miller 66). In many films the American civil war is over, and people have turned their attention to more constructive pursuits. Battling nature to progress America's future, rather than each other. In between this wild country, fraught with danger and corruption lies the role of the hero. A hero is an individual with exceptional skills and through his
the application of studying films in order to allow viewers to categorize the films into different groups before they even watch the film. Genre is a type or category of film that allows viewers to have certain expectations about what the movie will be like before actually watching it. For example, the Western genre is set in the American frontier often centering on the life of a cowboy armed with a rifle who rides a horse and fights a gunslinger or bandit. Western genre is one of the oldest, most
The Western as a Genre John Ford’s Stagecoach (United Artists) has been hailed as the official Western Classic. Released in 1939 after the lull in production of Westerns caused by the advent of sound and The Great Depression during the mid 1930’s, it is considered one of the key films that helped revived the A-Western in the 1940’s prior to WWII. Stagecoach has the classic Western recipe. The main staple of that recipe in Stagecoach were authentically dressed cowboys and town folk, the dress
Jarmusch’s Unique Western Film, Deadman In Jim Jarmusch’s Dead Man, he pays homage to the classic style of western films while taking his own eccentric take that puts the film in a league of its own. With a combination of elements related to the western genre and a genre Jarmusch creates all on his own, the viewer can begin to explore and appreciate the unique film, Dead Man. Although the scenery of isolated towns, mystic rivers, and endless forests is consistent with the western genre, the philosophical
In Hollywood, Westerns have a history nearly as long as cinema itself, and have frequently been very significant in the evolution of its artistic, social and technological advancements. In 1903 Edwin S. Porter made The Great Train Robbery, argued by John Saunders as “one of the first narrative films of any kind.” It was filmed on three reels rather than just one which was the standard at the time. It was also the starting point of a regular feature of western style films, i.e. based upon actual
The Western film genre Extending from paintings and illustrations, the Western film genre constitutes another kind of visual representation that also has had a profound impact on the mythic West. Although it no longer occupies the “central position in the system of popular genres that it held throughout most of the twentieth century,” (Cawelti, 2) the genre is still important to include because of its history, influence, and effect on American culture and understanding of the West. As Slotkin notes
Jarmusch’s Film Deadman, as a Manipulated Western Director Jim Jarmusch’s film Deadman displays many of the accepted conventions for Western genre films, but manipulated in such a way as to create a revisionist, rather than a classical, western. The most obvious example of this manipulation are the characterizations of the hero, William Blake, and his Native American partner, Nobody. Blake is an awkward easterner who travels westward unaware of the different rules governing western life, instead
The Film (Movie) Version of All Quiet on the Western Front In the movie "All Quiet on the Western Front" we see the boys almost innocent as they sit in class. The teacher in this scene is pressuring the boys to go to war. He preaches that it is their "duty" to fight. The teacher seems very pushy and strict. He is especially strict with Paul, the main character in the movie. In this particular scene, Paul is drawing a picture of a bird. In Paul's family they are glad that
Winterset, Iowa, grew up to become an aspiring actor after his college sports scholarship was diminished. He later began to work as an extra, then B movies, up till he reached stardom with The Stagecoach. John Wayne's roles in western movies impacted the future of the western movie industry. First, John Wayne started his career off, simply working as a prop-man. He was originally in college, however was no longer able to attend after he lost his sports scholarship. After his accident, he then began
Analysis of the Film All Quiet on the Western Front I decided to write this analytical review on the film All Quiet on the Western Front. My decision was made when I saw it as a suggested reading because I have heard about the movie many times, yet, I've never seen it. I actually am happy I never had, because I believe I was able to get much more appreciation out of the movie because I am studying it's topic in this class. As I began the movie, I could not figure out if the movie
Untypical Western Genre in Jim Jarmusch’s Film Deadman In the film Deadman by Jim Jarmusch we follow the character of William Blake, who shares his name with a nineteenth century British poet, as he travels on a train to the town of Machine where he has promise of work. Upon arriving Blake finds that his accounting job is already occupied and when he tries to confront the boss he is greeted with a shotgun. Deciding that leaving with his life is more important than leaving with a job, he quickly
Jack Schaeffer’s, Shane, is the perfect embodiment of the Western formula used to create films about the Wild, Wild West. The text has all the necessary elements to create the perfect Western movie. The first component of the formula is a threat to the community that just moved out west, whether it is Indians, other ranchers, or even nature itself. The second component is lack of defense from the community, due to the homesteaders not being able to protect themselves against the threat posed upon
The Western film genre is typically set in a secluded village in the middle of the desert, normally in the American West. The setting includes wooden buildings, tumble weed, cacti, trains, horses and carriages. The storyline for western films is usually the same, namely, a hero travels to a remote village, usually on a horse, and brings peace to the warring villagers. In a traditional Western film the clothing for the hero is usually a white hat, (this is to show purity). The hero would also
Elements of Western, Comedy and Thriller in Jarmusch’s Film Dead Man Released in 1995, the film “Dead Man” is set in the West in the latter half of the 19th century. The film is a genre-combining work. Although “Dead Man” is a Western, it brings in many elements from the Comedy and the Thriller. The movie is set in the west, yet the audience finds themselves laughing at many comical incidents as well as anticipating what will happen to Blake next. The film is a Western in many ways, but is
Quiet on the Western Front” put some pretty good actors into their movies. Their lines seemed to flow together perfectly and wasn’t choppy. However, there’s one thing that seemed to be off. Whenever the supporting characters died, they did it dramatically. If they were stuck by a bomb, they flung their weapons into the air
Analysis of Western Film introduction The two films we chose were dances with wolves starring Kevin costner it was made in 1990 and the searchers starring john Wayne it was made in 1950 they both show native Americans been represented in different ways. The searchers Native Americans are portrayed as being stupid for swapping a woman for a hat with a feather in it. In the movie we see a native American man giving a man a woman and taking a hat with a feather in it. This shows
influenced North America where Ford’s western film “The Searchers”, represented people’s attitudes against other races at that time. The film mainly depicts Ethan’s obsession with the kidnapped niece Debbie, as again embodying the obsession and control of the woman’s body as a ground zero for interracial sex. The mentality played by the film’s characters can easily be related and compared with the society in the New Spain. The Castas chart can describe Debbie’s role in the film as well as explaining Ethan’s
The 1962 Western film “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” centers around Ranse Stoddard and his struggle with morality and justice. The film opens with Stoddard and his wife Hallie returning to Shinbone, a small town in the west, for Tom Doniphon’s funeral. In a flashback that spans most of the film, Stoddard recounts how Doniphon, a relatively unknown man, became so important to him, a famous, well respected senator. 25 years ago, Stoddard was beaten up and left by the road by Liberty Valance, leader
The film is beautifully shot in black and white, using Ford’s trademark of great depth of field that visually displays the stunning geography, combined with chiaroscuro lighting by cinematographer Joseph MacDonald and edited by Dorothy Spencer. The film has a wonderful film noir quality, moody, and dramatic night shots. By dawn, the camera captures the magnificent desert landscape that seems tailored made for Ford’s romantic action western film. Enhanced by the musical direction by Alfred Newman
Indian: Native Americans and Hollywood Movies, Ange Aliess explores the topic of how Western have begun to change recently. The changes that she references in the film Dances With Wolves are also present in the film Winter in the Blood as well as in the 1491s shorts, even though the 1491s are a comedy group and not a Western genre. Aleiss describes the ways in which Native Americans reacted to Native portrayals in the film Dances With Wolves, and they tended to see the film’s better sides in contrast with