Posted on 02/17/2020 12:24:59 PM PST by Borges
Charles Portis, an El Dorado native best known for his 1968 novel True Grit, died on Monday at a Little Rock hospice facility. He was 86.
The cause was complications from Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, which was diagnosed in 2012, said his brother, Jonathan Portis.
Portis published five novels — Norwood (1966), True Grit (1968), The Dog of the South (1979), Masters of Atlantis (1985), and Gringos (1991) — and the non-fiction Escape Velocity: A Charles Portis Miscellany (2012).
True Grit, the story of fictional 14-year-old Mattie Ross from Yell County, Ark., who recruits U.S. Marshall Rooster Cogburn to avenge the murder of her father, was made into a 1969 movie of the same name starring the legendary John Wayne and fellow Arkansas native Glen Campbell. A remake of the film starring Hailee Steinfeld and Jeff Bridges in 2010 was produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by Ethan and Joel Coen.
Portis, who was uncomfortable with the fame that resulted from his literary success, rarely granted interviews, balked at being photographed and lived quietly in an apartment in Little Rock’s Riverdale area.
“He had this great amount of success with ‘True Grit.’ I think it didn’t sit well with him,” said Jonathan Portis. “He didn’t like to attract attention. He was comfortable around his friends, but shy around strangers. He preferred to go as an unknown person because he was a people watcher. He would hear snatches of conversations or see people who had a particular look and he would take note of that. You’d see them in his books.”
I'll bet he knew the Nashville Number System.
I liked both, for different reasons. Either one would suit me to watch on a rainy winter afternoon.
>>Hate to say it and nothing against John Wayne, but the 2010 movie version was much better.<<
There was a time I would have shot you for saying that. I refused to watch the remake for a long time. But I finally watched it and it is pretty damn good, it sort of grew on me.
>>We have no rodeo clowns in Yell County.<<
Lawyer J Nobel Dagget will be in contact soon.
Wonderful writer. I’ve always planned to do a True Grit tour (the book, not the film) starting in Fort Smith. This just gives me impetus! RIP, Charles Portis.
Which, in my mind, was a problem.
I just couldn't get over the the stilted, formal dialog, although I'm sure the Coens reveled in it. I can understand that in a stylized work like "O Brother, Where Art Thou?", but this is a Western, and I couldn't get into the story. Every time a character spoke, the story came to a screeching halt because there the author was, sticking his nose in.
You should enjoy this...from 1969...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIYvHdEwEOw
One of the original music vids???
True Grit was a very good novel, and John Wayne’s realization of Cogburn is legendary; rightfully so. I thought Darby was pretty darn good, as well. I stayed away from watching the remake for years— how could they attempt such blasphemy? However, I finally gave in and really enjoyed it. Bridges was excellent.
Real music.
Charles Portis was a sergeant in he Marine Corps.
I also preferred the Bridges/Steinfeld remake.
It was intrusive, but in a good, "this is out of the ordinary" way. And I thought it gave the characters ... character.
May Mr. Portis REST IN PEACE.
Yours, TMN78247
Wayne was doing self parody in “True Grit”. He should have won an Oscar for one of his great films with John Ford or Howard Hawks.
The score was what made the 2010 version superior for me.
Who all here grew up eating sofkee?
Not me. Or Burgoo - 2 meals mentioned in that wonderfully atmospheric novel.
I see the usual STEM types are showing up here with their unutterably dumb film reviews. It never fails here.
To have one character speak in such a manner creates an interesting character. When all the characters speak that way, it strips the dialog of authenticity; the characters no longer seem real, but more like actors in a play.
Again, I thought it worked in "O Brother, Where Art Thou?"
If you are referring to me, I thought both were excellent films.
All the actors except Campbell were outstanding. The directing and cinematography were superb. And the Coen version portrayed a beautiful, gritty(!) realism superior to the original.
I wish I could get over the dialog.
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