Posted on 10/01/2021 1:55:40 PM PDT by sphinx
It’s a nauseatingly evocative moment, both because of the way director Potsy Ponciroli’s camera isolates the actor, and because Tim Blake Nelson conveys, through his defeated posture and anxious movements, the stone that is slowly forming in his stomach. Earlier, when he first came upon the money and the man, Henry had quietly ridden away from them, unwilling to get involved, only to change his mind. Now, again without a word of dialogue, he tells us that he knows that the valley below and the hills beyond will soon fill up with the shadows of other men looking for the cash.
(Excerpt) Read more at vulture.com ...
And that’s the high art: come up with an accent that stamps the characters and period as distant, and that audiences will accept. There is probably an interesting dissertation or two to be written on the sociology of language conventions in films.
It’s hard to imagine a Star Wars or Star Trek film in which the Star Fleet characters spoke like Jethro from the Beverly Hillbillys. It would have to be a spoof, in which the really smart students had all fled a too-PC Ivy League that had abandoned standards and flocked to non-PC universities that still recognized excellence.
But on a closely related, real world note ... I still wish that Neil Armstrong, when he first set foot on the moon, had thrown away the First Words script and started singing “Hail, Hail, to Old Purdue,” followed by “Anchors Aweigh.”
People would have actually remembered that in a thousand years, because it would have been real.
Truth be told most westerns were slow plodding cliche-ridden crap. The only westerns I watch repeatedly are The Wild Bunch, The Searchers, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence, Tombstone, High Noon (the scared townspeople remind me of the majority of neighbors hiding behind masks right now).
Honorable mentions for the Leone/Eastwood trilogy.
My interpretation of the smirk was his confirmation that he was the Devil himself. I never would have gone into that “hotel” to spend the night — or perhaps eternity.
Old Henry is now available for streaming on several platforms. I paid $4.99 and if you like Westerns, it’s well worth it.
It’s probably the most flat-out old-fashioned film I’ve seen in years. For those who complain that Hollywood doesn’t make movies the way the used to — well, they do; just not enough of them. This movie could have been made in 1954, except that the cinematography is of course much better, as is the period dialect.
(John Wayne always made a much better cavalry officer than a cowboy, since cavalry officers, as a generic type, are expected to be better educated with better diction. Other actors of that era had the same problem; most of them were formally trained in the studio system and they spoke far too well for real white trash roles. Jeff Bridges set a new standard in the True Grit remake, and a couple of actors in Old Henry are up to the mark.)
Anyhow ... no spoilers, but Old Henry resists the modernist disease to pursue novelty for the sake of novelty. It is telling an old-fashioned story in a straightforward old-fashioned way. If you are up on your Old West lore, the hidden surprise isn’t even hidden, as the film uses Old Henry’s real name; they of course are counting on modern audiences who don’t have a clue, but even then it’s all hiding in plain sight. Just like a 1950’s Western, which was content to tell an unsubtle morality tale.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cItX4qgmJfM
Watched the trailer - that looks pretty good, thanks! Unfortunately there is no place within 60+ miles showing it. I’ll have to wait for it to come out on streaming services.
It is now streaming. I got it on Amazon, but I think several services have it.
long way from o-brother where art thou...
Jeff Bridges mumbled his way thru : )
Just watched the Trinity moves last week with my SIL who had never seen the. Great movies.
Great thanks! I’ll get the popcorn ready and have a date with the wife sometime this week.
Probably better than Rust huh? I do love good gun play.
Looks pretty good but the haircuts always give it away.
That one guy was in that funky western a few years ago. I saw that guy that played opposite of Liam Neeson in another movie too but he had arms and legs. Now that was weird.
I was just going to post “the Dark Valley’! I just saw it again a few weeks ago. A slow burn revenge western set in an isolated german(?) valley way up in the mountains.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Valley
Someone already mentioned Bone Tomahawk too, which is more brutal but still great.
Freegards
Just saved it to my Netflix queue. Thanks for the recommendations. Modern movies stink. I am happy to vote for one that is good and old fashioned and inform Hollyweird of what they should be making more of these days.
Thanks again.
I agree that there is a marked difference between modern movies and older one. Because of COVID I had been bingeing on film noir from the 1940s that are on YouTube. In most of the older films the actors acted really well and the camera would follow their facial movements to indicate what they were thinking. That is a subtly you rarely see today. Back then storyline was key. Today they concoct anything for an excuse to highlight a new special effect. I am a sucker for a good story and think that is in great part the essence of the art. Without getting too postmodern today’s amoral stories are meant to disappoint (No Country For Old Men) but how often can you be cynical without losing your audience? People still expect a happy ending, and it is ingrained into our social DNA and soul. Despite the darkness of human nature the 1940s film noir stories delivered a moral line. Today there is morality is either stilted by Hollywood or there is an absence.
“Open Range” final
Shoot out Is the Best!
.
“Tombstone” over All
Is My Fav!
.
“Lonesome Dove” rounds out
My Top Three.
“Jeff Bridges set a new standard in the True Grit remake”
A better Rooster and a better movie.
“A better Rooster and a better movie.”
That is because Glen Campbell was NOT in it. He ruined the first one. And Kim Darby was too old for the part of a 14 year old.
While Hailee Steinfeld was actually 14 when she played the part, and she earned a well deserved Oscar nomination. The remake is a brilliant film on several accounts, not the least being the genius with which it walked the tightrope between drama and comedy. Young Hailee was subtly hilarious in what could have been a very dark role.
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