Posted on 05/28/2012 6:56:20 PM PDT by re_tail20
I would certainly agree that “The Searchers” is one of the best. Someone made a list of the twelve best westerns ever made, and both were on it. I have that one, too.
Winchester 73, Four Faces West, Rio Bravo. And I really like The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
Yes, The Searchers is on a rung all to itself. Another great film Wayne made was Stagecoach. Loved that one. And I’ll stay up any night to watch him and Maureen O’Hara paired together in a movie. Now that’s acting, that’s star power.
I love all of his flicks. But of the later ones...I’ll never forgive Bruce Dern for shooting him (The Cowboys) and I will stay up and watch True Grit every stinkin time to see him put the reigns in his teeth and ride.
i think bruce dern gave an interview about being on the set. iirc right before the scene the duke looked at dern and said “uou are about to become the most hated man in america.” why? “because you are going to shoot john wayne in the back.”
Well, like I said..I never got over it,lol.
But I will say that Dern plays one of the best bad guys in the industry. I guess someone has to do it.
(BTW, I love your very true tagline:))
Wow, that was a good article, especially considering the source!
What’s with the shock about how good this article is? Ebert is a terrific film writer.
It's been a while since Ebert wrote anything memorable about a conservative ... and this one is about a conservative icon. "Well written" is a fair criticism. Keep'em coming Roger.
Man, did he ever have that pegged, even 35 years ago........!
--Patrick Henry, to the Virginia Convention, March 23, 1775
bookmark
I think he could have been great. But as is so often the case with those types, they let their political persuasions get in the way of just writing a good story.
Forget the youthquake. What America really loves is... old. Whatever Wayne represents the Old Testament God, a Mount Rushmore face with a permanent scowl, the craggy soul of Frontier or Sunbelt America he has made the list in each of the Harris poll's 13 years, and he's figured in the top three slots eight times. It's as if the People's Choice Awards kept picking Elvis as favorite singer.
http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1580564,00.html
http://www.harrisinteractive.com/NewsRoom/HarrisPolls/tabid/447/mid/1508/articleId/946/ctl/ReadCustom%20Default/Default.aspx
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Fort Apache
Rio Bravo
True Grit
The Shootist
bttt
I recall Ebert recently saying that he was a big fan of Mark Steyn’s writing.
I went back over my comment and was probably wrong. Watched a documentary about Sam Peckinpah a few days ago and Ebert had glowing reviews of most of his films - even BMTHOAlfredo Garcia. I’m a big Warren Oates fan. I guess my doubts about Ebert can be traced back to his thumbs up reviews of Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9-11. I do miss Siskel.
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