"True Grit" remake. Review (page 2)

Farkel

gregor,

Isn't that like trying to do a remake of "Gone With the Wind" or "Citizen Kane?"

I don't know. I haven't seen it, but any remake of a Duke movie is a hard act to follow, methinks.

Farkel

I wouldn't put the original in the category of GWTW or Citizen Kane! It was an entertaining John Wayne vehicle and he won the Oscar. The current version stands on its own. Roger Ebert sees potential Oscar nominations for Bridges and the young female lead.

hamsterbait

What was the old B/W movie with John Wayne where the young supporting actor appeared in the SAME scenes in some shots wearing leather pants and in others black denim?

HB

designs

On the List of movies to see. My son liked it.

undercover

I'm looking forward to the new True Grit...especially since it's Coen Brothers reunited with The Dude.

I love Westerns, grew up on them. I kinda came of age somewhere between Wayne's classics and the Spagetti Western craze. I leaned to the anti-hero, darker stories of the Sergio Leone stories more than the John Wayne movies. My favorite Western of all time is Once Upon a Time in the West - Henry Fonda as Frank was simply amazing. I was spellbound by his performance. I liked The Wild Bunch by Sam Peckinpah as well. And then Clint Eastwood in Sergio Leone's trilogy. And then - The Outlaw Josey Wales, probably my second favorite Western.

In recent years, I've gone back and started re-watching some of the old classics of the 40s and 50s. I remember seeing High Noon as a kid and liking it okay but preferring some other 'more action' Westerns over it. I watched it again a few years ago and finally realized it for the classic movie, not just Western, that it really is.

Some of John Wayne's Western were just bad. But some were really good. My favorite was his last, The Shootist. I never really liked his True Grit...not his performance though. He was good. I think it was the supporting cast I didn't much care for. But I'll watch it again right before or after seeing the new one.

I did that with 3:10 to Yuma. I liked Russel Crow and Christian Bale's new version but after I saw it I was lucky and caught the original on TCM late one night. I was surprised how good that movie was, especially for it's time.

Gregor

3:10 to Yuma was OK but it had glaring continuity errors that were so distracting, to me anyway, that I didn't enjoy it that much.

In the beggining of the film Christian Bale has a family he is trying to support on a hard scrabble farm inspite of the fact he has lost a leg in the Civil War and can barely gimp around. His compensation for the injury was a few measly dollars. That is why he takes on the dangerous job of escorting Russell Crowe to the train.

In the ensuing action Bale is never seen gimping again, he is jumping around, on and off his horse, in gun battles etc. Also, Peter Fonda, is gut shot at point blank range with a Colt 45 but he continues ride, shoot and fight for another day or so.

Marvin Shilmer

Here is my experience with the new True Grit:

Watched the whole thing without a break. Afterward I was anxious to get to the men’s room to take a leak. The room was full of men my age, all trying to do the same thing. So I asked aloud, “How many think this one was as good as the original?”

Answer was unanimous: Didn’t hold a candle to the first one.

undercover

Also, Peter Fonda, is gut shot at point blank range with a Colt 45 but he continues ride, shoot and fight for another day or so.

Yea, that bugged me too. I liked Peter Fonda playing a tough ole coot, but gut shot? It shoulda been more like Cheyenne in OUATITW...

It wasn't the perfect movie. And despite the flaws, I liked the bonding between Bale and Crow's characters. And Crow's sidekick Charlie Prince (the gunslinger that wore eyeliner LOL)... He was good.

poppers

I am really looking forward to the new True Grit. It sounds like a faithful rendition of the book, more so than the Wayne version. My favorite western still has to be Lonesome Dove, though.

blondie

1969 may seem eons ago, but True Grit was in color, all of them.

"True Grit" remake. Review

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