News Of The World a great new western

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Rachael Bee, Mar 26, 2021.

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  1. Rachael Bee

    Rachael Bee Miembra muy loca Thread Starter

    I think that News Of The World is the best western to come down the pike since The Unforgiven. It absolutely nails the chaos in the U.S. during Reconstruction. Essentially, Reconstruction, was a continuation of the Civil War at a lower level. The backdrop for this movie is so purr-fect and then there's Tom Hanks.
     
  2. It really is a terrific movie and Western. Highly recommended.
     
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  3. Rachael Bee

    Rachael Bee Miembra muy loca Thread Starter

    Please tell me that somebody other than Pete and I have seen this gem!
     
  4. mmars982

    mmars982 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pittsburgh, PA
    I have it on the way in the mail from Netflix - I was very tempted to go to a theater to see this but decided against it. Looking very forward to seeing it soon.
     
  5. twicks

    twicks Forum Resident

    Location:
    Detroit
    Not to be a buzzkill again but I didn't care for this. Tired of the "troubled loner saddled with a child" plot line with an ending you can see coming miles away.
     
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  6. Rachael Bee

    Rachael Bee Miembra muy loca Thread Starter

    That's understandable. But, don't you concur that it captures the mood of 1870 rather well? That's what I liked about it, and Tom Hanks.
     
  7. spencer1

    spencer1 Great Western Forum Resident

    Thoroughly enjoyed it.
    Westerns have sadly mostly disappeared. This one is intelligent, compelling, well acted and directed. None of Greengrass’ earlier shakey-cam.
    By turns relaxed, even languid then violent and exciting.

    Beautiful, literate and with a heart.
    I will be revisiting it.
     
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  8. ssmith3046

    ssmith3046 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Arizona desert
    Looking forward to seeing this. Love the western genre and Tom Hanks is a great actor.
     
  9. twicks

    twicks Forum Resident

    Location:
    Detroit
    I wouldn't say it was grounded in realism, no. The villains are pretty mustache-twirly and the scenes with Hanks delighting the simple townsfolk are cringey.
     
  10. Rachael Bee

    Rachael Bee Miembra muy loca Thread Starter

    I think it's surprising how good the last scene is.
     
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  11. I love that it was set during reconstruction-I can’t think of another western that did this.
     
  12. O Don Piano

    O Don Piano Senior Member

    I actually cannot stomach most westerns! I'm sure it's because my parents watched a lot of them -movies and TV series- when I was a little kid and I just couldn't stand the whole patriarchal impetus behind them. So I would head to my room and put on records......
    However, this looks like a multi-layered, authentic period piece.
    I'm going to see if I can stream or rent.
    Thanks for the tip!
     
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  13. Rachael Bee

    Rachael Bee Miembra muy loca Thread Starter

    It's far from the usual formula!
     
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  14. Lenny99

    Lenny99 The truth sets you free.

    Location:
    Clarksburg WV
    I recently watched that Western. I finished thinking that this was not your typical Western. The hero was not a rebellious, fast draw. He was not a desperate man on the run. He was not an anti hero. I came away a bit empty.

    He was an ex confederate soldier, a guy trying to make ends meet in post Civil War Texas. The various gun play scenes show him as a man who has no particular skill with guns, but who thinks clear. Probably had enough of violence.

    His attitude toward the child was not the best, especially after he first found her. But he was much better than some others. And finally grew into doing the right thing. I assume the writer wants the viewer to see how his relationship with the girl helped him grow.

    In most successful westerns the hero is usually a mysterious, quiet man, who has a secret ability with a gun such as a great shot or a quick draw, etc. This skill is hidden or suppressed for some reason until the hero is forced to act in a noble way. Then, most of the time it works out fine as the hero stays put as he had overcome some inner issues, or having his secret blown, moves on.

    This movie had this hero, but he didn’t have a secret skill except he could read. In most ways he was a normal guy forced into his nomadic ways by war and the untimely death of his wife. Finding the girl throws off his way of coping with the world. So, it was unique in the sense of the hero’s gun skills. No great gunfight where the bad guy loses because of the hero’s just revealed skills. Thus, this was a pretty realistic western as far as historical accuracy. I don’t know about a newspaper reader.

    The only skill he had was rhetoric. He could spin a good story which at one point, saved him and the girl.

    So, our hero is not a gunslinger. He doesn’t redeem himself by killing the bad guys. He does prevail in one gunfight, but not as a heroic western gunfighter should. Maybe we need or are more used to escapism on a more violent level. Our favorite western except for a few are violent gunfighters.

    It was a good movie, but I don’t think your average viewer will consider it a great western. Just my opinion.
     
  15. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    on the pile moved up...
     
  16. AndrewK

    AndrewK Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cleveland, Ohio
    I just watched it, and it is a good movie
    but I would say True Grit (2010) is also very good, maybe even better.
    Also "Hostiles"(2017) is very good, and also kind of a road-trip drama/western
     
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  17. Chris DeVoe

    Chris DeVoe RIP Vickie Mapes Williams (aka Equipoise)

    My wife and I saw this in the theater and enjoyed it quite a bit. I love that it's not filled with typical Western cliches, that the protagonist is neither a remorseless killing machine or secret superhero, just an ordinary guy who seen war and had enough of it. He's found an interesting little niche presenting entertainment to people. He's motivated to do the right thing, but knows that the right thing is frequently a pain in the ass.

    I know that it's not a great Western, but it's a good one.
     
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  18. Borgia

    Borgia Do not speak wisely of this night

    Location:
    Arkansas
    I read the book before I saw the movie. There were some differences, I liked the book better. It had more story and context. One thing, the dimes in the shotgun don't work like that. There is a legend about Billy the Kid shooting someone with a double barrel loaded with dimes. I watched it demonstrated on a show once and they proved it's not at all effective at any range.
     
  19. Rachael Bee

    Rachael Bee Miembra muy loca Thread Starter

    I have not seen Hostiles. I'll put that on my list.
     
  20. Rachael Bee

    Rachael Bee Miembra muy loca Thread Starter

    Still, the con thing is clever. It might have worked better than you imagine. Back in those times smaller coins than we now have circulated. In the 19th century there were 3 cent coins. That's what a postage stamp went for a very long while. There were 3 cent silver coins and 3 cent nickel coins. I have some of both. We were making a chip and putt golf course one day when I was a kid. I was digging a hole and came upon a rotting leather pouch of 3 cent coins that somebody had buried long ago. I got about 50 of them, both types.

    It was common practice in the 19th century to load cannons with all sorts of stuff to repel charges. You could throw in mini balls, silverware, rocks, scrap mettle, belt buckles, broken glass, metal buttons, and other assorted things to make a shotgun sort of blast.
     
  21. Speedmaster

    Speedmaster We’re all walking through this darkness on our own

    Location:
    The Netherlands
    Have it on the watchlist. Waiting for when I’m in a ‘howdy’ mood.
     
  22. wolfram

    wolfram Slave to the rhythm

    Location:
    Berlin, Germany
    I liked it. I watched it mainly for Helena Zengel, who plays the child. She was remarkable in "Systemsprenger" (System Crasher), a film about a little girl with extreme anger issues.

    [​IMG]
     
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  23. Spitfire

    Spitfire Senior Member

    Location:
    Pacific Northwest
    Thought it was just okay as to me it was just a different take on the Searchers story. They even copied the iconic shot out of the building. I've just recently read a history of the Indians which covered the Cynthia Ann Parker story so the history is pretty fresh in my mind.
     
  24. darkmass

    darkmass Forum Resident

    Systemsprenger was a bit of a hard watch, but thank you for bringing it to my attention. Helena Zengel was indeed remarkable in that.

    When I earlier watched News Of The World I knew nothing about Helena, but as the movie progressed I quickly came to realize that she was my main reason for watching the western. It's worth adding, however, that I also very much liked the overall movie.
     
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  25. Grand_Ennui

    Grand_Ennui Forum Resident

    Location:
    WI
    I've been meaning to see this movie since I seen the advertisements on TV when it was going to be released... Trouble is, I always forget the name of it, and then it also doesn't help that it doesn't have a 'stereotypical' Western style name, so that doesn't help me remember it either :help:.
     
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