Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob4  i think the point MB is making is that westerns went through evolutionary phases in terms of themes explored and the violence portrayed and you would never have had the grittiness without the likes of Boetticher and Mann dipping their toes in the murkier waters. hell, even Ford developed - look at The Searchers, basically Wayne was playing a racist/sociopath. |
Or indeed look at Boetticher's
Decision at Sundown, where we spent the first twenty minutes cheering Randolph Scott on as he embarks on his righteous revenge mission, only to discover that the facts of the matter are a lot more complicated and nuanced than he'd have us believe. There's a direct line from films like that to
Unforgiven three decades later, as I imagine Clint Eastwood would be the first to acknowledge.