Live a western adventure

• Types of Western movies
• Western fiction

Types of Western movies A genre in which description and dialogue are Revisionist  Westerns lean, and the landscape spectacular, is well suited to film. Early Westerns were mostly 'Revisionist' is a term used in genre studies filmed in the studio like other early to describe films that change traditional Hollywood movies, but when location shooting elements  of  a  genre. became more common, producers of Westerns used desolate corners of New Mexico, After the early 1960s, many American California, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, Kansas, film-makers began to question and change many Texas, Colorado or Wyoming, often making the traditional elements of westerns. One major landscape not just a vivid backdrop, but a change was in the increasingly positive character in the movie. Productions were also representation of Native Americans who had filmed  on  location  at  movie  ranches. been treated as "savages" in earlier films. Audiences began to question the simple The Western genre itself has sub-genres, such hero-versus-villain dualism and the morality as the epic Western, the shoot 'em up, of using violence to test one's character or singing cowboy Westerns, and a few comedy to prove oneself right. Some recent Westerns westerns. The Western re-invented itself in give  women  more  powerful  roles. the  revisionist  Western. Contemporary  Westerns Cowboys and gunslingers play prominent roles in Western movies. Often fights with Native Contemporary Westerns, as the name implies, Americans are depicted. In early Westerns, are films that have contemporary American the "Injuns" are frequently portrayed as settings but nevertheless utilise Old West dishonorable villains; however, many themes and motifs (a rebellious antihero, "revisionist" Westerns give the natives more open plains and landscapes, climactic sympathetic treatment. Other recurring themes gunfights, etc.). For the most part, they of westerns include western treks and groups still take place in the American West and of bandits terrorising small towns such as in reveal the progression of the Old West The  Magnificent  Seven. mentality into the late twentieth century. Examples include Sam Peckinpah's Bring Me the The  Classical  Western  film Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974), John Sayles' Lone Star (1996), Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man The western film traces its roots back to (1996), Michael Winterbottom's The Claim 1903's The Great Train Robbery, a silent film (2000), Robert Rodríguez's Once Upon a directed by Edwin S. Porter and starring Time in Mexico (2003), Tommy Lee Jones' The Broncho Billy Anderson. The film's popularity Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005), opened the door for Anderson to become the Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain (2005) and Wim screen's first cowboy star, making several Wenders'  Don't  Come  Knocking  (2005). hundred Western movie shorts. So popular was the genre that he soon had competition in the Genre  studies  and  Westerns form  of  William  S.  Hart. In the 1960s academic and critical attention In the United States, the western has had an to cinema as a legitimate art form emerged. extremely rich history that spans many genres With the increased attention, film theory was (comedy, drama, tragedy, parody, musical, developed to attempt to understand the science fiction, etc.). The golden age of the significance of film. From this environment western film is epitomised by the work of two emerged (in conjunction with the literary directors: John Ford (who often used John movement) an enclave of critical studies Wayne  for  lead  roles)  and  Howard  Hawks. called genre studies. This was primarily a semantic and structuralist approach to Spaghetti  Westerns understanding how similar films convey meaning. Long derided for its simplistic During the 1960s and 1970s, a revival of the morality, the western film genre came to be Western emerged in Italy with the "Spaghetti seen instead as a series of conventions and Westerns" or "Italo-Westerns". Many of these codes that acted as a short-hand films are low-budget affairs, shot in communication methods with the audience. For locations (for example, the Spanish desert example, a white hat represents the good guy, region of Almería) chosen for their a black hat represents the bad guy; two inexpensive crew and production costs as well people facing each other on a deserted street as their similarity to landscapes of the leads to the expectation of a showdown; Southwestern United States. Spaghetti cattlemen are loners, townsfolk are family Westerns were characterised by the presence and community minded, etc. All western films of more action and violence than the can be read as a series of codes and the Hollywood  westerns. variations  on  those  codes. But the best of the genre, notably the films Since the 1970s, the western genre has been directed by Sergio Leone, have a parodic unraveled through a series of films that used dimension (the strange opening scene of Once the codes but primarily as a way of Upon a Time in the West being a reversal of undermining them (Little Big Man and Maverick Fred Zinnemann's High Noon opening scene) did this through comedy). Kevin Costner's which gave them a different tone to the Dances with Wolves actually resurrects all Hollywood westerns. Charles Bronson, Lee van the original codes and conventions but Cleef and Clint Eastwood became famous by "reverses the polarities" (the Native starring in Spaghetti Westerns, although they Americans are good, the U.S. Cavalry is bad). were also to provide a showcase for other Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven uses every one of noted actors such as Jason Robards, James the original conventions, only reverses the Coburn,  Klaus  Kinski  and  Henry  Fonda. outcomes (instead of dying bravely or stoically, characters whine, cry, and beg; Ostern instead of a good guy saving the day, irredeemable characters execute revenge; Westerns from the United States were popular etc.). in Communist countries, and were a particular favorite of Joseph Stalin. An entire genre of One of the results of genre studies is that "Red Western" or "Ostern" films developed in some have argued that "Westerns" need not Eastern Europe. These films usually portrayed take place in the American West or even in the American Indians sympathetically, as the 19th Century, as the codes can be found oppressed people fighting for their rights, in other types of movies. For example, a very in contrast to American westerns of the time, typical Western plot is that an eastern which frequently portrayed the Indians as lawman heads west, where he matches wits and villains. They frequently featured trades bullets with a gang of outlaws and Yugoslavians or Turkic people in the role of thugs, and is aided by a local lawman who is the Indians, due to the shortage of authentic well-meaning but largely ineffective until a Indians  in  Eastern  Europe. critical moment when he redeems himself by saving the hero's life. This description can Gojko Mitić is famous for his portrayals be used to describe any number of Westerns, of righteous, kindhearted and charming Indian as well as the action film Die Hard. Hud, chiefs ("Die Söhne der großen Bärin" starring Paul Newman, and Akira Kurosawa's directed by Josef Mach). He became honorary Seven Samurai, are other frequently cited chief of the tribe of Sioux when he visited examples of movies that don't take place in the United States of America in the 90s and the American West but have many themes and the television crew accompanying him showed characteristics common to Westerns. Likewise, the tribe one his movies. American actor and it has been pointed out that films set in the singer Dean Reed, an expatriate who lived in old American West may not necessarily be East  Germany, also starred in several films. considered "Westerns." 1 A B C 48 49 50 51 52 53 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 93 94 95 96 97 98