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Smokey
09-13-2005, 01:13 PM
Why did Hollywood stop making western movies anymore. I know there have been few great western movies made here and there such as Tombstone or Lonesome Dove, but they are too few and far between.

I rather watch a good western with a good story and memorable character than a big budget remake of 70s/80s Tvs shows.

How about big screen version of Gunsmoke or High Chaparral ? :)

topspeed
09-13-2005, 07:33 PM
This was out just a few years ago. Pretty good flick, too :).

http://www.impawards.com/2003/posters/open_range.jpg

Smokey
09-13-2005, 08:28 PM
Alright Topspeed, what was out just a few years ago?

Kam
09-14-2005, 06:04 AM
Alright Topspeed, what was out just a few years ago?

my powers of intuition lead me to think top means Open Range....

Sir Terrence the Terrible
09-14-2005, 07:46 AM
I think the times just changed, America changed, our viewing habits changed, and I think some westerns got a little cheesy. I cannot verify any of this personally, by the time I popped out of my mom's womb, they were pretty much gone already.

Woochifer
09-14-2005, 03:53 PM
As Terrence said, it's basically change of times, change of economics, change of viewpoints, etc. I'm not an expert on the western genre by any stretch, but it seems like westerns more than any other genre relied on plot elements and characterizations that fell out of favor by the mid-60s. The latter westerns seemed to tweak with the genre to make it more relevant to a new and perhaps more jaded audience. Unforgiven is the most obvious example of a modern western that reinterprets the traditional plot and character elements.

Much the same way that grand movie musicals fizzled out by the late-50s, and disaster movies ran their course by the late-70s, westerns had their heyday and nowadays you get the occasional reinterpretation of the genre.

Another aspect that might make a difference is in how a wildly successful spoof can effectively bury a genre. Of course, I'm thinking of Blazing Saddles and Airplane. It seemed that Blazing Saddles was so funny because everything that the movie made fun of was so familiar to us. Same thing with Airplane in that it took satirical aim at so many of the overly familiar disaster movie plot elements.

topspeed
09-14-2005, 04:16 PM
Alright Topspeed, what was out just a few years ago?
Kam, your insightful powers always amaze. Yes, indeed, that was a poster of Open Range. Or maybe I just imagined it...

Wait a sec...don't I write for Home Theater???

http://www.henrysheehan.com/reviews/mno/open-range.jpg

Smokey
09-14-2005, 08:09 PM
As Terrence said, it's basically change of times, change of economics, change of viewpoints, etc. I'm not an expert on the western genre by any stretch, but it seems like westerns more than any other genre relied on plot elements and characterizations that fell out of favor by the mid-60s.

I read your post and you make good sense. The thing that puzzle me if that genre is dead, why today's movie producers try to revive that genre with cheesey remake that era TV's shows?

Why not make something original :)



Wait a sec...don't I write for Home Theater???

Please, not you too :D

RGA
09-14-2005, 08:30 PM
The Western has not really left us but it has changed. Unforgiven won the award in 1992 and Dances with Wolves probably counts. More recently we had Tombstone and Wyatt Earp both of which worked somewhat as did Young Guns.

We have had succesful comedies like Maverick and spoofs like Blazing Saddles. There have been numerous lousy ones too. So bad i can;t remember their names but one had Gene Hackman going up against a female in a high noon thing that was total trash, and bad Girls or something with four women outlaws ( I actually paid to see this crappy movie).

Back to the Future 3 kinda counts. And Kill Bill Volume 1 and 2 are glorified revenge tale Westerns.

Really the Western is just a white hat versus a black hat story. Star Wars was said to be Cowboys and Indians in space.

And unfortunately there's no Clint Eastwoods around to do those Formula pics -- he was kinda like to Westerns what Sean connery is to James bond..."nobody does it better".

Worf101
09-15-2005, 08:08 AM
The primary reasons the western is gone are:

1. Over exposure - Thousands of westerns were made during the 30's and 40's. They were cheap to make, easy to film and not a lot of plot or script to write. Then all this stuff was regurgitated and slapped onto the TV. screen in the 50's and 60's as well. Add that to the millions of hours of T.V. Westerns and you've a genre that's been took, booked and cooked to death.

2. Moral Sophistication - As the American public became more "educated" some began to interpret the westward expansion of the country as a "genocidal landgrab". When you damn near wipe out an entire idigenous culture to get the land and resources therein.. that's what some people might view it as. So the cavalry coming to save the day kinda lost lustre as did the gun totin' vigilante.

3. Aging of Stars - Let's be honest, by the end Wayne was too fat to play westerns, Jimmy Stewart was to old and most of the rest of the male stars were either succuming to cigarettes or had moved on to other genres. We may believe Eastwood or Russel and Elliott as gun slingers but who else? Tom Cruise? Pheh...

4. Increased competition - The movies as a form of entertainment itself is fighting with others for a piece of an ever shrinking pie. One western doesn't make enough money, no more westerns. "Open Range" was great, but not a blockbuster ergo... no rash of cash-ins.

Da Worfster :o

Sir Terrence the Terrible
09-15-2005, 09:30 AM
The primary reasons the western is gone are:

1. Over exposure - Thousands of westerns were made during the 30's and 40's. They were cheap to make, easy to film and not a lot of plot or script to write. Then all this stuff was regurgitated and slapped onto the TV. screen in the 50's and 60's as well. Add that to the millions of hours of T.V. Westerns and you've a genre that's been took, booked and cooked to death.

2. Moral Sophistication - As the American public became more "educated" some began to interpret the westward expansion of the country as a "genocidal landgrab". When you damn near wipe out an entire idigenous culture to get the land and resources therein.. that's what some people might view it as. So the cavalry coming to save the day kinda lost lustre as did the gun totin' vigilante.

3. Aging of Stars - Let's be honest, by the end Wayne was too fat to play westerns, Jimmy Stewart was to old and most of the rest of the male stars were either succuming to cigarettes or had moved on to other genres. We may believe Eastwood or Russel and Elliott as gun slingers but who else? Tom Cruise? Pheh...

4. Increased competition - The movies as a form of entertainment itself is fighting with others for a piece of an ever shrinking pie. One western doesn't make enough money, no more westerns. "Open Range" was great, but not a blockbuster ergo... no rash of cash-ins.

Da Worfster :o

And number five. The apollo missions. Cheesey westerns were replaced by cheesey Scifi serials. Star Trek, Buck Rodgers and the elk took over after that.

Smokey
09-16-2005, 01:57 PM
Thanks RGA, Worf and Sir TT for comments.



The primary reasons the western is gone are:

4. Increased competition - The movies as a form of entertainment itself is fighting with others for a piece of an ever shrinking pie. One western doesn't make enough money, no more westerns. "Open Range" was great, but not a blockbuster ergo... no rash of cash-ins.

Da Worfster :o

In my guess, that probably would the main resaon for not making any westerns. And may be if one didn't grow up in the hay day of westerns (like the new generation), they wouldn't care for it too much :)