A few weeks ago, I picked up a book at the library called "Resolution" by Robert B Parker. It was on the new fiction shelf and looked like a fast read. It's a western. I've never read a western, but I love watching them.
The book itself read fast. I cut into it in one evening. The shooting, swearing & whiskey sipping all starts in chapter one. The characters were unabashedly crude and the backdrop included strong stereotyping of the American Frontier and the people in it. The effect of this over-play of the racism, sexism & general lack of morality was potent. Instead of forcing me to recoil in disgust, I felt drawn to the characters.
The protagonist, a gun-fighter named Everett Hitch, kills a man early and does so to establish order in a bar. Soon, he's joined by his friend and mentor, Virgil Cole. Together they wrestle with a town and fight just about everyone in it. Yes, I know, completely unoriginal plot. Who cares? I'm here for the gun fight!
Throughout the book, they hark back to a place called Appaloosa. Appaloosa was the town of their first adventures together. That night, after finishing the book, I was online at a movie trailer site and noticed that Appaloosa is being made into a movie. I watched the trailer with Ed Harris (Virgil) & Viggo Mortensen (Everett) and was pleased by how quickly the characters in my head melded into them. The next day, I went to the library and got a copy of Appaloosa (the book.)
It was equally as fun as Resolution and read equally as fast. I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed both. You can feel Ed Harris as Virgil already. This made the character come alive for me.
If the movie adaptation equals the book, then it'll be a great western. And in case you're wondering, here's three examples of what I consider to be great westerns:
Silverado (1985) - Best Western ever and one of my favorite movies of all time. With Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn, Danny Glover & a very young Kevin Costner.
Unforgiven (1992) - Dark and gritty cowboy movie. Did for westerns what Dark Knight may have done for superhero movies. With Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman & Morgan Freeman
Rio Bravo (1959) - Classic John Wayne western. Essentially redone as El Dorado (1966) also with John Wayne. Not sure which I liked more. With John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson (yes really) and Angie Dickinson
2 comments:
I too am excited and interested after seeing a trailer for Appaloosa. I've been on a slight Western kick this summer and I finally watched "3:10 to Yuma" and really enjoyed it. We've also been slowly working through the super-cheesy "Brisco County, Jr." series. Westerns seem to be making a comeback - now we just need more good Samurai films too!
Yes, I enjoyed 3:10 to Yuma. Oh, and the mention of Samurai make me think of the Magnificent Seven w/ Yul Brynner!
Urge to Netflix it and watch it back to back w/ Seven Samurai rising!
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