Let me start off by saying, if you have an iPhone or iPod touch and you see the AFI app and think, "oh hey, this could be cool..." don't get it, cuz it's nothing but a few videos, twitter and facebook updates and the top 100 list only, not really worth it.
Now on to my post, I say!!
Today, I'm doing another genre post and this one is on westerns (It'll probably take me another week or more). A western, is generally set in the portion of the Old West between the end of the Civil War and The Battle of Wounded Knee, some westerns though portray a time as early as the Battle of The Alamo or even go into modern times. What the American Film Institute defines as a western is a story that is "set in the American West that embody the spirit, the struggle and the demise of the new frontier". The hero archetype of the western is usually the same, a fairly nomadic cowboy or gunslinger of some kind. On the other hand, the western villain archetype was generally the same also, being a bandit or a Native American. Unfortunately Native Americans were largely portrayed negatively in westerns, especially early westerns. During the silent film era the western was extremely popular, however, not a lot of these films survived and once sound became the standard the western lost it's popularity. The western didn't regain popularity until the film Stagecoach, that launched the career of John Wayne.
Now, if you thought all westerns are cut and dry, you're wrong. There are many sub-genres of the western, and I shall share them with you...
What do you think of first when you think of western cinema? Probably the Classical Western. This began all the way back in the silent film era with the movie, The Great Train Robbery (1903). It is generally the style that everyone is used to, good cowboy and bad indian/robber.
Westerns that take place in the north, usually in Canada or Alaska are called Northerns. Films that are in this sub-category are The Far Country (1955) and North to Alaska (1960).
Euro Westerns were westerns made in western Europe, a lot being from Germany. One example is The Savage Guns (1961).
Aussie Westerns are westerns that were shot in Australia. Australia (2008) and The Proposition (2005) are examples of this.
Next is the Epic Western. In these westerns the characters are more complex along with the story lines, some epic, sweeping plot takes place where some ridiculous obstacle must be overcome. Alliances shift, men who stay away from violence are sometimes forced into it. A lot of them draw parallels to norse or greek mythological stories. Examples of this are Once Upon A Time in The West (1968), The Searchers (1956) and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966).
Shoot 'em Up Westerns are just that, rely on violence, shoot outs and not very deep characters.
Ostern or Red Western were western films made in communist Europe, specifically the Soviet Union. The Red Westerns, were set in the American west and generally had favorable depictions of Native Americans as freedom fighters and an oppressed minority (which they actually were). Osterns, on the other hand, were set in central Asia or the Russian steppes and were set around the Russian Revolution or Civil War. Examples of Red Westerns are The Sons of The Great Bear (1966) and The Oil, The Baby and The Transylvanians (1981). Ostern examples are, Dauria (1971), The Bodyguard (1979) or The Sixth (1981).
Similar to Osterns are Revisionist Westerns or Anti-Westerns. There were revisionist westerns in the Soviet Union, however, after the 60s, America began to make revisionist westerns that questioned the old ways of making a western. One thing it did was portray Native Americans in a better light, not just showing them as evil savages like they had been for decades. Another way is by giving women a more powerful and prominent role in the west and showing the outlaws as anti-heros. Some examples of this style are The Assassination of Jesse James by The Coward Robert Ford (2007), Dances With Wolves (1990) , Cat Ballou (1965), True Grit (2010), Little Big Man (1970), and Dead Man (1995).
In the same vein are Zapata Westerns. Zapata westerns are a branch off of Spaghetti Westerns (which I will talk about soon, hold your horses) that were made in the 1960s and 70s and took place in Mexico. They generally all take place around the Mexican Revolution (they get their name from the Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata) and deal with strong political themes. Even though most Zapata Westerns were done by Italian directors criticizing fascist regimes and American capitalism, there were also American Zapata Westerns which made their heros less revolutionary and more "soldiers of fortune" hiring themselves out to make a profit.
Next are Contemporary Westerns! (cut down the excitement), these are westerns set in modern times, but usually have the same Old West archetypes like the anti-hero, the open landscapes and gunfights. These are films like El Mariachi (1992), Brokeback Mountain (2005) or No Country for Old Men (2007).
There are Curry Westerns, westerns made in India (slightly racist, I know).
Then there is the Weird Western. This is a film or comic or anything that combines the western genre with something that typically doesn't go with it, such as steampunk, like in the film Wild Wild West (1999), or superheros, like in Jonah Hex (2010). Then there are other, more common types in this sub-genre like Horror Westerns, which are like they sound, a mixture of horror or the supernatural with westerns, examples are Billy The Kid vs Dracula (1966) or The Burrowers (2008). Another little type is the Sci-fi Western. Which puts aliens or advanced technology into a western setting, examples of this are Cowboys & Aliens (2011), Westworld (1973) or Back to The Future Part III (1990).
Finally we come to one of my two favorite types of westerns, Acid Westerns. This sub-genre was started in the 1960s and 70s that combined metaphorical and philosophical ideas with the ridiculousness of Spaghetti Westerns and packaged it all up for the counterculture. The acid western takes a lot of the standard ideals of the western and turns them around. Instead of the west being a place of adventure, liberation and a new beginning, it becomes a place of death and destruction. What I love about the acid western is the look and philosophy of it, it gives everything this twisted, real and chaotic feel, a feeling of isolation and despair, while capturing the sense of drug use or psychosis. I also love the general depth of the acid western, taking everything from politics to religion and twisting it and putting it in the context of the horror of the Old West, films, especially ones like El Topo, also add an almost, tournament feel to the main character's overcoming of obstacles, and those obstacles have odd, unique and fantastic looks and abilities and beliefs. If you're looking for some acid westerns, here are a few movies that are considered acid westerns, Dead Man (1995), The Shooting (1966), Ride the Whirlwind (1966), El Topo (1970), Greaser's Place (1972), Zachariah (1971), and Dirty Little Billy (1972).
Now, for my second most favorite type of western and the one that many sub-genres take from, the Spaghetti Western. Spaghetti Westerns came about in the mid-60s and were primarily made by Italians (I know, racist again). Spaghetti Westerns generally take place around the Mexican Revolution and takes a leftist stance. A lot also talk about revenge and bounty hunters. I love spaghetti westerns, I love the low budget feel and the grittiness, the feeling that things are bad and it takes a bad ass to be a "hero" in the Old West, it's got politics, it's got the western feel and it spawned a lot of other styles like the acid western mentioned above. Examples of the spaghetti western are, or course, A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965), The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966), then also The Mercenary (1968) and The Return of Ringo (1966), among many many others.
When I was a kid, I totally hated westerns, but after seeing what westerns COULD be, I began to enjoy them. I would love to do a modern western some day and hope to, anyway, that is all.
Nighty Night
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