You would be hard pressed to find a major star from the 40's, 50's and 60's who wasn't in a western and of course the 70's were full of Clint Eastwood and his 'spaghetti westerns'. But don't dismiss them because of what you think you might know about them- they are among the best. We have a huge assortment from which to choose so let us help you narrow it down a bit--- here is a recap of some of Moe and Mel's previously blogged faves.

My absolute favourite western of all time is the wonderful series Lonesome Dove. It is based on the 1985 Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Larry McMurtry. The story focuses on the relationship of several retired Texas Rangers and their adventures driving a cattle herd from Texas to Montana. It has a huge cast including Robert Duvall (who has never been better), Tommy Lee Jones, Danny Glover, Diane Lane, Robert Urich, Rick Schroeder, Angelica Houston, and Chris Cooper. It was the first in the series of the books to be put onto film, but was so successful that all the titles were done over the next several years. Return to Lonesome Dove is next, then Streets of Laredo, and finally the prequel Dead Man's Walk. The only weak one in the lot is Streets, but it is still worth a look. These are all mini-series, not movies, so you are going to have to set aside some serious watching time, but it is worth it. Even if you are not usually a fan of westerns, watch at least the original Lonesome Dove. You'll thank me for it. I think I have talked myself into watching it again- this will make the 7th time! And I may just have to reread the books as well.

High Noon---Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly trying to get away from it all on their wedding day. Well, maybe a little bit more happens.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. With two quintessential western stars- Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne. Also with perennial favourite bad guy, Lee Marvin.

McCabe and Mrs. Miller---A gambler and a prostitute become business partners in a remote Old West mining town. From 1971 and directed by the wonderful Robert Altman---starring Warren Beatty and Julie Christie.

Most Westerns are really morality plays that just happen to be set in the west. None are better at exploring the dark side of man's nature than The Oxbow Incident and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. The first with Henry Fonda, and the later with Bogart.

Open Range- Robert Duvall again, and also another veteran of westerns, Kevin Costner. This was filmed in the Calgary area. Speaking of Costner, check out Silverado. I know this is on tv at least twice a month, especially as it has just had its 25th anniversary, but it's a good bet with a big cast, a more than solid story, and just rollicking good fun.

And if all this is just way more serious than you want, sit down for some good laughs from the delightfully irreverent mind of Mel Brooks---yes, I am talking Blazing Saddles.

Pierce Brosnan in a western? Are you kidding? In Seraphim Falls, he's nothing like his charming Remington Steele or 007 personae. In fact, he's believable as a craggy former army captain on the run from a man determined to catch him at all costs. Liam Neeson plays his tormentor, and Angelica Huston makes an enigmatic cameo appearance, and why not? Her grandfather made a great cameo in another great western, Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Seraphim Falls is a sort of "To build a Fire" meets "Mantracker," and that's just the beginning of the movie. Add the pacing of "Dead Man" and the humor of Leone, and that's the essence of this story of the folly of revenge.

Dead Man

Follow William Blake (Johnny Depp) through the wilderness with a group of no goods and a native guide. He just can't catch a break in this humorous and unconventional film from one of my favorite directors: Jim Jarmusch.

Englishman's Boy

Originally a made for tv short series, this is based on Alberta author Guy Vanderhaeg's novel. If you can stomach some violence, the story is worth it. Nicholas Campbell (Da Vinci's Inquest) plays the protagonist driven by events to the edge of his tolerance and it's his best acting.

For pete's sake, if you haven't seen any of Sergio Leone's "spagetti westerns" made famous by Clint Eastwood, do so. These are westerns for people who don't like westerns...The cinematography is beautiful and atmospheric and really defined Western cinema after it.

Don't miss: Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Clint is always excellent as the quiet hand of justice (and sometimes comedy) in his encounters with the law and outlaws.

Tried to whistle the theme song didn't ya...heh heh heh

"Git" your holds on now for the Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1936). It's a real tear-jerker at times, starring Spanky of Our Gang and Henry Fonda.

We have three versions of this very popular story. I actually like them all for different reasons.

First up is the wonderful 1946 black and white featuring Henry Fonda and Victor Mature as the consumptive Doc Holliday- My Darling Clementine.

Next is the 1993 offering Tombstone with a really solid list of A-stars of the time- Val Kilmer, Kurt Russell, Sam Elliot, Bill Paxton and Michael Biehn. I have always been a big Kurt Russell fan-in my opinion he almost always hits the right note in his roles and I think he is spot on in this. You'll love the moustaches- I haven't seen this much facial hair in a movie since Planet of the Apes.

For some reason, only one year later it was offered again with Kevin Costner in the lead role as Wyatt Earp. This one focuses more on the man and his relationships and is supposedly a little more historically accurate. As I said, I like them all.

We also have an A & E production in our non-fiction titled Cowboys and Outlaws, which claims to tell "the real story" of this and several other western legends.

Here's a couple more western favorites in time for Stampede.

Either version of 3:10 to Yuma is great but I particularly enjoy the 2007 version with Christian Bale. What can't he do? The suspens is great as we wait to see if he makes it on the train---and the color and pacing of the film is perfect.

Don't forget the great tv westerns of the 1950s. I was surpised by how contemporary the characterizations are in Gunsmoke, which also has the famous and cracking good theme song. Miss Kitty is a strong, experienced woman and that's just okay with Marshall Dillon who's a sensitive fellow. It makes Mad Men look like a throwback,

although I'll probably have to get out of Dodge for saying, so. Don't shoot me!

by Mel

Pierce Brosnan in a western? Are you kidding? In Seraphim Falls, he's nothing like his charming Remington Steele or 007 personae. In fact, he's believable as a craggy former army captain on the run from a man determined to catch him at all costs. Liam Neeson plays his tormentor, and Angelica Huston makes an enigmatic cameo appearance, and why not? Her grandfather made a great cameo in another great western, Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Seraphim Falls is a sort of "To build a Fire" meets "Mantracker," and that's just the beginning of the movie. Add the pacing of "Dead Man" and the humor of Leone, and that's the essence of this story of the folly of revenge.

The Turner Classic Movie boxed sets have proved very popular---so much so that CPL has a whole bunch more headed your way. Each set comes complete with four thematic based movies. TCM has done a great job putting these together---there are hours and hours of excellent viewing here. All these sets are on order at the moment, so they aren't ready to take out quite yet. But they are coming and once they do they will fly off the shelves so get your holds on now and sit back and enjoy the anticipation. I can't wait to revisit them---my holds are already on. How about yours?

Westerns: Ride the High Country, Stalking Moon, Chisum, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid

War: Dawn Patrol, Gunga Din, Operation Pacific, Battle of the Bulge

Sci-FI: Them, Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, Satellite in the Sky, World Without End

Romance: Splendor in the Grass, Mogambo, Now Voyager, Love in the Afternoon

Marx Brothers: A day at the Races, Room Service, At the Circus, A Night in Casablanca

Family :Lassie, Flipper, National Velvet, Incredible Mr. Limpet

Hitchcock Thrillers: Suspicion, Strangers on a Train, The Wrong man, I confess

Comedy: The Long Long Trailer, Father of the Bride, Night at the Opera, Arsenic and

No, this isn't a post of movies about THE Mob (which I think there are far too many of anyway). This is a post about what happens when mob mentality takes over and people allow themselves for whatever reason to be subsumed by a group. Now this was harder to put together than I first thought when I came up with the idea. There are plenty of Westerns with this theme- lynch mobs abound in the old west. And certainly many war movies are prime examples of 'group think'. So after racking my brain, here is what I finally came up with.

Lord of the Flies---perhaps the quintessential story of what happens when mob mentality takes over. All the more frightening as the perpetrators and victims are a group of priveleged, well raised children.

12 Angry Men---a Henry Fonda classic about the jury in a murder case trying to reach a decision.

The Ox-bow Incident---again with Henry, this movie easily makes it onto my top 10 favorite Westerns. This works well on so many levels but it works best as a study of men being led by blind conviction to an idea

Hotel Rwanda---take generations of tribal hatred, a government openly soliciting murder, Peace Keeping forces hamstrung by their own mandate. Just in case this isnt enough, add a world community not particularly paying attention and you have the story of the horror that was Rwanda. Don Cheadle stars as one man who tries to take a stand against the genocide. We also have the excellent non-fiction Shake Hands With The Devil---the story of Canadian Lt. Gen.Romeo Dallaire and his command of the United Nations mission to Rwanda during the 1994 genocide.

Rod Serling often chose to examine what happens to people when put under pressure in a group. Check out any of The Twilight Zone--- we have lots!

If you ever come across the movies Rosewood, Fury (Spencer Tracy), 1984, or M, make sure you take the time to watch them. All are excellent examples of this theme.

Howdy pard'ners...time fer another western movie review, I reckon. These older and newer classics are sweeter than sarsparilla...

Dead Man

Follow William Blake (Johnny Depp) through the wilderness with a group of no goods and a native guide. He just can't catch a break in this humorous and unconventional film from one of my favorite directors: Jim Jarmusch.

Englishman's Boy

Originally a made for tv short series, this is based on Alberta author Guy Vanderhaeg's novel. If you can stomach some violence, the story is worth it. Nicholas Campbell (Da Vinci's Inquest) plays the protagonist driven by events to the edge of his tolerance and it's his best acting.

For pete's sake, if you haven't seen any of Sergio Leone's "spagetti westerns" made famous by Clint Eastwood, do so. These are westerns for people who don't like westerns...The cinematography is beautiful and atmospheric and really defined Western cinema after it.

Don't miss: Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Clint is always excellent as the quiet hand of justice (and sometimes comedy) in his encounters with the law and outlaws.

Tried to whistle the theme song didn't ya...heh heh heh

"Git" your holds in now for the Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1936) arriving soon at CPL. It's a real tear-jerker at times, starring Spanky of Our Gang and Henry Fonda

What is it about westerns? The wide open spaces? The sense of closure? The action scenes? Whatever the answer, here's the ones I think are sharp-shootin'...Dagnabit, there's so many, I'll review more later.

Meantime...Here's a few I reckon are a little different from the pack...

Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

Humphrey Bogart goes mad in pursuit of gold in John Huston's classic. This movie has all the fun cliches that shape the imagination of the west: the cackling old toothless prospector, the mexican posse, the frontier quest for riches and, of course, the unforgettable line "Badges?! We don't need no stinkin' badges!"

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Some coworkers say this is a drama, not a western, but it reflects more recent westerns' focus on human motivations rather than shootouts. Brad Pitt is convincing as the weary James. Casey Affleck is eerie and believable as a fan and nemesis.

Unforgiven (1992)

Posted: May 11 2009,

Clint Eastwood came out of retirement as an actor and as a gunslinger in film for the Oscar-winning Unforgiven. A group of prostitutes band together and raise money to convince his character to seek out and eliminate whomever is killing their own.

There will be blood (2007)

Daniel Day Lewis appears as a terrible man, driven by lust for money, who destroys everyone he comes into contact with. This probably falls outside traditional definitions of a Western, but oil prospecting themes and dry dusty scenes compelled me to include it. It is based on Upton Sinclair's novel Oil!

Westworld(1973)

Yul Brynner is a robot run amok in Michael Crichton's early examination at virtual reality/role playing games. How about living out your fantasies of going back to the old west, where those around you are really robots. It's perfectly safe...really...

Paint your Wagon (1969)

Clint Eastwood again with Lee Marvin and Jean Seberg in a psychadelic, polygamist musical. 'Nuff said.
If you prefer more traditional westerns, we have plenty of John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart movies also. Check them out...

Even if you are not a fan of westerns, you will love Paul Newman in Hombre (DVD FIC HOM). Newman plays a loner who, having been raised by Native Americans, disdains the corruption and prejudice of local pioneer immigrants. He inherits a hotel and, as a result, is thrown together with the very folk he despises in a stagecoach headed for trouble.Hombre explores what various characters will do when they find themselves in a desperate situation, one that Newman's character vows is none of his concern.

Have your own film festival...Other Paul Newman movies in the library's collection are The Sting (1973), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with Elizabeth Taylor (1958), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid(1969), Cool Hand Luke (1967), Our Town(1940),Road to Perdition, Hustler, Message in a Bottle , From the Terrace, The Long Hot Summer, and Hitchcock's Torn Curtain.

CPL also features Newman biographies. Browse call number "791.43028 NEW" in your local branch, or ask for assistance at the reference desk. Titles include Paul Newman, Superstar by Lionel Godfrey, Paul Newman by Elena Oumano (also in Large Print and Talking Book formats), No Tricks in My Pocket: Paul Newman directs by Stewart Stern, Paul Newman by Eric Lax, Paul Newman by Lawrence Quirk, Paul Newman by Daniel O'Brien, Paul Newman by J.C. Landry, and Paul Newman: a life in Pictures.

Entrepreneurs and fans of Newman's Own salad dressing may want to read his account of starting a business in his book, entitled Shameless Exploitation in the Pursuit of the Common Good.

Posted: Oct 02 2008, 04:11 PM by Mel 0 comments Filed under: Westerns [Edit Tags]