Saturday, November 30, 2019

Jeremiah Johnson (1972): Robert Redford, Will Geer and Sydney Pollack


     Directed by Sydney Pollack, Jeremiah Johnson (1972) is a cinematic masterpiece of subdued storytelling. Supposedly based of the real-life 19th Century mountain man, Liver-Eating Johnson, Pollack manages to get the tale across with minimal dialogue. Robert Redford is outstanding in the lead role, and Will Geer is great in his supporting turn. Equally as powerful is the brilliant cinematography, which captures the grandeur of the Rocky Mountains in beautiful panoramas. The film is visually stunning and is well-deserving of it's critical praise.
     Jeremiah Johnson (Robert Redford), a disenchanted soldier having fought in the Mexican War, decides to head to the wilderness of the Rocky Mountains and live off the land... 

Jeremiah Johnson. 1972: Robert Redford

     the life of a mountain man is grueling... 

Jeremiah Johnson. 1972: Robert Redford

Jeremiah Johnson. 1972: Robert Redford

     and Johnson encounters some colorful characters... 

Jeremiah Johnson. 1972: Robert Redford

     and uneasy situations in his travels... 

Jeremiah Johnson. 1972: Robert Redford

     all of which add to his understanding of life...

Jeremiah Johnson. 1972: Robert Redford

      it's drawbacks... 

Jeremiah Johnson. 1972: Robert Redford

     and it's virtues...

Jeremiah Johnson. 1972: Robert Redford


Unforgiven (1992): Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, Gene Hackman and Richard Harris


     Designed to be Clint Eastwood's farewell to the Western genre, Unforgiven (1992) became a new benchmark for the category. Full of grit, violence, honesty and redemption, the film is undeniably powerful. Honored by the American Film Institute as one of the greatest American films ever made, Unforgiven was a tour-de-force in directing for Eastwood, who won the Best Director Academy Award that year for his work. The film also snagged the Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor and Best Editing awards as well. The entire cast is spellbindingly good, including Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, Gene Hackman and Richard Harris.
     After a prostitute is cut up by two drunken, rowdy cowboys, the other ladies pool their cash to offer a reward for vigilante justice... 


     Miles away, The Schofield Kid recruits the aging former gunslinger and killer-turned farmer, William Munny (Clint Eastwood)...

Unforgiven. 1992: Clint Eastwood

     and his friend Ned (Morgan Freeman) to join him in collecting the reward, by dispatching the two cowboys... 

Unforgiven. 1992: Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman

Unforgiven. 1992: Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman

     Meanwhile, others have come to collect the bounty, including English Bob (Richard Harris)... 

Unforgiven. 1992: Richard Harris and Gene Hackman

     but all comers must face Sheriff Little Bill Daggett (Gene Hackman)... 

Unforgiven. 1992: Gene Hackman

     whose harsh, vicious ways prove a formidable deterrent... 

Unforgiven. 1992: Morgan Freeman and Gene Hackman

     but after tense tragedy strikes, William Munny vows that he will not go down easily...

Unforgiven. 1992: Clint Eastwood

Unforgiven. 1992: Clint Eastwood


Shane (1953): Alan Ladd, Jack Palance and George Stevens


     Placed at #3 on the American Film Institute's list of the Best Western Films, Shane (1953) also goes beyond it's genre and ranks up amongst the best films ever made. Directed by George Stevens, the film is a technical marvel to watch, with Oscar-winning cinematography and creative camera use. Despite being shot in the standard aspect ratio, Shane was chosen as the first film to be projected using the new flat widescreen format... it's vistas and sets consistently compelling throughout. Although they were not the director's first choices, the cast delivers all-around stellar, and now-classic performances, including Alan Ladd, Jack Palance, Van Heflin, Ben Johnson and Jean Arthur. 
     A stranger, skilled with a gun, and calling himself Shane (Alan Ladd) rides into an area of Wyoming... 

Shane. 1953: Alan Ladd

     He meets Joe Starrett (Van Heflin) and his family...

Shane. 1953: Alan Ladd

      Shane finds work with Joe... 

Shane. 1953: Alan Ladd

     but gets in the middle of an ongoing conflict between Joe and the mean, powerful rancher Rufus Ryker (Emile Meyer)... 

Shane. 1953: Alan Ladd

Shane. 1953: Alan Ladd

Shane. 1953: Alan Ladd

     Not beaten, Ryker hires a master gunslinger named Wilson (Jack Palance) to finish the job... 

Shane. 1953: Jack Palance

     Now Shane has a difficult fight and an equally hard choice to make...

Shane. 1953: Alan Ladd

Shane. 1953: Alan Ladd