tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post4323166296826833835..comments2024-01-30T04:32:47.585-05:00Comments on The Cooler: Littler Big Man: The CowboysJason Bellamyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18150199580478147196noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-53105781218062168732011-02-24T22:01:56.389-05:002011-02-24T22:01:56.389-05:00Sheila: I haven't read that piece yet, but I d...Sheila: I haven't read that piece yet, but I definitely will! Thanks for providing the link.<br /><br />Bruce: Well, shit. Thanks for the correction. Maybe it was the first time he was shot in the back? I thought I remembered learning that factoid from TCM or something. Should have done more research. I'll amend that paragraph. Glad you pointed that out!Jason Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18150199580478147196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-81615256793549075862011-02-24T16:32:55.947-05:002011-02-24T16:32:55.947-05:00"[I]t's one of the rare times that one of..."[I]t's one of the rare times that one of Wayne’s characters is killed on screen and the only time one of them is shot in the back"<br /><br />Sorry for the nitpick on such a fine write-up, but one of your upcoming viewings famously ends with Wayne shot while his back is turned.Bruce Reidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-15340435032812183162011-02-24T09:10:06.174-05:002011-02-24T09:10:06.174-05:00Let me clarify: I wasn't disagreeing with your...Let me clarify: I wasn't disagreeing with your comment. I agree that here he shows something very different - and more openly so. I just feel that one of his defining characteristics is not the swagger/the manliness - but his vulnerability (which I can see in that first amazing closeup in Stagecoach - you can see the breath in his throat - he's available to the camera). But yes: here, it's a real crowd-pleasing performance in a more conventional vein where he really gets to let that side out.<br /><br />There are stories of how during breaks all of the kids in the movie would literally be climbing ALL OVER him. He'd be trying to eat his lunch or smoke a cigarette and he'd have kids on his arms, clinging to his legs, climbing up his back. I love that image. It speaks well of him. Kids know. Kids get who is accessible and who is not.<br /><br />I put up an anecdote on my site a while back from Mark Rydell - a moment where he lost his cool and yelled at John Wayne - and how it all played out. You might be interested:<br /><br />http://www.sheilaomalley.com/?p=7865Sheila O'Malleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05859697259996394827noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-49527065530516114232011-02-24T07:11:23.526-05:002011-02-24T07:11:23.526-05:00Bryce: I'd like to see Big Jake and The Shooti...Bryce: I'd like to see <em>Big Jake</em> and <em>The Shootist</em> sometime relatively soon. Don't have them in-hand at the moment, but will likely write up at least one of them in the next month or so (I hope).<br /><br />Sheila: I don't think the issue is whether Wayne was afraid to "go there" and be vulnerable. I think the issue is that in so many films that vulnerability didn't translate very well. To paraphrase what Matt Zoller Seitz said the other day about his reaction to Natalie Portman's Black Swan persona, I often find myself believing that a Wayne character is vulnerable because I know that's what the movie and Wayne are going for, but I don't always <em>feel</em> it. Here, you <em>feel</em> it.<br /><br />I haven't watched the DVD extras yet, but I'd like to at some point. But I did end up throwing <em>The Cowboys</em> back in the DVD player for the second time in a week to enjoy it all over again. There are so many little moments that I love:<br /><br />The conversation with Anse, the trips to Miss Ellen's class, the conversations with his wife (so touching!), the moment at his sons' grave, the moment when he lets the horses out of the corral, and so on.<br /><br />Hokahey: I want to watch <em>The Alamo</em> again fairly soon. But without being able to picture the scene you referenced, sometimes I felt like Wayne was properly giving space to the other actor but that he was already thinking of his next line while they were talking -- his first scene with Mattie in <em>True Grit</em> would be an example of that. It ends up making some of his expressions and reactions feel choreographed instead of spontaneous. But, in <em>The Cowboys</em>, as you said, he really seems to be considering his words, very much in the moment.Jason Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18150199580478147196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-21091594535968361472011-02-23T21:32:58.164-05:002011-02-23T21:32:58.164-05:00Well done! Your description of the voice is excell...Well done! Your description of the voice is excellent. This is a great film that rises above the run-of-mill John Wayners that were being done around this time.<br /><br />I saw all of John Wayne's Westerns after <i>The Alamo</i> as they were released in the movies, and I remember being very impressed with this more substantial Wayne feature after seeing <i>Chisum</i> followed by <i>Rio Lobo</i> and <i>Big Jake</i>.<br /><br />Glad you consider this Wayne's best performance. A good choice. I prefer his performances in <i>The Searchers</i> and <i>The Shootist</i>. His performance in the latter is amazingly touching.<br /><br />Good comment about how his character listens. I think Wayne was always good at that. Watch <i>The Alamo</i> and note how he stands aside and thoughtfully listens to Widmark's Bowie and Harvey's Travis, allowing them to take center stage. <br /><br />I also think that Wayne's slow, broken delivery of lines signified that he was portraying that his character was really thinking about the words he was saying. His lines come off as thoughtful, not merely recited.<br /><br />Thanks for these two great posts on my favorite actor!Richard Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12397053921647421425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-79795479479637888802011-02-23T14:20:19.446-05:002011-02-23T14:20:19.446-05:00Jason - I love this movie. I am loving this serie...Jason - I love this movie. I am loving this series of Wayne pieces you are doing as well. In a strange way, this is one of my favorite Wayne performances - because of that vulnerability - which is always there, he was never afraid to "go there" - it's all over his work - but here ... This is a great "movie star" performance. A slamdunk.<br /><br />The stories of the filming are fascinating to me (I'm sure you've seen the special features?) - and the "clash" between the old-school and the new-school often brought moments like the one with Dern. There were lots of former blacklisted people involved in the production - but Wayne, typically, got along with everyone. There's a great story Mark Rydell tells of coming upon Wayne and Roscoe Lee Browne - two men from two different worlds - standing outside the production office and there they were, reciting Sean O'Casey to each other, bonding in their love of that playwright - both of them reciting O'Casey by heart to each other.<br /><br />Beautiful. <br /><br />Thanks, Jason - gotta pop this one in again.Sheila O'Malleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05859697259996394827noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-58704689065763777962011-02-22T20:49:53.788-05:002011-02-22T20:49:53.788-05:00Excellent write up, gave me the itch to watch this...Excellent write up, gave me the itch to watch this again. I"m digging this examination of late period Wayne. Any chance Big Jake is on your list? It's a childhood favorite but I have a feeling my memory is being VERY kind to it.Bryce Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17040954580033470664noreply@blogger.com