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Post by KGB on Jul 3, 2005 3:53:25 GMT -5
I've been watching a bit of John Wayne lately and just enjoying the heck out of him. Certainly, some of his movies are rather thin and he's often playing the same character from one movie to the next, but I find that one character so endearing and enjoyable that I find it hard to dislike anything in the Duke canon.
On top of that, the guy made some absolutely classic movies, like The Searchers, The Quiet Man, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. I just bought and watched the latter this week and found it to be an almost perfect movie: humor, romance, drama, action, and a poignant ending, this one had it all. I've re-watched parts of it 10 times already. I couldn't recommend it any more highly.
I get the sense that some of the posters here will have some condescending things to say about John Wayne, but I happen to feel that American cinema and American culture were greatly enriched by him. Anyone agree or disagree?
BTW, for trivia buffs, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is the film in which Wayne continually uses the term "pilgrim" to refer to Jimmy Stewart. The phrase that would be used repeatedly in episode 803, The Mole People.
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Post by guerayou on Jul 3, 2005 4:18:58 GMT -5
I should be shot for saying this, but I have never seen a John Wayne movie. And while I am married to a complete movie snob, I myself enjoy a movie for simply being entertaining, if not necessarily a work of art.
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Post by Shep on Jul 3, 2005 9:31:23 GMT -5
"Red River" has the Duke's best performance by far imo. He should have one the Oscar for that one IMO.
Even director John Ford commented, "I didn't know the big lug could act."
The other Wayne films I really like are "Rio Bravo" and "Big Jake" (silly film, but loads of great lines).
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Post by mightyjack on Jul 3, 2005 14:05:34 GMT -5
Love the Duke. I agree Red River was a great performance, and he really did a wonderful job in True Grit. Some of the dialog and the acting in that film was pretty silly (Glen Campbell was a laughably bad actor) but Wayne really shines. Also She Wore A Yellow Ribbon was another superb role for him.
But I think his best job of acting was in The Searchers. Very nuanced, very raw, here's a guy by his larger than life personality that you root for, but he's an outsider from his own famly and a 'not so nice' human being who carries a lot of hatred.
When he comes down from the hills after seeing the bodies and other 2 are questioning him, John's rage and anguish is powerful. Great performance.
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Post by bonfiregal on Jul 4, 2005 17:46:35 GMT -5
My favorite Wayne flick is The Quiet Man. US Boxer going back to his Irish roots and meets an Irish redhead who's beautiful and a handful. Really good film and I recommend it to anyone not too familiar with The Duke's works.
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Post by vanhagar3000 on Jul 4, 2005 17:56:02 GMT -5
I've only seen a handful of westerns. I didn't like Westerns much until recently. Most that I've seen are either Eastwood (saw Unforgiven yesterday and loved it) or Wayne. However, I saw Rio Grande earlier this year, and really enjoyed it. It was a great movie, and is making me give westerns a second chance.
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donmac
Moderator Emeritus 
Beedee Beedee Beedee This Sucks!
Posts: 1,290
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Post by donmac on Jul 4, 2005 22:54:50 GMT -5
I love John Wayne's better movies, which are usually the ones directed by either John Ford or Howard Hawks.
And I think Turner Broadcasting should do the right thing and share equal parts of their revenue with John Wayne's estate and Clint Eastwood, because the movie of those two actors along with Braves baseball make up about 85% of their programming schedule.
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Post by vanhagar3000 on Jul 4, 2005 23:00:02 GMT -5
I love John Wayne's better movies, which are usually the ones directed by either John Ford or Howard Hawks. And I think Turner Broadcasting should do the right thing and share equal parts of their revenue with John Wayne's estate and Clint Eastwood, because the movie of those two actors along with Braves baseball make up about 85% of their programming schedule. Do you mean did? If so, don't forget wrestling, and this isn't old crazy wrestling fan Van Hagar talking. Wrestling took up four hours of primetime every week on TBS, and for the longest time was it's highest rated program. I'm talking about the late 70s and early 80s. Ted Turner himself has said wrestling built the superstation. |
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Post by KGB on Jul 5, 2005 22:11:30 GMT -5
Not to quibble with your basic point, but wrestling was never prime time programming on WTBS. It was shown from 6-8 on Saturdays and then (in 1988 I think?) they added another hour on Sunday evening. There was also the Power Hour on Saturday mornings. But you see my point. However, you're absolutely correct that wrestling was the foundation of WTBS and that Ted Turner had an undying loyalty to the psuedo-sport.
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Post by vanhagar3000 on Jul 5, 2005 22:29:35 GMT -5
Not to quibble with your basic point, but wrestling was never prime time programming on WTBS. It was shown from 6-8 on Saturdays and then (in 1988 I think?) they added another hour on Sunday evening. There was also the Power Hour on Saturday mornings. But you see my point. However, you're absolutely correct that wrestling was the foundation of WTBS and that Ted Turner had an undying loyalty to the psuedo-sport. You're right, and I knew it too. I just put that in because it's in the book The Death of WCW. However, the extra hour on Sundays was added in I think 1979 as the Best of Georgia Championship Wrestling. I'll look through my Death of WCW book. I'm still assuming that Don is talking about early TBS, since I don't see as many Eastwood and Wayne movies as before. However, I still see a lot of Braves games. |
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Post by Hellcat on Jul 12, 2005 0:10:18 GMT -5
But I think his best job of acting was in The Searchers. Very nuanced, very raw, here's a guy by his larger than life personality that you root for, but he's an outsider from his own famly and a 'not so nice' human being who carries a lot of hatred. When he comes down from the hills after seeing the bodies and other 2 are questioning him, John's rage and anguish is powerful. Great performance. Great scene. "What do you want me to do? Draw you a picture? Spell it out? Don't ever ask me! Long as you live, don't ever ask me more." I love that movie. I've been a John Wayne fan for years. My mother got me into it. I'll watch just about anything that he's in. I especially enjoy the "B" pictures he made before he became a star. Sometimes they pop up on late night TV. They're about an hour long, and they all have titles like "Sagebrush Trail" or "Riders Of Destiny", and Gabby Hayes always seems to pop up in them. They're fun to riff on, too. |
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Post by Don Quixote on Jul 16, 2005 18:11:52 GMT -5
I loved 'True Grit.' I mean c'mon, John's character name is Rooster!
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Post by KGB on Jul 17, 2005 1:37:09 GMT -5
True Grit was a fine movie, but Glen Campbell was in waaaayyy over his head.
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Post by vanhagar3000 on Jul 17, 2005 5:24:04 GMT -5
Those with AMC may want to know that there is a John Wayne marathon today.
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Post by KGB on Jul 18, 2005 2:15:25 GMT -5
I watched El Dorado the other day. Fine movie. I've heard that it's quite similar to Rio Bravo, which I haven't seen, but take off or not, El Dorado is yet another rock solid Wayne western. James Caan stands out as Mississippi, a somewhat inexperienced mercenary in a lawless country. My only complaint (much like True Grit) would be some of the hairstyles that are indistinguishable from the styles of 1966, although to be honest, Michele Carey, as Joey McDonald, is delicious with her mop of hair and skin-tight designer jeans.
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