| All films hosted by film critic Walter Chaw. To read more of Chaw's film criticism, go to www.filmfreakcentral.net. |
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The Ox-Bow Incident
Tuesday, April 29, 6:30 - 9 p.m.
Shown in the Central Library, Level B2 Conference Center |
1943. Directed by William Wellman. Starring Henry Fonda, Dana Andrews, Anthony Quinn.
Henry Fonda deferred his entry into the navy in 1940 so that he could participate in the filming of The Ox-Bow Incident; ironically, because the studio was so nervous about the storyline, the film was shelved for three years (and almost never made it to the big screen). Fortunately, it did and was nominated for a best picture Oscar. It remains one of the best (and first) Westerns to foreshadow changing American social values that turned manifest destiny into a myth. 75 minutes. Unrated. |
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Seven Men From Now
Tuesday, May 6, 6:30 - 9 p.m.
Shown in the Central Library, Level B2 Conference Center |
1956. Directed by Budd Boetticher. Starring Randolph Scott, Lee Marvin.
"An elegantly constructed funeral song for the western, ...muddied up by a clueless family of settlers, a stolen box of stagecoach loot, and Lee Marvin as a magnetic, not-so-bad complement to Scott's not-so-good hero. Ultra-realistic, weathered, fatalistic, and never less than adult, Seven Men ...reforged the dynamics of the genre and cleaned out the mythic baloney, paving the way for Peckinpah, Hellman, and the very idea of an 'anti-western.'" Michael Atkinson for The Village Voice. 78 minutes. Unrated.
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Winchester '73
Tuesday, May 13, 6:30 - 9 p.m.
Shown in the Central Library, Level B2 Conference Center |
1950. Directed by Anthony Mann. Starring James Stewart, Shelley Winters, Rock Hudson.
Echoing the plot of the slick, star-studded 1942 comedy Tales of Manhattan, Winchester plays on the idea that possession is not nine-tenths of the law. Stewart portrays a gunman with revenge on his mind in the first of eight films that he would make with director Anthony Mann. Featuring a large supporting cast, Winchester blends all the ubiquitous elements of the Western genre with darker psychological nuances. 92 minutes. Unrated.
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The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Tuesday, May 20, 6:30 - 9 p.m.
Shown in the Central Library, Level B2 Conference Center |
1962. Directed by John Ford. Starring John Wayne, James Stewart, Vera Miles, Lee Marvin.
"'When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.' That single quote from the film encapsulates the primary theme of John Ford's last great Western, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. What many Americans know about the Old West, they learned through movies directed by John Ford starring John Wayne. Over a period of more than three decades, these two men collaborated on about twenty features, many of which not only fell under the umbrella of, but helped to define, the Western genre. Along with The Searchers, it represents John Ford at his most accomplished. And it is one of the best Westerns Hollywood has ever produced." James Berardinelli for reelreviews.net. 123 minutes. Unrated. |
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The Professionals
Tuesday, May 27, 6:30 - 9 p.m.
Shown in the Central Library, Level B2 Conference Center |
1966. Directed by Richard Brooks. Starring Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, Jack Palance, Claudia Cardinale.
In the chronology of cinema, the Western genre shares space with (and is eventually eclipsed by) the End of the Wild West genre. The Professionals celebrates all the fading glory of the Western – manly men, wide-open spaces, rough justice, women as set pieces – while ushering in with finality the notion that The West is gone, or worse yet, was just a notion in the first place. And perhaps the only truth for a cowboy or a cowgirl is that true love is the river of no return, the real frontier. Still, there's enough shoot 'em up fun for anyone with a hankerin' for the good ole days. 117 minutes. Rated PG-13.
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