I bought The Kid as soon as it came out but, for some reason, I didn't wasn't to dive right into it. I heard Ron Hansen refer to Desperadoes, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, and The Kid as the "Outlaw trilogy" and I wanted to go back and re-read the first two before reading The Kid.
Desperadoes is a different type of revisionist western where the author does a ton of primary source research then distills it all into "novel" form. What makes it a novel? Probably that the author has to create some things in order to fill in the established gaps. This research also takes into account previous fictional versions of the story. This does two things. First, it allows the author to try and dig through the myth to the man (which, post-1970's is the trend in exploring the west -- we understand the myth but we want to know what actually happened). Second, it allows the author to interact with and interrogate the previous fictional versions
Hansen stumbles a bit with this mode of fiction (faction?) but the technique will get refined over time (and by authors).
Desperadoes is a little dry at times. Emmett Dalton is the obvious narrator because he lived the longest, but it isn't always a captivating voice. There are a lot of small, intimate scenes peppered throughout the book. These moments are the meat of the book, and where it really shines the most. Like the afternoon spent practicing jumping off of a roof onto their horses. Really, what Desperadoes wants to convey, is that the life of a famous outlaw was more down time and hiding out than committing acts of robbery. That most of the things said in the press weren't true, and they weren't super humans. With that in mind Desperadoes is mostly a success, what is on full display here isn't a myth, but a man.
It seemed to me that Desperadoes had disjointed framing devices. It opens with with old man Emmett Dalton hiding out in his library, from his own party, and being confronted with an eager young man who won't leave him alone. This is never returned to. The ending, however, is a real kick in the teeth.
<b>Recommended</b>
Monday, February 20, 2017
Slow West
Slow West is the best modern western I've seen in years. I've watched it twice already and I love it. Some quick thoughts.
The west was a more diverse place than previous generations of Westerns might have you believe, which isn't to suggest that it was a completely diverse time, but it wasn't just all white males. There were different countries present, different accents, different languages, different cultures. All of this is on full display in Slow West.
Slow West is a gorgeously shot movie. You can pause the movie at almost any point and you will find a beautiful shot that conveys information and understands the film language of westerns.
There is a sly humor present that feels naturally funny without altering the tone of the story. And while it may be designed to bring about some small amount of levity, these moments feel very organic.
Slow West works well with it's audience to create a minimalist product. The audience is expected to know that Silas is the good man who has done bad things; that Jay is the innocent babe in the woods, that Payne is the bad guy and will die. The audience recognizes these tropes because they seen them before in countless westerns. And the filmmakers trust that the audience will have that recognition. That frees the movie from having to show back story and exposition, especially for Silas and Payne. Information about history, relationships, and motive is presents in subtle ways.
The ending - Westerns stories come with a high body count. Even the most bloodless of studio system westerns had a high body count. But the deaths are, by and large, disposable. It happens, it's exciting (or serves a story purpose), then the character (and the audience) move on, either to the next story beat, the end of the story, out of the frame. Slow West's final two shots work really well together. First, you see Silas righting the horseshoe and through narration telling us that he's happy and settled. Then the camera goes briefly to every single person who died over the course of the film, wherever they still lay. It's a reminder to the audience: be happy for Silas, Rose, and the children, but that does not come without a price; all of this lead to that. It's more consideration then most westerns muster.
<b>Highly recommended</b>
The west was a more diverse place than previous generations of Westerns might have you believe, which isn't to suggest that it was a completely diverse time, but it wasn't just all white males. There were different countries present, different accents, different languages, different cultures. All of this is on full display in Slow West.
Slow West is a gorgeously shot movie. You can pause the movie at almost any point and you will find a beautiful shot that conveys information and understands the film language of westerns.
There is a sly humor present that feels naturally funny without altering the tone of the story. And while it may be designed to bring about some small amount of levity, these moments feel very organic.
Slow West works well with it's audience to create a minimalist product. The audience is expected to know that Silas is the good man who has done bad things; that Jay is the innocent babe in the woods, that Payne is the bad guy and will die. The audience recognizes these tropes because they seen them before in countless westerns. And the filmmakers trust that the audience will have that recognition. That frees the movie from having to show back story and exposition, especially for Silas and Payne. Information about history, relationships, and motive is presents in subtle ways.
The ending - Westerns stories come with a high body count. Even the most bloodless of studio system westerns had a high body count. But the deaths are, by and large, disposable. It happens, it's exciting (or serves a story purpose), then the character (and the audience) move on, either to the next story beat, the end of the story, out of the frame. Slow West's final two shots work really well together. First, you see Silas righting the horseshoe and through narration telling us that he's happy and settled. Then the camera goes briefly to every single person who died over the course of the film, wherever they still lay. It's a reminder to the audience: be happy for Silas, Rose, and the children, but that does not come without a price; all of this lead to that. It's more consideration then most westerns muster.
<b>Highly recommended</b>
Monday, January 16, 2017
Epitaph by Mary Doria Russell
Last year Jeff VanderMeer, in his Souther Reach trilogy books, introduced me to the word terroir. It's a great word with broader applications that means "the complete natural environment in which a particular wine is produced, including factors such as the soil, topography, and climate".
Epitaph by Mary Doria Russell is a terroir novel about the Gunfight at the OK Corral. The premise is simple, that the actions at the OK Corral did not happen in a vacuum, they didn't just occur one day. The actions that day were the result of a lot of little things, that built over time, through a the actions of a number of people, all of whom weren't even direct participants in the actual gunfight. Epitaph takes a look at this culmination of events, as they unfold over about a year or so prior and does so with masterful precision. And it is fascinating. You become involved the slow moving collision course with history as each little piece slides into place.
The book does not end with the actual event of the Gunfight at the OK Corral. The gunfight did not end the Earp-Clanton war (which is what it really was) and the war continued after. There were other events, less memorialized, like The Earp Vendetta Ride, the nearly month long campaign where Wyatt Earp left the law behind, took matters into his own hands, and went after The Cowboys. All of it is covered in detail and/or speculation, which ever is appropriate.
Epitaph goes further still and maps out the course of Wyatt Earp's life as it transitioned from fact to myth to fiction.
Highly recommended
Here is a trailer for Hour of the Gun, a under-remembered 1967 movie starring James Garner about the Earp Vengeance Ride
Here is the Gunfight at the OK Corral as depicted in the movie Wyatt Earp
And again in the movie Tombstone
To the extent that people know about the Earp Vendetta Ride it is likely because of this scene from Tombstone
Epitaph by Mary Doria Russell is a terroir novel about the Gunfight at the OK Corral. The premise is simple, that the actions at the OK Corral did not happen in a vacuum, they didn't just occur one day. The actions that day were the result of a lot of little things, that built over time, through a the actions of a number of people, all of whom weren't even direct participants in the actual gunfight. Epitaph takes a look at this culmination of events, as they unfold over about a year or so prior and does so with masterful precision. And it is fascinating. You become involved the slow moving collision course with history as each little piece slides into place.
The book does not end with the actual event of the Gunfight at the OK Corral. The gunfight did not end the Earp-Clanton war (which is what it really was) and the war continued after. There were other events, less memorialized, like The Earp Vendetta Ride, the nearly month long campaign where Wyatt Earp left the law behind, took matters into his own hands, and went after The Cowboys. All of it is covered in detail and/or speculation, which ever is appropriate.
Epitaph goes further still and maps out the course of Wyatt Earp's life as it transitioned from fact to myth to fiction.
Highly recommended
Here is a trailer for Hour of the Gun, a under-remembered 1967 movie starring James Garner about the Earp Vengeance Ride
Here is the Gunfight at the OK Corral as depicted in the movie Wyatt Earp
And again in the movie Tombstone
To the extent that people know about the Earp Vendetta Ride it is likely because of this scene from Tombstone
Sunday, December 11, 2016
Edge books as revisionist westerns?
I've read a couple of the later Edge series western books over the years and I'm thinking about reading some of the earlier ones. This post suggests some revisionist characteristics in the Edge series. Having not read enough of them yet, this doesn't feel like the best comparison, but as I read more of them I'll keep an open mind to the possibility. I'm intrigued to look at the books through that lens.
The post also attempts to draw some broad parallels between the western genre and the fantasy genre.
Edge is billed as a "new kind of Western hero" - a self-consciously revisionist approach to the John Ford / Zane Grey tradition.
True West Magazine's Best of the West books article
One of the questions I think about is the state of the modern western: whether it is dead, dying, or doing just fine. The annual Best of the West article from True West magazine suggests doing just fine. As per usual some of these non-fiction titles jump out at me the most but I'll be looking into some of the fictions ones as well.
Saturday, December 3, 2016
Gunsmoke radio show
Been listening to Gunsmoke the OTR show. I've been really surprised at how great the show is. The storylines are dark and have a psychological depth to them. I think I prefer them, so far, to the episodes I've watched over the years (I've never watched the entire series).
The radio show episodes are widely available. Here they are at the internet archive.
Each episode is timed well for my drive to and from work so they are perfect for the car.
Highly recommended.
The Picadilly Cowboys
Paul Bishop has an informative post on The Picadilly Cowboys, a group of seven UK writers who wrote western series novels starting in the 70's. They really are their own sub-genre. Remember the series names and grab a couple next time you see them at a thrift or used book store.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)