American Cinema Schedule
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Today – Finish Movie #2 – start Westerns – Western #1
Wednesday – Western #1 – Film Noir due
Thursday – Finish Western #1 – Western #2
Friday – Finish Western #2
Monday – Western #3
Tuesday – Finish Western #3
Wednesday – Turn in Western Reviews – Film Noir and Westerns test
Thursday – Seniors shadowing – make-up day
Friday – No school (Fall Break)
Western Movies
The Making of the West
“As far as I’m concerned, Americans don’t
have any original art except western
movies and jazz…”
Clint Eastwood
An Overview
• Major defining genre of American film
industry
• Nostalgic look at days of the untamed
American frontier
• One of the oldest, most enduring and
flexible genres
• One of the most characteristically
American genres
• Nostalgic historical feel
Setting and Time
• Set in the American West
• Almost always in the 19th Century (1800’s)
• Often incorporate the Civil War into the film directly, or
the background
• May extend further back into the colonial period or
forward into the mid-twentieth century
• May range geographically from Mexico to Canada –
Usually set against stunning American landscapes
• Stress the harshness of the landscape, or juxtapose the
beauty of it with the dirtiness of a town
Some possible
locations
•
•
•
•
•
Isolated forts
Ranch houses
Isolated homestead
Saloon
Jail
The Hero
Typical traits
• Often semi–nomadic
characters
• Sole possessions consist
of clothing, a gun and
maybe a horse
Traditional Western
Heroes
• local lawmen
• ranchers
• army officers
• cowboys
• territorial marshals
• skilled, fast-draw
gunfighter
Traditional Elements
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Hostile elements (often Native Americans)
Guns and gun fights
Violence and human massacres
Horses
Trains (and train robberies)
Bank robberies and holdups
Runaway stage coaches
Shoot-outs and showdowns
Depicts code of honor rather than law
Social status through acts of violence, or generosity
Traditional Elements
continued
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Outlaws and sheriffs
Cattle drives and cattle rustling
Stampedes
Posses in pursuit
Barroom brawls
Breathtaking settings and open landscapes
Distinctive western clothing (denim, jeans, boots,
etc.)
Spaghetti Westerns
• Revival of the western genre in Italy (1960’s)
• Low budget films
• Locations chosen for their cheapness, and
similarity to American mid-West (southern Spain
was often chosen)
• More action and violence than Hollywood
westerns
• Clint Eastwood started his career in these
Revisionist Westerns
• Questioned the role of native as a savage
• Questioned the hero versus villain theme
• Some gave women much larger roles
Our Films
• The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance –
1962 – John Ford
• The Outlaw Josey Whales – 1976 – Clint
Eastwood
• True Grit – 2010 – Ethan and Joel Coen