The Wild West on Film
What do you need for a good western film?
Well, it's not that hard to answer this question.
Take a story set between the American Civil War (1861-65) and the Mexican Revolution (1913). There's a plethora of literary works to choose from those eras to fuel your filmmaking ambitions, as the romance of this theme was already quite popular in the early 20th century.
Pick a small frontier town somewhere in the middle of the Wild West, but you could also consider a Mexican, Canadian, Alaskan, or even Australian backwater. The key is to have a saloon, a stable, a general store, a bank, and, of course, a jail. If the storyline demands it, you might need a nearby village of Native American teepees too. Naturally, you won't have to look too far in a real Hollywood film studio to find these settings if that's what your theme calls for.
Assemble a group of quick-witted, famous actors and pair them with some well-developed characters, but don't forget to include some stunning ladies richly blessed with the gifts of nature!
Dress them up in Stetson hats, leather vests or jackets, maybe even long leather dusters. Make sure they all wear boots with spurs, but perhaps the most important accessory should be their trusty six-shooters, hanging at their sides – ready to save the day before they mount their steeds.
Once you have the looks down, it's time for the story. This is where it gets tough because breaking free from established clichés can be challenging.
But it's the creator's decision to fill the circumstances with moral content and objectives. Our hero's mission may be the straightforward rescue of a girl suffering in captivity, but it could also be the defense of justice, or the fulfillment of a family vendetta (as seen in "The Magnificent Seven," "Once Upon a Time in the West," and "The Outlaw Josey Wales").
If we're dealing with an antihero, the situation is quite different. Here, it's often selfish and mostly motivated by material interests rather than noble goals. Let's admit it, there have been quite a number of Western films in this category, perhaps even more than the first type.
Did you know?
The 1903 film "The Great Train Robbery" is considered the first Western film or, at the very least, undeniably the first Western that became a massive American box office success. For those interested in film history, it's worth noting that despite being a hand-colored silent film, "The Great Train Robbery" was the first film to use a "fade," a technique that involved the camera being stopped and started to create the illusion of a scene ending or beginning.
Following the genre's inception, its success remained unbroken. Numerous actors, and in fact, you could almost say most of the biggest stars, dabbled in the world of Western films. To name just a few from this incredible list: John Wayne, Gary Cooper, the future U.S. president Ronald Reagan, Clint Eastwood, Charles Bronson, and even Paul Newman and Robert Redford in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid."
Here we must mention one of the offshoots of Western films originally produced in America, the "Eurowesterns." Since the love for Western films was global, it's perhaps natural that, after a while, their production extended beyond the borders of the United States.
The most significant representatives of Old World Western films were the "spaghetti Westerns," predominantly produced by Italians in the 1960s, 70s, and even the 80s, often featuring American stars.
Despite the initially derogatory term, we would caution anyone against underestimating these works. If for no other reason, then for the fact that one of the most prominent figures in this genre was Sergio Leone. He is responsible for cinematic classics such as "Once Upon a Time in the West" (yes, also an Italian creation) and the famous "Dollars Trilogy," consisting of "A Fistful of Dollars," "For a Few Dollars More," and "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly."
... or to mention another name from the world of spaghetti Westerns: Ennio Morricone, the composer of many brilliant film scores.
Indeed, we can rightfully place these films and their creators among the giants of the genre. There's no question about it!
But the list is still far from complete, as Franco Nero's portrayal in "Keoma" or "Django" also falls under the category of spaghetti Westerns, not to mention the modern-day duo of Bud Spencer and Terence Hill.
Did you know?
Apart from Italy, Western films were shot in numerous European countries, even within the Eastern Bloc and the Soviet Union. These "Red Westerns," also known as "Easterns," had a notable representative in the Yugoslavian Winnetou films' star, Gojko Mitić, who was jokingly referred to as the "KGST Indian" at the time.
Absolutely, to demonstrate that after a decline following the peak of Westerns in the 1970s, the style has experienced a resurgence in recent times, let's not forget about later, and even contemporary Western film examples and names!
Penélope Cruz and Salma Hayek in "Bandidas," "Back to the Future Part III," "Maverick," Kevin Costner dancing with wolves in "Dances with Wolves," "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada," and "3:10 to Yuma" are all examples that should sound familiar to many.
While the historical accuracy of Western films is often questionable, their primary aim isn't necessarily to provide a factual account. We can confidently say that this genre is one of the most popular in the history of filmmaking.
The themes of good versus evil, or the quest for justice, have continued to thrive in genres like modern gangster and police films. However, it's hard to forget the Westerns, and there's no need to. Just pick up a TV guide, and you're likely to find at least one classic Western film that's worth watching.
Enjoy the show!
