The Western

Mike Buska

Film Theory

Professor K. Mirror

12/5/2012                                                           

 

 

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

Writer: William Goldman

Director: George Roy Hill

Genre: Western, Action

 

The Searchers (1956)

Writer: Frank S. Nugent, Alan Le May

Director: John Ford

Genre: Western

 

Though similar based on the fact that they are both Westerns, The Searchers and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid are two very different stories. The first, revolving mainly around a civil war vet who kind of plays by his own rules, in search of his niece who is kidnapped by Comanche Indians. The second about a pair of slick train robbers that never want anything to do with the law or corporate jobs as long as they live. The Searchers mostly takes place in Mexico, as John Wayne travels for years to find his niece, little Debbie, while in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Robert Redford and Paul Newman are forced out of the USA  into Bolivia when the law closes in on them.

There is a major difference between the two stories when it comes to the concept of camaraderie. Throughout The Searchers, John Wayne doesn’t really want anything to do with his partner Martin. He seems to be more of an annoyance than anything and even when he is helpful doesn’t get the credit he deserves. In Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the protagonists do bicker a lot and are often sarcastic, even when they are about to die together you can see through the sour language that they are like brothers and do care about each other.

I did however find at times that both movies were slow, a mutual feeling shared by Roger Ebert in his article about Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. “"Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" must have looked like a natural on paper, but, alas, the completed film is slow and disappointing. The problems are two. First, the investment in superstar Paul Newman apparently inspired a bloated production that destroys the pacing. Second, William Goldman's script is constantly too cute and never gets up the nerve, by God, to admit it's a Western.”(Ebert1). Ebert found the movie to be too light hearted and comical to be considered a true western and I agree it could have used a little more grit.

In another article from Film Quarterly, director John Milius speaks of the influence The Searchers has had on him. “The best American movie, and its protagonist –Ethan Edwards is the one classic character in films. I’ve names my own son after him, and seen the film over 60 times”(Henderson 1). The Searchers seems to standout to Milius as well as other great film makers as a staple in American film history, and overall one of the most influential westerns there is.

One big difference I noticed in both these westerns as opposed to other genres of film was the cinematography. There were a number of scenes in both movies that consisted of very wide shots of open plains and rolling hills, while a drama is much more about the expressions of the actors and seems to have much more medium shots and close ups. An extreme comparison would be a movie like The Diving Bell and the Butterfly with countless extreme close up shots and even shots from inside the character’s head while in scenes like the end of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid there are high angle shots  which “have the traditional meaning of making the subject seem inferior”(Barsam 243).

I personally tend to agree with Roger Ebert as far as his review of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and disagree with Brian Henderson’s ideas about The Searchers. I enjoyed the first very little and the second even less, as they were both just not up my alley and The Searchers was especially slow to me. I am not mocking the films based on their technological abilities as I realize it was a different era in the 1950’s and 60’s compared to today, but there were points in both movies that just seemed to drag  and the action that would try to make up for it usually wasn’t enough to peak my interest.

I think it is a generational thing as I asked my dad about the movies and he remembers watching them and loving every second, probably because that was the best there was at the time in the movie industry.  I am not the biggest fan of westerns in general and have not watched any recent ones, and I think when I eventually do it will be a more enjoyable experience.I guess with all the advancement in editing and high quality actors we have today, I as a viewer am just spoiled.

 

               

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                References

 

Ebert, Roger. The Chicago Sun Times, October 13, 1969

Henderson, Brian. Film Quarterly.University of California Press Journals. Winter 1980-1981

Barsam, Richard. Monahan, Dave “Looking At Movies, an introduction to film” W.W. Norton Company Publishing