I've been a fan of film for many many years, probably dating back to my early high school years, and those films that have always intrigued me the most are films that go against the norm, break boundaries, and cause me to actually analytically think about what I have just spent an hour and a half or so watching. Directors like David Lynch, Wes Anderson, Ingmar Bergman, just to name a few, have sparked a genuine interest in me for atypical film-making, and have ultimately led to my having discovered some of my favorite films that I otherwise would never have heard of. Subsequently, and perhaps this is an ignorant and stereotypical notion, I have as a general rule had little to no interest in the American Western film, because they seemed to me to all follow a set of rules or standards. Admittedly, I have only seen a handful of them, but of the ones I have seen, they seem to all have the rugged, rough around the edges frontier fugitive, the dashing aristocratic people he becomes involved with, the Indians making appearances at random times to cause chaos, the drunk, and the girl who is for some reason receiving copious amounts of over-chivalrous protection from nearly everyone who is on her side in the film.
I wasn't surprised to learn that the first film we were to watch in this class was a western, because it is widely known that westerns as a genre are one of the most important parts of American film. Furthermore, when I learned that this movie was a movie with John Wayne in it, I was even less interested in watching it, as I had seen some of his other films (though these were made at a decidedly later portion of his career) and found him to be rather bland, bordering on annoying.
Even with all these negative preconceptions of what the film Stagecoach was going to bring to the table, I found it to be reasonably entertaining, and I believe the reason that I found this to be the case is because, unlike most of the other westerns I've seen, Stagecoach contained what seemed to me to be an unusually high frequency of comedic situations. It could be that this is just because the film is somewhat dated: as an example, when Henry Gatewood said "Our national debt is something shocking. Over one billion dollars a year!" I had to force myself not to chuckle. Gatewood also mentions that "We should have a businessman as president". Clearly these, at the time, were not meant to be humorous, but taken with regards to the current state of out government and economy, one can extract a decent amount of mirth from these statements.
Something I also found interesting, and also slightly humorous about the film is with regards to the character of Doc Boone. Boone in the film is rarely sober, he is almost always drunk, and I found this to be interesting because though the people he was travelling with were at times a bit annoyed with him, they seemed more or less accepting of this fact. Perhaps this is because in the film they had no other choice but to accept it, or perhaps this is indicative of the fact that either people at the time the movie was set were more accepting of drunks. Thinking about such a happening in today's society, the events of the film would have been drastically different. What sane and rational woman would allow a drunken, incoherent doctor who's reputation is less than honorable deliver her baby?
Another thing about this film I thought was interesting was the character of Dallas being a prostitute. This is something about the film that I somehow did not pick up on until the class discussion following the screening of the film. I don't recall what exactly it was that gave the audience the impression that she was a prostitute, perhaps I just missed out on something? Regardless, when thinking about it as a plot device, it makes complete sense for her to be a prostitute, as she falls in love with the rule-breaking hard-lined outlaw Ringo, played by John Wayne. To have a woman such as Ms. Mallory, and upstanding Virginian aristocrat fall in love with a rough-around-the-edges outlaw like Ringo would have been silly.
We talked a bit in class about the use of the actors' eyes in the film to convey emotion. I couldn't help but notice this constantly throughout the film, at times their stares at each other seemed so intense and so prolonged to have been almost a bit obtrusive, and maybe even a little bit comical in their intensity. Another thing I noticed about these eye scenes is that whenever there was one between Ringo and Dallas, the camera seemed to get ever so slightly out of focus, to add a bit of softness to the scene- this is something I have seen with a fair deal of regularity in older American films, particularly in films like Casablanca and many of the early romance films. I wonder, since this film was made so early (1939) if it more or less started around this time or if Stagecoach was one of the first films to use such a technique.
In conclusion, Stagecoach proved to me to be an interesting film, and though it is a western, and contains many of the norms and stereotypes of the genre, I did not find it to be boring, as I do most westerns. It was also very interesting to see John Wayne at such a young age. He is much older in most of the films I've seen him in, and I was never able to understand why people found him to be so attractive, but now having seen him as a strapping young lad, I can understand where that comes from.
Stagecoach has been remade twice, once as a television series, and once as another movie.
Link to the second film is here:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061024/
Link to the television series is here:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092003/
It would be interesting to watch both of these, particularly to see how the different eccentricities and aspects of each of the characters involved (particularly Dallas and Doc Boone) had been adapted to suit a new time period in American Film.
I wasn't surprised to learn that the first film we were to watch in this class was a western, because it is widely known that westerns as a genre are one of the most important parts of American film. Furthermore, when I learned that this movie was a movie with John Wayne in it, I was even less interested in watching it, as I had seen some of his other films (though these were made at a decidedly later portion of his career) and found him to be rather bland, bordering on annoying.
Even with all these negative preconceptions of what the film Stagecoach was going to bring to the table, I found it to be reasonably entertaining, and I believe the reason that I found this to be the case is because, unlike most of the other westerns I've seen, Stagecoach contained what seemed to me to be an unusually high frequency of comedic situations. It could be that this is just because the film is somewhat dated: as an example, when Henry Gatewood said "Our national debt is something shocking. Over one billion dollars a year!" I had to force myself not to chuckle. Gatewood also mentions that "We should have a businessman as president". Clearly these, at the time, were not meant to be humorous, but taken with regards to the current state of out government and economy, one can extract a decent amount of mirth from these statements.
Something I also found interesting, and also slightly humorous about the film is with regards to the character of Doc Boone. Boone in the film is rarely sober, he is almost always drunk, and I found this to be interesting because though the people he was travelling with were at times a bit annoyed with him, they seemed more or less accepting of this fact. Perhaps this is because in the film they had no other choice but to accept it, or perhaps this is indicative of the fact that either people at the time the movie was set were more accepting of drunks. Thinking about such a happening in today's society, the events of the film would have been drastically different. What sane and rational woman would allow a drunken, incoherent doctor who's reputation is less than honorable deliver her baby?
Another thing about this film I thought was interesting was the character of Dallas being a prostitute. This is something about the film that I somehow did not pick up on until the class discussion following the screening of the film. I don't recall what exactly it was that gave the audience the impression that she was a prostitute, perhaps I just missed out on something? Regardless, when thinking about it as a plot device, it makes complete sense for her to be a prostitute, as she falls in love with the rule-breaking hard-lined outlaw Ringo, played by John Wayne. To have a woman such as Ms. Mallory, and upstanding Virginian aristocrat fall in love with a rough-around-the-edges outlaw like Ringo would have been silly.
We talked a bit in class about the use of the actors' eyes in the film to convey emotion. I couldn't help but notice this constantly throughout the film, at times their stares at each other seemed so intense and so prolonged to have been almost a bit obtrusive, and maybe even a little bit comical in their intensity. Another thing I noticed about these eye scenes is that whenever there was one between Ringo and Dallas, the camera seemed to get ever so slightly out of focus, to add a bit of softness to the scene- this is something I have seen with a fair deal of regularity in older American films, particularly in films like Casablanca and many of the early romance films. I wonder, since this film was made so early (1939) if it more or less started around this time or if Stagecoach was one of the first films to use such a technique.
In conclusion, Stagecoach proved to me to be an interesting film, and though it is a western, and contains many of the norms and stereotypes of the genre, I did not find it to be boring, as I do most westerns. It was also very interesting to see John Wayne at such a young age. He is much older in most of the films I've seen him in, and I was never able to understand why people found him to be so attractive, but now having seen him as a strapping young lad, I can understand where that comes from.
Stagecoach has been remade twice, once as a television series, and once as another movie.
Link to the second film is here:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061024/
Link to the television series is here:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092003/
It would be interesting to watch both of these, particularly to see how the different eccentricities and aspects of each of the characters involved (particularly Dallas and Doc Boone) had been adapted to suit a new time period in American Film.
Given the directors that you list as interesting, you might have another look at Stagecoach--or any of Ford's films. He's considered a director's director, but it takes several viewings--getting past the plot and characters and into the cinematic elements, to really figure out why. What's most fascinating about this movie isn't the narrative or the stereotypes, but rather the camerawork, framing, blocking, etc. It's a whole different dimension.
ReplyDeleteYea I agree with Perfeser on her post with the camerawork and blocking, I have studied this film in another class and the director's talents are amazing under close inspection, and taking in the year this was made. Good post, and oh yea...Wes Anderson is the man!
ReplyDeleteIn my blog I mentioned a lot about the camera work and I do agree that is what made the film so great to watch. What I liked about your post was how yo described the doctor, and I completely agree with you, why would anyone let a drunken doctor help with the birthing process?
ReplyDeleteI was just watching a Wes Anderson film! LOVE him! but anyways, I agree that some aspects of this movie fell into the stereotypical western genre, however my seeing this as just another western could very much have to do with the fact that I was not really paying attention to camerawork, framing, and the like. I realize these elements are important but sometimes I get more engaged in the subject matter than the cinematography! That is something I hope to change in future viewings.
ReplyDelete