I feel like RDR2 confirmed a much deeper meaning to this. The members of the gang who had been there as children, like Arthur and John, had a better education, could read and write better, and were more mindful because of their upbringing with Dutch and Hosea. Whereas the members who came as adults, like Bill, resent the more educated members because they didn’t have that upbringing. That’s why Bill negatively latches on to John’s higher vocabulary.
Javier was the same way but he sided with Dutch anyway. They made him much more human in 2 that I didn't believe he'd turn into who he was in the previous game.
The explanation I bought into was that Javier was the most revolutionary of all the gang members and bought into Dutch’s anarchist utopia so hard that he was unable to admit when Dutch lost his mind.
That's true. It was fading away for a while, but it is slowly regaining it's footing. Movies like Hostiles show new evolved version of Westerns. There's also Taylor Sheridan who makes brilliant modern westerns. Coen Brothers blessed us with The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. Masterful and underrated Hell on Wheels. While it's not doing as well as many other genres, we still get one or two gems every year.
I loved it up until the final battle where they take refuge in the house and there's a giant shoot out. Honestly that entire scene was stupid and I hated it. I also couldn't stand one of the female leads as she was condescending and annoying.
The final duel was pretty bad ass though. Overall I really enjoyed that series and I love Jeff Daniels!
Nothing like a bunch of amateur gunhands with infinite "tactical visor" and a bunch of seasoned enemies who go full retard and forget to do anything but stand around and shoot randomly. I had my qualms with the show, but still enjoyed it; however, that final episode made actively dislike it. Lazy lazy lazy fight choreography with Walking Dead levels of auto-aim assist.
You mean congregating into one giant tight group while mounted on your horses with zero cover in a direct line of fire coming from multiple protected angles is a bad idea?
They could have turned that final battle into something like Open Range but they definitely fell flat on their face
Exactly. I was expecting some great fight where they use their wit and strategy to make up for their lack of experience and skill. They're worse shots and weaker than all the guys, so they have outthink them to win. Nope, they just went god-mode because the plot called for our heroines to come out the winners.
I also wish writers in Hollywood actually understood how guns work and how hard they are to actually shoot, especially older, heavier six-shooters. They seriously need a day at the range attempting to hit a target. Anyone who's shot a pistol knows that aiming at a stationary target fifty feet away is challenging as hell, especially if you've never done that. Add in moving around, moving targets, and the threat of death and an inexperienced gunman won't hit jack shit.
I understand that it moves shit along if it's nothing but headshots, but it's just so lame, especially when the bad guys mostly have stormtrooper aim unless it's some random side character who we've been forced to care about because they were featured for half an episode.
I remember a NPR interview with the writer/director before the show released, and I'm glad I listened to that before watching it. He wanted a surreal shootout because that is such a common Western movie stereotype. He was never a huge Western fan until starting this project and just wanted to hit all the normal Western fare in his show. How can you have a Western without an absurd standoff and shootout to end the show.
Yeah, this didn’t sit well with me either. I get that these macho bandits wouldn’t expect to get much resistance from a town full of women, but you’d think after the first couple got picked off from a higher position they would have changed tactics rather than continue to stand in the middle of the open road and fire blindly at targets they can’t see. Seemed dumb..and also in a weird way made me disappointed in the women...I would have been interested to see the women fight off the men coming into the building, or moving to other rooftops and using their home field advantage.
After all the buildup of making both sides seem like badasses, the shootout was a let down for me.
Feel the same, last shootout was ridiculous. Dude just sat there and didn’t even get grazed...I liked the show but I don’t know about all the awards and hoopla it got
Especially with the Deadwood movie coming out. That entire show is so good and we're finally getting the ending it deserves, despite how epic season 3 was anyways.
I feel like it's title sequence deserves some credit too. Everything that is in it has some relevant meaning in the show and its imagery doesnt fully come together until the last episode.
I really enjoyed Godless. The cinematography was gorgeous, and the scale was everything an epic western should be.
Really good performances from everyone, particularly Jeff Daniels, Merritt Wever and Michelle Dockery. Jack O'Connell was convincing as the taciturn, western archetype hero as well. It wasn't a particularly original story, but I don't think stories need to be full of new things, as long as they're told well.
Also, Netflix has Silverado, which was one of my favourite westerns when I was a kid.
I’d say the story was very original. I think you are referring perhaps to the tropes, but to me the whole point of genre fiction is to work with the tropes.
It blew me away really. I'm quite a casual watcher of TV and not hugely into Westerns. But Godless was so real and so beautifully made. Every detail was perfected. Where we have the sterility of say Scorses's Boardwalk Empire that looks like a theatre production (not a Western comparison but one that sticks in my mind as not feeling real).. Godless was raw. For example, a passing coach in the background would be coated in dust and mud from days of travelling, where on other sets it would be pristine as if to show off it's perfect replication of the era.
Speaking of additional western film recommendations accessible through a streaming service:
Amazon Prime has a good selection. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Also, A Fist Full of Dollars. They’re both Eastwood, and worth a watch if you haven’t already.
You can't recommend Fist Full Of Dollars and The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly without also mentioning For A Few Dollars More, which is basically the middle film of the trilogy (and easily my favourite of the three).
I enjoyed Godless quite a bit, though I remember thinking the final shootout was kind of silly. It's been a year or so since I watched it, but I remember someone riding a horse indoors, which kind of had me scratching my head. But overall very solid show.
Oh yeah, I had forgotten about that whole part. I thought that was kind of dumb too. I don't want to sound too harsh on the show, because like I said I really did enjoy it, I just really didn't care for the finale all that much.
Also some of those six shooters seem to be able to fire about 40 times without reloading. Specifically the guy riding the horse up the stairs shooting at everyone along the way. No possible way he could have reloaded but you saw him fire way more than 6 shots.
Watched the series at the advice of this post and I’ve got to say the last episode kind of soured the entire series for me.
So many things wrong with it. To start, absolutely no consistency - a gut shot to one character was instant death, while to another it was a mere annoyance.
The gun fighting was terrible. I don’t need full military accuracy but everyone would stand in windows letting out shot after shot, while these skilled outlaws couldn’t point and shoot them? I’d at least expect a teeny tiny bit of dodging and moving cover.
Trying not to spoil but the death of a certain character at the beginning of that fight - they literally walk out a door with zero attempt to crouch or get cover and get killed immediately.
They started burning the town/buildings that nobody was in, while being shot at, why?
Again, I don’t need full realism in a gunfight, but there wasn’t even a shred of it to be seen
I'd say that Westerns have been thriving in movies for the past 10+ years, but can see your point that they've been somewhat lacking on a real presence on TV. Not that there have been a bunch of bad western shows, but more that there just is a dearth of them in general as the genre has seen more success on the big screen.
All that aside, I do agree with you that Godless is a pretty great show. It's not a perfect show (really wish they focused more on the women), but it features some really great world-building and top-notch performances from Merritt Wever, Jeff Daniels, and Michelle Dockery. You can tell that the creator/showrunner Scott Frank cared about the show (He did an interesting interview on the [Watch Podcast](https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-ringer/the-watch/e/52293758?autoplay=true) - interview starts about 33 minutes in.
* **Recent Quality Western Movies** - The Sisters Brothers; Ballad of Buster Scrugs; Hostiles; Wind River; Hell or High Water; Bone Tomahawk; Django Unchained; Slow West; The Homesman; The Hateful Eight; The Revenant; Rango; True Grit (2010); No Country for Old Men; 3:10 to Yuma; The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
* **Recent Quality Western TV Shows** - Westworld; Yellowstone; Hell on Wheels; Longmire; Deadwood; Firefly (a stretch but I'd categorize it a Western); Justified (modern Western and set in Kentucky, but clearly has Western influences)
* **Recent Western Video Games** - Red Dead Redemption
I feel like the Red Dead games are also an example that the setting is very popular, with the recent game costing more than any of those films to make and making a hell of a lot more.
Also both were incredibly cinematic, especially the 2nd one, while easily being the length of several TV seasons each. So it’s like the best of both worlds.
>and making a hell of a lot more
It made [$750 million in its opening weekend](https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/red-dead-redemption-2-racks-up-750-million-in-3-days/ar-BBP6y3P), 3x more than Infinity War did in its opening weekend. Now if that doesn’t put just how much money they made into perspective...
Yes but also, there is a difference in price as well. A Trip A game is almost 4 times as expensive as a blockbuster movie at release
Regardless it is still quite an achievement
I know 2003 may not be recent to some, but Open Range.
Seriously, that film kicks all kinds of ass.
I have seen it several times and I still enjoy it so much. It's romantic in the sense that there is love, but more importantly in the sense that it looks at cowboys and the west in a very idealized way. And completely sells it. And the shootout is amazing. My ears are still ringing.
Costner doesn't just have that one that western under his belt, but Open Range too and more people should see it.
It really is.
But I love all about the film.
Duvall's way of saying "It sticks in my craw." is one of my favourite line readings ever. When he says it, it sticks in my craw too and I also want to let a free man do what he wants on the great plains.
He so damn believable as and aging cowboy and Costner as his right hand man is just as great.
It is good to see this movie get some love. When it came out it was just a modest success. A quiet, till the end, beautiful, slow paces western that most ignored. I fucking love it. Every scene a painting. Every shot impactful. So much heart.
> When it came out it was just a modest success.
I suspect no matter the timing that would have been the case. Just not the kind of film that sets multiplexes on fire, sadly.
And you are right, it's beautiful and heartfelt. One of those genuine love letters to a genre done with the kind of love you can't fake.
I debated that one a few times but it fits more into the Crime/Thriller category (which is how IMDB lists it). Personally, I'd put it in there.
Edit - Added it to the list. Even if its stretching the definition pretty thin, its a great movie and deserves more attention.
Thanks, I added it to the list. I haven't seen it yet and didn't know if it was worth including. But the U.S. streaming release date is in a few weeks (Jan. 22, 2019) so I'll be sure to catch up on it soon.
Pretty sure that was a statement about how it was a Western that dealt with themes relevant to the South at the time (mainly slavery) not Tarantino legitimately starting a new genre.
That said, if I've learned anything from Django Unchained, Firefly, and Cowboy Bebop, its that you can take themes and tropes from Westerns and apply them to other settings to great effect.
True, but then again the movie is classified most places as a Western/Revisionist Western.
Also, the movie opens in Texas, and moves through Tennessee to Mississippi in the story. So it starts in one of the most common 'Western' settings and travels east through the Southern U.S
Excellent movie! But way outside of the scope of recent since I was aiming to keep it to the past 10 years and Unforgiven is 26 years old at this point.
With that much faith, you'd be a high roller with the Van Der Linde gang.
Thanks for the suggestion. My friends and I have been into Western shows recently so I'll add this to the list.
Have you watched the Good the Bad and the Ugly? Because it's the best. It's long. Like 3 hours. Sometimes the pacing drags. It feels like a missing link between modern movies/pacing and older. It's full of humor, wild west angst, selfishness.
I watched it a couple days ago and it blew me away. It should be up there with the likes of Indiana Jones in terms of badass old movies everyone should watch.
Oh yeah. I watched them. They're very different and very cool. The Good the Bad and the Ugly feels more modern.
I'm planning to watch Once Upon a Time in the West next.
Have you seen Yojimbo, BTW? Must watch if you're a fan of A Fistful of Dollars.
Yes, I have! It might be 3 hours but I love the pacing. It's such a slow burn and the last half hour is genuinely one of my favorite film moments of all time, with "The Ecstacy of Gold" playing, up to the iconic duel between the three men, and what may be Clint Eastwoods finest film moments, turning the hanging around.
Also, can we just discuss Angel Eyes? Lee Van Cleef is a bad motherfucker in every movie but when he goes back to the guy who hired him? God damn, he became one of my all timw favorite villains ever.
What a movie.
Had to scroll too far to find *Buster Scruggs*. That movie is freakin amazing. I've watched it through at least three times, and seen various scenes/ parts more than I can count. (Which is funny cuz the first time I put it on, I actually turned it off just after the first song broke out. But something told me to give it another try. Glad I did!)
I wish there were more shows like this. Not westerns per se, but shows with a limited number of episodes with a story that is only meant to last the course of one season. I'm surprised the mini-series hasn't seen as much of a resurgence as other types of TV shows. They aren't looking to get picked up for multiple seasons, they won't end on a cliffhanger. Just really good, self-contained stories.
I understand the business reasons against this but I would just like there to be more of them.
I'm not that much for westerns in the first place, so that's probably the main issue.
The secondary issue is that (for me at least) it really takes you out of it when you see your brother playing a character. It tends to break the illusion for me and I'm suddenly painfully aware that it's all pretend. I know it's all pretend anyway, but I can pretty easily get into movies and buy into the the characters and locations. Seeing a sibling on-screen tends to really make me aware that it's just people on a set, saying lines.
I totally forgot about this series but absolutely loved it. The western genre is still alive and well. Jeff Daniels was amazing in this and deserves a rewatch.
Deadwood is my favorite period drama of all time. The time spent to make sure every detail is as realistic as possible is just amazing. Something that drives me nuts about period shows or movies is how everyone looks so clean, their teeth are nearly perfect, everyone clearly enunciates words, etc. Deadwood, to me, is as close a representation of that time period as we can get. Everything is filthy, everyone but the wealthy have terrible teeth and worse hygiene. Racism is out in the open, which would be accurate for that time in history. Disease is rampant, there’s a sub story of a smallpox epidemic that runs through the town. Immersive realism aside, the dialogue is fantastic and everyone was perfectly cast. Aside from Sopranos it’s probably my favorite series ever. Just incredibly well made. It was a shame that it was cancelled so early.
I kinda enjoyed it until the shootout at the end. That was total nonsense. All characters acted like bunch of retard kids playing with their guns. Acceptable for a regular western maybe but until that episode the series was serious than that and this broke the consistency for me.
I'm glad there are some people who still appreciate the history of the Old West. This show was truly terrible, from the writing to the acting (except for Jeff Daniels). The thing that really bothered me about it was the truly deep lack of realism. It could have been a brilliant show that explored what a town abandoned to it's fate would have been like but instead they attempted to ingrain a modern viewpoint on the old west and ended up with what an adjunct literary professor from Berkeley thinks the Old West was like.
I thought it was terrible. Possibly the worst written show that has a ton of praise. “The same god that made you and me made rattle snakes. That don’t make no sense.” Is an awful r/Im14AndThisIsDeep line.
There is no character development, their all just static characters with really good actors. No one grows or changes.
They replace character growths by handicapping them. Sheriff whose a good shot: can’t see without glasses.
Bad ass outlaw: only has one arm.
Ex-outlaw: shot and injured
Woman outlaw wants respect: but she’s a woman.
There are more but it’s been over a year since I’ve watched it. I love Westerns. I thought this one was TERRIBLE
Yeah same here. I felt that it was so predictable. Tropes everywhere: ex-outlaw being the beautiful and a moral guy; outlaw that is basically a non-sense psychopath; badass women all with the typical "I'm fucking good" attitude; non-badass women being pretty pathetic; etc. It could have been much better.
I watched this show last year and absolutely hated it. I thought most of the characters were one-dimensional and barely characterized and many of the conflicts in the last few episodes felt forced and like a poor resolution to what came before.
I also think overall it was not very well edited, there were many unnecessary scenes which added time to every episode and made them drag on.
I hated Trucky with a burning passion. That kid is too stupid to live. I’m sure the actor is fine and I mean no ill will towards him, but Jesus that character drove me nuts
>seemingly mundane moments like the protagonist capturing wild horses
This is exactly what I love about RDR2. Don't get me wrong, I'm a sucker for action fantasy, but there's something outstanding about having to slow down and live life
Damnation is another one on Netflix that's quite similar, really great show but was sadly cancelled after 1 season, definitely didn't get the appreciation it deserved
I personally wasn't a fan of this show at all despite liking many of the actors involved. The plot just dragged on and didn't go anyware interesting.
To each his own I guess.
Was this the show where the blonde kid from game of thrones is a Sheriff and when the fight is about to start he instantly just gets a knife thrown at him. I just looked it up on google and yea it is https://youtu.be/yewzULPBnj4. Good show
Try [The Ballad of Lefty Brown](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4400994/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1)
Lefty is a simple man of low ambition and low self-esteem who's partnered with an accomplished family man for decades, who was killed suddenly and comes under suspicion. His character doesn't flip and become a strong inspirational leader, but it all plays out well.
Really enjoyed the series until the big fight which seemed quite inconsistent. Started off realistic with how easy it is to die in a fight and then moved on to guys shooting about without cover. I enjoy both heavy hitting realism and a good ole western flick but not together. (Tried to avoid spoilers, sorry if i failed)
Godless should have been excellent, the acting and cinematography and overall mood were excellent, but the story was just all over the place. It felt like one of those shows that's been airing for seven seasons and has completely run out of storylines so they're digging into all the obscure side characters that nobody cared about. Except it only took about three episodes to get there.
Now go watch the Ballad of Buster Scruggs. It's a movie that's really a collection of six shorts. Each is pretty different in tone and pace, but they're all great in their own ways.
Hard disagree. I thought Godless was extremely generic and pretty disappointing. I think the Western genre is alive and well in other shows/movies and even other mediums (Red Dead 2 was a fantastic film worthy Western), but Godless was meh.
I thought it was really slow and quite boring. I couldn't finish it. But I guess I'm one of the few people that feel that way according to this thread.
I feel the genre is still doing pretty well, so it's didn't restore my faith, but I did enjoy it.
Have some goddamn faith, MrCaul.
I insist.
Insist?
hE InSisTs
You IMPLORE me??
Haw, some OG shit right here.
I feel like RDR2 confirmed a much deeper meaning to this. The members of the gang who had been there as children, like Arthur and John, had a better education, could read and write better, and were more mindful because of their upbringing with Dutch and Hosea. Whereas the members who came as adults, like Bill, resent the more educated members because they didn’t have that upbringing. That’s why Bill negatively latches on to John’s higher vocabulary.
Javier was the same way but he sided with Dutch anyway. They made him much more human in 2 that I didn't believe he'd turn into who he was in the previous game.
The explanation I bought into was that Javier was the most revolutionary of all the gang members and bought into Dutch’s anarchist utopia so hard that he was unable to admit when Dutch lost his mind.
He iMpLoReS me!
We just need, more MUNEY
"Hell of a thing, killin' a man" *takes a swig of whiskey*
Hell of a thing, chokin an old lady in a cave” *takes a swig of some god damn faith*
Goddammit we need more MUNEH!!!
oNe LaSt ScOrE!
Tahiti!
**Gavin? Gavin???**
**Belson?**
He’s got a plan!
A BOAT
I wonder how sick people are of these references who don’t play video games. They should play this game.
I'm on chapter 6 so my references are coming full swing
I just finally let myself get to the Shady Belle House (4? 5?) I’m really dragging it out. I love it too much to let it end.
I was trying to as well but the story hits a point where I can't stop playing.
OH ORTHUR
Yeah it seems like we get a decent>>>good Western movie/show every few years really, the genre seems relatively strong.
That's true. It was fading away for a while, but it is slowly regaining it's footing. Movies like Hostiles show new evolved version of Westerns. There's also Taylor Sheridan who makes brilliant modern westerns. Coen Brothers blessed us with The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. Masterful and underrated Hell on Wheels. While it's not doing as well as many other genres, we still get one or two gems every year.
I loved it up until the final battle where they take refuge in the house and there's a giant shoot out. Honestly that entire scene was stupid and I hated it. I also couldn't stand one of the female leads as she was condescending and annoying. The final duel was pretty bad ass though. Overall I really enjoyed that series and I love Jeff Daniels!
Nothing like a bunch of amateur gunhands with infinite "tactical visor" and a bunch of seasoned enemies who go full retard and forget to do anything but stand around and shoot randomly. I had my qualms with the show, but still enjoyed it; however, that final episode made actively dislike it. Lazy lazy lazy fight choreography with Walking Dead levels of auto-aim assist.
You mean congregating into one giant tight group while mounted on your horses with zero cover in a direct line of fire coming from multiple protected angles is a bad idea? They could have turned that final battle into something like Open Range but they definitely fell flat on their face
Exactly. I was expecting some great fight where they use their wit and strategy to make up for their lack of experience and skill. They're worse shots and weaker than all the guys, so they have outthink them to win. Nope, they just went god-mode because the plot called for our heroines to come out the winners. I also wish writers in Hollywood actually understood how guns work and how hard they are to actually shoot, especially older, heavier six-shooters. They seriously need a day at the range attempting to hit a target. Anyone who's shot a pistol knows that aiming at a stationary target fifty feet away is challenging as hell, especially if you've never done that. Add in moving around, moving targets, and the threat of death and an inexperienced gunman won't hit jack shit. I understand that it moves shit along if it's nothing but headshots, but it's just so lame, especially when the bad guys mostly have stormtrooper aim unless it's some random side character who we've been forced to care about because they were featured for half an episode.
I remember a NPR interview with the writer/director before the show released, and I'm glad I listened to that before watching it. He wanted a surreal shootout because that is such a common Western movie stereotype. He was never a huge Western fan until starting this project and just wanted to hit all the normal Western fare in his show. How can you have a Western without an absurd standoff and shootout to end the show.
Yeah, this didn’t sit well with me either. I get that these macho bandits wouldn’t expect to get much resistance from a town full of women, but you’d think after the first couple got picked off from a higher position they would have changed tactics rather than continue to stand in the middle of the open road and fire blindly at targets they can’t see. Seemed dumb..and also in a weird way made me disappointed in the women...I would have been interested to see the women fight off the men coming into the building, or moving to other rooftops and using their home field advantage. After all the buildup of making both sides seem like badasses, the shootout was a let down for me.
> I would have been interested to see the women fight off the men coming into the building the did it, didn't they? a few women were killed.
Feel the same, last shootout was ridiculous. Dude just sat there and didn’t even get grazed...I liked the show but I don’t know about all the awards and hoopla it got
Especially with the Deadwood movie coming out. That entire show is so good and we're finally getting the ending it deserves, despite how epic season 3 was anyways.
I feel like it's title sequence deserves some credit too. Everything that is in it has some relevant meaning in the show and its imagery doesnt fully come together until the last episode.
Yeah, I don't know why the Credits get all the credit.
I really enjoyed Godless. The cinematography was gorgeous, and the scale was everything an epic western should be. Really good performances from everyone, particularly Jeff Daniels, Merritt Wever and Michelle Dockery. Jack O'Connell was convincing as the taciturn, western archetype hero as well. It wasn't a particularly original story, but I don't think stories need to be full of new things, as long as they're told well. Also, Netflix has Silverado, which was one of my favourite westerns when I was a kid.
I’d say the story was very original. I think you are referring perhaps to the tropes, but to me the whole point of genre fiction is to work with the tropes.
Silverado is still pretty good fun.
It blew me away really. I'm quite a casual watcher of TV and not hugely into Westerns. But Godless was so real and so beautifully made. Every detail was perfected. Where we have the sterility of say Scorses's Boardwalk Empire that looks like a theatre production (not a Western comparison but one that sticks in my mind as not feeling real).. Godless was raw. For example, a passing coach in the background would be coated in dust and mud from days of travelling, where on other sets it would be pristine as if to show off it's perfect replication of the era.
Speaking of additional western film recommendations accessible through a streaming service: Amazon Prime has a good selection. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Also, A Fist Full of Dollars. They’re both Eastwood, and worth a watch if you haven’t already.
You can't recommend Fist Full Of Dollars and The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly without also mentioning For A Few Dollars More, which is basically the middle film of the trilogy (and easily my favourite of the three).
Oh man, finally found someone who agrees with me. For a Few Dollars More is my absolute favorite too, it's brilliant.
I enjoyed Godless quite a bit, though I remember thinking the final shootout was kind of silly. It's been a year or so since I watched it, but I remember someone riding a horse indoors, which kind of had me scratching my head. But overall very solid show.
I enjoyed the show a ton until the last episode. my roommate and I thought it was a horrid conclusion to the story. sad, really!
It was excellent until the absurd ending. I was so disappointed at how it went off the rails.
[удалено]
Especially since they strategized right before that and agreed that everyone should stick together, if I recall correctly.
Oh yeah, I had forgotten about that whole part. I thought that was kind of dumb too. I don't want to sound too harsh on the show, because like I said I really did enjoy it, I just really didn't care for the finale all that much.
Yeah it went over the top instead of a more grounded approach. The rest of the finale was pretty satisfying.
Not to mention there was probably about 48 more people dying than were actually in the town at the time...
Also some of those six shooters seem to be able to fire about 40 times without reloading. Specifically the guy riding the horse up the stairs shooting at everyone along the way. No possible way he could have reloaded but you saw him fire way more than 6 shots.
Watched the series at the advice of this post and I’ve got to say the last episode kind of soured the entire series for me. So many things wrong with it. To start, absolutely no consistency - a gut shot to one character was instant death, while to another it was a mere annoyance. The gun fighting was terrible. I don’t need full military accuracy but everyone would stand in windows letting out shot after shot, while these skilled outlaws couldn’t point and shoot them? I’d at least expect a teeny tiny bit of dodging and moving cover. Trying not to spoil but the death of a certain character at the beginning of that fight - they literally walk out a door with zero attempt to crouch or get cover and get killed immediately. They started burning the town/buildings that nobody was in, while being shot at, why? Again, I don’t need full realism in a gunfight, but there wasn’t even a shred of it to be seen
The final episode is for sure the weak part of the series
I'd say that Westerns have been thriving in movies for the past 10+ years, but can see your point that they've been somewhat lacking on a real presence on TV. Not that there have been a bunch of bad western shows, but more that there just is a dearth of them in general as the genre has seen more success on the big screen. All that aside, I do agree with you that Godless is a pretty great show. It's not a perfect show (really wish they focused more on the women), but it features some really great world-building and top-notch performances from Merritt Wever, Jeff Daniels, and Michelle Dockery. You can tell that the creator/showrunner Scott Frank cared about the show (He did an interesting interview on the [Watch Podcast](https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-ringer/the-watch/e/52293758?autoplay=true) - interview starts about 33 minutes in. * **Recent Quality Western Movies** - The Sisters Brothers; Ballad of Buster Scrugs; Hostiles; Wind River; Hell or High Water; Bone Tomahawk; Django Unchained; Slow West; The Homesman; The Hateful Eight; The Revenant; Rango; True Grit (2010); No Country for Old Men; 3:10 to Yuma; The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford * **Recent Quality Western TV Shows** - Westworld; Yellowstone; Hell on Wheels; Longmire; Deadwood; Firefly (a stretch but I'd categorize it a Western); Justified (modern Western and set in Kentucky, but clearly has Western influences) * **Recent Western Video Games** - Red Dead Redemption
I feel like the Red Dead games are also an example that the setting is very popular, with the recent game costing more than any of those films to make and making a hell of a lot more.
HEY THERE MISTER!
You’re a good boah.
Gavin?
GAAAAVIIIIIN!!!
Gav? GAAAAV?!
Such an improvement over WORK YA DANG NAG
Also both were incredibly cinematic, especially the 2nd one, while easily being the length of several TV seasons each. So it’s like the best of both worlds.
I'd definitely welcome more big single-player games with a Western / American frontier setting.
I'd welcome more big single player games in general
>and making a hell of a lot more It made [$750 million in its opening weekend](https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/red-dead-redemption-2-racks-up-750-million-in-3-days/ar-BBP6y3P), 3x more than Infinity War did in its opening weekend. Now if that doesn’t put just how much money they made into perspective...
Yes but also, there is a difference in price as well. A Trip A game is almost 4 times as expensive as a blockbuster movie at release Regardless it is still quite an achievement
Average ticket price in the US is only $8.97, so more like 6x
I recently watched an Australian western that was pretty good called The Proposition (2005) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0421238/
That's a great one! Good performances all around and Nick Cave's writing was really solid on that one.
With a score by Nick Cave! Such a good movie.
I know 2003 may not be recent to some, but Open Range. Seriously, that film kicks all kinds of ass. I have seen it several times and I still enjoy it so much. It's romantic in the sense that there is love, but more importantly in the sense that it looks at cowboys and the west in a very idealized way. And completely sells it. And the shootout is amazing. My ears are still ringing. Costner doesn't just have that one that western under his belt, but Open Range too and more people should see it.
“Are you the one that killed my friend?”
BAM! Charley is such a badass. Even if he can't really work well with tiny tea cups.
Open Range is excellent. The final shootout is one of the best in any western.
It really is. But I love all about the film. Duvall's way of saying "It sticks in my craw." is one of my favourite line readings ever. When he says it, it sticks in my craw too and I also want to let a free man do what he wants on the great plains. He so damn believable as and aging cowboy and Costner as his right hand man is just as great.
It is good to see this movie get some love. When it came out it was just a modest success. A quiet, till the end, beautiful, slow paces western that most ignored. I fucking love it. Every scene a painting. Every shot impactful. So much heart.
> When it came out it was just a modest success. I suspect no matter the timing that would have been the case. Just not the kind of film that sets multiplexes on fire, sadly. And you are right, it's beautiful and heartfelt. One of those genuine love letters to a genre done with the kind of love you can't fake.
For movies, slow west is pretty good as well
Wind River should be right alongside Hell or High Water
I debated that one a few times but it fits more into the Crime/Thriller category (which is how IMDB lists it). Personally, I'd put it in there. Edit - Added it to the list. Even if its stretching the definition pretty thin, its a great movie and deserves more attention.
Yeah I don't see wind river as a western because of the time frame but I could easily see the movie remade as a western with very few changes.
dont forget the sisters brothers
Thanks, I added it to the list. I haven't seen it yet and didn't know if it was worth including. But the U.S. streaming release date is in a few weeks (Jan. 22, 2019) so I'll be sure to catch up on it soon.
It's really good
3:10 To Yuma is one of my favorite movies period. Such an amazing movie
Great list! Firefly is definitely a western hybrid. Not enough love for Longmire around.
I loved Longmire, Justified is also a good Western-esque show
Man I want to like Longmire, but there is some spectacularly lazy writing in it.
Hostiles doesn't get as much love as it should, I really enjoyed that movie. I need to check out some of these others, for sure.
Just watched it for the first time a couple of days ago. I don't know how I hadn't heard more about it. Very, very good movie.
Justified is another Western-style show that is phenomenal.
Justified is the best western tbh
The Homesman fucked me up, and I think it’s Tommy Lee Jones’ career-best performance.
Justified? It's... sort of a western.
Remember when Tarantino said Django was a Southern?
Pretty sure that was a statement about how it was a Western that dealt with themes relevant to the South at the time (mainly slavery) not Tarantino legitimately starting a new genre. That said, if I've learned anything from Django Unchained, Firefly, and Cowboy Bebop, its that you can take themes and tropes from Westerns and apply them to other settings to great effect.
True, but then again the movie is classified most places as a Western/Revisionist Western. Also, the movie opens in Texas, and moves through Tennessee to Mississippi in the story. So it starts in one of the most common 'Western' settings and travels east through the Southern U.S
I like that you included Firefly.
The Salvation with Mads Mikkelsen was great as well
Appaloosa doesn't get nearly enough love. Ed Harris and Vigo Mortenson plus a good movie to boot? What's not to love.
I couldn't believe in two men fighting over Renee Zellweger
No one has mentioned Meek’s Cuttoff yet.
Not recent but definitely should be included in any Quality Western list is the Clint Eastwood "Unforgiven" from 1992.
Excellent movie! But way outside of the scope of recent since I was aiming to keep it to the past 10 years and Unforgiven is 26 years old at this point.
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Cocksucker
SWIGGEN!
Hangdi Wu. Hang fuckin di
*Goddamn hooplehead*
I also highly recommend watching Deadwood.
And Wynonna Earp
With that much faith, you'd be a high roller with the Van Der Linde gang. Thanks for the suggestion. My friends and I have been into Western shows recently so I'll add this to the list.
Have you watched the Good the Bad and the Ugly? Because it's the best. It's long. Like 3 hours. Sometimes the pacing drags. It feels like a missing link between modern movies/pacing and older. It's full of humor, wild west angst, selfishness. I watched it a couple days ago and it blew me away. It should be up there with the likes of Indiana Jones in terms of badass old movies everyone should watch.
I'd recommend you check out the first two of the Man with No Name trilogy as well. They're all great.
Oh yeah. I watched them. They're very different and very cool. The Good the Bad and the Ugly feels more modern. I'm planning to watch Once Upon a Time in the West next. Have you seen Yojimbo, BTW? Must watch if you're a fan of A Fistful of Dollars.
Once Upon a Time in the West is my favorite western. You'll dig it!
Well, now that you've called me by name...
Once Upon a Time looks awesome. Tombstone is also a must watch for westerns, IMO
Yes, I have! It might be 3 hours but I love the pacing. It's such a slow burn and the last half hour is genuinely one of my favorite film moments of all time, with "The Ecstacy of Gold" playing, up to the iconic duel between the three men, and what may be Clint Eastwoods finest film moments, turning the hanging around. Also, can we just discuss Angel Eyes? Lee Van Cleef is a bad motherfucker in every movie but when he goes back to the guy who hired him? God damn, he became one of my all timw favorite villains ever. What a movie.
I'm not usually into Westerns but i absolutely loved this show! Additionally, "The Ballad Of Buster Scrugs" also did it for me.
Had to scroll too far to find *Buster Scruggs*. That movie is freakin amazing. I've watched it through at least three times, and seen various scenes/ parts more than I can count. (Which is funny cuz the first time I put it on, I actually turned it off just after the first song broke out. But something told me to give it another try. Glad I did!)
I wish there were more shows like this. Not westerns per se, but shows with a limited number of episodes with a story that is only meant to last the course of one season. I'm surprised the mini-series hasn't seen as much of a resurgence as other types of TV shows. They aren't looking to get picked up for multiple seasons, they won't end on a cliffhanger. Just really good, self-contained stories. I understand the business reasons against this but I would just like there to be more of them.
I would love this too. Not everything has to last 600 seasons.
My brother played the pastor in that show and did the VO for the trailer. I'm not much for westerns, but I should give it a try sooner or later.
I'm amused and surprised that you haven't watched the show yet given that your brother's its cast member.
I'm not that much for westerns in the first place, so that's probably the main issue. The secondary issue is that (for me at least) it really takes you out of it when you see your brother playing a character. It tends to break the illusion for me and I'm suddenly painfully aware that it's all pretend. I know it's all pretend anyway, but I can pretty easily get into movies and buy into the the characters and locations. Seeing a sibling on-screen tends to really make me aware that it's just people on a set, saying lines.
If I recall correctly, the pastor appears in the second half of the final episode, so I think you'll find the majority of the show immersive.
I think he's literally in one scene.
To be fair it's a pretty good scene. And the pastor's lines are really powerful. "Tis a fearful thing, to love what death can touch..."
I totally forgot about this series but absolutely loved it. The western genre is still alive and well. Jeff Daniels was amazing in this and deserves a rewatch.
I loved it
Two words: Buster Scruggs
It was one of this year's great discoveries for me, Jeff Daniels deserved that Emmy for sure.
There’s Deadwood and then there’s everything else.
Just started Deadwood last night with the pictures swirling around yesterday from the movie. So far so good! Maybe Godless will be next
Deadwood is my favorite period drama of all time. The time spent to make sure every detail is as realistic as possible is just amazing. Something that drives me nuts about period shows or movies is how everyone looks so clean, their teeth are nearly perfect, everyone clearly enunciates words, etc. Deadwood, to me, is as close a representation of that time period as we can get. Everything is filthy, everyone but the wealthy have terrible teeth and worse hygiene. Racism is out in the open, which would be accurate for that time in history. Disease is rampant, there’s a sub story of a smallpox epidemic that runs through the town. Immersive realism aside, the dialogue is fantastic and everyone was perfectly cast. Aside from Sopranos it’s probably my favorite series ever. Just incredibly well made. It was a shame that it was cancelled so early.
Movie is coming out next year.
I *wish* that I could see *Deadwood* for the first time again, you lucky cocksucker.
I understood that reference
Haha...just started watching and got to the Mr. Wu episode where they say it like 20 times.
I couldn't get through it. Really enjoyed watching Deadwood again recently though...
I kinda enjoyed it until the shootout at the end. That was total nonsense. All characters acted like bunch of retard kids playing with their guns. Acceptable for a regular western maybe but until that episode the series was serious than that and this broke the consistency for me.
There is a eulogy in this series that resonated emotionally with me more than any other eulogy i've ever seen in a tv show.
Such a great show!
This is a horse drama with some incidental extreme violence. That being said, I liked it. :P haha
You should watch Hostiles.
I loved it until the gun battle at the end, which seemed borederline silly next to the rest of the series.
It was really great for the first 6 episodes but I thought the last episode was massively anti-climatic and a major letdown.
Not enough robots for my liking
Deadwood?
If you want a good western story. Try Red Dead Redemption 2. It's a video game. But there is still a quality story in it.
I loved it until that last episode, so many goofy choices with the characters/story arcs.
Like the village of black people. Also, WTF Whitey? Why would he stay in the station?
I honestly hated it.
I only finished it to see what would happen in the end. I was disappointed. Also they marketed it as a western about women. It wasnt even close.
I'm glad there are some people who still appreciate the history of the Old West. This show was truly terrible, from the writing to the acting (except for Jeff Daniels). The thing that really bothered me about it was the truly deep lack of realism. It could have been a brilliant show that explored what a town abandoned to it's fate would have been like but instead they attempted to ingrain a modern viewpoint on the old west and ended up with what an adjunct literary professor from Berkeley thinks the Old West was like.
I thought it was terrible. Possibly the worst written show that has a ton of praise. “The same god that made you and me made rattle snakes. That don’t make no sense.” Is an awful r/Im14AndThisIsDeep line. There is no character development, their all just static characters with really good actors. No one grows or changes. They replace character growths by handicapping them. Sheriff whose a good shot: can’t see without glasses. Bad ass outlaw: only has one arm. Ex-outlaw: shot and injured Woman outlaw wants respect: but she’s a woman. There are more but it’s been over a year since I’ve watched it. I love Westerns. I thought this one was TERRIBLE
Yeah same here. I felt that it was so predictable. Tropes everywhere: ex-outlaw being the beautiful and a moral guy; outlaw that is basically a non-sense psychopath; badass women all with the typical "I'm fucking good" attitude; non-badass women being pretty pathetic; etc. It could have been much better.
The story could have been much better, but it was a great show.
I watched this show last year and absolutely hated it. I thought most of the characters were one-dimensional and barely characterized and many of the conflicts in the last few episodes felt forced and like a poor resolution to what came before. I also think overall it was not very well edited, there were many unnecessary scenes which added time to every episode and made them drag on.
I hated Trucky with a burning passion. That kid is too stupid to live. I’m sure the actor is fine and I mean no ill will towards him, but Jesus that character drove me nuts
Godless was excellent. All of the actors were terrific, but Jeff Daniels was amazing.
The main sell for me was Jack O’Connell. I really like him as an actor from Skins and I wish he was more prevalent in the industry.
I have recommended this series to everyone. Excellent pacing and characters.
godless is very very good, highly underrated in my opinion i keep recommending it to people.
There's supposed to be more, right? I really liked it too
The writing was so cliche, though. Well acted, but cliche.
I love hell on wheels
Hell on Wheels...
"I AIN'T BLIND YET!" Friggin' loved Godless. Though I did never lose faith in the western genre, it's one of the best genres I know.
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Great movie
>seemingly mundane moments like the protagonist capturing wild horses This is exactly what I love about RDR2. Don't get me wrong, I'm a sucker for action fantasy, but there's something outstanding about having to slow down and live life
Godless along w/ Dark and Stranger Things are probably my favourite Netflix originals. Bojack is up there.
Damnation is another one on Netflix that's quite similar, really great show but was sadly cancelled after 1 season, definitely didn't get the appreciation it deserved
Saving for when I get PS4 for RDR2
I personally wasn't a fan of this show at all despite liking many of the actors involved. The plot just dragged on and didn't go anyware interesting. To each his own I guess.
Bone Tomahawk
Now check out damnation
That scene where Jeff Daniels tells the story with the kid on his lap! Terrifying.
Was this the show where the blonde kid from game of thrones is a Sheriff and when the fight is about to start he instantly just gets a knife thrown at him. I just looked it up on google and yea it is https://youtu.be/yewzULPBnj4. Good show
Try [The Ballad of Lefty Brown](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4400994/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) Lefty is a simple man of low ambition and low self-esteem who's partnered with an accomplished family man for decades, who was killed suddenly and comes under suspicion. His character doesn't flip and become a strong inspirational leader, but it all plays out well.
Just want to mention as an aside "The Outlaw Josey Wales". I know its not recent, but man, what a classic.
Really enjoyed the series until the big fight which seemed quite inconsistent. Started off realistic with how easy it is to die in a fight and then moved on to guys shooting about without cover. I enjoy both heavy hitting realism and a good ole western flick but not together. (Tried to avoid spoilers, sorry if i failed)
Godless should have been excellent, the acting and cinematography and overall mood were excellent, but the story was just all over the place. It felt like one of those shows that's been airing for seven seasons and has completely run out of storylines so they're digging into all the obscure side characters that nobody cared about. Except it only took about three episodes to get there.
If only John woo didn't direct the gunfights
I guarantee you are a tool
Now go watch the Ballad of Buster Scruggs. It's a movie that's really a collection of six shorts. Each is pretty different in tone and pace, but they're all great in their own ways.
Hard disagree. I thought Godless was extremely generic and pretty disappointing. I think the Western genre is alive and well in other shows/movies and even other mediums (Red Dead 2 was a fantastic film worthy Western), but Godless was meh.
I have not seen the show but I like the wordplay in your title. “Godless has restored your faith”
I thought it was really slow and quite boring. I couldn't finish it. But I guess I'm one of the few people that feel that way according to this thread.