Every year, we find filmmakers who immediately skyrocket to the public consciousness, either through their directorial debut or through making a film that quickly establishes them as essential new voices in the medium. All it takes to pique the audience’s curiosity is one good film – but I’m personally more interested in exploring how they…
Category: western
Doomed at Sundown (1937)
Once you have seen enough of a particular genre, the work starts to blur together. It can seem very repetitive, especially if we are dealing with either the earlier years of Hollywood filmmaking or a genre that didn’t initially allow for much space for exploration and experimentation. Unfortunately, a film like Doomed at Sundown meets…
Frontier Gambler (1956)
Few genres have changed more frequently than the western genre, which consists of clear delineations between periods, with very little overlap unless a film is constructed as an intentional throwback. Another genre in which this has taken place is the film noir, which also reached its peak at some point in the middle of the…
Rainbow Over Texas (1946)
There are a few genres where a filmmaker can either have access to the biggest budget or nearly no budget at all, and the experience won’t be hampered depending on the financial constraints or liberties, but rather on the spirit of the story being told. One such genre is Westerns, which have existed from the…
Slow West (2015)
One of the most bizarre but understandable quirks of the popularity of the Western genre is the fact that so many works glamourized the Old West and presented it as some wildly entertaining, colourful period in the past where life was simpler and people were more eccentric. Naturally, this is all a product of Hollywood’s…
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
“Most of what follows is true” When these words appeared towards the end of the title sequence of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, film entered into a new era, albeit signalling a change that was so subtle, most didn’t even notice it until some distance had been made between this film and the ones…
Goin’ South (1978)
The idea of marrying someone for a particular reason that has nothing to do with love, only to fall in love after the fact, is one that has found its way into cinema at different points, becoming a more common trope that has been replicated a number of times. When Jack Nicholson, in his sophomore…
No Name on the Bullet (1959)
A common sentiment is that if you want a reliable film, get someone who has spent their life perfecting a specific genre to direct it – but if you want a film that turns an entire genre on its head and presents a wildly different image of what can be done within a specific category,…
High Plains Drifter (1973)
He may be a divisive figure based on his political and social views, but in terms of artistic reputation, you rarely find people more iconic than Clint Eastwood, whose talent is only matched by his longevity, his legacy is beyond secure. He is one of those extremely prolific individuals – both as an actor and…
Strange Way of Life (2023)
Nearly anyone of Portuguese descent (particularly those of us who grew up with family members dedicated to preserving every piece of the culture as possible) will be somewhat familiar with Amália Rodrigues and her astonishing voice, particularly in her landmark song, “Estranha forma de vida” (“Strange Way of Life”), in which a cursory glance will…
The Postmodern Pelican 