"Well little sister..." (Rooster Cogburn)
"I usually go backward when I'm backing up." (Rooster Cogburn)
"The Texas Ranger: ever stalwart." (Le Beef)
I thought it would be fun to watch both versions of True Grit and compare them. I think what would be possibly more interesting now would be to read the book. I get the feeling like neither of and both of these movies are true to the book.
On the whole, I liked the Cohen brothers' movie better. But, I am younger, attuned to Cohen style, and appreciate more modern cut schemes, so I might not be the best judge. I think there is a good deal of value to be understood from someone more schooled in "classic style" cinema.
What I find interesting is the choices that the filmmakers made. In one movie, Mattie loses an arm. In the other she doesn't. In one movie LeBeouf lives, in the other he dies. I don't know what happened in the book, but I would guess that it is not a "somewhere in between" sort of story. So I looked it up, and it turns out that in the book, Mattie loses the arm. I'm having a little trouble understanding why the movie makers would choose to change such a critical outcome of the story. I also wondered a lot about how much the Cohen's wanted to emulate the original? Many of the lines are verbatim.
Here are some other things I learned from watching both movies back to back. John Wayne was just as good an actor as Jeff Bridges. I liked Bridges' character and voice more...but Wayne pulled off swagger in way Bridges could not. I also learned that Matt Damon is a way better actor than Glen Campbell. (Sorry, Glen.) Oh, and seeing Robert Duval and Dennis Hopper's parts played out by different actors but with uncharacteristic procession was very cool.
Ratings:
Cowboys: See them
I eard uuus beeen drwincn too harm: See them
Medicine men bear coats: See them
Bargainers: See it
Those that want to get their way in everything: See it
On a scale from hard tack to flapjacks, I give True Grits 3.9 out of 5 stars.
No comments:
Post a Comment