Wild, Wild, West

Most good things are worth having a thoughtful conversation over.  Movies are no different and neither are the subcategories within the movie world.  Tonight I re-watched, for probably the 50th time (at least), the greatest Western ever made.  I threw out a challenge, more out of the curiosity to see what others thought should be deserving enough of that title, and got a few responses.  Apologies to the fans of Young Guns II, Almost Heroes, and Bad Girls, but there are 5 movies that stand out amongst the greatest ever made in the category of Western.  

5. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Most movie critics will debunk the spaghetti western and not give it the time of day.  I am quite the opposite.  There is something to be said about the entire Man With No Name Trilogy.  The culmination of the entire trilogy is my favorite of the three films and it has everything a fan of a western would want.  What sets this ahead of the films below it is the soundtrack.  Not only the eerily familiar title track but the also popular Ecstasy of Gold that brings the film together at the end.  Eastwood is Eastwood but this movie puts him above his other performances

4. The Proposition

Here's the movie you probably have not seen yet but you need to...immediately.  The 2005 Australian film set in the Outback is not the typical western but it has all of the elements that make it one of the best.  Guy Pearce, who most will remember from his fantastic performance in LA Confidential, is a memorable protagonist caught between the grips of justice and the morals of murder.  Not giving anything away but his struggles with conscience help give the film depth at times when you think it will lose you. 

3. The Searchers

Some might view it as a sacrilege to only have one John Wayne movie in the top 5 for this category.  However, John Ford's masterpiece stands above all the rest.  The AFI has it listed as the number one western ever made, hence the reasoning of a mini-blog like this.  It is my favorite of all the classic westerns and one that can be embraced not only for its stunning cinematography, but for John Wayne not playing the typical John Wayne character.  Like all on this list, if you have not seen it; then you are most certainly missing out.

2. Blazing Saddles

Poke fun all you want at this choice but it is true.  Mel Brooks made the second greatest western ever.  If you look at the elements that make up a western, this one has them all, and then some.  The hilarity of this movie is what moved it up the list but all westerns have some sort of tongue in cheek play on the events going on.  The inside jokes and jabs at Hollywood are more relevant if you knew the times and those they were poking fun at but it still stands the test of time, remaining a movie I will watch if it is on.  

1. Unforgiven

This is what I watched tonight and will probably watch again a couple more times this year.  I love this movie.  It is dark, in your face, and real.  It makes you feel like you could be living in the times of Big Whiskey, Wyoming and amongst a town where if you are not in the sheriff's circle, you should probably not be there at all.  Every actor gives the performance of their career and it only adds to Clint's ability to shoot a beautiful movie.  

Hope you enjoyed my list and insight.  Feel free to comment or rebuke my selections.  I welcome all kinds of healthy debate.  And before you do insist on arguing, please give these titles a shot.  I do not think you will be disappointed.  

Breaking Backs: Mainstream Media's Attempt to Shut Us All Up

Quick, I want everyone to go out and tell grocery stores and magazine stands (do they even have those outside of airports and New York City streets?) to remove EVERY SINGLE COPY OF THE ECONOMIST from their shelves because they said that Saddam Hussein was a great dictator.  It's true.  In 2007, they said of Saddam that he was "one of the last of the 20th century's great dictators, but not the least in terms of egotism, or cruelty, or morbid will to power." Shame on them, right?  From a historian's perspective, absolutely not.  From a logical human being's perspective, no way.  But, from someone looking to make a story out of a sound byte and not the entire quote, The Economist should be banned right along with Catcher in the Rye and students in school should know what a horrible publication they are because they said that Saddam Hussein was a great dictator.

This level of absurdity is nothing new to the American media and it continued recently with the public outcry against Miami Marlins' manager Ozzie Guillen.  Guillen was quoted as saying that he "loved Fidel Castro" and immediately the streets of Miami had a flashback to the days of the Mariel Boatlift. If the educated people in this country bothered to read the rest of the quote (or try and find it since the media conveniently left it out of their stories), they would have seen that Guillen's admiration came from the fact that he could not believe the Cuban President (dictator to America) was still in power after all these years given the harsh conditions he placed his people under.  Guillen was suspended by his team for five games and held a press conference to not only apologize (a move that is now standard whenever someone says something that somebody else does not agree with), but to clarify his statements for the media since his original quote was lost in translation to those who can not imagine that it REALLY does say something about either the man or the system that Castro is still in power.  Jim Norton had a great tweet this morning in which he said "Why aren't Cubans who fled repressive Castro supporting the rights of Guillen to say something they don't agree with?"

Our culture is working against the freedoms they try and protect and they do not even realize it.  Here are some historical facts.  Abraham Lincoln could have cared less about freeing slaves; he was more concerned with the preservation of the Union.  Adolf Hitler returned Germany to the world power it was before World War I in just a few short years.  Saddam Hussein was an anti-Soviet leader in the Middle East and the United States liked that in the middle of the Cold War.  Fidel Castro rose to power behind a revolution in a country that was being used as a stash house and money laundromat for organized crime figures of the 50's and early 60's.  Each of these men hold some sort of place in the history books.  It usually depends on who is writing the history as to how they are viewed.  Lincoln was one of the greatest Presidents that this country has ever seen.  Hitler was one of the worst mass murderers the world will ever know.  Saddam was right behind him.  And Castro has not been worried about by many in the United States since the end of The Cuban Missile Crisis.

Ozzie Guillen said something he believed in.  His complete thought and quote was not far off from a logical truth.  Given the fact that those of us raised in a democratic society have been led to believe our entire lives that anything that is not a democracy is evil, it is not hard to see why the mainstream media was so quick to jump down Ozzie's throat and condemn him for his remarks.  Ozzie has said that he does not agree with Castro's politics.  Coming from Venezuela (another country that is led by a "dictator"), the historian in me tends to think that Ozzie understands what it takes for the men in power to remain in power under different forms of government.  The United States was quick to implement a term limit for the President after Franklin Roosevelt was re-elected twice just in case someone like him ever came along again gained so much popularity that the idea of a "dictator-esque" democracy could not present itself.

In closing I will say something that you may not agree with.  I love Ozzie Guillen.  I love the fact that he says what is on his mind, whether I agree with it or not.  I abhor the fact that the mainstream media makes people afraid to say what they think anymore, just because it might offend someone or someone else might have a dissenting opinion.  To me, the art of conversation and logical debate are a lost art and those in the media who want to be the next one to break the big story or take the partial quote that will light up the front page are to blame.  Shame on you.