Year:  1959
Genre:  Western, TV series
Country:  United States
Language:  English
Starring:  James Arness, Milburn Stone, Amanda Blake, Dennis Weaver, Ken Curtis
Creators:  John Meston, Norman MacDonnell
Run time:  8 hours 43 minutes
DVD distributor:  Paramount Home Entertainment

     I guess Gunsmoke can’t always follow the same formula.  It’s can’t always be some bad guy who rides into town looking to kill someone, and Marshall Matt Dillon gets in his face and dispenses some old west wisdom and then the guy doesn’t listen and the marshall shoots him.  But SOME of that formula really works.  I do like to watch James Arness shoot folks.  Folks who just won’t listen to reason, or folks who just plain have it comin’.

     And in the Fifth Season, Volume Two of Gunsmoke, out December 13th from Paramount Home Entertainment, I didn’t get to see ANY of that formula until at least the fifth episode!  First, there’s no murder at all, just a big misunderstanding.  Second, it’s CHESTER who shoots the bad guy.  Third, it’s another misunderstanding involving cattle drivers.  Fourth, it’s MISS KITTY who has to kill a dude. 

     And then finally Matt Dillon actually participates in a gunfight in the fifth episode.  (He kills a guy, but he’s at least sad about it.)  Then it’s back to the misunderstandings as the marshall and Chester end up doing all of a farmer’s chores for him instead of arresting him, for a crime it turns out he never actually committed anyway.

     So if you’re looking for Marshall Dillon to shoot a bunch of people, you can pick up any of the DVD sets from Season One Volume One to Season Five Volume One.  That’s nine sets to choose from.  If you’re looking for misunderstandings, comedic con jobs and for the killing to be spread out a little, Season Five Volume Two will be on DVD just in time for Christmas.

Year: 1961, 1962
Genre:  Western, TV series
Country:  United States
Language:  English
Starring:  Clint Eastwood, Eric Fleming, Sheb Wooley, John Ireland, Paul Brinegar
Producer:  Ben Brady
DVD distributor:  Paramount Home Entertainment

Volume Two of the Fourth season of Rawhide comes to DVD November 8th from Paramount Home Entertainment.  It still stars Clint Eastwood, which means it’s still worth watching.  It’s got guest stars like James Coburn, Cesar Romero and Mercedes McCambridge.  And it’s still all about this never-ending cattle drive led by Gil Favor and Rowdy Yates.

You’d think, after four seasons, the cows would have reached their destination.  But then, a lot of crazy stuff could happen on these old cattle drives.  (I know because I saw John Wayne in one of the greatest westerns of all time, Red River.)  In that movie, it took about an hour and a half of screen time to get the beef (or “beeves”, as they call them) from one state to another.  Rawhide could maybe learn something from that kind of progress.  Then again, there is always something that comes up to delay the march.

In Season Four Volume Two, the delays are as varied as ever.  A bunch of hot women destined to be mail-order brides to (presumably) upstanding ranchers are kidnapped by some unscrupulous outlaws who intend to make the women into brides for a bunch of unscrupulous outlaws.  The women are hot, and so need rescuing by Clint Eastwood.  Then some rancher tries to take away (adopt) the trail boss’s children.  Gil Favor (and his two girls) are gonna have none of that.  That one’s creepy, because it initially seems like the rancher is interested in Gil’s super-hot sister-in-law.  But it turns out he’s really after the children.  Then the drive has to pause so they can avert bloodshed between a fort full of soldiers and a Pawnee tribe desperate for freedom.  Not only is Clint Eastwood not around at all for that one, but they also lose one of their key trail hands to military service when it’s all over.  No wonder the cattle drive never gets anywhere on time!

I still like Rawhide, one of the classic TV series that I can put on any time and enjoy.  But the reason to pick up Season Four Volume Two remains Clint Eastwood, who was just starting his film career at this time, with the spaghetti westerns that made him a superstar.  Instead of just another cast member of a better-than-average western TV show in the 60s.  One with the best theme song of all time.  Oh yeah – there’s another reason to pick this up – keep them doggies rollin’….

Year:  1959
Genre:  Western, TV series
Country:  United States
Language:  English
Starring:  James Arness, Milburn Stone, Amanda Blake, Dennis Weaver, Ken Curtis
Creators:  John Meston, Norman MacDonnell
Run time:  8 hours 43 minutes
DVD distributor:  Paramount Home Entertainment

     I have figured out the morality that exists in Gunsmoke.  It took me a while to get a handle on it – five seasons, in point of fact.  Paramount Home Entertainment releases Season Five Volume One on DVD October 11^th, and it’s full of morality plays, all contained neatly in one episode at a time.  James Arness, as always, is the arbiter of that morality, never questioning a decision and apparently never making a wrong one.

     Here’s how it works (I think).  If you’re greedy, you die.  That is, if you murder for money or personal gain.  If you murder for a passionate reason, on the other hand, like the love of a woman, you get arrested and go to jail for a (presumably) long time.  If you rustle cattle, you die.  If, on the other hand, you steal horses, you usually just get beaten up and go to jail. 

     If you’re a woman, (see video above) you are protected at all times no matter how unpleasant you are.  If, on the other hand, you are a murderous woman, you are treated gently on your way to jail.  That applies even to the ugly serial killer sniper woman who murders her husband and tries to murder another man just so people might think men are fighting over her.  Marshall Matt Dillon handles her gently, because he knows she’s just a weak-hearted woman who doesn’t know any better.

     Season Five Volume Two is on the way before Christmas, and I’m sure it will feature more of the same.  Cattle rustlers will be shot, horse thieves will be caught, and more justice will come from the marshal’s pistol than from the hangman’s rope.  The jail in Dodge City will remain empty.  There’s never anyone in the jail, you’ll notice – they’re either shot and dead, or they didn’t do anything bad enough to warrant being locked up.  That’s the morality of Gunsmoke.

Year:  1961
Genre:  TV series, Western
Country:  United States
Language:  English
Starring:  Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, Pernell Roberts, Dan Blocker
Creator:  David Dortort
Director of note:  Robert Altman
Run time:  13 hours, 12 minutes
DVD distributor:  Paramount Home Entertainment

     I don’t know how much there is to say about Bonanza, with this fourth DVD being released October 11th by Paramount Home Entertainment.  Two volumes of season one, two of season two…and it’s Bonanza!  This one opens with Hoss and Joe robbing a bank.  But don’t worry – this is the Cartwrights, and they of course robbed the bank for the best of reasons, and won’t end up in prison or shot or anything. 

     So…a reason to get this DVD, other than the fact that it’s Bonanza and you like old classic TV.  Or you’re 80 years old and it brings back warm fuzzy memories of childhood…Sometimes, when you watch a really old TV show on DVD, you get a chance to pick up some really cool things (if you’re a movie buff).  For example, a very young Kurt Russell appears in an episode during the last volume of The Fugitive.  The third season of Rawhide had an episode where acting legends Peter Lorre and Clint Eastwood shared the screen for the first time ever.

     But in Season Two, Volume Two of Bonanza, there is a new twist for the film buffs out there.  Sure, there are some neat guest stars here and there, like Harry Dean Stanton and George Kennedy.  But the biggest star on the DVD never appears on the screen.  It’s legendary director Robert Altman, who directs the very first episode, “Bank Run”. 

     Robert Altman, who had no film credits to his name yet in 1960.  Robert Altman, who went on to direct some of the greatest movies ever made, like MASH, Nashville, The Long Goodbye, Gosford Park.  The same Robert Altman who has a lifetime achievement Oscar.  And he’s directing an episode of Bonanza!  Actually, he directed a couple more on this DVD as well.  I think three in total.

     When I think about it, it’s not THAT cool or unusual.  Every great director had to start somewhere.  I’m just trying to give you a reason to pick it up.  Otherwise, all I’ve got is hey – it’s Bonanza!  Hoss and Ben and Little Joe and Adam Cartwright and the Ponderosa.  Not that those aren’t good reasons to get Season Two Volume Two.  I love Bonanza.  But dude, Robert Altman!

Year:  2011
Genre:  Comedy, Cartoon, Kids, Western
Country:  United States
Language:  English
Starring (voices):  Johnny Depp, Bill Nighy, Isla Fisher, Timothy Olyphant, Abigail Breslin, Ned Beatty, Alfred Molina, Ray Winstone, Stephen Root, Harry Dean Stanton
Director:  Gore Verbinski
DVD distributor:  Paramount Home Entertainment

     Paramount Home Entertainment releases Rango on July 15th.  It’s an animated kids’ film where Johnny Depp voices Rango, a pet chameleon who ends up stranded in the middle of a western movie in the desert.  It’s a wonderful little movie which conjures up images (and pays tribute to) of some of the greatest western movies ever made, specifically Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns.

     Although the chameleon’s name is Rango, that’s just the name he chooses for himself when he’s put on the spot.  Really, as a pet owned by some family, he has never left his tank, and has never been given a name at all.  And in this way, he recalls the Man With No Name from A Fistful Of Dollars and The Good The Bad And The Ugly.  In fact, there is a character that is clearly meant to be Clint Eastwood AS the “Man With No Name”, who shows up at the end of the movie, voiced by Timothy Olyphant. 

     There are other movie references, most of which will be WAY over the heads of most of the children at whom the movie is mostly aimed.  Some are to other Johnny Depp movies, including one hilarious and pitch-perfect allusion to Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas.  Not a lot of kids have seen Fear And Loathing. 

     Despite the little moments that reference other films, Rango is a true western, through and through.  The chameleon ends up in a desert town populated by birds and toads and other desert creatures.  They carry six-guns and ride roadrunners.  It’s a tough town, and Rango must be tough to survive.  Fancying himself a Shakespearean actor, he pulls off a tough guy routine so well that he gets elected sherriff.  Now he must battle a whole bunch of bad guys in a quest to find out who’s stealing the town’s water.

     Just about everything about Rango works.  The animation is terrific, and even though none of the creatures are dehydrated or dessicated, the drought and lack of water is palpable.  It made me thirsty just watching.  Depp is terrific as the lizard, and the rest of the voices are great as well.  Kids will like it for the slapstick humour and the jokes, adults will appreciate the references to other films, but I like it because I like westerns.  And Rango is a good western.

Year: 1961
Genre:  Western, TV series
Country:  United States
Language:  English
Starring:  Clint Eastwood, Eric Fleming, Sheb Wooley, John Ireland, Paul Brinegar
Guest stars:  Carlos Romero, Ralph Bellamy, Burgess Meredith, Jay Silverheels, Barbara Stanwyck, George Kennedy
Producer:  Ben Brady
DVD distributor:  Paramount Home Entertainment

     Everything you need to know about Rawhide Season Four Volume One you can figure out in the first episode.  The reason you might want to pick this up, when it comes out June 7^th from Paramount Home Entertainment, is that it involves Clint Eastwood.  A very young, pre-Fistful of Dollars Clint Eastwood.  And it’s a western TV show.

     So here’s what you’ll learn in the first episode.  Clint Eastwood, as Rowdy Yates, is going to be a tough guy.  He’s going to give his trademark snarl, and he will stare more than he will talk.  In this episode, he meets his drunken absentee father for the first time in presumably twenty or so years, and ends up facing down a Mexican revolutionary bandit thanks to his father’s greedy criminal behavior.  Several times in the episode, it looks as though things are about to get violent, and Clint’s going to have to do some killin’ with the ol’ six-shooter.  But it never happens!  Only one guy dies, and Clint doesn’t even shoot him!  In fact, at one point, Clint has a showdown with his father where he says “I am NOT a bounty hunter”.

     So that’s what you need to know.  Because I know if you’re gonna get Rawhide you’re doing it for Clint Eastwood.  He’s gonna fight.  And stare.  And he’s gonna be really tough and show a lot of his future badass self.  But he’s not gonna get into any gunfights.  And he’s not gonna kill anyone.  Because he’s a cattle drover, NOT a bounty hunter.

     One more reason you might want to pick up this DVD set.  It seems that every Rawhide volume that gets released has featured at least one major surprise star.  The last one I saw, that star was Peter Lorre.  I’m pretty sure it was the only time Clint Eastwood and Peter Lorre shared the screen in their respective illustrious careers.  This time, Oscar winner George Kennedy (Cool Hand Luke) shows up for an episode…but he isn’t the big surprise star.

     No, that distinction here belongs to the magnificent screen legend, four-time Oscar nominee Barbara Stanwyck (Double Indemnity, Stella Dallas), who shows up for one episode called The Captain’s Wife.  I believe this is also the only time Eastwood and Stanwyck shared a screen.  So…there’s one more reason, all you movie nerds.

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Year:  2010
Genre:  Drama, Western
Country:  United States
Language:  English
Starring:  Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Barry Pepper, Bruce Green
Director:  Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, Coen Brothers
Run time:  110 minutes
DVD distributor:  Paramount Home Entertainment
Related reviews:  True Grit (1969)

     The new True Grit, as done by the Coen Brothers, IS better than the original.  In my recent review of the 1969 movie, I pointed out why it isn’t really as good as people think it is.  And those problems have been addressed in 2010.  Hailee Steinfeld, who plays little Mattie Ross, is vastly superior to Kim Darby in the original.  In that she’s far less irritating and I wasn’t rooting for her to be shot.  That being said, she wasn’t quite Best Supporting Actress worthy, as far as I was concerned, and apparently the Academy agreed.

     Jeff Bridges was up for Best Actor – in the same role for which John Wayne won his only Oscar 42 years ago.  Wayne didn’t deserve that one then, Bridges didn’t now.  It’s just not a role that requires a nuanced performance.  Rooster Cogburn is a tuogh, angry, sloppy drunk with a good heart and a hair trigger, and that’s about it.  Bridges is very good, as was Wayne, but they have both had far better performances in other films.  Where was Bridges’ Oscar love for The Big Lebowski?  Sacrilege!

     And then there’s the Best Picture nom.  Deserving of a nomination, perhaps, but not a win.  The Coens have done some superior work in their time, and No Country For Old Men was a deserving win, no question.  But they too have done much better work than True Grit.  Fargo, for example, came before the Coens had made a big name for themselves, and therefore lost out on Best Picture.  And while I’m at it, where was the love for The Big Lebowski?  Sacrilege!

     Some of the best elements of the original movie are kept in place.  I would have been keenly disappointed if I didn’t hear “fill your hands, you sonofabitch!”, or if Rooster hadn’t fallen off his horse dead drunk.  The sweeping vistas and staggering camera work here actually exceed the success of the original, and I was disappointed that Roger Deakins didn’t win the Oscar for cinematography.  He was doubtless the most deserving candidate this year.

     The Coen Brothers’ True Grit is more than just an amazing looking movie with some good performances.  It’s a reminder of how westerns used to be, and used to look, before spaghetti westerns clouded the line permanently between good guy and bad guy, and then the genre quickly died out under the weight of some pretty poor ideas and Kevin Costner in the 70s and 80s.  The 2010 edition of True Grit feels like a 60s western, and yet still works today.  And that’s good enough for me.  Love it!  True Grit comes out June 7th on DVD from Paramount Home Entertainment.

Year: 1961
Genre:  Western, TV series
Country:  United States
Language:  English
Starring:  Richard Boone, Lisa Lu
Guest stars of note:  Bob Hopkins, John Mitchum, Hal Needham, Jack Elam, Kam Tong, Harry Dean Stanton, George Kennedy, Jeanette Nolan, William Conrad, Bob Woodward, Ken Curtis, Harry Carey Jr,
Creators:  Sam Rolfe, Herb Meadow
Run time:  8 hours, 11 minutes
DVD distributor:  Paramount Home Entertainment

     “Have Gun, Will Travel reads the card of a man…a knight without armour in a savage land…” I had been watching Season Five Volume Two of Have Gun Will Travel, and I’m walking around the house singing the theme song.  It’s a real earworm, after all.  Catchy as hell.  I’m chopping some vegetables, singing away, and I hear from the other room – “a soldier of fortune is the man called Aladdin…” my wife was singing along with me!  What gives?  I was irritated at first that she confused Paladin, the ultimate badass renaissance man with a gun, with the cartoon carpet-flyer who takes advice from Robin Williams.  Then I thought – how the hell does SHE know this song?

     My wife refuses to watch Have Gun Will Travel with me.  It’s a western, you see, and she will not watch a western unless it stars that delightful Matt Damon.  It’s also a pre-1980 TV show, and she won’t watch any of those unless they are Happy Days.  So how could she possibly know this tune?  Well, it turns out I should probably have known it too – the kids are singing it as they walk along the train tracks in Stand By Me.  My wife, the ultimate child of the 80s, has seen Stand By Me about a thousand times.

     Anyway, all this to say that the “Ballad of Paladin” is more well-known today because of that movie than it is because of the actual show itself.  And it’s too bad.  Yes, some of the episodes were ridiculous interpretations of cheesy old stories, like the one on this set where some Russian count comes to America and finds the most dangerous gunfighter in the world (Paladin, of course) in order to hunt him for sport.  Or the irritating episode about the astrologer planning to kill people and take their fortunes.

     But most episodes are top notch, and I have decided after watching a few of these DVD volumes that Paladin is the greatest TV western hero ever, more so even than Matt Dillon.  On Gunsmoke, Dillon saw everything in black and white.  He was the toughest and the fastest and the coolest, but he won most of his battles simply by being more right than everyone else.  And things just fell into place from there.  Paladin has no such luxury.  He also is the fastest and toughest and coolest.  But he’s also the smartest and wisest.  He knows more than just shooting and justice.  He also knows poetry and fine cuisine and tracking and sleeping on a rock under the stars.  He speaks several languages and is familiar with the customs of just about every strange culture he encounters.  He understands politics and moral questions and great literature.  And through all this he remains totally badass and fully cool.

     The greatest western hero on TV comes back to DVD February 22nd from Paramount Home Entertainment as they release Season Five Volume Two of Have Gun Will Travel.  Paladin still gets into some pretty silly situations because not every writer can come up with a gem every time I suppose.  But he remains as cool as ever, some 48 years after hanging up his six guns.

Year:  2010
Genre:  Drama, Western
Country:  United States
Language:  English
Starring:  Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Barry Pepper, Bruce Green
Director:  Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, Coen Brothers
Run time:  110 minutes
Related reviews:  True Grit (1969)

     The new True Grit, as done by the Coen Brothers, IS better than the original.  In my recent review of the 1969 movie, I pointed out why it isn’t really as good as people think it is.  And those problems have been addressed in 2010.  Hailee Steinfeld, who plays little Mattie Ross, is vastly superior to Kim Darby in the original.  In that she’s far less irritating and I wasn’t rooting for her to be shot.  That being said, she isn’t quite Best Supporting Actress worthy, as far as I’m concerned.

     Jeff Bridges is up for Best Actor – in the same role for which John Wayne won his only Oscar 42 years ago.  Wayne didn’t deserve that one then, Bridges doesn’t now.  It’s just not a role that requires a nuanced performance.  Rooster Cogburn is a sloppy drunk with a good heart and a hair trigger, and that’s about it.  Bridges is very good, as was Wayne, but they have both had far better performances in other films.  Where was Bridges’ Oscar love for The Big Lebowski?  Sacrilege!

     And then there’s the Best Picture nom.  Deserving of a nomination, perhaps, but not a win.  The Coens have done some superior work in their time, and No Country For Old Men was a deserving win, no question.  But they too have done much better work than True Grit.  Fargo, for example, came before the Coens had made a big name for themselves, and therefore lost out on Best Picture.  And while I’m at it, where was the love for The Big Lebowski?  Sacrilege!

     Some of the best elements of the original movie are kept in place.  I would have been keenly disappointed if I didn’t hear “fill your hands, you sonofabitch!”, or if Rooster hadn’t fallen off his horse dead drunk.  The sweeping vistas and staggering camera work here actually exceed the success of the original, and if Roger Deakins doesn’t win an Oscar for cinematography, I will be very upset.  He is doubtless the most deserving candidate this year.

     The Coen Brothers’ True Grit is more than just an amazing looking movie with some good performances.  It’s a reminder of how westerns used to be, and used to look, before spaghetti westerns clouded the line permanently between good guy and bad guy, and then the genre quickly died out under the weight of some pretty poor ideas and Kevin Costner in the 70s and 80s.  The 2010 edition of True Grit feels like a 60s western, and yet still works today.  And that’s good enough for me.  Just not good enough for Best Picture.

Year:  1959
Genre:  Western, TV series
Country:  United States
Language:  English
Starring:  James Arness, Milburn Stone, Amanda Blake, Dennis Weaver, Ken Curtis
Creators:  John Meston, Norman MacDonnell
Run time:  8 hours 43 minutes
DVD distributor:  Paramount Home Entertainment

     After the fourth season of Gunsmoke, I’m starting to lose faith.  Like, I get it – Marshall Matt Dillon is a certified badass, the toughest man in the world and the fastest gun and the wisest lawman and he always gets his man.  Or woman.  Or horse or whatever.  All good.  All admirable and cool and if I had been a kid in the 50s I would totally have wanted to be James Arness.

     But when I look at crime statistics these days, the percentage of crimes solved is not the main criteria for quality law enforcement.  No, more emphasis of late has been placed on crime prevention.  And it is in this regard that Marshall Dillon is clearly falling short.  His reputation precedes him – he’s the fastest and the toughest and he’ll gun ya down soon as look at cha.  And yet – no one seems overly concerned.  There is still an AWFUL lot of crime in Dodge City.  And a lot of killin’s and murders and people who want to kill the Marshall himself!

     It has now been four years.  And the crime rate in Dodge City, if anything, has gone UP.  That is not effective policing, I think you will agree.  And it IS tempting to place blame with the rest of the force, ie: Chester.  But on further reflection, I can’t place the blame at the feet of Chester, because the buck must stop with the top man.  And I’m afraid Marshall Dillon just didn’t make the cut.  I assume that the coming seasons of Gunsmoke will see a sharp dip in criminal activity, or Marshall Dillon is sure to lose his job.  There’s only a couple more seasons of Gunsmoke, right?

Year:  1969
Genre:  Western, Classic
Country:  United States
Language:  English
Starring:  John Wayne, Robert Duvall, Dennis Hopper, Strother Martin, Kim Darby, Glen Campbell, Jay Silverheels
Director:  Henry Hathaway
Run time:  128 minutes
DVD distributor:  Paramount Home Entertainment

     True Grit was a competent western.  In fact, it was a pretty good western.  But I must say right off the top that I just don’t think it deserves the acclaim it has received over the years.  Oh, it’s a classic for a reason – there are some good scenes, Rooster Cogburn is one of cinema’s most memorable characters, there are some interesting appearances by a young Robert Duvall and a young Dennis Hopper, “fill your hands, you son of a bitch” is one of the most classic John Wayne lines, and of course this was the movie for which the Duke received his one and only Oscar.

     That being said, the Oscar bestowed upon Wayne here was more of a lifetime achievement award than an actual recognition of his work in this film.  While Cogburn is certainly memorable, he’s not a big stretch for Wayne, who was an easy and natural fit for the role.  Even he seemed a little bemused by his Academy Award, and joked that after a long career with hundreds of films, he had to play a “one-eyed fat man” to finally win.

     I would agree with the Duke there.  Off the top of my head, I can think of dozens of better performances.  Red River, She Wore A Yellow Ribbon, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Quiet Man, the list goes on and on.  And of course, there is the definitive John Wayne movie, maybe the greatest western ever made and (I certainly think) the Duke’s greatest performance, The Searchers.  Any of those movies could have earned him an Oscar, and it would have been well deserved.

     But back to True Grit.  Wayne is solid, the movie is good, and the supporting cast is surprising.  With one major exception – Kim Darby, as 14-year-old Mattie Ross, is the most irritating child character in a movie this side of Edward Furlong in Terminator 2 or that long-haired kid in Dazed And Confused.  She hires Rooster Cogburn to track down the man who killed her father, choosing him for his “true grit”.  Never mind that he’s a sloppy, disgusting, unreliable alcoholic, he has balls and guts and toughness, and that’s what little Mattie wants.  And she’ll guide this buffoon along the trail until the time comes for gunfighting, at which point she’ll just stand aside.  Cool?

     A few little things could have made True Grit better.  A less obnoxious heroine (since Mattie is in the movie as much as Rooster, her annoying persona almost entirely cancels out his compelling persona).  A more interesting bad guy.  More focus on who the bad guy really is.  You know, little things.  And that’s why I’m excited for the remake.

     Obviously, Paramount Home Entertainment is releasing True Grit on Blu-Ray now, December 14th, to help promote their upcoming remake by the Coen Brothers.  (I have no problem with that – I’m excited for the remake too, and I included the new trailer up above.)  The Coen Brothers are, of course, the best film makers working today.  Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and Josh Brolin are three of the best actors in the world.  I have high, high hopes for the new film.  But the idea of a remake here works only because there is a ton of room for improvement over the original.

     Of course, I think you should watch the original movie as well.  It’s on the shelves now, in Blu-Ray form, and the HD is a solid upgrade.  The best thing about the disc is the special features, which include a feature-length commentary and a quick doc about working with John Wayne.  It’s hard to watch this film again without getting overly enthusiastic about the big theatrical release coming up.

Year:  1960
Genre:  TV series, Western
Country:  United States
Language:  English
Starring:  Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, Pernell Roberts, Dan Blocker
Creator:  David Dortort
Run time:  13 hours, 12 minutes
DVD distributor:  Paramount Home Entertainment

     Oh, those Cartwrights.  So good, so honourable, so wise and upstanding, every one of them.  In the first episode of Season Two Volume One, out December 7th from Paramount Home Entertainment, a dangeruos gang of bank robbers holes up and hides out near the Ponderosa.  Through a strange leap in logic and a stretch in plotting, one of the gang members gets himself hired on at the Ponderosa by the Cartwrights so he can spy on the sheriff and the marshalls.

     The Cartwrights immediately accept this stranger as one of their own, and they show him all the kindness, hospitality and friendliness befitting a member of the family.  Only Little Joe is wary of the new hired hand, but the others refuse to listen.  See, they’re all about seeing only the good in people, and no man is guilty until proven guilty, and Little Joe is just sour cause the new guy is a better horse rider and macked on his girl a little, see?

     Soon, the overwhelming kindness and reasonable nature of the Cartwrights – the selflessness of Adam, the jovial friendship of Hoss, and the wise gravitas of Ben – overwhelm this crook.  And before long, he renounces his life of violence, confesses his life story tale of woe, and turns in his evil gang mates all thanks to having met the Greatest Family Who Ever Lived.  Yes, it’s all utterly silly and far-fetched, especially for a 40-minute run time.  But it’s fun, and it’s easy, and it’s Bonanza!

Year: 1961
Genre:  Western, TV series
Country:  United States
Language:  English
Starring:  Richard Boone, Lisa Lu
Guest stars of note:  George Kennedy, Charles Bronson, Duane Eddy, Janet Lake,  Odetta, Hal Needham, Buddy Ebsen
Creators:  Sam Rolfe, Herb Meadow
Run time:  8 hours, 11 minutes
DVD distributor:  Paramount Home Entertainment

     Paladin returns to dispense his brand of questionable justice in Season Five, Volume One of Have Gun Will Travel, out November 30th from Paramount Home Entertainment.  It’s the same as other seasons in that Paladin (Richard Boone) heads off to help someone, advocates non-violence and tells them not to kill, then he recites some poetry by Tennyson or Donne and then he kills everyone.  It’s still weird enough, and compelling enough to be awesome.

     What sets Season Five Volume One apart from other volumes I have seen is the guest list.  The second episode of the season features future Oscar winner George Kennedy (Cool Hand Luke) as a man who may or may not have killed his traveling partner.  The third episode features guitar great Duane Eddy (who does the rendition of the Have Gun Will Travel theme song in the video clip above) as a young man embroiled in a Hatfield-McCoy type feud with another family.

     Then, for the western nerds like me who love this stuff, there’s an episode starring the smoking hot Janet Lake that starts off as a straight take-off on the 3:10 To Yuma story and ends with a bizarre showdown with a bandido in the desert.  Buddy Ebsen, Hal Needham, and the great blues singer Odetta make appearances in various episodes as well.  (Some more than one.)

     But the greatest episode on the set is the one starring Charles Bronson.  Well, in fact, there are two episodes that star Bronson in different roles.  But the one I’m talking about stars Charles Bronson and George Kennedy (making his second appearance on this DVD).  Bronson plays a total wimp.  Yep – you read that right.  A total wimp.  He’s beaten down by his own mother, and lives a quiet life cut off from the rest of society.  He hires Paladin to teach him to fight.

     So Richard Boone shows up to teach Charles Bronson to fight.  Bronson wants to fight George Kennedy.  Because Kennedy has stolen Bronson’s mail-order bride.  Who is a passionate Greek woman driven away by the wimpy Bronson’s mother.  This gives us an opportunity to learn that Paladin (of course) knows Greek, and a chance to watch George Kennedy and Charles Bronson beat each other up.  For me, anyway, that’s reason enough to grab this set of DVDs.

Year:  1970
Genre:  Western
Country:  United States
Language:  English
Starring:  Lee Marvin, Jack Palance, Jim Davis, Jeanne Moreau, Mitchell Ryan, Bo Hopkins, Richard Farnsworth
Director:  William A. Fraker
DVD distributor:  Paramount Home Entertainment

     As Homer Simpson once said, Lee Marvin is always drunk and violent.  That’s true, and I would point to Lee Marvin as an actor who almost never existed on screen outside his comfort zone.  Which is, as Homer so sharply pointed out, a violent drunk.  Monte Walsh is a pleasant surprise in Marvin’s career, in a sense the exception that proves the rule. 

     Now, I’m not going to pretend that Monte Walsh, just now being released on DVD by Paramount Home Entertainment, is a TOTAL departure for Lee Marvin.  After all, he’s still playing a violent drunk who likes his whiskey and his fistfights.  But he gets a chance to flex his acting muscles a little more than usual, in a movie that is both poignant and poetic.  Marvin and his best pal Chet (Jack Palance in a role that’s a departure for him as well, in that he isn’t a villain) go looking for work.

     Monte and Chet must compete with dozens of other cowboys for seasonal work, work which is getting more and more scarce as the west moves on from the old ways.  As the work force gets cut again and again, cowboys are forced to turn to other ways of earning an income.  While Monte manages to hang on to one of the few remaining cowboy jobs, Chet starts working in a hardware store and gets married, leaving Monte behind.  Other cowboys, like Shorty (a terrific Mitch Ryan), turn to crime and bank robbery.

     The slow, elegaic pace of Monte Walsh works well, as the old west moves on and becomes something else.  Monte tries to create a life for himself the way Chet did, but his old flame Martine (Jeanne Moreau) has tuberculosis and isn’t long for the world.  When his old friend Shorty comes back through town and wreaks sad, devastating havoc, Lee Marvin gets drunk and violent once more, saddling up for a final showdown that ends both this movie, and, in a way, the old west itself.

Year:  1959
Genre:  Western, TV series
Country:  United States
Language:  English
Starring:  James Arness, Milburn Stone, Amanda Blake, Dennis Weaver, Ken Curtis
Creators:  John Meston, Norman MacDonnell
DVD distributor:  Paramount Home Entertainment

     On October 5th, Paramount Home Entertainment releases Season Four Volume One of Gunsmoke.  Like the fourth season, each of the first three seasons was split into two volumes.  Now, Gunsmoke ran for 20 years.  That means that if you’re going to collect the entire series, you will have to grab forty volumes.  Which would probably look really cool, all side-by-side on your DVD shelf, but will likely get rather expensive and take a long time to complete.  At the current rate of release, the final volume of the final season of Gunsmoke will be released sometime in 2026.

     Oh well, I have the time.  Besides, I don’t think I can handle that much Gunsmoke – 635 episodes in all – all at once.  After all, every season (so far) has been pretty much exactly the same.  Black-and-white justice, questionable morals and suspect characters.  Matt Dillon (James Arness) is the invincible sherrif, the fastest gun in the world, the toughest of tough guys, the ultimate arbiter of justice and conflict.  The bad guys are seedy lowlifes who either force the situation until they are shot, or get ridden out of town for their transgressions.  And that’s about it.

     The first episode of the fourth season sees Marshall Dillon getting framed for murder.  Of course, we all know that Matt Dillon would gun down an unarmed man from behind!  He’s too good and pure.  But he’d sure gun down several armed men face-to-face.  We’ve seen that many a time.  In this first episode, the feds have to send someone to bring him in.  He’s wanted for murder, after all.  So they send in “Wild Bill Hickock”, an old-west name meant to conjure up the same reverence and fear as Matt Dillon.

     This leads to a really strange, surreal scene which is actually pretty awesome.  Matt Dillon sees Wild Bill (they appear to be old friends), and says something along the lines of “I shoulda known they wouldn’t have sent some greenhorn to pick ME up”, and they hang out and joke and bond over the fact that they’re both total badasses on the right side of the law.  Then they join forces to take down the bad guys.  It’s awesome.  Like, we’re all just supposed to know Wild Bill Hickock – he’s famous!  I guess they’re right, as it turns out.

     The thing is, I have only seen four seasons now of Gunsmoke.  All four have been exactly the same.  I can only assume that for the next sixteen seasons, the same basic formula applied to the show.  So that’s 20 seasons of the same exact thing, episode after episode.  But – it works!  I really don’t mind sitting down and watching ten episodes of Gunsmoke, in a row.  Yes, it’s mindless after a while.  But it’s far better entertainment than A Shot At Love With Tila Tequila, or any number of today’s television shows.

     Some things just work, and well enough to last 20 years.  Gunsmoke was one of them.  After all, AC/DC has been making the same song for 37 years, and I still love listening to it!