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Topic: Some more on "Grit"
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Osi Osgood
Film God
Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted June 08, 2011 10:45 AM
Well ...
We rented the film "True Grit" from the Redbox machine last night.
The film certainly wasn't a throwaway. Jeff Bridges was quite good and a paunchy Matt Damon as the Texas Ranger Le Beoff was OK.
However, I really didn't feel aything special about it. OK, I know, I am comparing, even if I don't wish to, with the original, as it's in the back of my mind as I watch ...
... but I got the feeling that even if I had never seen the original, I would think of the "Grit" as a good try, but not too memorable, perhaps one or two views and I'd tune it in if it was on TV, but that's it.
There was another thing that really struck me ... just how much a good score adds to a film.
The Elmer Berstein score for the original "True Grit" has some magnificent set pieces to it, that really enhances the exceitement of the film. As a cdomposer, I listen closely to a score and how it enhances or drags down a film. There were one or two upliftign moments in the score, but it was mostly a case of "minimalism" and it certianly did little to enhance the story.
For instance, in the original, "Mattie Ross" basically had her own theme, as did Rooster. When there was an action scene, the score really rose to the occasion.
In the case of the new "Grit" it just didn't capture my imagination. On a plus side, however, it did stay a little more true to the original story, and that was appreciated. There was one point where I wish that they had "changed the story" (something I sually disapprove of), where they could have had Rooster survive long enough (twenty years later) for Mattie and Rooster to re-unite.
Your opinions, ladies and gentlemen?
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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "
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Osi Osgood
Film God
Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted June 09, 2011 01:30 PM
I agree with you Allan (and the previous post) about some of the mumbling by Jeff. I think Jeff attempted to give a realistic portrayal to Rooster, (perhaps he thought it would be the way the questions would be stated in reality), and I think the Wayne's portrayal had a more "theatric" appeal.
One of the best examples in the film where the film really appeared to drag was when the "new" Rooster was taking the injured Mattie back to get her help. This was place in the original film that both action and music grew to an incredible and emotion charged crescendo. The remake just didn't have that feel.
Another point (which just occured to me), was that in the original, we see Rooster and Mattie growing together as friends. It's a gradual process. I really didn't see that and it almost seems like the Bridge's "Rooster" suddenly seems to care about Mattie at the end.
La Beouff's character just seems to ride off into the sunset in the modern version. What happens to him? We don't know. In the original version, he does get injured in the same way, however, it's a brain injury and is progressive and the scene there, after Mattie is rescued from the pit and strokes his hair, lying next to him, is charged with emotion. We even saw a slight relationship (possibly romantic) between Mattie and Le Beouff. Could they have ended up an item?
All three characters do not seem to have any real connections, emotional or otherwise (in the modern version), and just feel as if they are thrown into this situation together, (which, in fact, they are), but they never grow closer in any realistic way.
OK, i have been balling out this modern version. I must say it wasn't a horrible western, it just doesn't hold a candle to the original.
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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "
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Allan Broadfield
Master Film Handler
Posts: 452
From: Bromley, Kent
Registered: Nov 2010
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posted June 11, 2011 01:09 PM
Today's film makers are striving for a more realistic approach as regards the end product. Scenery, costumes, fashion etc., should be as authentic as possible, and where there's blood it is now shown in abundance. This is exactly what I missed years ago, when I saw, for instance Burt Lancaster playing Wyatt Earp without a moustache, and when Kirk Douglas didn't seem to look enough like Doc. Holiday. Now I think we have the realism at the expense of some of the showmanship. Burt's Wyatt Earp, though not tailored and hirsuite to the correct degree, was equal to the part and carried bags of conviction. The music to 'Gunfight at the ok corral' was stirring and conjured up an exciting atmosphere. The new 'True Grit', however, made an exciting story pedestrian. I had to watch some of it again, as I nodded off at the first showing.
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David Michael Leugers
Master Film Handler
Posts: 264
From: Fairfield, OH, USA
Registered: Feb 2004
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posted June 30, 2011 12:15 PM
Yes it was Osi! I remember it kinda caught some critics by surprise since the public seemed just about done with westerns due to the over saturation of them on earlier TV. Only Gunsmoke and Bonanza were able to wheeze their way into the top 20 shows by 1969. The 1960's were a great time for western fans on the big screen.
Ride the High Country, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Hombre, Cat Ballou, The Sons of Katie Elder, A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, The Professionals, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Hang Em High, and the above 5 mentioned films all left an impression on me when I saw them and still like to see them today.
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Live Free or Die
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