New REVIEWS AND OTHERWISE: 1970s WESTERNS: CLINT EASTWOOD/GENRE DECONSTRUCTION

 The latest episode continues my occasional examination of 70s Westerns (essentially the last hurrah for the genre before it became mostly niche product seen in 80s art houses).  First 12 minutes on Clint Eastwood, with a shoutout to Burbank’s LexG and his comprehensive podcast episode on Clint’s career from Sergio Leone’s Man With No Name trilogy to 1990’s THE ROOKIE, which could be regarded (in spirit) as a better farewell to Dirty Harry Callahan than Clint and Buddy Van Horn’s THE DEAD POOL.

Remainder of the episode defines deconstruction of the Western as a conscious veering away from traditional storytelling by way of scripting, aesthetic choices, directorial/actor decisions.  Films discussed include McCABE AND MRS. MILLER, BUFFALO BILL AND THE INDIANS, BAD COMPANY (1972), THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JUDGE ROY BEAN, ZANDY’S BRIDE, THE MISSOURI BREAKS and PAT GARRETT AND BILLY THE KID (with mentions of Sam Peckinpah’s later BRING ME THE HEAD OF ALFREDO GARCIA and CONVOY).

https://open.spotify.com/episode/7pC8HI5tw0s6nlHVC4n88N?si=RZ6tnfK6RoifNrYiRp71NA&dl_branch=1

New REVIEWS AND OTHERWISE: 1970s WESTERNS: THE TWILIGHT OF JOHN WAYNE

 I’ll be doing some non consecutive episodes on the decline of the Hollywood Western in the 1970s.  And, as with genre films in decline, there are some interesting to good ones (largely ignored by audiences) released during this period.

This episode discusses John Wayne’s trajectory from the Oscar-winning peak of TRUE GRIT into the valley of clinging to an outdated image/stubbornly staying at one with his core, tradition-bound audience (one exception being Mark Rydell’s THE COWBOYS, which shocked some 1971-72 viewers with Wayne dying from multiple gunshot wounds by primary villain Bruce Dern).

Also, the 1971 PLAYBOY interview (where Wayne let loose with racist views of Native Americans and racist/patronizing commentary on Black people) is discussed—along with my guess as to why the pushback (and yes, there was criticism at the time) did little damage to Wayne’s career.

Finally, after 1976’s THE SHOOTIST, Wayne said goodbye to the Western genre—as a commercial pitchperson for headache medicine Datril and Great Western Bank.

https://anchor.fm/terry-mccarty/episodes/1970s-WESTERNS-THE-TWILIGHT-OF-JOHN-WAYNE-e12enrl

RIP Sidney Lumet: Serpico Trailer