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

Mixed feelings re Rod Lurie's remake of STRAW DOGS.

I have a Criterion DVD of Sam Peckinpah's STRAW DOGS at home, but it's not yet (as of this writing) been watched.

But I've read numerous accounts of the film (namely Marshall Fine's behind-the-scenes chapter in his Peckinpah bio BLOODY SAM) and I'm wondering why film critic-turned-filmmaker Rod Lurie not only feels the need to remake STRAW DOGS, but also remake it as what may turn out as little more than a typical Screen Gems "thriller" programmer:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i2b46d200e6140dd06e48d27fcd9248a6

Exhibit A is the Screen Gems release LAKEVIEW TERRACE, which blends Neil LaBute's "are you a real man" schtick with a conventional "good guy takes down bad guy" third act.

To be fair to Rod Lurie, he's a competent if not outstanding filmmaker. And his NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH (a good film--up until an ill-advised ending) deserves to be seen in its DVD/pay-per-view release after the theatrical release was doomed due to business problems of its original distributor (Yari Film Group).

But I don't see Lurie being capable of making a STRAW DOGS that will either stand on its own or be blessed with attention/controversy/debate decades later, as with the Peckinpah original.

In addition to worries about quality or lack thereof one hopes that Sony's micromanagement won't ensure a PG-13 rating for the STRAW DOGS "reimagining,", as occurred with LAKEVIEW TERRACE.