Genre Films: Western

Lee Van Cleef is a total badass and Clint Eastwood is the coolest man alive, no doubt.

Pike Bishop: [talking about the railroad] There was a man named Harrigan. Used to have a way of doin' things. I made him change his ways. A hell of a lot of people, Dutch, just can't stand to be wrong.
Dutch Engstrom: Pride.
Pike Bishop: And they can't forget it... that pride... being wrong. Or learn by it
Dutch Engstrom: How 'bout us, Pike? You reckon we learned - bein' wrong, today?
Pike Bishop: I sure hope to God we did.

There are essentially three masterminds behind the Western genre: John Wayne, Sergio Leone, and Sam Peckinpah. All three of these men contributed greatly to the genre in one way or another. Wayne was the iconic figure for almost all Westerns until around the 1960's, giving the feel that Westerns were supposed to have, one of a more mythical approach. Leone created the Spaghetti western and to that extent, shaped Westerns for the next few decades. From there, other branches of the Western, like Dances With Wolves, started to appear in the 90's and to this day Westerns do not see the success they once have, but every once in a while a shining gem will appear. But in 1969, Peckinpah bravely came out with his new film that shattered the false fantasies that all of John Wayne films had in it, showing the true nature of the "Wild West".

The Wild Bunch released with a huge amount of controversy around it. The violence was unprecedented at the time in movies (boy did they have a surprise waiting for them in 2 years) and people like John Wayne discredited Peckinpah for breaking the myth of the Old West.

I SAVED MY REVIEW AND NOW ITS NOT HERE SO FUCK IT. The movie is great, not better than The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly and Once Upon a Time in the West, but still one of the best Westerns of all time that showed the world that the Old West was not so glorious. There was only chaos and destruction.

Ten Bears: [in Lakota] The white men who wore this came around the time of my grandfather's grandfather. Eventually we drove them out. Then the Mexicans came. But they do not come here any more. In my own time, the Texans. They have been like all the others. They take without asking. But I think you are right. I think they will keep coming. When I think of that, I look at this helmet. I don't know if we are ready for these people. Our country is all that we have, and we will fight to keep it.

I have to give Costner this. Out of all the horrible performances he's given, he never actually ruins a good movie. And surprisingly, he can make a decent movie as well. I'm not throughly convinced Costner can act his way out of a hat, unlike Nicholas Cage who has equally bad (if not worse) performances but still comes out with some incredible stuff like Adaptation, and it shows in this movie. I couldn't honestly tell you who would fit his role well, but it's definitely not him. Most of the scenes where the focus is on the Native Americans, or even on the beautiful landscapes Costner films, the film shines as something exceptional. But as it stands, the film has some serious flaws due to it's main reason for being, Kevin Costner.

Sincere, capable, at times moving, but overextended, this picture is seriously hampered by its tendency to linger over everything -- especially landscapes with silhouetted figures, and not excluding its own good intentions. Costner tends to look at something, whether it be the beautiful landscape or a filthy cup, and sometimes spend five minutes talking about it, paralleling it to situations or events that the audience just does not care about. Clocking in around four hours, you can see how this could become tiring.

The story revolves Lieutenant John Dunbar (Kevin Costner) who gets exiled to a remote western Civil War outpost after his eccentric behavior in the field of war. While there, Dunbar comes to realize the beauty and significance of the land the soldiers are taking from the Indian. He soon makes friends with one of the local tribes, after breaking the boundary of communication that would have stopped most other people from attempting to reach a common ground with the people. Dunbar finds help communicating with the leader, Ten Bears, through the use of a white settler turned Ponche, McDonnell's character, who he eventually falls in love with. Throughout most of the movie he develops a deep bond with the tribe members and helps them avoid the persecution of the army, at the risk of his own safety. By the end, Ten Bears comes to the realization that his tribes and the rest of the Native Americans will continue to run until there is no where left to run, as Dunbar and Mary ride off into the unknown future.

Costner's sincerity in making this film helps propel the film past an atrocity into something truly moving. The Indians like Ten Bears and Two Socks show a personal and humane approach to the way the peaceful tribes only strove to keep their land in an increasingly white, European dominated land. So the acting from the Indian actors are incredible, but what about the two main leads, Costner and Mary McDonnell? Well Costner has the same apathetic and pathetic style of acting as he has in every other movie, but manages to give some sort of enjoyment when he is around his Indian companions. McDonnell on the other hand, does the best with what she has and give a captivating performance as the confused white girl who was raised by Native Americans. Her journey's pretty incredible throughout the movie. She hasn't really been in much, except the phenomenal Battlestar Galactica, but she does great in what little she's in.

Review to be continued....