Jun 19, 2012

Fun Western movies



With the upsurge of new Western movies being released by contemporary directors such as Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill), Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Carribean) and the Coen brothers (No Country for Old Men); and the popularity of the video game Red Dead Redemption, it looks like the Western is making a comeback from the $1 bin at the movie store! To help you get excited for Whiskey for My Men, Beer for My Horses, here's a collection of some of the most iconic Western movies. You can kick off your boots and watch some good movies before tasting some ice-cold microbrews and hand-crafted whiskey at the event next Fri., June 29 on Fri., Aug 17.


"Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid" (1973)
by Sam Peckinpah. Starring James Coburn,
Kris Kristofferson,Bob Dylan (image source).
This was filmed on location in Durango,
Mex., and was plagued with production
controversies. Peckinpah released a 1988
version of the film, a product significantly
different from the theatrical version. 


"The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" (1966) by Sergio Leone.
Starring Eli Wallach, Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef. Leone
pioneered the "spaghetti western" sub-genre of the popular
Western style. Many of the spaghetti westerns were shot
in Spain, and the typical production team consisted of an
Italian director, and Spanish, German, and American actors.
"The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" was shot in Italy.






"The Magnificent Seven" (1960) by John Sturges. Starring Yul Brynner, Eli Wallach, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn, Brad Dexter, James Coburn (image source). "The Magnificent Seven" is based on Akira Kurosawa's 1954 film, "Seven Samurai."

"The War Wagon" (1967) by Burt Kennedy. Starring
John Wayne, Kirk Douglas and Howard Keel (image
source). According to John Wayne, the fight scene in
the saloon was his  500th on-screen fight. Just three years
earlier, Wayne had undergone major surgery involving
the removal of his left lung and several ribs, requiring
the use of an oxygen mask during
the early production phases.


"High Noon" (1952) by Fred Zinnemann
Staring Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly,
Thomas Mitchell (image source).
"High Noon" deviated from the standard 
western motifs of violence, action and
picturesque landscape shots because of its
focus on the emotional and moralistic
problems of the plot. The Soviet Union
criticized the film as "a glorification of
the individual"; many American leaders
such as Ronald Reagan, Dwight Eisenhower
and Bill Clinton favored this movie.






"Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (1969) by George Roy Hill.
Starring Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katharine Ross (image source).
In 2003, the United States National Film Registry selected this film for
preservation as being "culturally,  historically, or aesthetically significant."
William Goldman also won the Academy Award for Best Original
Screenplay for the film.


Fri., August 17 | 6 - 9 p.m.
Non-members $25 (FAC Members $20) — $5 discount if you wear a big-ass belt buckle
Tickets online, Box Office 719.634.5583, or at the door


Wild Horses
On view in the first-floor galleries
General museum admission $10
Free for FAC Members

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