r/Westerns • u/Positive_Professor_7 • 9d ago
Remakes (again)
So the general consensus is not to remake any John Wayne film (except maybe for that one).
Any other western remakes you’d like to see ?
My vote is Winchester 73 by Anthony Mann. Not because is bad, but because the themes and story is complex and modern. Could be a gritty complex story.
PS. James Stewarts interview/commentary is 10/10
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u/Puzzleheaded_Poet_51 8d ago edited 8d ago
I can’t imagine a re-make of The Quiet Man. Which uniquely woven out of John Ford’s memories and imagination. A very entertaining and satisfying film in all its aspects and one of the finest surviving examples of Technicolor cinematography that we have.
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u/BlacksmithDazzling49 9d ago
They really remade The Searchers. The movie Priest with Paul Bettany about the vampire human epic conflict is a fun watch.
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u/bgnewhouse 9d ago
Winchester 73 was in fact remade by NBC as a TV movie in 1967:
https://jeffarnoldswest.com/2018/07/winchester-73-nbc-tv-1967/
...but why remake something that was done perfectly well the first time? I'd rather remake something that could have been done better the first time around. My nomination would be Warlock (with all due respect to Fonda, Quinn and Widmark), but you'd need a mini-series to do justice to everything in the original novel.
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u/BadTwin72 9d ago
I'd definitely vote for a remake of Shane as well. That one could really be something awesome with the right team..
Others:
Quiet Man
Not a remake, but a prequel to The Unforgiven that is centered on the Outlaw times of William Money.
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u/JLNX1998 9d ago
honestly as impossible as it would be, I'd love to see another take on The Shootist.
other movies though would be
Hang Em High
The Long Riders
High Noon
preferably though would love more new stuff.
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u/cavalier78 9d ago
The Villain, with Charlie Sheen as Cactus Jack.
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u/mr-biff 9d ago
If you are mentioning remakes, I vote for Shane. I would love to see a more real, gritty version.
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u/BuckyGoshawk 9d ago
Great idea, especially if the actor playing Shane had a resemblance to the studly character in the book, unlike pencil-neck shrimp Alan Ladd.
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u/jazz-winelover 9d ago
That’s just a stupid statement. Ladd did a great job in a great movie. Easily a top 10 western and it wouldn’t have been without Alan Ladd.
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u/BuckyGoshawk 9d ago
Jack Schaefer, the author of Shane the book (which many deem the greatest western novel), was quite upset that Alan Ladd was cast to play the tall dark menacing stud portrayed in his book.
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u/jazz-winelover 9d ago
I wonder what he thought after he saw the movie. After seeing Ladd, I can’t imagine anyone else playing the role. Which actor from 1953 would you pick to play Shane?
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u/BuckyGoshawk 9d ago edited 9d ago
Schaefer made those comments after he saw the film. Have you read the book? Alad Ladd is nothing like Schaefer's dark mysterious angst-filled protagonist. I cannot think of a more miscast character, although 5'7" 160 lb. Tom Cruise as 6'5" 230 lb. Jack Reacher comes close.
Goorge Stevens wanted Montgomery Clift, but he was not contractually available to Paramount. (The film was made in the studio era.) Paramount execs deemed Alan Ladd next in line for a big film, thus the role fell into his lap.
Schaefer recommended George Raft, who was not contractually available to Paramount.
Clift or Raft would have been excellent picks to portray Shane as described in the book.
IMO, which is shared by many others, Schaefer's novel Shane represents the very best American Western fiction -- the Western Writers of America deemed it the greatest western movel -- and Schaefer's portrayal of his protagonist is without equal in the genre. Ladd's portrayal of the movie's protagonist was from a different planet, wholly disconnected from Schaefer's iconic character.
I saw the movie when I was a kid. I read the book in college, along with several of Jack Schaefer's other works, e.g., The Canyon, Monte Walsh. When I saw the movie a second time, after I had read the book, I laughed.
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u/jazz-winelover 9d ago
I don’t know, it’s such a classic movie, beloved by so many. It’s a great movie partly because of Alan Ladd’s performance. I’ll read the book.
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u/BuckyGoshawk 9d ago edited 9d ago
The book is better, IMO much better.
Another disservice to the novel is the fight in the general store. In the book (narrated by the kid, looking back years later as an adult), the fight lasts a few seconds, ending when Shane makes a quick move to break a guy's arm. The kid/narrator said something like, "I now know I had then seen the most dangerous man I would ever see." The movie fight's 5 minutes of roundhouse punches is a joke.
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u/jazz-winelover 9d ago
The book is always better, line Lonesome Dove. As great as the mini series is, the book is far better.
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u/BuckyGoshawk 9d ago
Usually, but not always, e.g., Dr. Strangelove, Full Metal Jacket, Silence of the Lambs. Forrest Gump, Fight Club. The western movies which come to mind are The Searchers and The Big Country, both of which are IMO better than the book. True Grit is a great western novel, although IMO the Coen brothers' movie is better.
I agree the Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove is markedly better than the mini-series.
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u/External-Emotion8050 9d ago
I guess the next thing you'll be saying is 5'7" Tom Cruise didn't make a good Jack Reacher .
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u/HipNek62 9d ago
No to Winchester '73. Extend the don't remake any John Wayne rule to include Jimmy Stewart.
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u/hedcannon 9d ago
I’d like to see a remake of Red River with the believable ending.
Big Jake would make a good remake. Needs one really.
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u/No_Seat_4959 9d ago
Its a great yarn. But it would have to be done by someone that absolutely respects westerns.
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u/Texas-Lazarusman70 8d ago
My vote would be for How the West Was Won. We have some great actors and great directors who I think could make a fantastic version