April-May DVD Spotlight: Westerns

From now until the end of the semester, Reeves Memorial Library's DVD display will be showcasing that most American of film genres, the western.  It's a genre that's evolved over the decades, as earlier romantic depictions of frontier justice and the settling of the West gave way to revisionist explorations of America's violent past.  We've got silent films like Cecil B. DeMille's The Squaw Man (1914) and Buster Keaton's comedy Go West (1925), and classic spaghetti westerns like Duck You Sucker (1971).  We've even got western-inspired foreign films like Thailand's vividly colorful Tears of the Black Tiger (2000), and the Hindi-language Indian epic Sholay (1975).  Whether you're in the mood for romance, shoot-em-ups, or moody drama, we've got the western for you.

Featured titles include:

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
This character-driven meditation on fame and ambition, about the relationship between the outlaw Jesse James and his future assassin, features breathtaking cinematography and superb performances from an all-star cast, including Brad Pitt as James.

High Noon (1952)
Gary Cooper gives an Oscar-winning lead performance in this suspenseful classic, about a retiring marshal who must face a gang of vengeful outlaws on his own after being abandoned by his cowardly fellow townspeople.

High Plains Drifter (1973)
A high point in the early directorial career of star Clint Eastwood, this film about a stranger hired to protect a remote Western town from outlaws is tinged with elements of the supernatural.

McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)
This offbeat, melancholy gem follows a charismatic gambler and businessman who partners with a professional madam to establish a brothel in a burgeoning Pacific Northwest town, only to run afoul of a greedy mining corporation.

Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
This sprawling, operatic epic, from the great spaghetti western director Sergio Leone, features an all-time great villainous turn from Henry Fonda, as a killer hired to eliminate a local widow whose land lies in the path of the railroad.

The Searchers (1956)
John Ford's hugely influential classic features a career-best performance by John Wayne, as a bitter, bigoted Civil War veteran who spends years tracking his murdered brother's daughters, who were kidnapped by a Comanche raiding party.

The Wild Bunch (1969)
This brutal portrait of an outlaw gang is both shockingly violent and a surprisingly poignant examination of aging and social change at the turn of the 20th century.

Stop by the library and check one out today!