Western Weekend

For whatever reason, this weekend I got an itch to see some westerns. I'm not a fan of "classic" westerns, like those starring John Wayne. But the more modern westerns such as those from the 90's and onward have caught my interest in recent years.

On Saturday my wife and I watched "Unforgiven". Her first time and my second. And on Sunday I watched "A Fistful Of Dollars", Clint Eastwood's first western flick, for the first time! (I may have to watch his others now, too!)

I think some of the appeal must be from my love of dark fantasy. In westerns they've got very little technology, ride around on horses, and themes of justice or vengeance are front and center. (And the guns are a little bit like "magic", especially the way Hollywood uses them.)

Although it doesn't perfectly fit the genre, I think my favorite western is "The Last Man Standing", with Bruce Willis, based on "A Fistful Of Dollars" (which in turn was based on a Japanese film called "Yojimbo"). "Last Man" is possibly the coolest gun fighting movie I've ever seen. It may be time to pull it off my shelf for another viewing soon!