Post by kims on Mar 3, 2024 23:29:06 GMT
Finally had a chance to see 2016 version. My opinion is preliminary because I saw it with commercials and that changes the pace and sometimes even the tone of a film.
I saw a making of short for the 1960 version. Lawrence Kasden said it was an economical script. I agree. Britt has maybe 2 or 3 lines? Don't know a back story for him and don't need one. Same for most of the characters. John Carpenter says it's not the best western ever made, but it's the most fun. I agree with that.
2016 version. There was the obligatory one feisty female (is there some quota law?) I was waiting for the townswomen to jump in and join the fight like in the original, didn't happen. there's the problem with seeing the original first. Eli Wallach's (Calvera's) line If they weren't meant to be sheared, God wouldn't have made them sheep-made the 2016 version, but didn't seem to make sense in the context. My usual complaint-too much backstory, too much angst-like dialogue (did people then advertise their feelings as much as we do today?) The epitaph at the end that the seven fought for those who couldn't fight for themselves (shades of A FEW GOOD MEN)seemed rather silly. After all Denzel's character just told about his mother raped and sisters killed by Bogue's men-sounds like he fought for revenge. The 1960 version seemed more plausible to me-the west is settling down and there aren't other gunfighter jobs available to them not that they came to fight for those who can't fight for themselves.
Warren Beatty on TCM maybe as guest programmer or intro-ing REDS, commented that movies more and more use background music for every scene. The music in 2016 version made me curious why someone thought some scenes needed scoring.
2016 version could have used lines trimmed, scenes trimmed and tighter editing. Rather than a developing story, (maybe because of the commercials), the 2016 version appeared like the writers said "oh, let's have a scene of this and this and this; and let's use this line and this; and then they cobbled the story together.
It's still worth a watch, but should have been titled something else.
I saw a making of short for the 1960 version. Lawrence Kasden said it was an economical script. I agree. Britt has maybe 2 or 3 lines? Don't know a back story for him and don't need one. Same for most of the characters. John Carpenter says it's not the best western ever made, but it's the most fun. I agree with that.
2016 version. There was the obligatory one feisty female (is there some quota law?) I was waiting for the townswomen to jump in and join the fight like in the original, didn't happen. there's the problem with seeing the original first. Eli Wallach's (Calvera's) line If they weren't meant to be sheared, God wouldn't have made them sheep-made the 2016 version, but didn't seem to make sense in the context. My usual complaint-too much backstory, too much angst-like dialogue (did people then advertise their feelings as much as we do today?) The epitaph at the end that the seven fought for those who couldn't fight for themselves (shades of A FEW GOOD MEN)seemed rather silly. After all Denzel's character just told about his mother raped and sisters killed by Bogue's men-sounds like he fought for revenge. The 1960 version seemed more plausible to me-the west is settling down and there aren't other gunfighter jobs available to them not that they came to fight for those who can't fight for themselves.
Warren Beatty on TCM maybe as guest programmer or intro-ing REDS, commented that movies more and more use background music for every scene. The music in 2016 version made me curious why someone thought some scenes needed scoring.
2016 version could have used lines trimmed, scenes trimmed and tighter editing. Rather than a developing story, (maybe because of the commercials), the 2016 version appeared like the writers said "oh, let's have a scene of this and this and this; and let's use this line and this; and then they cobbled the story together.
It's still worth a watch, but should have been titled something else.