by Pa Rock
Film Connoisseur
Out of all of the Oscar-nominated films this year (and ten are way too many!), the only one that I have managed to view on this remote Pacific coral reef is True Grit. Two friends from work and I had a guys' night out last Tuesday and went to see the Coen brother's remake of the 1969 classic. And...it was really, really good - and gritty!
I saw the original movie back in the day, but so much time has passed since then that I was fuzzy on details. John Wayne won the Academy Award for Best Actor in that film, his only win in a long history as a lead actor. Six years later (1975) he did a sequel entitled Rooster Cogburn, the name of the Duke's character in True Grit. Wayne's co-star in the second film was the immortal Katherine Hepburn, and somehow my mind had muddled that sequel with the original movie, leaving me thinking that Katherine Hepburn was a co-star in the the 1969 version of True Grit. She wasn't.
The fictional Rooster Cogburn was a drunken U.S. Marshall who also happened to be the toughest hombre to ever traverse Oklahoma Indian Territory. And while John Wayne nailed the character, his Oscar was probably due more to the fact that Hollywood realized this star of hundreds of movies was fading away, and if they were ever going to recognize him with an Oscar, True Grit would be the last best opportunity.
Jeff Bridges was the new version of Rooster Cogburn. Bridges, who achieved fame as Duane Jackson in The Last Picture Show just two years after John Wayne won his Oscar, also nailed the character of Cogburn. Like his predecessor, Bridges was able to stay atop his horse while charging into a gaggle of bad men with both six-guns blazing - all the while holding the reins in his mouth! Truly true grit! One of my friends referred to that scene as the actor paying homage to John Wayne. I felt that Bridges' Rooster Cogburn also payed homage in large measure to the late Lee Marvin through his stark similarities to Marvin's characters in Cat Ballou and Paint Your Wagon. John Wayne, Lee Marvin, and Jeff Bridges all gave stellar performances as tough old drunks. It was almost as if they weren't acting!
Matt Damon was the Texas Ranger (Glen Campbell's character in the original version) chasing the same outlaw as Cogburn. Damon's performance was exceptional - to the point that I didn't recognize him and had to come home and check the credits to find out who played the part. Josh Brolin was the nasty and evil lout who had killed several men and was on the run with a group of outlaws in Indian Territory. Though his role was a bit part, Brolin gave it the energy and evilness that people have come to expect from Coen brothers' characters.
But the true star of this movie was young Hailee Steinfield who was a mere girl of thirteen during the filming. While riding out into Oklahoma Indian Territory with Bridges and Damon in pursuit of her father's killer, she showed herself time and again to be as tough and as talented as the two older men. Whether it was riding her horse across a river or shinning up a tall tree to cut down a hanged man, Steinfield was equal to the task - and equal to the lawmen who were trying to leave her behind. The dialogue sparkled in this film, and Steinfield never stumbled on so much as a syllable - and the camera loved her! She was simply amazing!
Jeff Bridges has been nominated for Best Actor, an honor unlikely to come his way if for no other reason than he won the same award last year for Crazy Heart - playing a broken down country and western singer. (Is a stereotype developing?) But, Tom Hanks won Best Actor two years in a row, so it is possible. Lightening is more likely to strike with Hailee Steinfield who has been nominated for Best Supporting Actress. Her performance was mesmerizing and fully deserving of the Oscar.
True Grit is a movie that should appeal to anyone - from academics to teabaggers. It is a great artistic achievement and very entertaining. Get thee to a theatre and see it!
Film Connoisseur
Out of all of the Oscar-nominated films this year (and ten are way too many!), the only one that I have managed to view on this remote Pacific coral reef is True Grit. Two friends from work and I had a guys' night out last Tuesday and went to see the Coen brother's remake of the 1969 classic. And...it was really, really good - and gritty!
I saw the original movie back in the day, but so much time has passed since then that I was fuzzy on details. John Wayne won the Academy Award for Best Actor in that film, his only win in a long history as a lead actor. Six years later (1975) he did a sequel entitled Rooster Cogburn, the name of the Duke's character in True Grit. Wayne's co-star in the second film was the immortal Katherine Hepburn, and somehow my mind had muddled that sequel with the original movie, leaving me thinking that Katherine Hepburn was a co-star in the the 1969 version of True Grit. She wasn't.
The fictional Rooster Cogburn was a drunken U.S. Marshall who also happened to be the toughest hombre to ever traverse Oklahoma Indian Territory. And while John Wayne nailed the character, his Oscar was probably due more to the fact that Hollywood realized this star of hundreds of movies was fading away, and if they were ever going to recognize him with an Oscar, True Grit would be the last best opportunity.
Jeff Bridges was the new version of Rooster Cogburn. Bridges, who achieved fame as Duane Jackson in The Last Picture Show just two years after John Wayne won his Oscar, also nailed the character of Cogburn. Like his predecessor, Bridges was able to stay atop his horse while charging into a gaggle of bad men with both six-guns blazing - all the while holding the reins in his mouth! Truly true grit! One of my friends referred to that scene as the actor paying homage to John Wayne. I felt that Bridges' Rooster Cogburn also payed homage in large measure to the late Lee Marvin through his stark similarities to Marvin's characters in Cat Ballou and Paint Your Wagon. John Wayne, Lee Marvin, and Jeff Bridges all gave stellar performances as tough old drunks. It was almost as if they weren't acting!
Matt Damon was the Texas Ranger (Glen Campbell's character in the original version) chasing the same outlaw as Cogburn. Damon's performance was exceptional - to the point that I didn't recognize him and had to come home and check the credits to find out who played the part. Josh Brolin was the nasty and evil lout who had killed several men and was on the run with a group of outlaws in Indian Territory. Though his role was a bit part, Brolin gave it the energy and evilness that people have come to expect from Coen brothers' characters.
But the true star of this movie was young Hailee Steinfield who was a mere girl of thirteen during the filming. While riding out into Oklahoma Indian Territory with Bridges and Damon in pursuit of her father's killer, she showed herself time and again to be as tough and as talented as the two older men. Whether it was riding her horse across a river or shinning up a tall tree to cut down a hanged man, Steinfield was equal to the task - and equal to the lawmen who were trying to leave her behind. The dialogue sparkled in this film, and Steinfield never stumbled on so much as a syllable - and the camera loved her! She was simply amazing!
Jeff Bridges has been nominated for Best Actor, an honor unlikely to come his way if for no other reason than he won the same award last year for Crazy Heart - playing a broken down country and western singer. (Is a stereotype developing?) But, Tom Hanks won Best Actor two years in a row, so it is possible. Lightening is more likely to strike with Hailee Steinfield who has been nominated for Best Supporting Actress. Her performance was mesmerizing and fully deserving of the Oscar.
True Grit is a movie that should appeal to anyone - from academics to teabaggers. It is a great artistic achievement and very entertaining. Get thee to a theatre and see it!
2 comments:
Couldn't agree more. I suppose Hailee is too young to actually get the award, but it's nice to see she was nominated. The movie was a tour de force on the part of Jeff Bridges, as well.
Just finished watching the King's Speech. My wife and I agreed it was one of the best to come along in quite a while.
"oungest Oscar Winners and Nominees
Tatum O’Neal, age 8, became the youngest person to win a Best Supporting Actress Award for her performance as a street-wise “con-man” in Paper Moon (1973). The film also starred her father, Ryan O’Neal. She continues to do some acting.
In 1979, eight year-old Justin Henry became the youngest person to be nominated for best supporting actor for his role as a small boy caught in the middle of a messy divorce in Kramer vs. Kramer. He has appeared in films since Kramer, but without the same success.
The year following Kamer, Timothy Hutton became the youngest person to win Best Supporting Actor for his role as the troubled son in Ordinary People. Since winning at the age of 20, Hutton has had a productive career as an actor, director, and producer, most notably in a successful TV series of the early 2000s, A Nero Wolfe Mystery.
1986 saw the youngest-ever Best Actress Oscar go to Marlee Matlin, 21, for her work as the mute girl, Sarah, in The Children of a Lesser God. Although several acting awards have gone to actors and actresses for playing mutes, Matlin is unique in that she actually lost her hearing when an infant. Since winning the Oscar, she has gone on to have a successful career combining acting, producing, and doing work for charitable causes."
Read more at Suite101: Academy Awards Youngest and Oldest: Oscar Winners and Nominees from the 1970s & 1980s - Ages 8 to 80 http://www.suite101.com/content/academy-awards-youngest-and-oldest-a42311#ixzz1CRIgQqoK
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