True Grit

[billc]

This is a really good movie. I went in with low expectations and came out pleasently surprised. Even Matt Damon didn't ruin the movie.

 

[Archangel M]

I liked it.

So..in the end...who really had "True Grit"?

 

[chrispillertkd]

I've been impressed with the previews for it I've seen. It's been forever since I watched the original but I enjoyed it quite a bit. How does the remake stack up to the original? Were there major changes made?

Pax and Merry Christmas,

Chris

 

[seasoned]

My daughter is home from San Fransisco for a visit, and tomorrow it is True Grit and popcorn.

Thanks for the heads up, looking forward to it. I remember the original with that very true grit guy John Wayne.

 

[Archangel M]

I never read the book, but someone who did said this current version is closer to the book than the John Wayne version was.

 

[bluewaveschool]

The John Wayne version was fairly different to the book, enough so that if this version is as true to book as I've heard, you won't really be thinking remake.

 

[MA-Caver]

I also have yet to read the book but have it on order at the library... hopefully it will be the first edition copy that they have sitting on their shelves.
Wiki has a synopsis which is (on the surface) very much along the plot lines of the Wayne version of the film but the difference is of course (as always) in the the details, which are not revealed in the synopsis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/True_Grit_%28novel%29

I was hesitant to want to see this version, as I grew up with the 1969 feature film which won Wayne's only academy award for best actor. I think that Robert Duval should've won best supporting actor as well but remembered that he didn't have comparatively as much screen time as say Glen Campbell.

I'll add this into my "to see" list though I really don't like remakes as a rule... particularly if they are of already great films. Ocean's 11 is one exception where the remake outdoes the original. ... and THAT (remake) had Matt Damon in it. :lol:

I just got finished watching Ben Hur... and have a desire to see the original silent version.
I'm wondering if someone in Hollywood is plotting to remake this fantastic film.

A note of irony... they hired Barry Pepper (the sniper from Saving Pvt. Ryan) to play "Lucky" Ned Pepper.

 

[Sukerkin]

It's a brave step to remake this classic, whether the new one is truer to the book or not.

This pair of lines are pure cinematic gold

"You talk pretty big for a one-eyed fat man!"

"Fill your hand you son of a *****!"

John Wayne may have had his 'troubles' when it came to politics off-camera but the roles he played in all those Westerns and War Films defined what it was to be a 'man' for chaps of my generation.

 

[punisher73]

I took my dad, my father-in-law and myself to see it a couple days after it came out. All three of us loved the movie.

Thanks Archangel, I was wondering if this version was closer to the book because it did vary in some degree from the John Wayne movie.

I would recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys westerns. One I'll be getting when it comes out on dvd as well.

 

[Omar B]

I'll let you guys know in a few days. I've not seen the original because I'm not a big john Wayne fan, but a coworker lent me the book last summer so I've still got that in my head.

 

[billc]

I also am not a big John Wayne fan, so we have something in common Omar b. The people involved in the movie say they followed the dialogue in the book pretty closely. It was a good movie all around. There was no shyness about dealing with bad guys in this movie, especially from the girl. It was pretty refreshing.

 

[Omar B]

Now there is nothing wrong with John Wayne but I do prefer his work with John Ford.

 

[billc]

I liked the movie "The Green Berets" the best. Although the one where he leads the kids on the cattle drive was pretty good as well.

 

[MA-Caver]

I liked the movie "The Green Berets" the best. Although the one where he leads the kids on the cattle drive was pretty good as well.

The Cowboys was the name of that one... a great western classic and one that Wayne said he enjoyed. Probably because it was more true to reality as young boys were often the ones herding cattle miles across open ranges to the markets.

Consistently however "The Searchers" tops the list as the greatest western of all time and among the top films of all time. I can see how it could be but I'm not overly awed by it. :idunno: mebbe it's just me. :lol:

I'll wait for the DVD to come out as theater ticket prices are pinching my wallet too hard.

 

[Omar B]

The Searchers is usually highly rated because of it's use of Panorama or Cinemascope, I forget which. It was the first major release at the time using one of those wide screen formats which worked well for Ford's directing style.

 

[bluewaveschool]

The Quiet Man is my alltime fav, and I watch it every year on my birthday.