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Okay, well
so I am a bit ticked off. I used to watch
a lot of the old westerns with my parents
as I was growing up and as such, I ended
up a huge John Wayne fan. Wayne wasn’t
just an actor; he was in the truest sense…
an icon. I dare anyone to watch “The
Shootist” (his final film) and tell
me that it was ‘just another western.
So why am I ticked off?
Well, considering this is a review of the
recent Bluray release of “True Grit”…
a REMAKE for God’s sake, you might
think that I’m mad about the fact
that Hollywood made a remake of the classic
Wayne flick. And you would have been right
a few months ago, when I was hollerin’
to high heaven about the abominable thought
of anyone – even Jeff Bridges –
stepping into the boots of Rooster Cogburn.
But that’s not what has me all riled
up today… nope… I’m mad
because I finally watched it… and
damned if I didn’t like it. (Grrrrrrr….)
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That’s right, I liked it…. Might
even go so far as to say I loved it. But what
I had to do was view the film the same way the
Coen Brothers (who directed) did, as a wholly
separate telling of the tale first put forth in
author Charles Portis’ book. Instead of
remaking the movie, they went back to the original
novel and attempted to re-tell the story as it
was originally intended. I know, this sounds like
a fancy schmancy way of saying it was ‘re-imagined’,
but in essence that is what the Coen boys did.
And dang it if they didn’t do a great job.
So, what I’m NOT going to do is compare
it to the film that garnered Wayne his only Oscar.
No, I’m not going to say, “Well, they
did it this way back then and did it this way
now.” I’m simply going to say here
that the original “True Grit” was
just that, an original. An excellent original.
And that’s the last I’ll mention it.
“True Grit” (2010 style) stars Jeff
Bridges as Marshall Reuben ‘Rooster’
Cogburn, known to be the roughest, toughest (rootinest’
tootijnest’??) lawman to ever wear a badge.
Enter young Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld), whose
father was murdered by outlaw Tom Chaney (Josh
Brolin). It seems Mattie wants justice brought
down on the head of Chaney and she offers Cogburn
$100 to help her track him down. He’s not
keen to the idea, but with money comes the promise
of whiskey so he obliges. Joining them on the
hunt is a Texas Ranger (Matt Damon) who has other
reasons for wanting to bring Chaney in. This unlikely
trio spends the remainder of the film travelling
the plains in search of their prey.
Ok, so the first thing I need to address is Jeff
Bridges. Yes he’s a great actor, yes he
can play the hell out of just about any role…
and yes, he turns in an incredibly dimensional
Rooster Cogburn. Loud, brash and completely entertaining,
Bridges delivers an unforgettable performance.
(darn it!) The same can be said for the rest of
the main cast as well, to a lesser degree but
only because the characters they portray are several
degrees below that of Cogburn in terms of sheer
characterization.
Most Coen films rely on interesting performances
and strong dialogue and “True Grit”
is no different. The conversations between the
characters are mesmerizingly written and delivered.
Even the quietest of moments carry a power that
is hard to find in a lot of films. Then of course,
there is the look of the film. The Coens spared
no expense to make the workd ‘grit’
describe everything you see from start to finish.
The costumes, the sets, and even the props have
the look of wear and tear that make for a believable
leap back in time into the Old West.
Paramount is releasing “True Grit”
on Bluray this week and the set I’m looking
at has two discs. The main disc is, of course
the Bluray transfer of the film. The image on
this disc is crystal clear, and the marriage of
the transfer and the gorgeous cinematography delivers
a striking picture that makes every shot a visually
stimulating. Every detail, of which there are
many, stands out with amazing clarity. The audio
is equally impressive, offering an immersive experience
that never drowns out the ever important dialogue.
As for extra features, there are quite a few,
but they are all in my opinion a little too short.
The handful of featurettes include “Mattie’s
True Grit”, in which young Haillee speaks
about getting the role as well as little about
what it was like to make the film. “From
Bustler’s to Buckskin: Dressing for the
1880’s” & “Colts, Winchesters
& Remingtons: The Guns of a Post Civil War
Western” (both of which have titles longer
than the features) are exactly as they sound,
looking at the period costumes and weaponry. “Re-Creating
Fort Smith” offers a look at the set, “The
Cast” offers ….ummm… the cast,
and “The Cinematography of True Grit”
delves ever so briefly into Roger Deakin’s
work on the film.
The best feature “Charles Portis: The Greatest
Writer You’ve Never Heard Of…”
comes in at a decent 30 minutes and we learn quite
a bit about the author’s writings and the
fact that he shuns the public. There is also a
theatrical trailer as well as a 2nd disc offering
the film on DVD and a Digital Copy.
As much as I was ready to tear this new “True
Grit” down… the fact of the matter
is… I can’t. It is damn fine filmmaking
and I have no choice but to highly recommend it
to everyone.
Directed by: The Cohen Brothers
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Hallee Stanford, Josh
Brolin, Matt Damon
Special Features: Behind the Scenes with Mattie
Ross; Outfitting the Old West; Colts, Winchesters
& Remingtons; Re-Creating fort Smith, The
Cast, Charles Portis – The Greatest Writer
You’ve Never Heard Of; The Cinematography
of True Grit; Theatrical Trailer; Digital Copy
Release Date: 6/7/2011
Studio: Paramount
http://www.paramount.com
We'll give True Grit (Bluray) an A.
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