Reframing Cult Westerns: From The Magnificent Seven to The Hateful Eight

Description

The Western played a significant role in the birth of early narrative cinema and it remained the most popular of film genres until the late 1950s. When the era of post-classical filmmaking began in 1960, the number of Westerns being produced went into an accelerated decline due to a perceived lack of public demand. However, key filmmakers remained reluctant to completely write-off this most durable of genres and their work resulted in a relatively small but significant number of really quite remarkable Westerns being produced between 1960 and the present day. Thanks to regular repertory cinema and television screenings, home video releases and critical reappraisals by cultural gatekeepers such as Quentin Tarantino, an ever-increasing number of these Westerns have become cult films. Be they star-laden, stylish, violent, bizarre or simply little heard-of obscurities, Reframing Cult Westerns offers a multitude of new critical insights into a truly eclectic selection of cult Westerns. Title Page Copyright Page Contents Acknowledgments Introduction:Cult Westerns and Cult Films The Western Today: A Cult Genre What Is a Cult Film? Cult Westerns Bibliography Part 1: Classic Cult Westerns Chapter 1: “It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time”: Hollywood, Homology, and Hired Guns—the Making of The Magnificent Seven Introduction Authors and Auteurism Capturing the Zeitgeist? Contexts of Production Studios, Production Companies, and House Styles Conclusion Bibliography Chapter 2: The Historical Accuracy of Sergio Leone’s The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Introduction Historical Setting Sibley’s 1862 New Mexico Campaign Scenes and Set Designs Inspired by Historical Books and Photos Conclusion Bibliography Chapter 3: Where White Men Dream Out Loud: Robert Altman’s West Introduction Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull’s History Lesson McCabe and Mrs. Miller The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance The Western as History, Myth, or Zeitgeist? Conclusion Bibliography Chapter 4: The Gold Rush: The New Right and the Westerns of 1980 Introduction: This Town Isn’t Big Enough It’s Getting Dangerous to Be Poor I Said I’d Earn My Keep Take Everything He Has Conclusion: How the West Was Lost Bibliography Part 2: Charting New Frontiers and Mapping Identity and Politics in International Cult Westerns Chapter 5: Landscape, Imagery, and Symbolism in Alejandro Jodorowsky’s El Topo Introduction Cultural Landscapes: (Dis)Placing El Topo Alejandro Jodorowsky, Samuel Beckett, and El Topo Conclusion Bibliography Chapter 6: Dancing with Death: Whity, a Singular Western Introduction Framing Genre and Form Western Elements Theatrical Race Identity Inside Out Conclusion: A Dance of Death Bibliography Chapter 7: Man of the West: Dean Reed’s (Cinematic) Frontier Personas in Blood Brothers and Sing, Cowboy, Sing! Introduction Setting the Stage: The Origins of Dean Reed’s Transnational Celebrity Persona Performing the American West in East Germany Indianerfilms: Performing German Cowboys and Indians An American Cowboy in an Indianerfilm Sing, Cowboy, Sing, an Explosion of Generic References The Singing Cowboy and the Circus: Dean Reed’s Frontier Masquerades An Ironic East German Frontier Imaginary Conclusion Bibliography Chapter 8: An(Other) West: The Limits of National Identity in The Proposition Introduction Antipodal Cinema and the Bushranger Genre The Proposition: The Dirty Business of Creating a Nation Conclusion Bibliography Part 3: Contemporary Cult Westerns and Contemporary Concerns Chapter 9: The Return of the Repressed: Locating the Supernatural in US Civil War Introduction The American Civil War on Film American Films, the Civil War, and Horror The US Civil War on Film: The Italian Context American-Made US Civil War–Related Horror Films Conclusion Bibliography Chapter 10: Stranger and Friend: Non-American Westerns and the Immigrant in the Twenty-First Century Introduction: The American Dream Stranger and Friend Roots and Routes The Immigrant Redeemer The Salvation Slow West Jauja Conclusion Bibliography Chapter 11: The Intrusion of Climate in The Revenant Introduction The Possibility of Authenticity in the Western Genre and Landscape Making The Revenant: Difficulty and Authenticity Moments of Immersion CGI Animals Haunting the Frontier The Value of Making Westerns in the Anthropocene Conclusion Bibliography Chapter 12: “Hand in Hand We’ll Get There”: —the Racial Politics of The Hateful Eight Introduction Reconstruction in the West Restaging the Civil War Ironic Post-Racial Harmony Conclusion: A More Perfect Union Bibliography Filmography About the Editor and the Contributors Index