I like John Wayne but why did he think this film was subversive? It is a fine western and there is nothing political at all that I can see.
As for the the townspeople being afraid of the 4 bad men this was not unrealistic. Totally understandable. One of them was the badass Lee Van Cleef!
As for a director or a writer allegedly being a commie who cares?
Well, there is nothing subversive about it, but it's certainly political. As well detailed elsewhere (including this board), it was clearly intended at least in part as an allegory about blacklisting and the contemporary McCarthyist witch hunts by writer Carl Foreman, who had been an uncooperative witness before HUAC and was later blacklisted. It's pretty subtle and I think it's almost impossible to realize this unless you know about it. But Hollywood knew about it and conservatives like Hawks and Wayne were upset by it. They also felt that the craven actions by the townspeople were both unlikely and un-American; Rio Bravo was a direct response to High Noon. Although my political opinions are firmly with Foreman and High Noon, I love both films and think their politics pretty irrelevant to my enjoyment of them except as fascinating history and trivia.
shareBecause the main character was shown to be a coward during the lead up to the gun fight at the end, and, on top of that, the parties involved didn't approach one another in the middle of the street, but tried to sneak up on one another.
John Wayne had a lot of ego issues, from what I understand. I used to be a big fan of his, but am reserving my judgment.
How was the main character a coward? Because he was afraid? Without fear there is no bravery. A person who has no fears is not brave, but a person who is aftaid and overcomes is the very definition of bravery.
shareWhen I use the term coward it's a pejorative because I disagree with the opinion that was expressed at the time. The truth is the main character was scared as anyone would be.
But because he didn't confront the bad guys with some kind of Hollywood macho attitude, the film and character were given that criticism.
What you don't see doesn't exist. I get it.
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http://viverdecinema.blogspot.com.br/
Right there with other gems like "If i dont like it it should be banned" and "Your not allowed to like what i dont like"
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Applied Science? All science is applied. Eventually.