Results tagged “sergioleone”

Not so long ago--even into the 1980s--it seemed certain that the Western would stand the test of time as quintessential American cinematic form. After all, the story of cowboys, outlaws and Indians on the great rolling plains between the coasts and the travails of those courageous families crossing the country in covered wagons is as much a part of our creation story as defeating the British; Independence and Manifest Destiny go hand-in-hand, and John Wayne, with his swaggering bravado, not only represented the embodiment of American masculinity, but his unwavering devotion to righteousness (even, perhaps especially, when begotten by violence) spoke to the American sense of our own virtue and uniqueness. Even when the Italians got their hands on the genre, and Clint Eastwood gave the cowboy a dark edge, that moral ambiguity never really changed the fundamental sense that there is a right and wrong; the innocents, after all, are still innocent. The change that Sergio Leone wrought was simply one of transforming the West into a wide open space into which the damned could escape their demons, even in death. The figure of the dying cowboy, gut-shot, riding into the sunset slumping atop his steed is still an image of freedom and hope.