Search

Search only in certain items:

How the West Was Won (1963)
How the West Was Won (1963)
1963 | Action, Western
Sprawling account of fifty years of American history, as encountered by various members of one pioneer family. Starts with the initial settlement of the west, takes in the Civil War, the coming of the railroads, and concludes with the triumph of law and order (well, sort of).

At least partly sold on the sheer number of stars involved, but in the end there's hardly any John Wayne, not much more Jimmy Stewart, and probably a bit more George Peppard than you'd honestly care for. It's quite naive, sentimental stuff, in many ways, and the technical side-effects of it being shot in VistaVision are very obvious. There's some magnificent photography, the odd effective cameo, and very occasionally a moving moment - but too often this is stodgy and episodic rather than a stirring saga.
  
Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)
Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)
1961 | Classics, Comedy, Drama
I'm sorry, I tried my best - but I couldn't resist its charms. I loved all the characters (minus Mickey Rooney's third-rate impersonation of what dumbass white people in the 60s thought Asian people were like), the music is beautiful, its aesthetic is every bit as iconic as reported (naturally the outfits being the highlight), and this entire movie is carried so heavenly by George Peppard and Audrey Hepburn's wondrous performances. The chemistry these two have is simply out-of-this-world, I have no problem ranking it as one of the most affecting Hollywood romances ever to grace the screen. That being said, that is also close to all this movie has going for it. It has great scenes but even at its best it seldom ever rises above too much more than escapist fluff where story elements abruptly intrude on the romance rather than flow nicely with it (am I high or did some old dude come in about halfway through to talk about marrying a 14 year old girl?). It also dons some regressive 60s thoughtpoints on ownership in relationships and pointless racism that sticks out like a sore thumb - but that stupid shit is barely in the film for two minutes meanwhile most of your faves are probably problematic for longer, anyway. Idk man, I cherish the romance but the rest of the film is so jarring in comparison to it - it ain't really all that. Super cute but not as good as the Deep Blue Something song.