I bet Seth McFarlane would love to fancy himself this generation’s Bob Hope, or perhaps even Mel Brooks. With the hollow smile of a car salesman, and the appeal of a commercial pitch man, in reality, McFarlane comes off as just another really desperate fan boy whose love for music, dancing, and comedy doesn’t equate to entertainment. The end result is a movie that holds our hands through every joke, and then holds our hand through the expected reaction. I imagine if McFarlane directed a remake to “Blazing Saddles” eventually someone would point to Sheriff Bart, look at the audience breaking the fourth wall, and mutter “But he’s a black man! And this is the old west!”
Tag Archives: Western
Blazing Saddles (1974)
You have to give credit to Mel Brooks for being so ballsy. In today’s day and age, a movie like “Blazing Saddles” would never get off the ground and become a mainstream comedy. Even with its material, Brooks runs the risk of becoming low brow, but thankfully manages to create the best comedy of all time. It’s my favorite from Brooks, edging out “Young Frankenstein” if only for the lead performance by Cleavon Little. “Blazing Saddles” satirizes the Western sub-genre, while also mocking its inherent racism, setting it in the middle of the slave era. Though the film is biting in its social commentary, it still manages to be incredibly funny, sidestepping the mockery of the slavery, and instead poking fun at the Caucasian characters.
Serenity: Leaves on the Wind #1 [Dark Horse Comics]
“Leaves on the Wind” has a lot to cover in one issue, and surely enough we’re fed a lot of information. And to make things better, the first issue flows smoothly without missing a beat. Sure, the story rushes forward after the events of “Serenity,” but it’s also marching to the beat of the original short lived television series. I’m glad the Firefly clan are back, and as always, they’re being dealt a horrible hand by fate. After losing Wash and the Shepherd, Serenity is now adrift in space and the deaths of their comrades seem almost in vain.
Oblivion (1994)
The Full Moon space western “Oblivion” certainly is one of the most creative films to come out of Charles Band’s imprint. Surely, it can be silly and hard to follow, but it works well as a space western, and a western without the science fiction conventions. I was surprised this even had any monsters or aliens, as “Oblivion” works as a typical Western. Sans the giant man eating scorpions, of course. I digress. “Oblivion” is written by comics scribe Peter David and is admirably ambitious considering its obviously low budget.
The Big Gundown (1966) (Blu-ray/DVD/CD)
Lee Van Cleef is a man who makes it look easy to dominate the screen with his presence, no matter what the film. “The Big Gundown” is purely a western thriller for the Lee Van Cleef fans that want to indulge in the sheer finesse and charisma of Van Cleef when he takes turns as the hero. Or in this case, the anti-hero. Van Cleef takes on the role of John Corbett, a man who is not afraid to gun down people that threaten him, but is never trigger happy. He is one of the best bounty hunters in the west, and is a man devoted to his duties. As Corbett, he’s asked by an aristocrat to hunt down a vicious criminal named Cuchillo. He’s wanted for raping and murdering a young girl, and is currently on the run in the west, giving the law a difficult time of finding him.
Wanted: Dead or Alive – The Complete Series – Special Edition (DVD)
From Mill Creek comes the complete collection of the Steve McQueen star making television series “Wanted: Dead or Alive.” Easily one of my favorite Western action series of all time, Steve McQueen plays the complex and often swift anti-hero and bounty hunter Josh Randall. Brandishing his trademark sawed off shotgun named “The Mare’s Leg,” Randall travels across the country capturing his latest bounties and being forced to often travel alongside them.
Assault On Precinct 13 (1976): Collector’s Edition [Blu-ray]
Almost forty years later, director John Carpenter’s “Assault on Precinct 13” is still an excellent and mean contemporary western that never lets up on its audience. Director Carpenter has a knack for lensing the world to look like an alien habitat filled with despair and evil, and “Assault” is no exception. What begins as moving day for a local precinct descends in to violence, chaos, and murder with an enemy that will stop at nothing to quench its thirst for vengeance.





