Jamie Benning compiled commentaries, deleted scenes, and other sources to put together Inside Jaws: A Filmumentary about the movie Jaws (1975). So, if you really want to know everything about the movie and the making of it, check out what was originally called “Jaws Bites Back,” which opens with commentary from Steven Spielberg.
Critics have attacked The Lone Ranger (2013) for a number of reasons. Because of the movie’s big budget and low box office returns, some have labeled it a flop, although that is not how a viewer should judge a film. Many attack the film for Johnny Depp’s portrayal of the Native American Tonto, while others have defended his role. I understand the criticisms, and the producers should have expected that discussion. I am not qualified to add much to the Tonto debate, but I can say that the portrayal of the Lone Ranger disrespects the franchise and the Lone Ranger, by portraying him as kind of a jerk. [Warning: Post contains some spoilers.]
First, though, let me say I enjoyed the movie for a summer popcorn movie, which may explain why the film still has a Rotten Tomatoes audience rating of 68% compared to the horrible 26% critics’ rating. While critics have argued that the film shows that Westerns cannot do well at the box office, such conclusions are wrong. Good Westerns, like the 2010 remake of True Grit, will continue to find an audience. It is wrong to put the whole genre of Westerns on the shoulders of The Lone Ranger, which fails to succeed because it is not a great movie.
So what are the problems with the way the movie portrays the Lone Ranger? First, while Armie Hammer is a very good actor and captures aspects of the character, physically he is not right. Yes, it is a fantasy that folks will not recognize anyone who puts a mask around the eyes, but it stretches fantasy too much to expect someone would be fooled by the masked Hammer, who towers over everyone else. Further, the movie is never quite sure whether or not it is a fantasy. There are some realistic scenes of violence, but then we are expected to believe the Lone Ranger can ride Silver up and down the top of a moving train.
But the main problem is that this Lone Ranger is not a man of honor, and even if the intent of the film is to show the character’s evolution or it is meant to be a comedy, it fails in those respects too. In director Gore Verbinski’s The Lone Ranger, we are expected to accept the Lone Ranger as a symbol of upholding law, but he turns out to be kind of a dick. Some of it makes no sense, like the fact that he would leave Tonto to die buried up to his neck even after Tonto has helped him.
In another scene, we see that the Lone Ranger has evolved into an attempted murderer. In that scene near the end of the movie, the Lone Ranger points a gun at the head of his prisoner Butch Cavendish (William Fichtner) and pulls the trigger in cold blood. Although the gun misfires and, yes, we have already seen Cavendish is a horrible person, the scene makes the Lone Ranger into a cold blooded (attempted) killer without addressing any of the moral ramifications.
The late Walter Wink wrote about the use of “redemptive violence” in movies, where an audience is manipulated into rooting for the hero to commit acts of violence by watching the bad guy repeatedly do horrible things to the hero. While I am not opposed to violence in movies, the problem is when we are supposed to accept the hero killing a captured prisoner out of revenge and still root for the hero.
Again, the movie is a fantasy, and we can suspend reality a little, especially once we hear the William Tell Overture. And for a summer movie, it is better than a lot of others. But as someone who likes Westerns, I hate to see The Lone Ranger used as a representative film of the modern Western genre or that this film will be the only portrayal of the Lone Ranger that kids will know.
Maybe I need to cleanse my palate with a viewing of my Appaloosa (2008) DVD. Or I can just watch the 1949 Enter the Lone Ranger below with Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels, where the Lone Ranger captures Butch Cavendish instead of trying to kill him in cold blood — and where he does not abandon Tonto to die.
Conclusion? The portrayal of the Lone Ranger in the 2013 The Lone Ranger may not be offensive, but it fails to capture what made the earlier versions of the character heroic and fun.
What did you think of The Lone Ranger? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Saving Mr. Banks, coming to a theater near you in December, features Tom Hanks portraying Walt Disney’s struggles to make Mary Poppins (1964). The challenge for Disney, though, was convincing the book’s protective author P.L. Travers to trust the Disney empire to commercialize her book. In a recent interview, director John Lee Hancock explained that his movie does not “sugarcoat” the legendary Walt Disney. In the trailer, the interplay between Hanks and the wonderful Emma Thompson as Travers makes this one look worthwhile. Plus, you get to see Jason Schwartzman and B.J. Novak as the famous Sherman brothers who wrote so many Disney classics.
Bonus Trivia Question: Robert and Richard Sherman wrote what became Walt Disney’s favorite song for Mary Poppins. What song was it? Answer here. FYI, the “Mr. Banks” in the movie title is George Banks, the father who hired Mary Poppins.
Will you see Saving Mr. Banks? Leave your two cents in the comments.
As someone who regularly rides the subways of New York City, I am intrigued by a new movie montage video by Jonathan Hertzberg. Hertzberg put together a collection of film clips that feature the New York City subway system of the 1970s and 1980s.
Featured films include The French Connection (1971), Little Murders (1971), Nighthawks (1981), Saturday Night Fever (1977), The Warriors (1979), The Last Detail (1973), Serpico (1973), Bananas (1971), Death Wish (1974), Night Shift (1982), The Brother From Another Planet (1984), and The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (the 1974 original, not the 2009 remake). Hertzberg does a great job of putting together the clips in the way that makes it seem like one movie with Charles Bronson and Woody Allen on the same subway car. Check it out.
Slate writes a little more about the video, noting that it is a work in progress and Hertzberg will be adding other films.
What is your favorite New York Subway scene in a movie? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Although Help! (1965) never gets the same attention as A Hard Day’s Night (1964), the 1965 film from the Beatles is getting a special restored Blu-ray release. To celebrate, the company is giving viewers some outtakes and behind-the-scenes video on the making of the Beatles’ second film. Here is the first video.
Help! was directed by Richard Lester, and of course it starred John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. The plot involves a cult seeking a ring stuck on Ringo’s finger, and, well, there is a lot of Beatles music. Here is the second new video.
What is your favorite Beatles movie? Leave your two cents in the comments.
