I went to the new edition of Grit never having seen any of the Coen Brothers' previous films, which I remember being festooned with words like "dark," "grotesque," and "weird" in the past. Excellent craftsmanship, touches of humor and humanity, and a charismatic performance by the star - what's not to like? Well, maybe Glen Campbell's mostly woodenish performance as LaBoeuf, but even he isn't completely hopeless - and he does provide a good title song, which made the Summer of '69 pop charts. The "happy ending" and memorable Wayne "ride-off" sequence were created for the movie, but no one seemed to mind the changes at the time. Elmer Bernstein's brass-heavy musical score often sounds "TV- ish," as well, but sometimes lightens the mood at inopportune moments for example, Mattie's trek through Fort Smith to scare up help for her revenge-quest is "tracked" at one point by a chorus of whooping trombones that momentarily had me wondering when the clowns and bareback riders were going to appear.
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It also gives the '69 Grit more of the feel of a high-class contemporary TV Western of the time, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Ross), the more straightforward narrative approach has the advantage of getting the audience to fully commit to Mattie's "mission" from the start. It's actually somewhat surprising decision in light of the film's use of words like "bastard" and "bitch." Today, I imagine the film would be re-rated "R" simply because of all the smoking that goes on.) Scriptwriter Marguerite Roberts tees up the plot by actually showing us how Mattie's father came to grief at the hands of Chaney, and, while this has the undoubted effect of stripping some of the "evilness" away from Chaney (since he is clearly drunk when he shoots Mr.
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(The trailer above lists the movie as having an "M" rating, but Paramount was able to get it changed.
No matter, Wayne's avuncular interpretation of Rooster is a delight, and, for a G-rated movie, the film's scary moments still pack a punch, especially the scene in which Mattie shoots Chaney and then topples into the snake-haunted cave. The cast is made up of neophytes ( Glen Campbell as the popinjay Texas Ranger LaBoeuf, Darby in her first major big-screen role) and a raft of indelibly distinctive character actors ( Strother Martin, John Fiedler, James Westerfield, Dennis Hopper), and all but a few scraps of action take place in the blazing light of the Colorado mountain-country day, suggesting that Wayne's salary took up a generous chunk of the overall budget. Seeing it again on the heels of viewing the Coens' movie, I was struck by how unnaturally neat and clean it looks - fer gosh sakes, outlaw Lucky Ned Pepper ( Robert Duvall) has a fresh white sheet handy to bind up the wounds of the hapless Tom Chaney ( Jeff Corey) after the latter is winged by the teenaged Mattie Ross ( Kim Darby)! - and how thoroughly Wayne dominates the action, even though revenge-seeking Mattie is technically the main protagonist. The 1969 True Grit, directed by the notoriously exacting Henry Hathaway, made a wagon load of money and, as is well known, earned John Wayne that long-awaited Best Actor Oscar for his memorable portrayal of the raffish, one-eyed Marshal Rooster Cogburn.
It suffices to say that both cinematic interpretations work extremely well in the context of the expectations of their times, and that I have no doubt that the Coens' film, like the original, will "wear" as well as a comfortable pair of chaps over the next several decades. The obvious temptation is to take sides on which film is better, but I don't really feel comfortable doing so without having read Charles Portis' original novel. N&V closes out 2010 with a bang by coupling a review of The Coen Brothers' impressive remake (or, taking a cue from Ape Entertainment, perhaps I should say " reimagination") of the beloved 1969 classic with some notes on the original, the DVD of which Nicky and I watched immediately after letting the Coens have their head.