August-September 2018
Programmer’s note: First things first, let’s acknowledge what’s missing, which is a LOT. No list of 26 “essential Westerns” could be so objective. So, in order to get this list down from 130 candidates, some ground rules were set. With only a few exceptions, we’d avoid any film played in the last decade—including a number of films from a recent “spaghetti” series (2012) and a 101-level series from 2009. And with the notable exception of John Ford, we’d include no more than two films per director—and no silents. Among the viewing options below, a number of tracks can be taken. Weekends offer the opportunity to view the stone-cold classics of mid-century Westerns—often paired adjacently by lead actor or director—whereas Wednesday nights start off with Peckinpah in the 60s, the revisionist 70s, and right up to the current decade. Alas, these aren’t necessarily THE essential Westerns, but they ARE absolutely essential nonetheless. So, saddle up and mosey on over.
"Even good Westerns these days tend to look like pageants," wrote late, great Scene editor and celebrated film critic Jim Ridley back in 2011. "Excuses for people to dress up and go through ritualized motions of gunfights, shootouts and hard rides. To an extent, you can blame Sergio Leone's operatic spaghetti Westerns of the 1960s, glorious as they are, which fetishized every sidelong glance and reach for a pistol. Over time, the gestures in something like the Young Guns movies or The Quick and the Dead became more important than whatever motivated them, as if the gunslingers were assuming predetermined roles in a passion play."
That was the lede in Jim's review of Kelly Reichardt's film Meek's Cutoff, which he ultimately deemed a "kind of anti-Leone Western." I revisited that review on the occasion of the release of People Only Die of Love in Movies, a collection of Jim's film writing, and it pulled something into focus for me: The Western may indeed be the American artform. The genre is as old as cinema itself (thanks to 1903's The Great Train Robbery) and so ubiquitous that its parodies are parodied, its tropes deeply ingrained in the American psyche and lexicon.
The folks at Nashville's beloved film center the Belcourt Theatre certainly know that. Today the Belcourt announced the full lineup of Essential Westerns, a series that will take place Aug. 4-Sept. 30 and feature a whopping 26 films from all across the spectrum. There will be undeniable classics like Howard Hawks' Red River, John Ford's The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and Sam Peckinpah's Ride the High Country alongside more modern fare, like Andrew Dominik's The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and the aforementioned Meek's Cutoff.
Programming a series like this — even with the room to book 26 features — would be a painstaking process for any programming director worth their salt. The Belcourt's Toby Leonard is a very good programming director.
"With only a few exceptions, we decided to avoid any film played in the last decade at the Belcourt," says Leonard, "including a number of films from a recent ‘spaghetti’ series we did in 2012 and a 101-level Western series from 2009. And with the notable exception of John Ford, we intentionally included no more than two films per director — and no silents. So, while these aren’t necessarily THE essential Westerns, they are essential nonetheless.”
According to the folks at the Belcourt, most of the screenings will be accompanied by a special introduction. Those include film, media and journalism professors from universities including Vanderbilt, Belmont and MTSU, as well as authors, critics and more. The series is being underwritten by Belcourt board member/patron/bona-fide saint H.G. Webb and his wife Nina.
You can purchase a full-series pass ($175, or $125 for Belcourt members) or a five-ticket bundle ($43 and $30). Ticket links and a full schedule are available over at the Belcourt's site. Watch a trailer for the series above.
