Acid Westerns

mister matthew · Feb 20, 2009

Sure. Alfredo has a proper dose of weirdness to go along with its Western style frontier mythos, liminal space stuff tho.

nomadthethird · Feb 20, 2009

They don't have these on netflix

empty mirror · Feb 20, 2009

^ nomad, have you looked into greencine? that is the more ethically sound mailorder video rental biz, plus you have a wider (more niche?) selection.

but yeah, no one mentioned alex cox' Walker yet!

so yeah, that qualifies, though it is not a western in the sense that you would expect------but yeah, The Frontier: check, cowboy hats: check, guns: check, acid: check.

nomadthethird · Feb 20, 2009

empty mirror said:
^ nomad, have you looked into greencine? that is the more ethically sound mailorder video rental biz, plus you have a wider (more niche?) selection.

omg no, that sounds great though thanks!!!! i was just looking at the copy of le cercle rouge that came and thought god i'm sick of film noir netflix

padraig (u.s.) · Feb 20, 2009

empty mirror said:
but yeah, no one mentioned alex cox' Walker yet!

so yeah, that qualifies, though it is not a western in the sense that you would expect------but yeah, The Frontier: check, cowboy hats: check, guns: check, acid: check.

omg how is it I'd never even heard of this until you mentioned it? it sounds totally amazing. how did it ever get made? and at the height of the Cold War no less? it boggles the mind. it puts me a little in mind of Hombres Armados by John Sayles though that's a very, very serious (& excellent) film.

I remember learning about William Walker in school - what a mad story, like Cecil Rhodes but with that can-do American spirit to make it all the nuttier. oh yeah sure I'll just land with a couple hundred white guys and we'll set up an empire.

mister matthew · Feb 20, 2009

also I notice that in the first post IdleRich you mentioned The Shooting but not Ride The Whirlwind, also by Hellman with Jack Nicholson in it.

I just bought it the other day (2.99 on HMV.com!) and haven't watched it yet, so I don't know how good or acidy it is. There's a gushing quote from Tarantino on the back though so it MUST be great.

Mind you, assuming you know that one if you're a big fan of The Shooting.

IdleRich · Feb 21, 2009

"also The Road which I guess has already been shot & everything & is due for a release later this yr. though I dunno, both The Road & NCFOM have something for people to connect to, The Road despite its grim setting is actually an "uplifting" story about a father & his son, NCFOM has the sheriff, also it deals with a lot of contemporary stuff, drugs & the border & so on. Blood Meridian is just a lot more...ah uncompromising you know? no sympathetic characters, chock full of humanity at its most brutal & callous. also it's so sweeping in scope, Biblical like, and so dense & full of allusions, the way he uses language. I guess the more I think about I can't imagine any film really doing it justice."

I can't argue but I still have hope if not expectation.

"but yeah, no one mentioned alex cox' Walker yet!"

I had high hopes for this but I thought it was a bit of a mess really. It's certainly strange but I'm not sure it adds up to much.

also I notice that in the first post IdleRich you mentioned The Shooting but not Ride The Whirlwind, also by Hellman with Jack Nicholson in it.
I just bought it the other day (2.99 on HMV.com!) and haven't watched it yet, so I don't know how good or acidy it is. There's a gushing quote from Tarantino on the back though so it MUST be great.
Mind you, assuming you know that one if you're a big fan of The Shooting.

Yes, I've seen RTW which, while good in its own way, doesn't have the same weird feel to it as The Shooting. My understanding is that the two films were made at the same time, basically he was making a commercial project (Ride The Whirlwind) and he made his own pet project with a lot of the same actors on the side.

Tentative Andy · Feb 21, 2009

Does The Last Picture Show count?
Aint actually seen it...

IdleRich · Feb 23, 2009

"Does The Last Picture Show count?
Aint actually seen it..."

The Last Picture show isn't a western or acid. I reckon you mean The Last Movie actually, the Dennis Hopper thing. I've never seen it either unfortunately.

Loki · Feb 23, 2009

No one mentioned Blueberry aka Renegade, with Vincent Cassell... mushroom madness and psychedelic a-go-go effects throughout... not a fantastic film but certainly the most sustained CGI tripping scenes - goes on for twenty minutes or more - and rather frazzled throughout the rest of it... seems to have died on release, if it ever was released, but as a dazzlingly failed experiment into nthe genre it's worth a look....

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0276830/

IdleRich · Feb 23, 2009

I mentioned it in the first post....

Loki · Feb 23, 2009

note to self: learn to read...

IdleRich · Feb 23, 2009

I'd pretty much agree with your analysis anyway. It's a mess, it's trying to do something which is probably commendable but it's got Eddie Izzard in it for fucks sake.

Loki · Feb 23, 2009

honourable messes are some of my favourite kinds of media... there is definitely a good film to be made out of this theme but it hasn't been made yet.... in fact, this is bugged me to the extent that i imagined it had been made a few years back:

http://loki23.blogspot.com/2006/04/las-tres-lineas.html

but this is such a difficult genre, so close to crap...

I mean, only really Cammell / Roeg's Performance managed to pull off the 60s counterculture/druggy thing with anything approximating accuracy....everything else that attempted it was a bit shit or kitsch or both... for the druggy, peyote Western this must go double...

though i'd still like to see the attempts...

IdleRich · Feb 23, 2009

"in fact, this is bugged me to the extent that i imagined it had been made a few years back:"

Ha, you bastard. Why don't you go and make that film?

"I mean, only really Cammell / Roeg's Performance managed to pull off the 60s counterculture/druggy thing with anything approximating accuracy....everything else that attempted it was a bit shit or kitsch or both..."

Do you reckon? There must be something else but I admit I'm having difficulty thinking anything off the top of my head.

Loki · Feb 23, 2009

Ha, you bastard. Why don't you go and make that film?

well, actually I did pitch it at one point to a producer...

who turned it down.

i wasn't totally surprised.

IdleRich · Feb 23, 2009

Code:

"well, actually I did pitch it at one point to a producer... 
who turned it down.
i wasn't totally surprised."

Typical pusillanimity from the film industry.

craner · Feb 23, 2009

Someone suggested that Argento stop making bad horror movies and turn his hand to the Western, which I thought was a pretty good suggestion, particularly after watching the embarrassing Mother of Tears.

STN · Feb 23, 2009

I imagine Rich mentioned it in the first post and he can slap me in the face if he did (i'm too hungover to read them back), but does Deadlock count?

mister matthew · Feb 24, 2009

He didnt mention it but I did. Can I claim that slap to the face?

Acid Westerns

Active member

more issues than Time mag

remember the jackalope

more issues than Time mag

a monkey that will go ape

Active member

IdleRich

I'm in the Meal Deal

IdleRich

Well-known member

IdleRich

Well-known member

IdleRich

Well-known member

IdleRich

Well-known member

IdleRich

Beast of Burden

sou'wester

Active member