This an free adaptation of the novels of Clarence Mulford; fans of the Willaim Boyd films will probably feel a little at sea here (and the reviews here so far reflect that). But I knew of Hopalong from the novels first, and never cared much for the Boyd films once I got around to them.

Christopher Coppola has made a wise choice - he has not made a nostalgic "Western"; instead, he has approached the Cassidy story as a slice of what we used to call 'Americana'; or what older critics once called 'homespun'. As the film unraveled, I found myself more and more reminded of the great "Hallmark Theater" version of Mark Twain's "Roughing It", with James Garner narrating.

Both these films remind us that, although films about the 'old west' are probably always to be mythic for Americans, they need not be 'westerns'; they can very well be just films about what it meant to be American in that time, in that place.

I never feel pandered to, watching this film; there's no effort to shove the Boyd-Cassidy legacy down our throats, no irony, no camp. Consequently, I get a sense of these characters as having walked - or ridden horseback - across some real western America I too could have walked a hundred years ago.

Given that, the plainness of the film - it positively avoids anything we have come to call "style" - is all to its favor; and the plain acting of the performers fits neatly in with this; gosh, it really does feel like some story told around a campfire on a cattle drive - no visual dressing, just the quirks and good humor - and sudden violence - that we expect from the good narration of an adventure yarn. I was very pleasantly surprised by this film, and if the viewer sets aside encultured expectations, he or she will find considerable pleasure in it.

I would have given this film 9-stars, but I'll give it a ten just because most reviewers here have missed the point completely; and I urge them to set their memories of Boyd aside and give this film another chance.

Note 1: A reviewer complained that Hopalong shoots people dead in this film, rather than shooting the guns out of their hands (ala Boyd's Cassidy); first, Cassidy DOES shoot people dead in the novels; second, if Cassidy were a real cowboy he would have shot people dead - the problem with shooting guns out of people's hands is that they can always get another gun - which happens to be part of the subtext of this very film.

Note 2: I admit that I am jealous of the Coppola family, that they have the Director of "The Godfather" among them who can get them all opportunities to make movies that I can't; but a good movie is a good movie; and this is a good movie. If it's by somebody by the name "Coppola", well, that's just is as it is. America is the land of opportunity (or was, until Bush got into office) - that's what the great American novels are all about.
What is the sentiment of this review?
OPTIONS:
- negative
- positive
positive
Detta är en gratis anpassning av romanerna av Clarence Mulford; fans av Willaim Boyd-filmerna kommer förmodligen att kännas lite till sjöss här (och recensionerna här hittills speglar det). Men jag kände till Hopalong från romanerna först, och brydde mig aldrig mycket om Boyd-filmerna när jag väl kommit runt dem. Christopher Coppola har gjort ett klokt val - han har inte gjort ett nostalgiskt "västerländskt"; istället har han närmat sig Cassidy-berättelsen som en bit av vad vi brukade kalla 'Americana'; eller vad äldre kritiker en gång kallade 'hemspun'. Allteftersom filmen redde ut sig, blev jag mer och mer påmind om den stora "Hallmark Theater" versionen av Mark Twains "Roughing It", med James Garner berättar. Båda dessa filmer påminner oss om att även om filmer om det ”gamla väst” förmodligen alltid ska vara mytiska för amerikaner, behöver de inte vara ”västra”; de kan mycket väl bara vara filmer om vad det betydde att vara amerikanska på den tiden, på den platsen. Jag har aldrig känt mig förtretad att se filmen. Det finns ingen ansträngning att stoppa Boyd-Cassidy-arvet i halsen på oss. Följaktligen får jag en känsla av att dessa karaktärer har vandrat - eller ridit häst - över något riktigt västra Amerika som jag också kunde ha gått för hundra år sedan. Med tanke på att filmens klarsynthet - den undviker positivt allt vi har kommit att kalla "stil" - är allt till sin fördel; och den enkla skådespelarrollen passar snyggt in i detta; jösses, det känns verkligen som en historia berättad runt en lägereld på en boskapsdrivning - ingen visuell dressing, bara de nyckfulla och bra humor - och plötsligt våld - som vi förväntar oss av den goda berättarrösten om ett äventyrsgarn. Jag blev mycket positivt överraskad av denna film, och om tittaren lägger åt sidan enodlade förväntningar, kommer han eller hon att finna betydande nöje i den. Jag skulle ha gett denna film 9-stjärnor, men jag ska ge den en tia bara för att de flesta recensenter här har missat poängen helt; och jag uppmanar dem att lägga sina minnen av Boyd åt sidan och ge denna film en ny chans. Not 1: En recensent klagade på att Hopalong skjuter ihjäl människor i denna film, snarare än att skjuta vapnen ur händerna (ala Boyd's Cassidy); först skjuter Cassidy ihjäl människor i romanerna; för det andra, om Cassidy var en riktig cowboy skulle han ha skjutit ihjäl människor - problemet med att skjuta vapen ur människors händer är att de alltid kan få en annan pistol - vilket råkar vara en del av undertexten till just denna film. Not 2: Jag erkänner att jag är avundsjuk på Coppolafamiljen, att de har regissören för "Gudfadern" bland dem som kan få dem alla möjligheter att göra filmer som jag inte kan; men en bra film är en bra film; och detta är en bra film. Om det är någon som heter "Coppola", så är det som det är. Amerika är möjligheternas land (eller var, tills Bush kom till ämbetet) - det är vad de stora amerikanska romanerna handlar om. Vad är det för uppfattning i den här recensionen? ALTERNATIV: - negativ - positiv
This is a free adaptation of the novels by Clarence Mulford; fans of the Willaim Boyd films will probably feel a bit at sea here (and the reviews here so far reflect it). But I knew about Hopalong from the novels first, and never cared much about the Boyd films once I got around them. Christopher Coppola has made a wise choice - he has not made a nostalgic "Western"; instead, he has approached the Cassidy story as a piece of what we used to call 'Americana'; or what older critics once called 'homespun'. As the film sorted out, I was more and more reminded of the great "Hallmark Theater" version of Mark Twain's "Roughing It", with James Garner narrating. Both of these films remind us that although films about the ‘old West’ should probably always be mythical to Americans, they don’t have to be ‘western’; they may well just be movies about what it meant to be American at the time, at that place. I've never felt annoyed to see the movie, and there's no effort to stop the Boyd-Cassily legacy in our throats. Consequently, I get the feeling that these characters have wandered - or ridden horse - across something really western America that I could have gone a hundred years ago as well. Given that the film's lucidity - it positively avoids everything we have come to call "style" - everything is to its advantage; and the simple acting role fits nicely into this; jeez, it really feels like a story told around a campfire on a cattle drive - no visual dressing, just the whimsical and good humor - and suddenly violence - as we expect from the good narration of an adventure yarn. I was very pleasantly surprised by this film, and if the viewer puts aside uncultivated expectations, he or she will find considerable pleasure in it. I would have given this movie 9 stars, but I'll give it a ten just because most reviewers here have missed the score completely; and I urge them to put aside their memories of Boyd and give this film a new chance. Note 1: A reviewer complained that Hopalong shoots people dead in this film, rather than shooting the guns out of his hands (ala Boyd's Cassidy); first Cassidy shoots people dead in the novels; secondly, if Cassidy was a real cowboy, he would have shot people dead - the problem with shooting guns out of people's hands is that they can always get another gun - which happens to be part of the subtitles of this particular film. Note 2: I admit I'm jealous of the Coppola family, that they have the director of the "Godfather" among those who can get them all the opportunities to make movies that I can't; but a good film is a good film; and this is a good film. If there's someone named "Coppola," it's the way it is. America is the land of opportunity (or was, until Bush came to office) - that's what the great American novels are all about. What is the opinion in this review? ALTERNATIVE: - negative - positive
positiv
positive