tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post146304599233708343..comments2024-03-29T04:57:26.162-04:00Comments on John Kenneth Muir's Reflections on Cult Movies and Classic TV: CULT MOVIE REVIEW: Westworld (1973)John Kenneth Muirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-52779645970372925702011-04-02T02:07:22.242-04:002011-04-02T02:07:22.242-04:00Don't forget this was the first film to have d...Don't forget this was the first film to have digital image processing. Crude by today's standards but someone had to be first.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-78594314856521752222011-03-12T15:38:53.635-05:002011-03-12T15:38:53.635-05:00Indianhoop: That's a very good point, I think,...Indianhoop: That's a very good point, I think, about the historical context. Thank you for putting on your teacher's hat...brilliant!<br /><br />best,<br />JKMJohn Kenneth Muirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-91145296220048813072011-02-25T19:50:54.779-05:002011-02-25T19:50:54.779-05:00JKM....putting on my "history teacher hat&quo...JKM....putting on my "history teacher hat" I'd say that the android/fembot craze of the mid 1970's probably was a counter-reaction to the women's liberation movement of the era. It was a pretty charged time (Roe v Wade, Title IX, ERA etc.) in the war of the sexes...and to a certain extent these films (Stepford Wives most definitely) reflected American males fear of the growing power/equality of the American woman.indianhoophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13690324288830538825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-39698357933216443052011-02-25T17:16:59.336-05:002011-02-25T17:16:59.336-05:00Hi everybody,
First, I want to apologize for taki...Hi everybody,<br /><br />First, I want to apologize for taking so long to respond to your great comments on Westworld. It's been a busy week here in Muir-land, alas...I had time to moderate the comments, but not reply.<br /><br />Sorry about that.<br /><br />Rich: We share a love of Westworld, then, as well as POTA! I've been trying to get my hands on the TV episodes to see how dire Beyond Westworld really is. Am I a bludgeon for punishment?<br /><br />DLR: Okay, I'm officially green with envy. A double bill of Soylent Green and Westworld? I wish I could travel back in time for that. Incredibly awesome.<br /><br />I see what you mean about less possibly being more in this situation, in terms of sex and violence. And I agree with you that the strongest moment in Westworld might just be James Brolin's expression of disbelief as he is shot. This is supposed to be fun! WTF! -- perfect. <br /><br />I like that you mentioned those TV westerns too, because Westworld is definitely a pivot off of that "bloodless" world of television Westerns, as you insightfully note. That's something that viewers today might not really get.<br /><br />SteveW: I don't disagree with you about a remake, I think it could actually be pretty incredible under the right circumstances. We live in an even more violent society than we did in the 1970s, and we've seen all kinds of violence lately in the national discourse, between Arizona and other horrible things ("who's going to shoot the President', etc.). A new Westworld could be more explicit and possibly even more reactionary. I'm all for it with the right talent directing.<br /><br />Le0pad13: Your comment is just one reason I love you! That's a great comment n Brynner, and I must confess, I wasn't thinking of himin terms of that other famous role. But now that you bring it up...yeah. Man, that's another level to the film's dueling reflexive realities, in some sense.<br /><br />Indianhoop: I'm so glad you brought up Stepford Wives. Good insight. I was thinking about that movie while writing this review too. I kept thinking of historical context, and I kept wondering: what was in the water in the mid-1970s about human androids basically acting as sex slaves to wealthy men? What was the real life context that gave rise to that? Anybody know? I'm not sure; I never found anything. All I could think was that science fiction was clearly taking Disneyland to the next level; but why in 1973-1975? Any thoughts?<br /><br />J.D. Westworld definitely gets the blood running cold. I was more involved in the movie than I realized at the finale. At one point, Richard Benjamin bumbles into something (while hiding from Yul's infrared vision) and I actually jumped off the sofa a little bit at the jolt. The movie gets under your skin, and really works like gangbusters, I think. Crichton directs this film very, very capably in my estimation. <br /><br />Great comments on a classic!<br /><br />best,<br />JKMJohn Kenneth Muirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-26460367794181715262011-02-24T15:44:01.241-05:002011-02-24T15:44:01.241-05:00You really hit this one out of the park, JKM! And ...You really hit this one out of the park, JKM! And also have me jonesin' to watch this film again.<br /><br />I can remember seeing this on TV as a kid and Yul Brynner's icy stare, devoid of any humanity really scaring the crap out of me... it's a primal image that has never left me and still gives me the heebie jeebies when I watch it.<br /><br />It also reminds me of the seemingly unkillable guy in A BOY AND HIS DOG.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08164105442273577128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-87083979833348841322011-02-24T01:15:50.325-05:002011-02-24T01:15:50.325-05:00Again, another film that was very formative in bot...Again, another film that was very formative in both my love for sci-fi and a film that scared the crap out of me as a kid. (SPOILERS AHEAD)<br /><br />Many, many indelible memories...when Brolin is shot (and when you think about it, why were the androids given live ammo?), when Dick Van Patten (?) is killed in Medieval World and as you stated Bryner's seemingly relentless chase of Benjamin's character in the final portion of the film. I think this film pre-dated the "fake-out" grand finale (of Friday the 13th etc) when Yul pops up one last time after his acid bath.<br /><br />It has its flaws, as you've stated, but very similarly to the original "Stepford Wives" it was a film of its time that questioned what it means to be human or a creature created by humans.indianhoophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13690324288830538825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-6108711249213003912011-02-23T16:00:54.514-05:002011-02-23T16:00:54.514-05:00Wonderful examination of an early Michael Crichton...Wonderful examination of an early Michael Crichton film, John. Another of those wonders from the 70s decade. As well, I really admire it for the use of Yul Brynner and his <i>Gunslinger</i> character. His demeanor and body language really made this role iconic. This is saying something since it is clearly based upon his 'Chris' character from the legendary 1960 John Sturges film, THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (itself a remake from Kurosawa's SEVEN SAMURAI). It's rare that someone can reprise a role so well <i>and</i> make it distinct. You can see each reference the other plainly, and without diminishing either. Great stuff.<br /><br />Wonderful look back at this, John. Thanks for this.le0pard13https://www.blogger.com/profile/09421175808461787862noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-1619457186630786392011-02-23T12:39:47.958-05:002011-02-23T12:39:47.958-05:00I've been wanting to watch this one again with...I've been wanting to watch this one again with the kids. It's been years since I've seen it, and of course Yul was great--but I recall that the concept was almost too strong for the execution (i.e., the movie needed a bigger budget, better "human" leads, and a more skillful director). It does strike me as a great candidate for a remake. It's got such a juicy sci-fi premise that with a hotshot director, the remake could improve on the defects of the original and become a new classic (like Kaufman's "Body Snatchers" remake).SteveWnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-69083203504366687162011-02-23T08:42:47.880-05:002011-02-23T08:42:47.880-05:00Hi JKM;
Another favorite from those cynical 70...Hi JKM;<br /><br />Another favorite from those cynical 70's. If memory serves from old issues of Starlog or Fangoria Ahnold based his own performance specifically on Brynner's Gunslinger, and the fact that Yul had stepped away from heroic roles to play a villain also figured into his decision to take the role (it's hard to believe that it was a tough decision at this late date, but so it was - in the interview I remember, conducted pre-release, Ahnold spends most of his time trying to justify taking the role!)<br /><br />I disagree somewhat on the rating issue; first, if it had been "R" I probably wouldn't have been able to see it in 1973! (Double-bill at the drive-in with Soylent Green, eat your heart out.) And this is a great movie for (certain types of)kids. Second, I'm of the "less is more" school of thought... I really doubt that extra heapings of 70's-style gore (tamer) and sex (hairier) would have added much, and, worse, would have distracted from the Disney-esque mode of Delos' vision of "olden-days" - gunfights were bloodless, fistfights were painless (the bar-fight scene is a bigger quibble for me - humans would have gotten very hurt since there's no way of telling humans from robots when you throw a punch or smash a chair), etc. The movie was made at a time when Gunsmoke was still a hit show and Wild Wild West, the Rifleman, and other westerns played constantly in syndication. There's a power to the scene when James Brolin's character is shot and he looks down to see actual, real, red blood - his expression, as I remember it, is disbelief and confusion. <br /><br />On the other hand, a sudden switch to R-level gore as Richard Benjamin runs through the ruins of Roman World past butchered patrons would have been quite a strong "horror" moment. Now that's something that's worth adding in with CGI. Get to work ILM!DLRnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-68931225126887979792011-02-22T22:19:22.330-05:002011-02-22T22:19:22.330-05:00I ***love*** Westworld. It's one of my favorit...I ***love*** Westworld. It's one of my favorite films of all time. I even love the sequel, though the TV series is dire.<br /><br />--Rich HandleyRich Handleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13518834609085323345noreply@blogger.com