angeleyesTHE2nd
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where is my spaghetti westerns?!
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« on: July 09, 2004, 04:13:17 PM » |
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:-\I just saw Hang em High a few days ago and i must admit it was not the best Clint Eastwood western i have seen. To be honest i was pretty excited af first until when i got to 60% movie, it got alittle boring. I mean come on, the only cool gun fight in the movie was when he takes that guy on in the bar. Also it was too smoochy, I think they didn't need to have the romance songs in there. I mean yeah its nice to see Clint get along with the ladies but still its too hunky dorry. They could just leave that stuff out and have like music that is more exciting!
Clint Eastwoods character was alright but it had way to much talking and little action. I mean Clint is a good actor don't get me wrong, but still you have to have alot of gun fights to make the movie more enjoyable.
I think this movie was one of Clints worst ever due to the fact it was short on gun fights and brutality. I would have to give it a 4/10 for effort, gunfights, and characters acting.
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« Last Edit: July 09, 2004, 04:24:32 PM by angeleyesTHE2nd »
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KC
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« Reply #2 on: July 09, 2004, 09:06:51 PM » |
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I think this movie was one of Clints worst ever due to the fact it was short on gun fights and brutality. Hmm, have you seen The Bridges of Madison County yet?  As for the music in Hang 'Em High, while there aren't, in fact, any "romance songs," there is a lot of typical Hollywood schmalz. This was Eastwood's first starring role in the US, and he didn't yet have the total control of his productions that he would eventually acquire through the production company, Malpaso, that he had just founded. In later Malpaso pictures, the scores improve significantly. 
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Matt
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« Reply #3 on: July 10, 2004, 08:39:53 AM » |
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I actually really enjoy Hang 'em High, but I have trouble with the picnic scene... the music, Inger's acting, her hair and makeup, and the way the storm kicks in and the reaction to it are all laughable. But, Clint was a young up-and-coming actor with quite a few female fans from the Rawhide years that wanted to see him in a romantic setting. The director (Ted Post) was a television director (he had previously directed Clint in more than 20 episodes of Rawhide) and that is extremely evident in this scene. But there are scenes in Hang 'em High where Post does much better... the opening scene is absolutely beautiful. I also enjoy the scenes with Bruce Dern: "You ain't never gonna get me alive to Fort Grant, boy." "Then I'll get you there dead..... boy." Outside of the Leone films, that's my favorite exchange in Clint's career until Dirty Harry. Pat Hingle is fantastic as Judge Fenton and I enjoy every scene of his. And I'm partial to the beautiful redhead at Peaches Sophie's cathouse. Hang 'em High was the first Eastwood movie I'd ever seen. I was flipping channels one night when I came across the opening scene of Jed helping his calf out of the river. I thought I'd give it a minute, then I was curious what would break up the tranquility of that scene when the riders approached in the distance, so I figured maybe five minutes. And then they hung him and he dangled from the tree and the titles shot up... I wasn't turning the channel from that point on! That was the first film of an Eastwood double-feature ( High Plains Drifter followed), and that night a Clint Eastwood fan was born--and it was Hang 'em High that did it. It strikes me that this same thing could be said of thousands when this film was originally released because it was for many their first glimpse of Clint Eastwood. For many others it would be the first they'd see of Eastwood outside of the television series Rawhide. It's important to remember that television actors didn't make as smooth a transition to feature films back in those days as they do today because television actors weren't nearly as respected as film actors in those days. Hang 'em High may not be the best Eastwood western out there... I'm not saying it is. But I think it's a respectable film and a great vehicle for Eastwood to have chosen as his first American film that got his career off and running. So, as for the title of this thread, I'd have to heartily disagree. Hang 'em High was a film that enabled Clint to hold his head high in Hollywood. He was the star of the film, he was the producer, it was a hit, and he's never had a moment's rest since.
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« Last Edit: April 24, 2005, 06:34:57 PM by Matt »
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Jed Cooper
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« Reply #4 on: July 10, 2004, 01:00:38 PM » |
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I'll admit, it took me a few viewings to warm up to Hang 'Em High. You see, I was comparing it to the "Spaghetti" westerns and was sorely disappointed. I wrote it off as a bad effort. Wouldn't you know, I was stuck home from a cancelled date and what comes on the tv but this movie. Well, I resigned myself to staying home and kept and open mind for that viewing. I came away with a new favorite! I agree with Matt about the "Then I'll get you there dead, boy." quote-great! One of Clint's best lines ever. Pat Hingle was very good opposite Clint in this movie (too bad it's the only one of the 3 with Clint he was this good in). So, my suggestion is to put it on the back-burner for a while. Find some other Clint movies you will and won't enjoy, then give it another shot. Could be days, weeks, months, even years. You may find upon repeated viewings that there's something you like after all you didn't the first time around. This also happened to me with Tightrope; I was expecting a 'super-cop' type movie, but gave it a second chance right away and liked it much better. If you don't ever like Hang 'Em High then at least there's a wealth of other Eastwood movies out there to enjoy. Hope this helped!  Jed (...man, I love this board!  )
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KC
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« Reply #19 on: August 12, 2004, 08:06:32 PM » |
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When you hang a man, you better look at him.

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