Saturday, January 19, 2008

Invitation to a Gunfighter

Watched this film tonight. Yul Brynner looks mighty fine. Of course, he always looks mighty fine. Such an intriguing person, Yul Brynner. This movie was okay. Nothing special, nothing bad, just middle of the road (and Bert Freed! Again! Man, he' s popping up in everything lately. Not that I'm complaining, it's just funny). It's a bit uneven, but there's some really nice understated stuff going on here that I appreciated. Leans towards being more of a "thinking" western, than an "action" western. Best scene was Yul teaching the town how to say his character's name. Priceless. And the scene where Yul plays the guitar oh so beautifully. Dig it.

But it got me thinking about Westworld, and the inevitable comparison to The Terminator. I love the first Terminator movie, I really do. But, ya know, Yul did it first, and he's still cooler and scarier at it than Arnold (or subsequent terminators) was. I love just about everything about Westworld, even if it does have that whole 70's thing coloring the film. The whole concept is awesome. I mean I want to go there, badly. And Yul... the best, damned icy-gazed, scary, will-not-stop, gunfighter robot evar. We're not worried about saving mankind here, we're simply worried about staying alive. Simplicity... always the best in fiction.

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