It's a Biiiiig Movie
This week's film screening is going to be a little different from the others.
It is however a bit long.
Don't panic.
Actually, two hours and forty-five minutes is quite modest when it comes to the world of epic cinema. Spartacus runs for more than three hours, and Ben Hur is over three and a half. Cleopatra clocks in at four hours and eleven minutes (the original cut was over six).
Most Shakespeare plays (if they are unabridged) run between three and four hours, while your typical Wagner opera was intended (as Peter Schickele memorably put it) for "that boring stretch between leap years."
Yes, it's set in the 19th Century American West, and yes, it has horses and guns and a musical score that borrows heavily from Aaron Copland (who was exactly as much of a cowboy as I am, by the way) but The Big Country marches to the beat of a different kettle of fish.
He very quickly discovers that he has wandered into the middle of a... situation... between Pat's father and Rufus Hannassey (Burl Ives), the patriarch of a rival household. Their mutual hatred and escalating antagonism has poisoned the entire district, and threatens to develop into an all-out range war.
Director William Wyler (another Cowboy, exactly like Aaron Copland) very explicitly intended this as an allegory for the Cold War, and that allegory was not lost on his audience in 1958. As I mentioned earlier, President Eisenhower considered this his favourite film, and had it screened (repeatedly) at the White House while he was in office. I'm just not sure which character he thought he was...
But The Big Country is far more than merely a metaphor for the Cold War. Gregory Peck's character is extremely unusual for a Hollywood Western (one of the reasons why many Western fans react badly to it) and the story of the film grounds itself unambiguously in the personal. It may be a big country (as characters never tire of reminding Gregory Peck) but it's a very intimate drama. And it includes one of the coldest and cruellest insults a father could ever level at his son, as you will see on Thursday.
This was, by all accounts an extremely difficult and challenging production, but Heston and Wyler were at least able to relax a little afterwards, when they moved directly on to their next project: a little film called Ben Hur.
Because of The Big Country's hefty running time, I plan to forego my usual introductory ramblings on Thursday. We will start the film on the dot of 7.30, which should allow us to finish at an appropriate hour.
This is a monumental film, but it's also a surprisingly understated and subtle one. A study in contrasts, if you will.
One might even say that it's Genre Fluid.
It's not the most controversial film I have ever shown (I've screened Cuties and For Colored Girls) nor is it the most difficult to watch (I once made you sit through Taza; Son of Cochise... in 3D!). It's not a silent film and it's not an opera, so don't worry.
It is however a bit long.
When planning these film nights I have generally tried to restrict myself to films under two hours, out of consideration for everyone's bedtimes and/or sanity. There have been a handful of exceptions. I showed West Side Story a few years ago (2 hours and 32 minutes) and The Music Man (2 hours and 31 minutes) as well as Metropolis (2 hours and 29 minutes and silent).
Our next film is about 15 minutes longer than any of those.
Actually, two hours and forty-five minutes is quite modest when it comes to the world of epic cinema. Spartacus runs for more than three hours, and Ben Hur is over three and a half. Cleopatra clocks in at four hours and eleven minutes (the original cut was over six).
Most Shakespeare plays (if they are unabridged) run between three and four hours, while your typical Wagner opera was intended (as Peter Schickele memorably put it) for "that boring stretch between leap years."
All of this is to say that The Big Country could have been bigger.
The difference of course is that I'm not planning to show any of those other films anytime soon; but I am showing The Big Country on Thursday.
This is not a decision I am making lightly.
The Big Country was very well received when it was first released, and has gone on to become a landmark of mid-Century American cinema. Burl Ives (deservedly) won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, and President Eisenhower considered it one of his all-time favourite films (more about that in a moment).
So it's very revealing that many devotees of the "Western" genre actually dislike it. One reviewer on IMDB sums up the perspective of the Wild West community:
This is the opposite of a good, entertaining western. If you want to watch a good western then please stay away from this movie. Go watch one of Sergio Leone's masterpieces or Clint Eastwood; John Wayne... But this movie is just long and boring. Definitely not worth watching.
[Lightly edited for coherence and basic grammar]
The Big Country has a Big Secret. It's not really a Western.
Yes, it's set in the 19th Century American West, and yes, it has horses and guns and a musical score that borrows heavily from Aaron Copland (who was exactly as much of a cowboy as I am, by the way) but The Big Country marches to the beat of a different kettle of fish.
It tells the story of Jim McKay (Gregory Peck) a sea captain who has travelled two thousand miles across country to marry his fiancé Pat Terrill (Carroll Baker). The locals are singularly unimpressed with this East Coast urban sophisticate, whose manner and appearance are glaringly out of synch with the rest of the community.
He very quickly discovers that he has wandered into the middle of a... situation... between Pat's father and Rufus Hannassey (Burl Ives), the patriarch of a rival household. Their mutual hatred and escalating antagonism has poisoned the entire district, and threatens to develop into an all-out range war.
Director William Wyler (another Cowboy, exactly like Aaron Copland) very explicitly intended this as an allegory for the Cold War, and that allegory was not lost on his audience in 1958. As I mentioned earlier, President Eisenhower considered this his favourite film, and had it screened (repeatedly) at the White House while he was in office. I'm just not sure which character he thought he was...
But The Big Country is far more than merely a metaphor for the Cold War. Gregory Peck's character is extremely unusual for a Hollywood Western (one of the reasons why many Western fans react badly to it) and the story of the film grounds itself unambiguously in the personal. It may be a big country (as characters never tire of reminding Gregory Peck) but it's a very intimate drama. And it includes one of the coldest and cruellest insults a father could ever level at his son, as you will see on Thursday.
Charlton Heston, by the way, appears here in a slightly unusual supporting role (he normally plays the lead).
This was, by all accounts an extremely difficult and challenging production, but Heston and Wyler were at least able to relax a little afterwards, when they moved directly on to their next project: a little film called Ben Hur.
Because of The Big Country's hefty running time, I plan to forego my usual introductory ramblings on Thursday. We will start the film on the dot of 7.30, which should allow us to finish at an appropriate hour.
This is a monumental film, but it's also a surprisingly understated and subtle one. A study in contrasts, if you will.
One might even say that it's Genre Fluid.
We will screen The Big Country (promptly!) at 7.30 on Thursday, the 17th of October at the Victoria Park Baptist Church.
Comments
Post a Comment