Hostiles is one of the best westerns I’ve ever seen. One of the best stories I’ve watched on screen. The script, cinematography, acting, themes, depth, pacing, detail, you name it. I doubt it will ever get knocked out of my top 10 westerns. I rewatch it often.
I have a rule: you can't judge a film until you see it twice (not caring to see again is okay - some good films I've never cared to see again). Alamo: four times. Very, very well done. Hardly a weak scene. A truly great AND important film.
Adding to the love for Hostiles here. First film i saw in 2017 and set a pretty high bar for the rest of the year. I think if Heaven's Gate had an extended version to make the story more coherent and got released as a limited series on a streaming service it would be successful today.
I was in Wild Wild West. Spent several days there. The top memory of my years working in that industry was hanging out, cutting up, and having a scene with Buck Taylor (didn't make the final cut) - a hero of my youth and gentleman, this was a real treat, and the highlight of WWW for me. During delays, Kline entertained cast (over 100) and crew with jokes. Salma Hayek will forever have my respect for standing up for all the ladies in the brothel scene when the POS director kept wanting them to reveal more and more. They were terrified and she championed them. Also have good memories hanging out with Ted Levine as we talked horses, saddles, and tack amongst other small talk. The production was shut down for most of a day when a SAG rep came in on a tip to investigate these sexually improper activities. The tone changed afterwards. The director, sonnenfeld, made his initial mark in the business as a record holding p@&n director. F that weasel.
Heavens Gate was eviscerated in a recut by the studio before it was released due to length. The restored full Director's version is now considered a masterpeice.
Except for Wild, Wild, West (and Seraphim Falls, which I haven't seen) these are all good movies. I've watched Paint Your Wagon many times because I really like it (including the songs). When I saw Heaven's Gate the first time I had low expectations due to the bad publicity, but I thought it was a darn good movie. Cowboys and Aliens was highly improbable but a lot of fun to watch. I also like Alamo and Hostiles and are on my regular rewatch list. One of the comments below says Seraphim Falls is on yoootooob. I have to look for it now.
The Alamo is a great film and much superior to John Wayne's strutting jingoist vanity project which also flopped on release - Heaven's Gate is a masterpiece of modern cinema that has been rightly been reappraised in the years since. Audiences just want to be spoonfed the same plot and CGI over and over so that they don't have to think - just look at the success of Avatar
I remember the 1980's Lone Ranger also had a little bit of controversy. Clayton Moore the Lone Ranger most people remember used to make public appearances as the Lone Ranger. The studio obtained a court order prohibiting Moore from making future appearances as The Lone Ranger. They felt there was that there was only one Lone Ranger and it wasn't him. Huge backlash. People just saw it as bullying an old man. I know that the movie is awful, but I'm sure many people made the decision not to support it, period.
The ones that get me (in any genre, really) are those where the studio paid to have them made, could see that they were good, and then didn't bother to even do a minimum of marketing to support them.
I hated Westerns as a kid, my dad would watch them and they seemed so boring and felt like they would never end. As an adult and filmmaker I've come to appreciate the genre and have dabbled in a few myself, they're an important part of filmmaking history. I particularly love Hostiles, I didn't realize it was that much of a bomb theatrically. The performances are stellar indeed. I'll have to check out Seraphim Falls which I hadn't heard of, that sounds like my kind of film. Thanks for the vid!
"Paint Your Wagon" was a musical comedy set in a historic period that the audience knew nothing about, starring two actors who made their reputations playing killers... and who couldn't sing. The love interest couldn't sing either. Julie Newmar always shone, even in bad roles. "Hostiles" should have done better, but "wild, Wild West" was ridiculous and Salma Hayek was seriously under-utilized.
Heaven's Gate is actually a masterpiece. UA's panic cost them their company. They hired an editor to chop 70 minutes out of the version they originally screened and were stupid enough to let all of their consternation and negative opinions about the film get into the press. The release version made no sense to viewers. It destroyed the pace and narrative. By the time the any version was released, the public had been warned away. I saw the release version anyway since I enjoyed westerns. It was a mess. You would've believed that Cimino didn't know how to tell a story. If they had kept their mouths shut, released the current restored version and promoted it as an epic western then it might have made enough to save the studio. The United Artist execs were their own worst enemies.
That's the legend, but that was their excuse for destroying the movie. It was cut to nothing by the studio before release because they were afraid of the length. The restored original Director's version is now highly regarded. I remember one of teh critics of the theathrical version hated it, but when she saw the full version she described it as a masterpeice. I think if it had of been made after Dances with Wolves, (running time 3 hours) they would have released the original and history would be quite different.
Well, I’ve never claimed to have the ability to discern a good movie from a bad one! So, this list includes two movies I really like’ “ Hostiles”&”Paint Your Wagon”! Let me also add that I think that “Istar” with Warren Beatty & Dustin Hoffman is one of the funniest movies ever made! Charles Grodin was a big plus in the movie & yes it too lost money & cost Elaine May, the director, her career!
The Alamo is about perfect...as i see it as a Texan...It was not promoted as it should have been....I watch it with pride..It is a jewel of a history lesson...Disney has not well promoting any of their projects..
This video opens up with a false statement: ''Hollywood loves a good western''. No it doesn't. When even a renowned actor or director wants to make a western it takes years to push the project forward. Often, people like Kevin Costner have to finance the projects themselves. Hollywood doesn't like a good western. Just look at the two best movies in this list, Seraphim Falls and Hostiles. They died at the box office even thought (contrary to the rest of the movies on this list) they were very good movies, Hollywood didn't believe in them and gave them no support at all. When Hollywood gets excited about westerns is when they can make it into a mega-production with tons of special effect (Cowboys & Aliens, 2013's Lone Ranger, Wid Wild West, Jonah Hex, and even 2016 Magnificient Seven with it's superhero-style cowboys and ridiculously big orgy of explosions at the end). The western setting is just an afterthought. Hollywood wants big stars, big budget, big explosions, big special effects. The story or setting is not that important.
3:45 *I read that the unknown kid chosen to play the lead was so obnoxious & unbearable that when he left a group, cast & crew would mock him saying "who was that masked asshole?"* _(a subversion of the traditional question asked by people The Lone Ranger helps; after he leaves without waiting to be thanked, they'd say "Who was that masked man?"_
Legend of the lone ranger. They also had to dub the actors voice with James Keach. Also he's an unknown the director and producer should've reminded the actor that he's lucky to be there.
I remember being in one of those focus groups for whatever oil company was sponsoring "Wild West." (A show I loved as a kid). I made no bones about how god-awful that movie was, and the side-hustles the company was pimping (like their SUNGLASSES) associated with the movie. I tried to watch it when it came out, but only made it about 10 minutes or so, and that was far too long. What a vile piece of puke of a film!
Everyone forgets Jonah Hex, including you. Cost $45 million, made $11 million Josh Brolin, John Malkovich, Megan Fox, Michael Fassbender, Will Arnett, Michael Shannon. Still sucks. The original comic character is good enough to be an easy adaptation to the big screen - he's a ruthless bounty hunter and killer. Didn't need to go for a sci-fi nonsense plot.
HEAVEN'S GATE has been bashed for far too long and I personally enjoyed THE LONE RANGER. They weren't perfect films, but they DIDN'T deserve all that vitriol!!!
There's some good movies on this list. "The Alamo" was decent adn I would say ot was more accurate than John Wayne's movie, which I liked too. I was born in '78 and we had a VHS copy of "The Legend of the Loner Ranger". I watched it s lot as a kid and watching it as an adult, I still enjoy it. Christopher Lloyd was an awesome villain and the ranger ambush scene was brutal. We also had a copy of "MacKenna's Gold". I think that one would be a good candidate for a reboot. Lastly, "Hostiles" was a magnificent movie. Action packer? No, but it was a great story, had excellent perfromances and didn't try to go over the top. There are many other westerns that belong on this list, even ones tht were successful movies.
Can we just say the obvious. You can't have a black secret agent during this time period. And then all the other ridiculousness just piles on. Nobody involved with this film actually watched the original television show (maybe Kevin Kline, but he still missed the mark).
OK, I’ll throw in a couple thumbs up for Cowboys & Aliens as a well-done mix just like the title sounds. Maybe that was the problem - sounded like a joke. And I hope that Daniel Craig gets another chance to star in a Western! He was terrific in it! However, Hostiles never rang true for me. For a story that is supposed to cover a lot of physical territory, the locations were very limited. This is a West of imaginary geography. And Seraphim Falls? That was one of the biggest WTF? endings of all time.
The box-office fails from the 60's were not underrated. Having worked for a film producer, it takes 1 day to film 2 minutes of movie. The final battle at the Alamo may have lasted 20 minutes, but that has sod all to do with how long the scenes in the film are, nor how long it took to film them. Duh!! Eedjiots. Cowboys and aliens was just effing nonsense. Surprised it grossed %1. Hostiles was a good movie.
Why did cowboys & aliens cost so much? sometimes some movies just should not be made And do not forget Cuttroat Island, omg WHY? the lone ranger why???? very bad idea, likw who was running Disney at that time, shame on you.
A collection of mediocre movies with one or two gems like hostiles (which studio under advertise) bu most were just bad, like heavens gate which tucked. Depp's lone ranger proves big star, showing he has a strange side. And bad timing, poor scripts, actors who seem to be forgetting how to act.
Hostiles is one of the best westerns I’ve ever seen. One of the best stories I’ve watched on screen. The script, cinematography, acting, themes, depth, pacing, detail, you name it. I doubt it will ever get knocked out of my top 10 westerns. I rewatch it often.
Could not agree more. It’s my favorite movie of all time. It doesn’t feel like a movie it feels real. I watch it every year
Hostiles is a Western Masterpiece!
Absolutely true...
Hostiles was an excellent story told by an impressive cast.
Cowboys and Aliens was a fun movie...
The Alamo is actually a really good film. Hostiles is excellent. But both these movies I never heard of until their theatrical run was over
I only ever heard about the movie when it came out on DVD. I've enjoyed it from first viewing.
You should defiantly check out Seraphim Falls if you enjoyed Hostiles
I have a rule: you can't judge a film until you see it twice (not caring to see again is okay - some good films I've never cared to see again).
Alamo: four times. Very, very well done. Hardly a weak scene. A truly great AND important film.
Hostiles was a great movie 👌🏻
Agreed 👍
I loved "Hostiles"
Adding to the love for Hostiles here. First film i saw in 2017 and set a pretty high bar for the rest of the year.
I think if Heaven's Gate had an extended version to make the story more coherent and got released as a limited series on a streaming service it would be successful today.
I liked both Alamo and Hostiles very much.
Hostiles stands head and shoulders above the rest of these. The Alamo taking 2nd place.
Well you gave me two films to try to track down: Hostiles and Seraphim Falls.
both excellent, seraphim falls was on youtube for a bit...ua-cam.com/video/m2HIv8gLvTA/v-deo.html&ab_channel=MoviedomeUK
@@eddiemcgrath8536 Rats! It's not available in the US. :(
Seraphim falls is amazing and so is hostiles. Don't let bad reviews keep you away.
MacKenna's gold is one of my favorite westerns.
Hostiles was so good & Julie Newmar in Mckenna's was .... stunning!
I was in Wild Wild West. Spent several days there. The top memory of my years working in that industry was hanging out, cutting up, and having a scene with Buck Taylor (didn't make the final cut) - a hero of my youth and gentleman, this was a real treat, and the highlight of WWW for me.
During delays, Kline entertained cast (over 100) and crew with jokes.
Salma Hayek will forever have my respect for standing up for all the ladies in the brothel scene when the POS director kept wanting them to reveal more and more. They were terrified and she championed them.
Also have good memories hanging out with Ted Levine as we talked horses, saddles, and tack amongst other small talk.
The production was shut down for most of a day when a SAG rep came in on a tip to investigate these sexually improper activities. The tone changed afterwards.
The director, sonnenfeld, made his initial mark in the business as a record holding p@&n director. F that weasel.
Perhaps IMDB doesn't list pawn, but I can't see Sonnenfeld's name on any such film. Not saying he isn't a w4nk3r.
Heavens Gate was eviscerated in a recut by the studio before it was released due to length. The restored full Director's version is now considered a masterpeice.
Many of these westerns have done very well on European TV Channels and some have even become classics.
Except for Wild, Wild, West (and Seraphim Falls, which I haven't seen) these are all good movies. I've watched Paint Your Wagon many times because I really like it (including the songs). When I saw Heaven's Gate the first time I had low expectations due to the bad publicity, but I thought it was a darn good movie. Cowboys and Aliens was highly improbable but a lot of fun to watch. I also like Alamo and Hostiles and are on my regular rewatch list. One of the comments below says Seraphim Falls is on yoootooob. I have to look for it now.
The Alamo is a great film and much superior to John Wayne's strutting jingoist vanity project which also flopped on release - Heaven's Gate is a masterpiece of modern cinema that has been rightly been reappraised in the years since. Audiences just want to be spoonfed the same plot and CGI over and over so that they don't have to think - just look at the success of Avatar
Cowboys and Aliens is a great, entertaining movie. I love westerns and monster alien movies, put em together and pass me the popcorn.
Exactly right....
I remember the 1980's Lone Ranger also had a little bit of controversy. Clayton Moore the Lone Ranger most people remember used to make public appearances as the Lone Ranger. The studio obtained a court order prohibiting Moore from making future appearances as The Lone Ranger. They felt there was that there was only one Lone Ranger and it wasn't him. Huge backlash. People just saw it as bullying an old man. I know that the movie is awful, but I'm sure many people made the decision not to support it, period.
Cowboys and Aliens was fun!
Heaven’s Gates problem was that it was way too long. Hostiles was very good.
Actually Sepharim Falls was a bloody good movie and for free on YT .
The ones that get me (in any genre, really) are those where the studio paid to have them made, could see that they were good, and then didn't bother to even do a minimum of marketing to support them.
I hated Westerns as a kid, my dad would watch them and they seemed so boring and felt like they would never end. As an adult and filmmaker I've come to appreciate the genre and have dabbled in a few myself, they're an important part of filmmaking history. I particularly love Hostiles, I didn't realize it was that much of a bomb theatrically. The performances are stellar indeed. I'll have to check out Seraphim Falls which I hadn't heard of, that sounds like my kind of film. Thanks for the vid!
Seraphim Falls is a great morality play. Very much worth watching
"Paint Your Wagon" was a musical comedy set in a historic period that the audience knew nothing about, starring two actors who made their reputations playing killers... and who couldn't sing. The love interest couldn't sing either.
Julie Newmar always shone, even in bad roles.
"Hostiles" should have done better, but "wild, Wild West" was ridiculous and Salma Hayek was seriously under-utilized.
“There’s a Coach coming in “. 🤣. Marvin & Eastwood were brilliant..
I actually do talk to the trees .. They said , enough with ferking pruning fella
2004 ALAMO was FANTASTIC. Watchability.
Heaven's Gate is actually a masterpiece. UA's panic cost them their company. They hired an editor to chop 70 minutes out of the version they originally screened and were stupid enough to let all of their consternation and negative opinions about the film get into the press. The release version made no sense to viewers. It destroyed the pace and narrative. By the time the any version was released, the public had been warned away. I saw the release version anyway since I enjoyed westerns. It was a mess. You would've believed that Cimino didn't know how to tell a story. If they had kept their mouths shut, released the current restored version and promoted it as an epic western then it might have made enough to save the studio. The United Artist execs were their own worst enemies.
Heaven's Gate was a remains a giant, cocaine fueled ego trip by an all too powerful director whom the execs at UA were too scared to say no to.
That's the legend, but that was their excuse for destroying the movie. It was cut to nothing by the studio before release because they were afraid of the length. The restored original Director's version is now highly regarded. I remember one of teh critics of the theathrical version hated it, but when she saw the full version she described it as a masterpeice. I think if it had of been made after Dances with Wolves, (running time 3 hours) they would have released the original and history would be quite different.
The Alamo was good. Hostiles was great.
Finally Hostiles is mentioned somewhere. Too bad it’s a flop list haha. Absolutely amazing movie
Both Alamo and Hostiles are very good movies, especially Hostiles. Seraphim Falls is pretty good as well.
Well, I’ve never claimed to have the ability to discern a good movie from a bad one! So, this list includes two movies I really like’ “ Hostiles”&”Paint Your Wagon”! Let me also add that I think that “Istar” with Warren Beatty & Dustin Hoffman is one of the funniest movies ever made! Charles Grodin was a big plus in the movie & yes it too lost money & cost Elaine May, the director, her career!
The Alamo is about perfect...as i see it as a Texan...It was not promoted as it should have been....I watch it with pride..It is a jewel of a history lesson...Disney has not well promoting any of their projects..
This video opens up with a false statement: ''Hollywood loves a good western''. No it doesn't. When even a renowned actor or director wants to make a western it takes years to push the project forward. Often, people like Kevin Costner have to finance the projects themselves. Hollywood doesn't like a good western. Just look at the two best movies in this list, Seraphim Falls and Hostiles. They died at the box office even thought (contrary to the rest of the movies on this list) they were very good movies, Hollywood didn't believe in them and gave them no support at all. When Hollywood gets excited about westerns is when they can make it into a mega-production with tons of special effect (Cowboys & Aliens, 2013's Lone Ranger, Wid Wild West, Jonah Hex, and even 2016 Magnificient Seven with it's superhero-style cowboys and ridiculously big orgy of explosions at the end). The western setting is just an afterthought. Hollywood wants big stars, big budget, big explosions, big special effects. The story or setting is not that important.
3:45 *I read that the unknown kid chosen to play the lead was so obnoxious & unbearable that when he left a group, cast & crew would mock him saying "who was that masked asshole?"* _(a subversion of the traditional question asked by people The Lone Ranger helps; after he leaves without waiting to be thanked, they'd say "Who was that masked man?"_
I didn't know "Seraphim Falls" was released theatrically. I thought it was direct to cable.
Legend of the lone ranger. They also had to dub the actors voice with James Keach.
Also he's an unknown the director and producer should've reminded the actor that he's lucky to be there.
I remember being in one of those focus groups for whatever oil company was sponsoring "Wild West." (A show I loved as a kid). I made no bones about how god-awful that movie was, and the side-hustles the company was pimping (like their SUNGLASSES) associated with the movie. I tried to watch it when it came out, but only made it about 10 minutes or so, and that was far too long. What a vile piece of puke of a film!
Everyone forgets Jonah Hex, including you. Cost $45 million, made $11 million
Josh Brolin, John Malkovich, Megan Fox, Michael Fassbender, Will Arnett, Michael Shannon. Still sucks.
The original comic character is good enough to be an easy adaptation to the big screen - he's a ruthless bounty hunter and killer. Didn't need to go for a sci-fi nonsense plot.
HEAVEN'S GATE has been bashed for far too long and I personally enjoyed THE LONE RANGER. They weren't perfect films, but they DIDN'T deserve all that vitriol!!!
Remember when Alamo came out $140M was a lot of money to Disney
There's some good movies on this list. "The Alamo" was decent adn I would say ot was more accurate than John Wayne's movie, which I liked too. I was born in '78 and we had a VHS copy of "The Legend of the Loner Ranger". I watched it s lot as a kid and watching it as an adult, I still enjoy it. Christopher Lloyd was an awesome villain and the ranger ambush scene was brutal. We also had a copy of "MacKenna's Gold". I think that one would be a good candidate for a reboot. Lastly, "Hostiles" was a magnificent movie. Action packer? No, but it was a great story, had excellent perfromances and didn't try to go over the top. There are many other westerns that belong on this list, even ones tht were successful movies.
Watch The Directors Cut of Heavens Gate. A totally different film. A masterpiece. The cinema release wasn't what Cimino wanted.
Paint your wagon was a great movie
I liked Paint Your Wagon. I thought it was funny.
Someday someone will make a good Lone Ranger movie
I was going to movies more than every other week in 2017, and I never heard of Hostiles. Might be part of the reason it didn't do good box office.
I like everyone of these movies
Same. Except Paint Your Wagon.
Can we just say the obvious. You can't have a black secret agent during this time period. And then all the other ridiculousness just piles on. Nobody involved with this film actually watched the original television show (maybe Kevin Kline, but he still missed the mark).
HEAVENS GATE'S box office was so low because the studio and director pulled it from release
Johnny Depp as Tonto was a galactic mistake. It was also a bad move considering what was going on in American culture at the time.
9:23 Hostiles is a fantastic film.
Hostiles is a very good movie
No need to be snide about a man's death.
Hmm, Paint your Wagon and Hostiles are some of my favorite movies. but then I watch Paint your Wagon for Lee Marvin, not Clint Eastwood.
there are a few movies here that if watched on regular tv nowdays are really good and deserve a second look.😮
OK, I’ll throw in a couple thumbs up for Cowboys & Aliens as a well-done mix just like the title sounds. Maybe that was the problem - sounded like a joke. And I hope that Daniel Craig gets another chance to star in a Western! He was terrific in it!
However, Hostiles never rang true for me. For a story that is supposed to cover a lot of physical territory, the locations were very limited. This is a West of imaginary geography. And Seraphim Falls? That was one of the biggest WTF? endings of all time.
The box-office fails from the 60's were not underrated.
Having worked for a film producer, it takes 1 day to film 2 minutes of movie. The final battle at the Alamo may have lasted 20 minutes, but that has sod all to do with how long the scenes in the film are, nor how long it took to film them. Duh!! Eedjiots.
Cowboys and aliens was just effing nonsense. Surprised it grossed %1. Hostiles was a good movie.
The lone ranger will always be Clayton Moore, y'all took away most of what was America.
Why did cowboys & aliens cost so much? sometimes some movies just should not be made
And do not forget Cuttroat Island, omg WHY? the lone ranger why???? very bad idea, likw who was running Disney at that time, shame on you.
Heavens Gate was not a bad film.
Paint Your Wagon was a GREAT comedy film! The rest of these?...total DROSS.
Disney’s Alamo was hands down, 100% better than Wayne’s Alamo, in every way.
Nope
Wild wild West is garbage Paint your wagon extremly underrated HOSTILES one of C Bale's best performances Seraphim Falls as good as The Grey
A collection of mediocre movies with one or two gems like hostiles (which studio under advertise) bu most were just bad, like heavens gate which tucked. Depp's lone ranger proves big star, showing he has a strange side. And bad timing, poor scripts, actors who seem to be forgetting how to act.
Your choices at the end did not lose much, so do not deserve to be here
I enjoyed Cowboys and Aliens. Will Smith is a joke.
Seraphim falls is actually quite a good film but the rest ,well typical Hollywood stereotype rubbish.
Nah....Critics, fans, history got it right the first time, these are all pedestrian at best, underserving of the acclaim this video suggests.
Will Smith miscast. Not up to the standard
Wild Wild West isnt underrated it's just a terrible movie.
Hostiles was and still is excellent