Legends of Western Cinema Week 2024 | Kick-Off + Tag

Another Legends of Western Cinema Week has come around the mountain, y'all!  Today marks the beginning of a rollicking summer tradition hosted by Heidi, Rachel, and myself, during which we celebrate all things Western.  We invite you to join in the fun by contributing your own Western-themed posts over the next several days:  reviews, lists, analyses, games, etc. — you name it!  

As always, we're starting things off with a fresh set of tag questions — or, in this case, tag prompts.  Following last year's lead, we're providing you all with a list of adjectives to fit to the Western of your choice.  Want to see what I mean?  Read on for my own answers.

2024 Tag Prompts

Cozy

Gritty

Serious

Comedic

Romantic

Lively 

Unpredictable

Hopeful

Joyful

Adventurous

My Tag Answers

Cozy

Does it get any cozier than the outrageous Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)?  Not in a conversation about Westerns, at any rate.  Romanticized pioneer lifestyle, boisterous dance breaks, problematic romances — what's not to love?

Gritty

Hostiles (2017) is difficult to watch at times, but very, very worth it.  You can read my review, with more detailed thoughts, here.

Serious

It's not necessarily a dark or heavy show, but Stagecoach (1939) does produce an overall impression of gravity, both through its somber plot and its noirish cinematography.

Comedic

Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969) was pitched to me as a hilarious time, and it lived up to its reputation.  My co-host Rachel can attest that I spent my entire first viewing of the film wheezing with laughter.

Romantic

Can Far and Away (1992) be classified as a Western?  Technically, only a smallish percentage of it actually takes place in the American West, but the whole film builds to that smallish percentage as the protagonists dream their way across the continent, so I'm going to count it.  And Romantic — both in the lowercase lovey-dovey sense and in the uppercase nineteenth-century artistic movement sense — it could most certainly be called.

Lively

Quigley Down Under (1990) fits several of these prompts, but one of the foremost characteristics that stands out in my mind when thinking about it is indeed its liveliness.  As I've said before, it juggles genuinely weighty subject matter and a deliciously rollicking tone without diminishing either.  Sublime stuff.

Unpredictable

While I couldn't necessarily call Broken Trail (2006) a surprising show, some of the details of the conclusion pan out in unexpected or unorthodox ways.

Hopeful

I'm not exactly sure why, but The Magnificent Seven (1960) always leaves me feeling very soft and comforted and hopeful.  Maybe it's the quiet heroism of the characters or the way the narrative highlights and values simple domesticity, but whatever it is, I appreciate it.

Joyful

This may be an unusual choice, but I think I'll go with The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975).  "Joy" may be an exaggerated term to use to describe the happiness that this movie produces, but we shan't quibble.  The film is fun and lighthearted and humorous, and it features a number of really cute relationship dynamics, so we're rolling with it. 

Adventurous

It's been several years since I watched it, but I remember The War Wagon (1967) as being a jaunty little caper of an old-fashioned Western.  Perhaps I can use this year's party as motivation to revisit it and find out whether my recollections are accurate.

Link-Up

As you publish your own contributions to this week's party, don't forget to come back and leave links to them in the widget below, either in this post or in either of my co-hosts' kick-off posts.  That way, everyone can enjoy all of the festivities!

P.S.  Also, be sure to check out Heidi's and Rachel's blogs for a couple of fun giveaways!

Hats off, fellas!