Newt's John Wayne Site Newsletter

Howdy Pilgrim.

It's time again for the happenings on the John Wayne front here at Newt's John Wayne Site.

• CLICK HERE for a list of films starring John Wayne on TV showing in the near future. This site is set for my area listings, click the link next to "Local listings for:" (just to the right of the date) and enter your zip code and TV provider for listings in your area.
  

• December 14th Paramount released True Grit (1969) on Blu-Ray. We had a giveaway of three of these discs thanks to Paramount Home Video. The random winners were Debra Lombardo of Manchester,PA and Joyce Stewart of Lake Charles, LA. Kristina Kemp of LaJunta, CO was chosen for her reason that she should be a winner. Here is what she told me. "Why should I win this Blu-Ray?? Because I believe there is, there has been, and there will only ever be one Rooster Cogburn, and it ain't Jeff Bridges. Oh I guess he was a bit humorous and overall, it was a good watch, but no one can compare to John Wayne. Not now, not ever. 'Nuff said. Thanks for the contest!!".
  

• On Turner Classic Movies (TCM) channel this month there is only one John Wayne listing. On February 12 at 1:00 pm there will be a showing of Stagecoach. This showing is Pacific Time, check your local listings for the time in your area.
  

• There are a couple of DVD sets out there that a true John Wayne fan might want, I have added these sets to the John Wayne Store DVD Boxed Sets page.
  

  First, Synergy Entertainment released John Wayne: Bigger Than Life on January 25th. The three-disc set includes the western comedy McLintock! (1963) and three documentaries: Bigger Than Life (1990), covering the legend's life and films; The American West of John Ford (1971), highlighting the career and western films of acclaimed director John Ford, including interviews with Wayne and other colleagues; and No Substitute for Victory (1970), hosted by Wayne, about the communist threat and its zenith in Vietnam. Extras are rare TV appearances by Wayne on Art Linkletter's People Are Funny (1958); The Colgate Comedy Hour (October 11, 1953); Wide Wide World (1958) in a segment called "The Western"; and The Lucy Show (1966), in which Wayne plays himself as Lucy (Lucille Ball) is sent to deliver some papers pertaining to the financing of one of his latest productions.
  

  Next, if you want some of the Duke's 1930s westerns, this 4 discs set is loaded and for under $5, John Wayne - The Ultimate collection. This set is from Mill Creek Entertainment and the run time is 1645 minutes.
  

• The time has come for me to add my two cents worth in the review of the new True Grit movie. First of all the John Wayne version gets the edge in my opinion but Jeff Bridges version is pretty good too. Remakes are not generally as good as this one. Of course, the Coen Brothers have said this is not a remake of the earlier film but a closer adherence to the novel. Both films are pretty close to the book, if fact, when Charles Portis wrote the book he had John Wayne in mind for the film role.
  

  One of the high points in this movie is the performance from actress Hailee Steinfeld. Even though she�s just 14 years old, she carries the character of Mattie Ross with such an unwavering determination you�d think she has been doing this for years. The Coens, whose casting is usually spot-on, have discovered a superb young actress, Hailee Steinfeld, to play Mattie; she's the right age (she was 13 when the film was shot) and she has the intelligence and determination required for the role. Mattie is the story's most interesting character. and Steinfeld confirms she possesses the "true grit" necessary to play a child who has been forced to become an adult very quickly.
  

  Jeff Bridges, who is perhaps most well known for his previous role as �The Dude� from the Coen brothers� �The Big Lebowski,� fills the shoes left by John Wayne as US Marshall Cogburn, who was hired by Mattie Ross to hunt down the man that killed her father. Bridges sometimes leans into the tired old cowboy character leftover from his previous Oscar winning performance in the film �Crazy Heart,� but it�s the overall care that makes it an impressive performance.
  

  The arrogant Texas Ranger played by Matt Damon doesn�t have as much screen time as Steinfield and Bridges, but is honest in portraying such a conflicted loner. His character�s goals conflict with the mission behind the plot of the film and his general inability to work with the others leads to many confrontations; events force him to reevaluate his priorities, leading him to save the day by the end. His performance is by far a lot better than Glen Campbell's in the original film. Of course, Damon is an acomplished actor and Campbell was not.
  

  There seems to be some resentment in blogs and reviews of this movie about the scene where Rooster kicks the indian children. Most of the comments I have seen are aimed at the moral flaws and prejudice against Native-Americans. If you watch the scene carefully, Rooster kicks the children not because they are Choctaw children but because they were mistreating a tied-up mule. Some people just have to interject racism for racism sake. This is not to say that there wasn't racism against Native-Americans during this period.
  

  The ending is more to the ending from the book whereas the 1969 ending was more of a feel good, happy ending that made the audience have a good time. The new True Grit isn�t better or worse than the original; it�s just a different way of telling the same story, a different tone, I would say. The talent in the writing/directing and a few surprises from the cast make this more than a worthwhile watch.
  

  I hope that you will view the new film and I would like to hear your comments and comparisons of these two films. To make a truly good comparison of the films, you might want to read the book True Grit by Charles Portis.
  

Later Pilgrim,
Paul Newton