Western Movies: Expansive Tales Of Ethnic Conflicts

The genre of western movies depicts stories and themes which are laid in the second half of the 19th century. The conflicts in the western movies are between natives and the settlers, or between the farmers and the ranchers. The theme holds the viewers intently until the end of the movie.

The plot of all best western movies is based on the archetypal conflict between the good and bad, new arrivals (settlers) vs. Native Americans (usually portrayed as savages), virtue vs. evil etc.

In a sense western movies celebrate the nostalgia of the untamed.  Or the expansive clash between civilization and wilderness. Nevertheless, western movies are the oldest; enduring and characteristically American with mythical origins.

Western movies are populated with the heroes who are law enforcement officers, army officers, ranchers or skilled gun fighters.

The typical ingredients of Western movies are guns and gun fights, horses, human massacres, train and bank robberies, kidnappings etc.’

Memorable actors and heroes in western films need a mention. All western movies have heroes enacting gunfights, town marshals, or bounty hunters. The best western movie heroes ride horses, chase bad guys, hunt and kill if needed.

Here are the great heroes of western Movies. John Wayne is undoubtedly the best western movie actor. He was noticed in “The Big Trail; “Riders of Destiny”: “The High and The Mighty”.

Clint Eastwood was famous for his role as Rowdy Yates in the movie “Rawhide.” His biggest roles included “A Fistful of Dollars” in 1963.

James Stewart is a veteran. His films “The Murder Man”: “Destry Rides Again” received critical acclaim. Robert Redford was a great actor in films “Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid” and “Jeremiah Johnson” and “War Hunt.”

A Quick List of Top 10 Western Movies

•    Johnny Guitar
•    Ride in the Whirlwind
•    The Shooting
•    Great Silence
•    Little Big Man
•    High Plains Drifter
•    Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
•    Keoma
•    Ravenous
•    The Proposition

Oscar Touch: Ticket to Big Glory

All Oscar movies seem to get a double life as soon as they are nominated or declared winner of the Oscar award. Such is the power and glamour or appeal of the coveted Oscar award in film making.

Some examples are. In 2011 many of the Oscar nominations were shared by 'The King's Speech,' 'Black Swan,' 'The Social Network,' 'True Grit,' 'Toy Story 3' and 'Inception'.

In that crowd of seemingly Goliaths there stood a small film called 'Winter's Bone,' that made a scant $6 million since its release.  Thanks to OSCAR nominations, the fortunes changed and jumped from obscurity to instant glory and attention.

Similarly, in 2004, the Brazilian film 'City of God' was hardly famous. As soon as four nominations, including Best Director award went to Fernando Meirelles  the movie had a new destiny and has since been called as one of the greatest movies of all time.

Same was the case with 'Il Postino' that received little attention until it got Oscar. When the Academy bestowed five nominations for the Italian movie, the movie fans got a great film.

The movie also had a heartbreaking story when Best Actor nominee Massimo Troisi who head off heart surgery to complete the film and died just a few hours after shooting the final scene.

The Oscar movie 'Slumdog Millionaire' scripted a rags to riches story. Its rise from unknown indie to eight-time Oscar winner in 2008 paid off. Thanks to the Academy Awards; 'Slumdog Millionaire' jumped to number-one slot worldwide.

The Oscar touch of 'Crash' is different, Brokeback Mountain topped critic's list and became the talk of the town. But 'Crash' toppled all expectations and won the Best Picture award despite not carrying a nomination at the Golden Globes. The victory made it to a front page headliner overnight.

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Crime Movies: There is an Eerie Appeal!

Crime films portray heroic tales from the world of crime. The lives of underworld dons or ruthless hoodlums who defy the rule of law and run their mafia business, indulging in violence, murder and kidnapping come alive in vivid colors. 

Crime films vow the audience with their heroism and eerie ambience provided by large cities where starry nightclubs and streets dotting neon lights, fast cars, sleazy bars, drug peddlers, dingy living quarters together create a world smelling crime, revenge and ill-gotten money.

In the movies, the criminals evoke empathy with their materialistic, street-smart and self-destructive ways. Even in the era of silent movies, the crime genre got a head start with D. W. Griffith's The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912) glorifying organized crime.

In the modern era, 'The Godfather' tops the charts as the legendary crime film, adapted from Mario Puzo’s celebrated novel of that title. 'The Godfather'  tells the story of a decade long event in the (1945 to 1955) mafia syndicate of the Corleone crime family. Its sequels 'The Godfather Part II' in 1974 and 'The Godfather Part III' in 1990 also received rave reviews.

Hailed as the second greatest film in American cinematic history, Godfather has few parallels. It bagged so many Oscar awards. As a complete film Godfather mixes action, drama, intrigue, conspiracy, and tension in the right proportion. In the 1980s 'Scarface' reigned as a sensational gangster film. The 1990s lapped up Quentin Tarantini’s 'Pulp Fiction' starring John Travolta and Uma Thurman with its high degree of violence and dark humor.

Some other memorable crime movies include Mean Streets, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Goodfellas and The Untouchables.  Crime movies will flourish. There is a captive market and commercial success is unlikely to bother the film makers.

Action Movies Celebrate Expression Of Oppressed Voice

Action Movies generate adrenaline rush about exciting events and protagonists. No wonder action films are all time beloved for the movie goers. People watch action movies to identify themselves with the aggressive hero, who, despite many flaws battles many dark and evil forces. Whether it is the dark and brutal Batman of the recent action flicks or the flawed John McClane of "Die Hard," an action film’s hero is someone the audience can identify with.

Top 10 Action Movies

The following Top 10 list will illustrate the popularity of Hollywood action movies

1.    Die Hard (1988) directed by John McKiernan
2. The Dark Knight (2008) directed by Christopher Nolan
3. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) directed by Steven Spielberg
4. Troy (2004) directed by Wolfgang Petersen
5. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) directed by James Cameron
6. Jurassic Park (1993) directed by Steven Spielberg
7. Gladiator (2000) directed by Ridley Scott
8. Bourne Identity (2002) directed by Doug Liman
9. Star Wars (1999) directed by George Lucas
10. Batman Begins (2005) directed by Christopher Nolan

In the modern action movies we can still see the hangover of James Bond series.  The set patterns of larger-than-life characters; a powerful hero demolishing adversaries as a "one-man army" is still a working formula. The fast narration is made enjoyable with quick cutting, fist fights, car chases, amazing gadgets and elaborate action sequences. In the 1970s, new action movies had fused detective stories and urban crime dramas. Films such as Bullitt (1968), The French Connection (1971) and Dirty Harry (1971) were turning points in this genre. 

For a real adrenaline rush, there are war-action hybrids (First Blood and Missing in Action), science fiction (The Terminator, and Robocop), horror-action (Aliens and Predator), and musical-action-comedy (The Blues Brothers).

Comedy Movies: Medicine to Ease Mental Tension

Watching Comedy movies online helps to liberate depressing thoughts and worries. Comedy movies soothe frayed nerves unlike action flicks.

Watching comedy brings own advantages. It is as refreshing as you laugh aloud. It also aids in improving intelligence and problem solving. Watching Comedy Movies never burden the viewers with  heavy plots. They are lighter and are great fun. Fragile logic and loose plot make comedies taxing. Comic movies are free from complicated storylines, sophisticated weaponry, probing sleuths or benumbing mysteries.

Making Life Lighter

Watching comedy does not demand any loud thinking. In fact people watch comedy films to escape the rigors of thinking. Humor, laughter and mirth give the escape route from hard realities by making things lighter and flashing moments of happiness.

Origin and Evolution

Comedy films made the debut in 1895 with the arrival of sound cinema. Watching comedy reveals how slapstick humor and funny physical situations make the audience laugh and make mirth.

An example is Chaplin’s goofy style that can evoke instant laughs. Chaplin is comedy incarnate. The talking cinema or talkies in the 1920s brought lots of experiments into  the comedy genre and many sub genres took birth. This left the field open for filmmakers to explore the verbal humor and genres like romantic comedy, dark humor, satire and situational comedy.

The following comedies still give that breezy feeling …..

•    Groundhog Day
•    Death at a Funeral
•    Office Space
•    The Seven Year Itch
•    Dumb and Dumber
•    The Nutty Professor
•    Wedding Crashers
•    Big
•    The Hangover
•    Home Alone
•    Meet the Parents
•    Some Like it Hot
•    The 40-Year-Old Virgin
•    Liar, Liar
•    Father of the Bride
•    Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
•    Bruce Almighty
•    Clerks II
•    The Simpsons Movie
•    Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Comedy can easily connect with the audience. Comedy differs from other movie genres because it is more of realism. Since comedy movies are inspired from real life, a viewer can easily relate to it.

Thrillers are Great Stress Busters

Thriller movies give an edge of the seat experience. Their nail biting climax is a great pull for a movie buff to watch the movie again and again. For committed thriller lovers watching thrillers online is an opportunity of a lifetime.

Thriller genre is vast and draws heavily from other genres also. Many find a thriller movie enjoyable, and appreciate the fast paced complex plots associated with this genre. Ever changing plot twists and red herrings and unpredictability make thrillers a great affliction for the cine goers.

The teething suspense of an action-packed thrill playing out resourceful heroes and exotic settings is a sure shot box office hit.

Thrillers come in varied hues--from supernaturals centering on mystical antagonists to mysteries of intriguing antagonists.

Modern themes probe into the workings of the legal system, environmental challenges, technology, or natural disasters.

Spy thriller is an established genre featuring a hero and a clever spy. All brave people or people who perceive themselves as brave love thriller movies. Over all, a thriller movie gives a cathartic experience. At the end, the fast-paced movie leaves the viewer in an intensely overjoyed state or exhilaration. Online movies offer supreme options to watch thriller movies online.

On the positive side, there is a finding that thriller movies serve as good stress busters and provide relief from monotonous mood swings. Famous thrillers such as The Silence of the Lambs: Se7en; Rear Window: The Usual Suspects: The Sixth Sense: Vertigo: Jaws: The Shining, North by Northwest are vigorously watched online by thriller enthusiasts.

Timeless Wonders Asserting Human Values

Online movies are soaring in popularity and user delight.  Now there is more demand to watch movies in more genre-specific areas. Classic movies are perhaps the best beneficiaries in this online demand.

In the online world a film lover gets the privilege to locate any movie produced at any point of time. Further flexibility lies in watching them at a person’s own pace.

Classic Movies refer to the movies produced in mid-20th century (late 1940s to 1960s) known as the Golden Age of Hollywood. The period gave so many lovely films, which became turning points in cinematic history. Stars such as, Clark Gable, Joan Crawford, Marilyn Monroe, Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn and directors like Orson Welles and Alfred Hitchcock thrived in this era.

Classics strike a chord with viewers of any age bracket. Now people are finding more reasons to connect with these movies when they are being watched in high quality, high definition streaming.

Discovering classic cinema is like a quest to understand the  basis and the values thereof that opened the doors for film making and vying for our imagination and attention.

Classic movies take us back to a time that may not have been familiar to us but that does not mean it is strange at all. The lessons learnt at the end of a movie, the morals are great take aways. They are all based on the idea that film as a popular medium probes life, humanity and its vicissitudes.

Themes such as love, hate, diversity, enmity, destiny and the downfalls of humanity are repeatedly explored in all movies. The only difference is that the technology is more developed now than the time classic movies were made.

Watching classic movies online is more enjoyable than watching them on TV. All we need is a computer and an internet connection.