4 replies to this topic

[Rippa]

Sorry about the lateness - my wife is insisting we watch this together so we haven't had a chance to do that yet.

Since we have already done the Simpsons clip a few times I will share that like many other... I didn't realize it was an actual movie until after that Simpsons episode and my Dad was like "You do realize that is a real movie - right?" and it blew my fucking mind.

Of course - I also figured out that my Dad was a Jean Seberg fan too...

Anyway - actual thoughts later

[Brian Fowler]

I always thought it was just a Simpsons joke as well, until finding a VHS copy of it at the library when I was in college.  My roommate and I watched it, and it was...  okay?  Strange?

No Name City, No Name City, God don't like you...

[jaedmc]

Finally got to finish this today.

Feally dug the first half. Lee Marvin was cool as hell and I love the feeling of the town. Just the atmosphere felt like the kind of place I want to be. I think if I lived during them days I'd be traveling with those guys. Clint Eastwood didn't bring a whole hell of a lot until the scene where they decided to share the chick. Sadly after intermission things start to become less interesting, which may have been the point, I suppose. The sparkle has faded.

The songs were't particularly good or memorable, they just kind of... existed. The only one worth listening to was the one that the miners sung "Where am I going, I don't know, When will I get there, I'm not for certain...." that was kind of catchy...but nothing much else about it outside of that hook.

Fun movie though. It's a weird flick that I didn't really expect. I don't know what I expected. And while it's not a great movie or anything, it's kind nice to have on in the background on a dreary day.

[Tim Evans]

Clint Eastwood and Lee Marvin singing just blew my mind. Eastwood actually wasn't that bad. I agree with Jae that the first half was good with Lee and Clint getting together. Then Clint gets Lee up from the muddy road and all the sudden it starts to drag. Just went on and on and on without anything really exciting. Interesting  concept but nothing memorable.

[The Unholy Dragon]

This is one of those weird movies. I have no idea what the fuck it's about, and objectively it's probably not very good, but hell if I didn't have a ton of fun with it along the way.

The weird thing is, this is my first Clint Eastwood movie AND my first Lee Marvin movie. Eastwood was great in his role but Marvin...my god. He wins me over by flipping from crazy entertaining old coot to dire depressed countryman and everywhere in between throughout. So many great moments for him in this and I can't help but wonder if Ric Flair got some of his schtick from Marvin because when he's yelling at Eastwood that he can't leave, I swear he's about to call himself the Nature Boy and let out a loud "WOO!"

It kind of amazes me watching older films how much bolder they were than modern stuff. You've got this scummy city played for laughs, with a Mormon auctioning off his spare wife who ends up with two husbands...forty-three years later and this feels like something that would never clear censors in North America. And I loved that they really did play that dynamic straight, with them finding ways to balance things before inevitably the desire to be 'civilized' tears them apart (just as Lee Marvin's character thought it would). There was some really great drama with some really memorable characters here and I dug it muchly.

Dunno how much the musical aspect added, but fuck it. I had fun.

And that's about the final word from me. It may not be a 'good' movie but I could easily see it as one of my favourites. Just a fun, crazy flick with fun, crazy performances by top notch actors. And a good time was had...