Sept. 25, 2002 - 11:03 pm
i think i might've given up my search for lists at this point. well, for tonight anyway. i returned to the safety of the huge National Film Registry list this evening. The Shootist is one of the over 300 titles already on that list. if anyone has ever wondered what exactly the registry is, you can take a look at the Library of Congress' information they've put up online here. it's an excellent process.
starring John Wayne, Lauren Bacall, and Ron Howard, the film shows an aging gunfighter who stops off in Carson City in the year 1901. he's looking for a second opinion on his current ailment and gets it from the town doctor, played by Jimmy Stewart. it turns out it's cancer for sure. and he has only a few weeks to live. the doctor suggests that he not die the kind of death that comes from untreated cancer, so he spends the following week trying to decide what to do in his final days. he stays in a boarding house run by Lauren Bacall's character and her starry-eyed son is Ron Howard. once everyone hears that the famous gunfighter is dying, the townspeople all come to get a piece of fame out of him before he goes. some want to marry him to get his last name, some want to buy his horse, etc. in the end, he decides that he has to have a death with some dignity.
i wasn't sure how to feel about this going into it, but it certainly helped when i heard that Lauren Bacall was in the film. she can lend credibility to any actor it seems. sort of like what i said about Gwyneth Paltrow in the Possession (2002) review. and John Wayne is one of those legendary actors who is just not that great. i get the feeling it's really because he's just not that smart. oh well, he's decent i suppose, but just lacking in some ways. like he's a very poor physical actor. you'd think of all people that John Wayne would be good at the physical. no, not really. you'd be surprised i think if you haven't seen his films that much.
well, now i think that Lauren Bacall might choose her roles based on whether or not she gets to sing in them or not. she's 3 for 3 of the ones that i've seen in the past few months. i think i need to start obsessing over Lauren Bacall. she's amazing. be ready for many reviews of films from the late 40s, early 50s. and she's even still alive. amazing.
one big flaw with this film is the horrible blood special effects. see my entry on Ran (1985) for an explanation about the blood. basically it looks like crap.
The Shootist had a good story and it was slightly original, but i don't think this film was emotive enough. that's what it was supposed to be, but it just wasn't gutwrenching. too bad. still, it's good and worth watching.