Event name
Western Film Series
When
Tue 10 / 08 / 2024
3:30 PM to 6:30 PM
3:30 PM to 6:30 PM
Where
Deschutes Public Library downtown
601 NW Wall St.
Bend OR 97703
601 NW Wall St.
Bend OR 97703
Who can attend
Open to all
Limited Capacity: 15 spots available
Price
FREE
Organizer
Greg Lyons
HDV Western Film Series
Writer Marilynne Robinson says that myths about the American West are "complex narratives in which human cultures stabilize and encode their deepest ambivalences. They give form to contradiction that has the appearance of resolution. . . . The West was an event in the life of the whole country, an astonishingly apt metaphor for a historic doubt as to the compatibility of freedom and civilization." Exploring these myths, films about the American West have drawn the interest of many cineastes and general audiences alike. In fact, these films prove immensely engaging even when we may perceive them as dated, corny and predictable. Thus, to study Western films is to wrestle with ideas about the formation and continuity of this country--including its successes, its failures and its persistent conflicts.
This series will feature five "cowboy" films produced in the 1960s:
Writer Marilynne Robinson says that myths about the American West are "complex narratives in which human cultures stabilize and encode their deepest ambivalences. They give form to contradiction that has the appearance of resolution. . . . The West was an event in the life of the whole country, an astonishingly apt metaphor for a historic doubt as to the compatibility of freedom and civilization." Exploring these myths, films about the American West have drawn the interest of many cineastes and general audiences alike. In fact, these films prove immensely engaging even when we may perceive them as dated, corny and predictable. Thus, to study Western films is to wrestle with ideas about the formation and continuity of this country--including its successes, its failures and its persistent conflicts.
This series will feature five "cowboy" films produced in the 1960s:
Oct. 8 True Grit (1969, 128 min.), dir. Henry Hathaway with John Wayne, Glen Campbell, Kim Darby
Oct. 15 Cat Ballou (1965, 97 min.), dir. Elliot Silverstein with Jane Fonda, Lee Marvin, Dwayne Hickman, Nat "King" Cole, Stubby Kaye
Oct. 22 The Misfits (1961, 124 min.), dir. John Huston with Eli Wallach, Marilyn Monroe, Montgomery Clift, Clark Gable, Thelma Ritter (2-5 pm)
The venue for this film series is the Meyer Classroom, second floor Deschutes Public Library downtown. The room is reserved 3:30-6:30 pm, except for Oct. 22, when we will meet 2-5 pm due to a conflicting prior reservation at the later time. I plan to lead discussions after the films, but will not present any formal lectures. --Greg Lyons