Howdy fans of HBO’s recent series “Deadwood” and the Coen brothers’ TRUE GRIT! Look out! Galloping down the Blu Ray trail is the 1980 epic “oater” THE LONG RIDERS. It tells the story of several of the great outlaw gangs. You may have seen other films concerning the exploits of these desperados. Well this version is worth a look for two reasons. It’s directed by one of the great action film makers to come out of the 1980′s-Walter Hill ( THE WARRIORS, 48 HOURS ). The other reason, and the film’s big marketing point, is the casting of the brothers with real life siblings-David, Keith, and Robert Carradine play the Younger brothers, Randy and Dennis Quaid are the Miller brothers, Nicholas and Christoper Guest are the Ford brothers, and James and Stacy Keach are the James brothers. This might seem like gimmick or “stunt” casting, but the family resemblances and dynamics enhance the story. Davis Carradine’s a great, swaggering thug as Cole Younger and James Keach brings a sad, haunted quality to Jesse James. There’s several great supporting actors here, too. James Whitmore, Jr. is wonderfully smarmy as an over-confident Pinkerton agent who soon realizes that he and his men are in over their heads. Chris Mulkey and Harry Carey, Jr. score big laughs as victims of a stagecoach hold-up. James Remar is scary in a savage saloon knife fight with Cole. Fans of TV’s “Parks and Recreation” will be stunned to see the mother of Leslie Knope ( Amy Poehler ), Pamela Reed playing a very spirited and sexy Belle Starr. She almost makes the screen sizzle.

There’s no extras here beside the theatrical trailer ( doesn’t count as an extra, Hollywood! ), so let’s focus on the film transfer. THE LONG RIDERS  will really give your sound system a test. Some of the dialogue is soft, but the gun shots roar like cannons. The score by Ry Cooder sounds exceptional especially in a square dance scene. Picture quality is supurb except for a few interior shots which were slightly grainy. The scenery is stunning, and the gun battles are beautiful and brutal. Like Sam Peckinpah, Hill made good use of slow motion in the final action sequence. If the film had been made today I’m sure the bullet hits would have been added after filming with digital effects. Back then they used small explosive packs called ‘squibs’. I’d bet that the actors were pretty sore at the end of the day even if they were heavily padded. I’d not seen the film before and aside from Dennis Quaid’s ‘babyface’ ( wonder if that moustache was real ), you might  think it had been made a couple of years ago and not over thirty! THE LONG RIDERS  holds up very well indeed and deserves a spot on the shelf of any western or action film fan.

A staple of many classic western movies is the wagon train. Each wagon’s full of eager settlers about to begin a new life. There was even a TV show called “Wagon Train”. Most times these folks would arrive at their new home on the prairie and put sown stakes. But what happens when they don’t make it to their promised land? The most extreme case maybe the story of the Donner party. Things don’t quite get that desperate in Kelly Reichardt’s new film MEEK’S CUTOFF. but the new West isn’t the utopia depicted in many classic film portrayals. Here, the roughest part of the journey may be the conflicts within this small group.

The first images we see are the three wagons being pulled by their animals while the men and women ( and one young boy) trudge alongside over the barren landscape. Eventually we meet the travelers: newlyweds Thomas and Millie Gately ( Paul Dano and Zoe Kazan ), the White family-Thomas ( Neal Huff ), Glory ( Shirley Henderson ) and their pre-teen son Jimmy ( Tommy Nelson ), and Soloman Tetherow ( Will Patton ) and his much younger second wife Emily ( Michelle Williams ). They are being lead by a scout, Stephen Meek ( Bruce Greenwood ). Although the blustery Meek insists that they are going in the right direction, most of the group believes that they are hopelessly lost and are quickly running out of food and water. The women pressure their husbands to confront Meek, but they cannot bring themselves to it. Tensions mount as they trudge on. One day while gathering firewood, Emily encounters an Indian brave ( Ron Rondeaux ). She alerts the others and soon her husband and Meek ride ahead to capture him before he can contact his tribe. Eventually they return with the battered brave, Meek regales them with tales of his Indian battles and insists that they kill their prisoner. Emily steps forward to spare him, believing that the Indian will lead them to fresh water. Will he bring them to their new home or lead them into a trap?

Reichardt gives this old West tale a somber, quiet almost documentary feel. The desperation and weariness of these settlers seeps off the screen. The actors playing them give great understated performances with Williams standing out as the gutsy Emily. Her best scenes may be the ones opposite the bombastic, egotistical Meek played with gusto ( and an impressive overflowing beard ) by Bruce Greenwood. Like the travelers, we don’t know what his motives are. Reichardt generates a lot of tension in the encounters with the Indian and later in a harrowing scene where the wagons are guided down a steep hill using a crude pulley. Unfortunately the director may be too successful in showing the tedium and drudgery of life in transit over this desolate land. The ending may frustrate you, but you’ll go away with a greater respect for the pioneers you first saw in those old John Ford epics.

Overall rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Time to saddle up. Yahoo! Movies has debuted the new trailer for Universal Pictures’ COWBOYS AND ALIENS. Watch as Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford team up to battle invaders in the Western action/adventure directed by Jon Favreau. Check out the new pictures below after the trailer.

I can’t wait to see this film - its like UNFORGIVEN meets INDEPENDENCE DAY! How totally awesome that Harrison Ford is in this? Sounds like he did in THE FUGITIVE. “I didn’t kill my wife ….You find the One-Armed Man!!” Ford even looks all jacked up like he did in that movie. And the thing on Daniel Craig’s arm makes me think of WESTWORLD too…no? A total throwback to Yul Brenner.

Synopsis:

Blockbuster filmmaker Jon Favreau directs Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford in an event film for summer 2011 that crosses the classic Western with the alien-invasion movie in a blazingly original way: Cowboys & Aliens. Joined by an arsenal of top moviemakers – Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci - he brings an all-new action thriller that will take audiences into the Old West, where a lone cowboy leads an uprising against a terror from beyond our world.

1873. Arizona Territory. A stranger (Craig) with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. The only hint to his history is a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. What he discovers is that the people of Absolution don’t welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move on its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde (Ford). It’s a town that lives in fear.

But Absolution is about to experience fear it can scarcely comprehend as the desolate city is attacked by marauders from the sky. Screaming down with breathtaking velocity and blinding lights to abduct the helpless one by one, these monsters challenge everything the residents have ever known.

Now, the stranger they rejected is their only hope for salvation. As this gunslinger slowly starts to remember who he is and where he’s been, he realizes he holds a secret that could give the town a fighting chance against the alien force. With the help of the elusive traveler Ella (Olivia Wilde), he pulls together a posse comprised of former opponents – townsfolk, Dolarhyde and his boys, outlaws and Apache warriors – all in danger of annihilation. United against a common enemy, they will prepare for an epic showdown for survival.

The script for Cowboys & Aliens is by Star Trek’s Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci and Damon Lindelof (television’s Lost), based on Platinum Studios’ graphic novel created by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg. Grazer, Howard, Rosenberg, Kurtzman and Orci produce. Spielberg and Denis L. Stewart executive produce.

From Universal Pictures, COWBOYS AND ALIENS will be in theaters on July 29, 2011.

Visit the film’s official website here, on Facebook here and on Twitter here.

Source: Yahoo! Movies

Late last week, we showed you the teaser trailer for the Coen Brothers’ much-anticipated film, TRUE GRIT. On Friday, InContention had the exclusive first look at the teaser poster for this Oscar contender.

Today, Yahoo! Movies has the premiere of the theatrical trailer that was shown before THE SOCIAL NETWORK this past weekend.

Synopsis:

Fourteen-year-old Mattie Ross’s (Hailee Steinfeld) father has been shot in cold blood by the coward Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin), and she is determined to bring him to justice. Enlisting the help of a trigger-happy, drunken U.S. Marshal, Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges), she sets out with him — over his objections — to hunt down Chaney. Her father’s blood demands that she pursue the criminal into Indian territory and find him before a Texas Ranger named LeBoeuf (Matt Damon) catches him and brings him back to Texas for the murder of another man.

From Paramount Pictures, TRUE GRIT will be in theaters on December 25th – Retribution comes on Christmas Day. Visit the film’s official site here and on Facebook here.

Here’s the exciting, new trailer for Screen Gems PRIEST starring Paul Bettany, Stephen Moyer, Karl Urban, Cam Gigandet and Christopher Plummer – aka, Captain Von Trapp. Too obscure of a reference? Check out the trailer below.

Synopsis:

PRIEST, a post-apocalyptic sci fi thriller, is set in an alternate world — one ravaged by centuries of war between man and vampires. The story revolves around a legendary Warrior Priest (Paul Bettany) from the last Vampire War who now lives in obscurity among the other downtrodden human inhabitants in walled-in dystopian cities ruled by the Church. When his niece (Lily Collins) is abducted by a murderous pack of vampires, Priest breaks his sacred vows to venture out on an obsessive quest to find her before they turn her into one of them. He is joined on his crusade by his niece’s boyfriend (Cam Gigandet), a trigger-fingered young wasteland sheriff, and a former Warrior Priestess (Maggie Q) who possesses otherworldly fighting skills

From Screen Gems, PRIEST will hit theaters in 3D next spring on May 13, 2011. Visit the film’s official website here and on Facebook.

Here’s a first look at the teaser for Scott Charles Stewart’s PRIEST that was shown during Sony’s panel at Comic-Con.

Show of hands. Anyone else think this looks like Stewart’s and Bettany’s last film LEGION and part I AM LEGEND. Nice to see Stephen Moyer, aka Bill Compton on HBO’s True Blood, doing double vampire duty. He plays Paul’s human scientist brother, Aaron, in the movie. Tidbit alert: Gerard Butler was originally cast in the film.

Synopsis:

Based on the graphic novel series “Priest” by Min-Woo Hyung, PRIEST, a post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller, is set in an alternate world — one ravaged by centuries of war between man and vampires. The story revolves around a legendary Warrior Priest (Paul Bettany) from the last Vampire War who now lives in obscurity among the other downtrodden human inhabitants in walled-in dystopian cities ruled by the Church. When his niece (Lily Collins) is abducted by a murderous pack of vampires, Priest breaks his sacred vows to venture out on a quest to find her before they turn her into one of them. He is joined on his crusade by his niece’s boyfriend (Cam Gigandet), a trigger-fingered young wasteland sheriff, and a former Warrior Priestess (Maggie Q) who possesses otherworldly fighting skills.

From Screen Gems, PRIEST will hit theaters in 3D next spring on May 13, 2011. Visit the film’s official website at FaithWorkSecurity.com here.

Source: TrailerAddict.com

Here’s a first look at director Jon Favreau’s COWBOYS AND ALIENS starring Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford. Favreau showed footage of COWBOYS & ALIENS at Comic Con on Saturday and both Ford and Craig made their first Comic Con appearances at Universal’s panel. Lord have mercy, COWBOYS AND ALIENS, THOR, CAPTAIN AMERICA, GREEN LANTERN, X-MEN: FIRST CLASS, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES, TRANSFORMERS 3 - does the 2011 summer movie season spell f-u-n or what?

Synopsis:

Blockbuster filmmaker Jon Favreau directs Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford in an event film for summer 2011 that crosses the classic Western with the alien-invasion movie in a blazingly original way: Cowboys & Aliens. Joined by an arsenal of top moviemakers — Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci — he brings an all-new action thriller that will take audiences into the Old West, where a lone cowboy leads an uprising against a terror from beyond our world.

1873. Arizona Territory. A stranger (Craig) with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. The only hint to his history is a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. What he discovers is that the people of Absolution don’t welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move on its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde (Ford). It’s a town that lives in fear.

But Absolution is about to experience fear it can scarcely comprehend as the desolate city is attacked by marauders from the sky. Screaming down with breathtaking velocity and blinding lights to abduct the helpless one by one, these monsters challenge everything the residents have ever known.

Now, the stranger they rejected is their only hope for salvation. As this gunslinger slowly starts to remember who he is and where he’s been, he realizes he holds a secret that could give the town a fighting chance against the alien force. With the help of the elusive traveler Ella (Olivia Wilde), he pulls together a posse comprised of former opponents — townsfolk, Dolarhyde and his boys, outlaws and Apache warriors — all in danger of annihilation. United against a common enemy, they will prepare for an epic showdown for survival.

The script for Cowboys & Aliens is by Star Trek’s Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci and Damon Lindelof (television’s Lost), based on Platinum Studios’ graphic novel created by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg. Grazer, Howard, Rosenberg, Kurtzman and Orci produce. Spielberg and Denis L. Stewart executive produce.

From Universal Pictures, COWBOYS AND ALIENS will be in theaters on July 29, 2011.

Visit the film’s official website here and fan COWBOYS AND ALIENS on Facebook. You can also catch up on the progress of the film by following director @Jon_Favreau on Twitter.

Director Jon Favreau tweeted this peek at the set of his new film COWBOYS & ALIENS, Dreamworks’ and Universal Pictures’ upcoming adaptation of Platinum Studios cross-genre comic. A source on the set told me it’s filled deep with a lot of extras and that shooting began on Thursday, June 10th in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Even one of the film’s stars, Olivia Wilde, tweeted “Its the coolest set ever.”

Favreau is directing Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Sam Rockwell, Olivia Wilde, Noah Ringer, Paul Dano, Clancy Brown, Adam Beach, and Ana De La Reguera in a film that crosses the classic Western with the alien-invasion movie in a blazingly original way. Joined by Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Damon Lindelof, Denis L. Stewart, and Dan Forcey, COWBOYS & ALIENS will be an action thriller that will take audiences into the Old West, where a lone cowboy leads an uprising against a terror beyond our world.

The film’s synopsis:

1873. Arizona Territory. A stranger (Craig) with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. The only hint to his history is a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. What he discovers is that the people of Absolution don’t welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move onto its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde (Ford). Its a town that lives in fear…But Absolution is about to experience fear it can scarcely comprehend as the desolate city is attacked by marauders from the sky. Screaming down with breathtaking velocity and blinding lights to abduct the helpless one-by-one, these monsters challenge everything the residents have ever known.

Now, the stranger they rejected is their only hope for salvation. As this gunslinger slowly starts to remember who he is and where he’s been, he realizes he holds a secret that could give the town a fighting chance against the alien force. With the help of the elusive traveler Ella (Olivia Wilde), he pulls together a posse comprised of former opponents’ townsfolk, Dolarhyde and his boys, outlaws and Apache warriors, all in danger of annihilation. United against a common enemy, they will prepare for an epic showdown for survival.

You can follow the movie’s progress on Twitter or Facebook. From DreamworksSKG and Universal Pictures, COWBOYS & ALIENS will be in theaters next summer on July 29, 2011.

Quentin Tarantino has been saying for years how he wants to do a Western, and, save for the spaghetti Western style of KILL BILL VOl. 2 and the small role he played in SUKIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO, that goal has yet to be achieved.   However, that isn’t stopping the auteur from talking about the project and divulging what his vision for it could be.   While lunching with Rush & Molloy of the NY Daily News, Tarantino had this to say about the vision for his “Western” project:

I’d like to do a Western. But rather than set it in Texas, have it in slavery times. With that subject that everybody is afraid to deal with. Let’s shine that light on ourselves. You could do a ponderous history lesson of slaves escaping on the Underground Railroad. Or, you could make a movie that would be exciting. Do it as an adventure. A spaghetti Western that takes place during that time. And I would call it ‘A Southern.’

This would certainly be somewhat along the same lines as his idea to make a feature film adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s 40 LASHES LESS ONE, a project that Tarantino has been talking about since all the way back in 2000.   Nothing much has come from that project being on his plate since 2007, so it could very well be dead in the water.

Tarantino is a man who likes deciding between any number of projects, but the idea of him doing a Western has to come to fruition soother rather than later.   Some were speculating KILL BILL VOL. 3 might be next on his plate, but I don’t see that coming to be for a few years, especially if it follows the intended storyline of Vernita Green’s daughter coming after The Bride for revenge.

Of course, this news from The NY Daily could just be Tarantino spit-balling ideas.   That’s something he likes to do, also, and it wouldn’t surprise anyone to never hear about this slavery Western idea ever again.   Time will tell.

Daniel Craig has that rugged, been-out-in-the-desert-for-three-days-while-the-wind-kicked-up-non-stop kind of look that would make him perfect for a western.  So it’s no surprise, as sources are telling Collider that James Bond lead, Daniel Craig, is in negotiations to replace Robert Downey Jr. as the lead of the Jon Favreau-directed COWBOYS AND ALIENS.

Downey’s departure from the project was announced just this past Monday, and, at that time, it seemed DreamWorks, who wants production to begin later this year with a possible release in 2011, was going to hit the casting choices fast and heavy in order to find the right lead quickly.

Of course, as Collider, specifies, Craig is just “in negotiations.”  He has neither been offered the role, nor has he accepted.  With the will-it-or-won’t-it 2010 production schedule of BOND 23, Craig may have some time on his hands to kick a little alien ass Olde West-style.  We’ll keep you posted.

Vrrrooooo!

Krow!

Blooo!

Kakrow!

…and other spaceship-y noises that could be coming straight at us in 3-D.   What’s more, we could be seeing the Jon Favreau-directed adaptation of COWBOYS AND ALIENS earlier than expected.   In an article about the 3-D life after AVATAR, The Daily Beast goes over the potential success and risky trappings studios have to weigh on the 3-D agenda.   Buried deep within the article is this little section:

The Avatar factor could make the difference on Cowboys and Aliens, a DreamWorks project to be directed by Jon Favreau that starts shooting in July.

Evidently, the film, to star Robert Downey Jr. as an Old West settler who takes on violent beings from space, is going to get the 3-D treatment, as well.   This is just one more instance of a studio behind a big budget film wanting to capitalize on something someone else proved is successful.   It’s reactive film making, but, fortunately, it’s not at its worst.   That comes when people behind a film decide after the film has already been shot to spruce up the visuals with a caked on 3-D layer.   At least, with the case of COWBOYS AND ALIENS, they are planning the 3-D element before shooting commences.

The film is set for release sometime in 2011.   Thanks to /Film for leading the way.

JONAH HEX is going back in for reshoots.   This is according to Bloody Disgusting, but the most interesting bit of the article isn’t the fact that the reshoots are occurring.   What is most interesting about this news is that CONSTANTINE and I AM LEGEND director Francis Lawrence is being brought in as a consultant to JONAH HEX director Jimmy Hayward.

Now, there could be any number of reasons why Warner Brothers would be ordering a few weeks worth of reshoots, and there are just as many reasons why Lawrence would be brought in as a consultant.   Hayward, who is directing his first, live-action feature, might not have much experience getting a cast and crew who believed they were finished back into the game, and Lawrence may be helping with morale.

Lawrence has had his own experiences with reshoots.   Both CONSTANTINE and I AM LEGEND went back for reshoots, the former, it was reported, to help spice up a few scenes for a film that was being hit with an R rating, the latter to work on a troublesome ending.   Either of these reasons could either be hitting JONAH HEX or execs are foreseeing this and preparing for the worst.

There is also no word on who is being brought back in for these reshoots, though Josh Brolin, who is the title character of the film, is assumed to be involved.   There is no telling if these reshoots will be interfering with his next project CARTEL, which is set to begin shooting in January.

Either way, JONAH HEX is set to release on June 18th, 2010, and whatever reshoots are taking place will be seen then.

I can hear the photographer now.   “Give me a little scar, Josh.   A little scar.   A little hat.   NO EYES!   NO EYES!”

That’s precisly what we get here with this first, official shot from JONAH HEX courtesy of Omelete.   While some are claiming this looks a bit like a costume and makeup test, I, personally, think this is a publicity shot that is going to be part of one of the film’s posters.   Regardless of its intentions, this pic is one more piece of evidence as to how bad-ass Josh Brolin is and how amazingly bad-ass he is going to be in this role.

JONAH HEX hits theaters on August 10th, 2010.

Anyone who knows me personally knows that I’m an insatiable uber-fan of the Coen Brothers. They are to my movie world what Quentin Tarantino is to Scott’s. In my eyes, the Coen Brothers can do know wrong and I’m always as eager as a kid on Christmas morning whenever their new film emerges… which is getting to be about as regular as Woody Allen. Naturally, anytime news surfaces on a Coen Brothers production, I’m all over it like stink on… well, you get the picture.

With Jeff Bridges, who last worked with Joel and Ehtan Coen on THE BIG LEBOWSKI, on board to play U.S. Marshall Rooster Cogburn, previously portrayed by John Wayne, two more major stars have entered discussions to become part of the Coen Brothers world. Josh Brolin, who has worked with the Brothers Coen on NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, is in talks to return to the team as The Killer.

Matt Damon is also in talks to play The Lawman who works alongside Cogburn. Damon, being the Coen Brothers rookie, should choose wisely (meaning, choose YES) if offered a role, as the Coen Brothers are developing the same appeal as being offered a role in a Woody Allen movie… you simply do NOT turn it down! Damon has increasingly become a popular candidate for edgy or high profile filmmakers, last appearing in Steven Soderbergh’s THE INFORMANT, although that relationship is anything but “new” anymore. His next film due out in theaters is Clint Eastwood’s INVICTUS.

Source: Variety

No, that is not the face of Roland Deschain you see above, and, no, J.J Abrams has not finally decided to put his ‘Dark Tower’ rights to good use.  According to Variety, Josh Hartnett will, however, be starring in a film called ‘Gunslinger,’ billed as a Western in a post-apocalyptic world.  Well, that sure sounds like the ‘Gunslinger’ we’ve all been waiting for.  It’s not.

Hartnett will play a man in the near future, a snowy wasteland of a world, who, along with his brother, sets out to seek revenge against the gang who killed their parents.  Chris Nahon (‘Kiss of the Dragon’ and ‘Blood: The Last Vampire’) will be directing with Mark Williams (‘Running Scared’) and Albert Martinez Martin (‘Shuttle’) producing.

Here is what Williams had to say on the project:

This story takes a unique and startling look at what might happen when the lawlessness of the Old West returns … but with better weapons.

While filming is set to begin early next year in Canada, don’t be surprised if the film ends up going through a name change of some kind, particularly if Abrams decides he’s going to be making the ‘Dark Tower’ series any time soon.

Yesterday, we brought you the snapshot the guys over at Bloody Disgusting put up for the Comic Con banner of ‘Jonah Hex.’   Today comes the polished version, as Yahoo! Movies got their hands on the real thing.

Check it out:

While it’s not a whole lot to write home about, it does give us a nice look at Brolin/Jonah’s scarred face.   Chances are this is a long way away from the final one-sheet that pops up in movie theater lobbies.   However, it gives us a feel for the film, and that logo is pretty cool.

‘Jonah Hex’ comes out on August 6th, 2010.

Source: Yahoo! Movies

In 1976 Italian movie mogul Dino De Laurentiis unleashed his heavily promoted KING KONG to eager audiences. Though a modest success, the remake was trashed by critics and, especially in light of Peter Jackson’s 2005 version, has aged horribly. The next year De Laurentiis released another monster movie, THE WHITE BUFFALO which critics pounced on as well and this time, even though it starred box-office champ Charles Bronson, audiences stayed away. But the years have been much kinder to THE WHITE BUFFALO, a weird, offbeat western/monster hybrid that uses real historical figures for a unique riff on MOBY DICK. It’s an unusual movie, ripe for rediscovery but NOT available on DVD.

In the 1870’s, aging gunfighter Wild Bill Hickok (Charles Bronson) is haunted by dreams of his own death by a mammoth albino buffalo and heads by train to the Cheyenne Black Hills to track this white beast. Before the hunt begins, Hickok battles George Custer’s evil brother Tom (Ed Lauter) and romances old flame “Poker Jenny” (Kim Novak) before teaming up with gruff one-eyed geezer Charlie Zane (Jack Warden), to find the beast. This same buffalo attacks the Sioux village of Chief Crazy Horse (Will Sampson), killing the chief’s newborn baby. A mystical shaman tells Crazy Horse his child’s soul will not be able to rest until the buffalo is destroyed. Hickok and Zane survive an attack by Indians with help from Crazy Horse and, amidst frozen outdoor locales, these two fabled folk heroes unite to battle the ferocious, supernatural terror known as the White Buffalo!

The plot of THE WHITE BUFFALO sounds strange because it is. Written by Richard Sale (from his own novel), the unconventional story is filmed with an irresistibly eerie and nightmarish atmosphere. The dreamlike, studio-bound sets are often bizarre with spooky details like giant stacks of bleached white bones that line the railroad tracks and dry ice that constantly drips across the snowy landscapes. Director J. Lee Thompson’s early works included such classics as TIGER BAY, THE GUNS OF NAVARONE and the original CAPE FEAR and he ended his career directing nine (!) Charles Bronson movies. The Bronson/Thompson collaborations, from ST. IVES in 1976 to KINJITE: FORBIDDEN SUBJECTS in 1989, were mostly entertaining, if by-the-numbers, action jalopies but THE WHITE BUFFALO (the only one unavailable on DVD!) was different. It’s easily the most artful of these movies and Thompson fills it with dark symbolism, occult references, and a real sense of dread.

THE WHITE BUFFALO is populated with a colorful cast. Most likely hired for his box office appeal, Bronson turned out to be an inspired choice as the haunted Wild Bill Hickock. It’s one of his most complex and eccentric roles and he looks cool in his tinted prescription glasses (historically accurate as Hickock developed syphilis-related eye disease). This was Kim Novak’s return to the big screen after an eight year absence, but her role is small (and seems tailor-made for Bronson’s wife Jill Ireland who was costarring in most of her husband’s films during this period). Will Sampson is perfect as Crazy Horse and the veteran supporting cast includes John Carradine, Stuart Whitman, Slim Pickens, and Bronson’s fellow THE DIRTY DOZEN member Clint Walker. But it’s the buffalo itself that makes THE WHITE BUFFALO so memorable. While promoting KING KONG, De Laurentiis bragged about artist/sculptor Carlo Rambaldi’s 50-foot robot ape, a prop infamously underused (I actually own some hair from that thing). For THE WHITE BUFFALO, Rambaldi created a full-size mechanical puppet that’s mostly shown in quick cuts, often obscured by shadows and fog and critics in 1977 were quick to make fun of it (Variety described it as looking “like a hung-over carnival prize”). It’s not very realistic, but the wild-eyed creation is surreal and scary, snorting and bellowing like some hellish fairy-tale demon and I think it totally works.

THE WHITE BUFFALO is not a difficult movie to track down. MGM released it a full-frame VHS and even better, a widescreen laserdisc boxed with two other 70’s Bronson westerns, CHATO’S LAND and BREAKHEART PASS. It’s just a matter of time before they release it again but for now, it’s NOT available on DVD.

‘Jonah Hex’ starring Josh Brolin as the former Confederate soldier turned bounty hunter is well into production.   Today, we bring you the first images of Brolin in his Jonah Hex getup, makeup and all.

Check ‘em out:

The makeup looks great, and Brolin looks like an awesome choice for this part.   The Western has been making a comeback of sorts over the past, few years, and mix that with the fact that this is based on a badass DC comic’s title makes it all the more anticipated.

‘Jonah Hex’ is set for release on August 6th, 2010.

Source: INF Daily

‘The Good, the Bad and the Weird’ is a movie high on my must see list right now. Directed by South Korean filmmaker Ji-woon Kim (A Tale of Two Sisters), this looks to be yet another example of why the action films of the East are proving to leave most of Hollywood in their dust. The films coming out of Korea, Japan, China and even Thailand are showing exponential talent, promise and kinetic energy that just rarely appears in American action flicks. ‘The Good, the Bad and the Weird’ trailer is filled with excitement, incredible action and choreography and what looks to be a fun-filled, well-told story.

Plot Synopsis: The story of three Korean outlaws in 1940s Manchuria and their rivalry to possess a treasure map while being pursued by the Japanese army and Chinese bandits.

Mike Newell, who directed ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’ and currently directing ‘Prince of Persia,’ is in talks to head up Walt Disney’s adaptation of ‘The Lone Ranger.’Ă‚   The screenplay was written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, the duo behind the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ trilogy.

The film will deal with the origins of the character.Ă‚   A group of Texas Rangers are hunting a gang led by Butch Cavendish.Ă‚   Ambushed by the gang, only one Ranger is left alive.Ă‚   He is found and nursed back to health by an Indian, Tonto.Ă‚   After recovering, the Ranger dons a mask and rides his white horse, Silver, to bring the gang to justice.

Johnny Depp is already attached to the film in the role of Tonto.Ă‚   No one has been set to fill the Lone Ranger role.

What do you think?Ă‚   Is Newell a good choice to serve as director on the film?Ă‚   Who should play the Lone Ranger?Ă‚   Should it be a younger actor or someone established?Ă‚   Is Johnny Depp a good choice to play Tonto?Ă‚   Let us know by commenting below!

Source: Production Weekly