Review of The Shootist (1976) by Riley H — 05 Jun 2010

Sort of a calmer, safer, less offensive Wild Bunch. It deals with the same issues, but for one man, instead of many, and a little more from the perspective of the society that surrounds him. Using old Wayne films in the intro seems like a tired gimmick now but was probably pretty revolutionary at the time.

I'm not sure it works with the narration and excessive screen titles, but whatever. This is a well-acted and designed film that really doesn't come alive until the climax. The climax redeems a lot of the western cliches that worked their way into the majority of the film.

Again, it's the Wild Bunch in a different light, but with the same message: the time for this kind of violence is over, but that doesn't mean violence will stop begetting violence, that doesn't mean humans still aren't prone to it.

The final actions of Ron Howard's character save the film from being a waltz down memory lane with the Duke.