I caught the original True Grit on TV this weekend, and have to say that turned out to be better than the remake. And now that I've seen them both, allow me to draw a few comparisons:

- John Wayne was great, he delivered far more character and comprehensibility to the character of Rooster Cogburn than Jeff Bridges.
- Wayne's horseback shootout with Ned Pepper and his gang was classic - - I loved that scene
- Matt Damon brought more humor and charm to the La Boeuf role than Glen Campbell
- Kim Darby and Hailee Steinfeld were about even, each playing the part well in their own way
- In supporting roles it was nice to see Dennis Hopper and especially Robert Duvall
- The Coens added some fancy pants cinematography in transition scenes, but the natural scenery in the original was outstanding
- Henry Hathaway drew on his long directing experience to bring true classic western style to it
- The original has a bothersome old school 'rousing' score by Elmer Bernstein
- The remake played up the comedy big time and though it was fun, it diffused the low key drama apparent in the still humorous original
- The ridin' off into the sunset style ending of the original kicked the ass of the long winded postscript of the remake

All-in-all you can see how straightforward a remake the Coens ended up making - - very little difference. If it weren't for the prejudice against older movies, they could saved themselves the trouble of remaking it and just re-released this quality original. Then the Coens could get back to work on their own original films.


6 out of 5 (original).
4 out of 5 (remake).

Bradley, will you now read the novel?

No, though it is supposed to be the best of the lot.

One of the year's biggest disappointments for me. After the trailer was brimming with so much energy and life, it all feels surprisingly flat and ordinary. I feel like a lot of directors could've made this.

As usual the Coens are playing with a genre, the title "True Grit" fits - they try to show a Western but with the truths and absurdities left out of the ideallic movies. Although Rooser's anti-hero is closer to the norm nowadays and a female protaganist is nothing new. I did like Brolin's idiot if only because he was so mismarketed.

The most interesting decision is also the film's weakness: To show life on the western hunt as full of droning babble and personalities grating against each other. I think the talking slowed the film down. I would've taken it in one direction or the other - making the trip entirely actionless/dull/full of babbling which would've made it a unique anti-Western and perfect for the Coens as the masters of dialog, or having lots of action scenes and energy like in the trailer as a Western homage. With one foot in each style it doesn't realize either fully, it's like they get in the way of each other.

I kind of feel the same way about this as I did Shutter Island where it just doesn't seem like the Coens/Marty cared as much as in previous films. I mean compare this to No Country... the ambition, attention to detail, editing, cinematography is just on a different level in that. No Country was their Eff You film after being away for so long, their baby. True Grit feels like it had 10 or 20 times less attention paid to it, it had potential to be another Coen masterpiece but they just came out with a C level ordinary effort. 4 films in 4 years is a lot, I'd rather they make a great film every 2 years than rush out ones like this and Burn After Reading.

Has to be one of the biggest Coens throwaways... when they're all done it'll be sitting on their IMDB and we'll go 'oh yeah that True Grit remake... eh'. C by their standards, B by regular standards, it has its moments I suppose.

Ebert's review of True Grit? It's a rather standard one but accurate, his main point that this is the least original Coens film is true

Well-made but uninteresting and forgettable. C+

The state of this society is sad. Maybe if someone slowly went crazy and there was a lesbian scene in this movie people would love it.

I was underwhelmed... I mean, I certainly liked it but to be honest I am amazed at how well this is doing at the box office.

???

One person gives it a C+ and the "state of the society is sad"?

Michael A because we all need context, here is a list of Coen Brothers movies prior to True Grit, please check those you have seen

Blood Simple
Raising Arizona
Miller's Crossing
Barton Fink
The Hudsucker Proxy
Fargo
The Big Lebowski
O Brother Where Art Thou
The Man Who Wasn't There
Intolerable Cruelty
The Ladykillers
No Country For Old Men
Burn After Reading
A Serious Man

fuck.

There's two of us actually. And I'm sure some of the B's were overstated.

Bolded are those seen. True Grit is in my opinion the third best film of their oeuvre that I have seen.
Libs, the vast majority of those here regard Black Swan as far better than True Grit, that was the focus of my statement. It was sweeping, preposterous, conceited, hyperbole of course.

It is certainly their most mainstream, least odd, least flashy, I do not believe that equates to least original or quality.

Michael A hasn't seen The Big Lebowski, eh?

I have many holes in my film education.

This is better than the big lewboski.
Okay maybe not, I still don't know what to think of that movie. I mean I love screwball coens but it somehow felt... slight to me, maybe just the build up of expectations. Either way the two are about equal to me right now, great films in very different ways.

8/10 -> B

I think Coens definitely do get a bigger pass from the critics than they deserve. True Grit is just another movie which is just good, but not as good as the critics claim it to be.

I can't say nothing bad about the movie. Everything works. But at times it felt a little overlong. And I really wasn't that into it during it's duration. The highpoint is definitely the first 20-30 minutes - the setting up of the hunt. It's briskly paced, charming, funny and very lively executed. But from then on it kinda losses its energy and settles into good, but never great territory.

Personally I wasn't as impressed by Hailee. Again she was just good. Not that great. Bridges definitely stole the show here.

I found True Grit to be just a step above Intolerable Cruelty and The Ladykillers, but otherwise worse than

Blood Simple
Raising Arizona
Miller's Crossing
Barton Fink
The Hudsucker Proxy
Fargo
The Big Lebowski
O Brother Where Art Thou
No Country For Old Men
Burn After Reading
A Serious Man

The dialogue is good, and there's a lot of individually fine shots (some obvious errors in geographical continuinty aside.) But overall this was a major letdown.