Stagecoach has the classic western storyline of a cowboy becoming a hero and succeeding on his journey to get “his girl”. Ringo from Stagecoach is similar to True Grit’s Mattie. They are both the hero’s of the film and accomplish what they set out to do through a classic western journey on the range. In Stagecoach, the use of long shots and pan shots across the western ranges gives off the classic western feel while also creating other fantastic cinematography elements. This is also a classic western because it portrays the Native Americans as being wild and attackers. In my opinion, Stagecoach was a better film compared to True Grit. Overall, Stagecoach was more simplistic, whereas True Grit may have been looking for the Oscar and therefore, the Coen Brothers made the film more unrealistic. While True Grit had beautiful cinematography and special effects to make scenes such as the journey very dramatic, it seemed to be a bit overdone at points. It was nice to step back and watch Stagecoach, a black and white film that includes the open range and the classic western journey of the cowboy.
True Grit definitely relates to Unforgiven with its violence. The use of violence moves away from the classic western and changes both films to a revisionist western. Not only that, but True Grit creates the hero vs. villain plot on a more individual level with Mattie trying to find Tom Chaney. I couldn’t tell if Cogburn was supposed to be Mattie’s “sidekick” or the hero. While he did save Mattie when the rattlesnake bit her, Mattie seemed to have more confidence (even for such a young girl) that made her seem like the hero. Throughout Unforgiven, it’s interesting to see how Clint Eastwood’s character, Munny, changes completely. In the beginning of the movie, viewers learn that Munny used to be a killer who drank quite a bit, but once his wife died and he was left to take care of his kids, he changed and became a better man. As bad things begin happening to Munny, he goes back to his old self and killed a few innocent men towards the end of the film. I thought both Unforgiven and True Grit were chilling with the use of dark lighting and creepy night and gun fighting scenes. All of these elements gave them the revisionist feel.
In my opinion, True Grit is a revisionist western based on Maddie’s role in the film and the journey that she follows. It does have the classic western elements mixed in, such as the original ‘hero goes on journey and finds what they’re looking for’ story, yet True Grit is more violent and similar to Unforgiven which would classify the film as being revisionist. I think the Coen Brothers were looking for that modern day, revisionist western film filled with death and violence. They must have figured that the audience would rather see that type of western verses a classic western story. They wanted to make a western film that fits the time period now, not a film that is older like Stagecoach.
