Coens part ways with Wayne in their 'True Grit'

Saw this on holiday in the US. Great movie. Good acting, strong retelling of this story. Wonder if it will come to Japan ever.

Moderator: It will be released here in March. The local distributor says it is hoping the film will win an Oscar or two in February, so it can generate some buzz for the marketing campaign.

Why can't moviemakers come up with anything original? All we seem to get these days are remakes and sequels. Are screenwriters that bereft of ideas? Id love to see a story that has never been done before.

Yes smartacus I agree but then again acting was so bad back then that remakes are usually very good improvements on the old ones. I'd love to see them redo The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and some other classic westerns. I'm more sick of the post Matrix, slow mo effects of projectiles that seem to be so overused these days.

"True Grit" ratings on Rotten Tomatoes' website 95% critics / 91% audience. Rarely does a film get favorables that high in both catagories.

Smarticus, I totally agree that Hollywood is churning out far too many sequels and remakes these days. This article does state, however, that "the Coens were never thinking remake with their “True Grit.” They had not seen Wayne’s “True Grit” since they were kids. Their idea was to bring to the screen a faithful version of the novel on which it was based."

Based on the Coen brothers earlier movies, this one will probably be quite different from the original.

I have seen both and could say they both stand well on their own merits. Not the same film, despite the shared material of the base story.

I loved the authenticity this new version has. Being a fan of that time period, it was a rare chance to see the time and place done correctly. Acting was great, escpecially the two key protagonists. And the language was period correct as well. So if you are not a native speaker, you will need titles to watch this. My partner is fluent but had a hard time with the period vocabulary and grammar.

Happy to hear it will come here.

"But of course, the Coens were never thinking remake with their “True Grit.” They had not seen Wayne’s “True Grit” since they were kids. Their idea was to bring to the screen a faithful version of the novel on which it was based."

In that case, I forgive them. But maybe they could have named it something else. John Wayne gets so beat up by people that the role is iconic for me. It was a final, honest effort by a tired and sick old guy. I will go see this movie, but maybe I can get through life without calling it by its name.

John Wayne will always be True Grit to me. If this movie is something else, then I can continue my Coen Bros. streak with no guilt.

One of the Coen's best.

Having just seen the Coen brothers' version of the Charles Portis novel, "True Grit" this past weekend, I would very enthusiastically give it two thumbs up. The rapport between veteran actor Jeff Bridges and marvelous newcomer, Hailee Steinfeld, is fun to watch. This talented young actress really holds her own against Bridges, Matt Damon and Josh Brolin and in several instances, actually steals the scene. Jeff Bridges truly makes the Rooster Cogburn character his own, even switching the iconic eye patch from the left eye as Wayne wore it, to the right. I agree with an earlier poster that subtitles will be necessary for most non-native speakers as well as for some native English speakers. The cinematography and sound effects are definitely Oscar-worthy as are the acting and screenplay. I had the very good fortune to see "True Grit" in a theater in Phoenix, AZ (while visiting with family in the area) where the dramatic desert landscape matched that in the film. A very memorable and thrilling movie-going experience. American film-making at its best.

You can never go wrong with Coen Bros and "The Dude."

Taka

"The Big Lebowski"

I think I'll watch that again during the holiday, I couldn't stop laughing throughout that movie!

Sounds like fun. I don't know why but I am really in the mood for some westerns. I even want to write my own. It's something to do with how soft and safe and fearful we have become. I yearn for that frontier spirit, where you just take your chances and live or die by your wits. I am very curious to see how Blood Meridian turns out.

As for the Japanese distributors, what a bunch of total tossers they are. Silly twats waiting for some Oscar wind to push this release. Keep playing it safe Japan, and remember to never ever take any risks. Twats.

Scap, as the article said, there's not much demand for American Westerns outside of America - and even in America "Westerns" have been a big gamble since the 70's. Some Oscar "nods" might increase the interest outside of America to bring in more patrons. Seeing as we're only talking two or so month's delay, it actually makes good business sense to delay international release until after the Oscars (not to mention it gives them a bit more time to finalize the subtitles).