I don’t think there is a genre of movie I love more than the Western. Many of my favorite movies are westerns and I always get excited when someone in Hollywood manages to put another one together. We don’t get many these days but the ones we do get are usually really good. That’s one of the reasons I’m really excited about Appaloosa.
Appaloosa was shot quite a while back, but I guess it took them some time to find distribution. It was actually co-written and directed by Ed Harris and it reteams Harris with his A History of Violence co-star Viggo Mortensen as two friends who are hired to police a small town that is suffering under the rule of a rancher. They find their job complicated, however, by the arrival of a young widow played by Renée Zellweger. Check out the trailer:
I think it looks fantastic. The story is basically like a half a dozen other westerns that we’ve seen over the years, but there’s always a way to put a new spin on it if the dialog and acting is just right.
The cast is, of course, fantastic. Jeremy Irons is in it as well as the actors I named above. The cinematographer is Dean Semler who did the cinematography for Young Guns II, We Were Soldiers, Apocalypto, as well as the upcoming 2012, and also served as the Director of Photography on films such as Young Guns, Dances With Wolves, and City Slickers so you know it’s going to look great.
I have a good feeling about this one.
Appaloosa hits theaters on October 3, 2008.
