From Publishers Weekly
From the moment John Wayne beckons you, on the title page, to Monument Valley, this celebration and examination of the sturdy, elegiac Western film genre will stir memories and provoke thought about what the western has meant to the movie business and to America. Sennett ( Great Hollywood Movies ) takes a straightforward approach to the subject, systematically surveying the western's various components--the westward march, the loner, the group, the Indians, the women. No groundbreaking theories are launched, but the author's thoroughness of word and image (275 black-and-white and color photographs) is satisfying. Through careful analysis, Sennett shows why westerns like The Searchers and Red River are classic, and how recent movies--from Hud to Silverado --may "represent a much-needed modification of the idealized West." Despite changes and waning interest, Sennett concludes, the western myth and movie endure.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
In his look at Hollywood Westerns, Sennett eschews the encyclopedic scope favored by such writers as Phil Hardy ( The Western, LJ 2/1/84). Instead he opts for the broad overview in a coffee-table book format, as he did with his previous books for Abrams ( Hollywood Musicals, LJ 11/1/81; Great Hollywood Movies, LJ 11/15/83; Great Movie Directors, LJ 12/15/86). After a chapter surveying silent Western films, Sennett drops the chronological approach and examines the genre by type of plot (e.g., Men Alone, Men Together, The Distaff Side). As is typical with this sort of book, it is pleasant to look at and the text is unobjectionable, if rather bland, and nothing new is offered.
- John Smothers, Monmouth Cty. Lib., Manalapan, N.J.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
- John Smothers, Monmouth Cty. Lib., Manalapan, N.J.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
