Horizons West: Directing the Western from John Ford to Clint Eastwood (Film Classics S.)

When first published in 1969, Horizons West was immediately recognised as the definitive critical account of the Western film and some of its key directors. This greatly expanded new edition is, like the original, written in a graceful, penetrating and absorbingly readable style. It provides definitive critical analysis of the six greatest film-makers of the Western genre: John Ford, Anthony Mann, Budd Boetticher, Sam Peckinpah, Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood. And it offers illuminating accounts of such classic Westerns as The Searchers, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, Once Upon a Time in the West, Shane and many more. Among the completely new material in this edition is Kitses's magisterial account of the work of the greatest of Western directors, John Ford. Kitses also assesses how the Western has been challenged by revisionist historical accounts of the West and the Western, and by movement such as feminism, postmodernism, multiculturalism and psychoanalysis. The product of a lifetime's labour and love, Horizons West is a landmark of scholarship and interpretation devoted to, what is for many, Hollywood's signature genre. It provides a compelling account of the powerful mythology of America's past as forged by Western films and the men who made them. Directing The Western : Practice And Theory -- John Ford : Founding Father -- Anthony Mann : The Overreacher -- Budd Boetticher : Rules Of The Game -- Sam Peckinpah : The Savage Eye -- Sergio Leone : A Fistful Of Westerns -- Clint Eastwood : Tightrope Walker. Jim Kitses. Previous Ed.: London: Thames And Hudson, 1969. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [322]-327) And Index. Filmography: P. [316]-321. Contents 6 Acknowledgments 8 1 Directing the Western: Practice and Theory 10 2 John Ford: Founding Father 36 3 Anthony Mann: The Overreacher 148 4 Budd Boetticher: Rules of the Game 182 5 Sam Peckinpah: The Savage Eye 210 6 Sergio Leone: A Fistful of Westerns 258 7 Clint Eastwood: Tightrope Walker 294 Select Filmography 325 Select Bibliography 331 Index 338 Providing a critical analysis of the greatest film-makers of the Western genre, this text examines how their work has been challenged by revisionist historical accounts and by movements such as feminism, postmodernism, multiculturalism and psychoanalysis