Western Comparisons

Comparison #1 Stagecoach to True Grit

I believe that there are many similarities between the classic western Stagecoach and the new version of True Grit. Both stories are very similar in that they take place on a long journey to get revenge on another. In Stagecoach, Ringo wants to get revenge on the men that killed his family and rides along on the stagecoach to go to Lourdes to find the Plumber family. In True Grit, Mattie goes on a long journey with Rooster to find Tom Cheney, the man who killed her father. These films are also similar because the way they get revenge is to have intense gun battles. In stagecoach, there is a big face-off in the bar where the Plumber family waits for Ringo. They find him outside and Ringo kills every one of them. In True Grit, Mattie kills Tom Cheney and Rooster has an intense battle with several cowboys out on the range.

Comparison #2 True Grit and Unforgiven

Another comparison of great western films is True Grit and Clint Eastwood’s, Unforgiven.  All though both movies have a lot of qualities of a classic western, they also have many qualities of the revisionist western. Both films are extremely violent which make it more revisionists. True Grit have the huge battle in the end and In Unforgiven, Will Munny comes to the bar and shoots up everybody in the bar. Another unusual similarity for both of these films is both main characters past. Both are leading, strong, and powerful men who both had deep and dark pasts which they moved away from for years but were forced back into it because they needed money.  Scofield Kid gives Munny the idea in Unforgiven and Mattie forces Rooster to help her. Also in each movie the characters don’t want to work with each other and be a team. Rooster usually works alone and doesn’t want Mattie to come along on his journey. In Unforgiven, Munny brings his partner Ned Logan along and Scofield was furious that Munny brought another member.

Comparison #3 Stagecoach and Unforgiven

Finally we will compare the movies Stagecoach and Unforgiven. I feel like these movies don’t have a lot of similarities. Stagecoach is your typical western where its good against evil but in Unforgiven it is very unclear who is good and who is evil. For instance, Little Bill, who is the sheriff of Big Whisky, he is a very violent man with a past dark and is very abusive and angry in the movie even though we believe the sheriff should be a good and trustworthy man. Also the movie Unforgiven has an incredible amount of violence. The whole movie talks about death and Munny’s past where he was a mad and drunk killer. In the end of the film he becomes drunk again and shoots up an entire bar. Stagecoach just has a little violence where the people on the stagecoach are attacked by the Apache Indians but you don’t see a lot of blood like you do in Unforgiven. Those are a few reasons why I believe these movies are not that similar.