The Lost Empire of British Westerns

In Part One of our series, we explored how Britain created the world's first Western film. But British Westerns have a far more interesting legacy than that - British Westerns have been made around the world, from Canada, to Australia, to South Asia! This video re-discovers the lost legacy of British Westerns.
PART ONE: • True Brit: How Britain...
PART THREE: • The Story of Cowboy Fi...
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[@josemaria8177]

I remember watching Carry On Cowboy. The greenest western ever

[@Davlavi]

Always learning something new here.

[@philip2595]

Interesting subject Catherine

[@johnherbert7017]

Thanks Catherine. 😊

[@melizen2]

Thank you so much for all of this information couched in your marvelously witty, wise and knowledgeable prose ~ I had no idea westerns were made across the planet - you've given me a better appreciation of themes - and incredible cinematography ~

[@radman8321]

Your videos brighten the day. Thank You.

[@jimsweeney7339]

Well Done! I particularly liked this topic. I also agree with charactering Lawrence of Arabia as a western. I had to smile at the beginning but definitely had a twinge for Clint and the duke!! 😆🤣

[@djmossssomjd8496]

Y'all are a great story teller Ma'am. I've argued for years that the first 'cowboys' weren't American and didn't speak American. Other than the Native American Indians most folks over there were....european. OK I admit John Waynes "Get off your horse and drink your milk" wouldn't have sounded the same in say, French or Dutch 🙂. Scottish or Welsh might have been a bit off putting too. I'd rather imagine Marrion Morris (Wayne) as a splendid English gentleman with his sense of honour 🙂 Y'all have a nice day Ma'am .

[@rfirth1]

Exactly, the real cowboys were mainly black and Korean, as it was a pretty poor job that mainly recent immigrants did until they were able to get something better. There's a whole other video to be made on WHY the popular image of the cowboy is so divorced from reality.

[@workingguy6666]

Subscribed. Your guitar work and voice / singing at the end killed it, too. Keep it going, kid.

[@Tone720]

My favourite British Western is Gunmen Of The Apocalypse... Yes, the Red Dwarf episode...

[@randomroveruk6715]

I think Zulu has similar characteristics, and there must be a lot more. Your KZbin videos are very interesting and thought provoking. Thanks!

[@PatGilliland]

Thought provoking - I would suggest that the Western is a specific form of the Colonialist Movie. Europeans/The Anglosphere vs the local "savages"/repressed peoples. What is Zulu but a Plains Indian attack on a cavalry post transposed to Africa - or is it the other way around?

[@alansmithee8831]

A'reyt Catherine. When I mentioned that my uncle could knock out his shire horse to stop it causing harm if startled, I got the response blazing saddles. I explained he was sent to Burma as a muleteer in WW2. I was asked "If the mule was stubborn, he chinned it?" This made me think that David Lean's "Bridge over the River Kwai" was not a Western. "Doctor Zhivago" is closer if you imagine WW1 and the Russian Civil War as like the US one. "Breaker Morant" and "The Lighthotsemen" could be Australian examples, as could "Australia", "The Water Diviner", "Crocodile Dundee" and even "Walkabout". I do not think "The Railway Children" would though, nearer to home. The last film that came to mind was "Paul" as a version of "The Searchers".

[@jimbenge9649]

'Roast beef western'. Never heard that before, hope it's an original Catherine Warr. I'd like to suggest however, that western themes simply carry on an ancient tradition of adapting long told stories to a contemporary narative (or near contemporary narative). You gave a perfect example in, 'The seven Samurai.' On a less positive note, I've heard this used as an excuse for Hollywood claiming they won wars without actually participating. Films, harmless and amazingly entertaining as they are, do leave an impression on populations that that is how it happened. By the by (as we say in Riding) Your channel rocks. 👍

[@PatGilliland]

Seven Samurai itself a re-telling of Seven Against Thebes.

[@andrewhwang7920]

​@@PatGilliland I cannot find any evidence for the claim that The Seven Samurai is based on Seven Against Thebes by Aeschylus. In the latter, there are seven attackers, seven defenders who are Thebans (not strangers), and no villagers who need to be trained to defend themselves. The connection to The Seven Samurai seems to be imaginary.

[@user-tf2ru7oz6w]

The problem with British filmakers making Westerns is that few Britsh actors can effectively do American accents. Their original accents still come through on certain words.

[@rfirth1]

Fantastic video, getting into the 'why' as opposed to the narrative of the what is always more intriguing and thought provoking. One thing trope, I would aegue that separates a western from a historical action film is that the Western is fundamentally a tragedy. The lone hero can save everyone but himself. Sometimes that's explicit, whether it's John Wayne not being qble to integrate back into society at the end of the Searchers, or Alan Ladd's dead body being carried away on his horse at the end of Shane. Other films are more subtle, but the coming of the railroad and industrialisation mean that the cowboy is essentially living on borrowed time and his way of life is just about over. As a result, I would argue that Blade Runner is more of a western than Star Wars, despite Star Wars' obvious use of some Western tropes.

[@harryspeakup8452]

Good point, well made. This is also the fate of Mad Max. Once past the first film he always exits the story in the same state he entered it. He's not really a protagonist, he's a catalyst for the character arcs of others who have grown while he was with them. The last one, Fury Road, really shows this, and very strongly resembles The Searchers in that regard