What Makes This Movie Great -- Episode 4, "True Grit"

[@deer105]

Hands down one of favorite movies ever. The Coen Brothers took a late 60s cartoonish American western and produced a masterpiece with layers of nuance and superb dialogue.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

excellent, thank you.

[@frankgrimes2991]

I agree.

[@c5quared626]

watched as it opened and was blown away by the fleshed out characters and nuance, the reviews had it completely wrong. there is a political aspect to it, rooster was a born and raised confederate, republican trumpster scum in today spectrum. yet he is human, and cared for others and animals with compassion, as humans do, and should.

[@deer105]

@@c5quared626 I must have missed the bad reviews. I am shocked someone would judge Rooster Cogburn's character. That's crazy. This was the 19th century. The vast majority of people today can't even manage to camp in the wilderness, but they're going to judge people who lived their whole lives without indoor plumbing, or more than a 3rd grade education? The Coen brothers had the most well-rounded, nuanced and realistic interpretation of him.

[@wingman5985]

@@c5quared626 I love being thrown into the camp of Rooster Cogburn for my conservative views. Thank bruh!

[@GreenArrowNetwork]

That late scene where he rescues her, as they pass all the dead bodies that were the result of her vengeance, and where they eventually kill the horse they are riding on is one of the most powerful in all of film. That scene alone makes this a landmark film IMO. Unforgettable.

[@beaushaver9305]

"We must pay for everything in this world one way or another. There is nothing free, except the Grace of God." This is re-enforced by the fact that she losses an arm to acquire her revenge.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

yes, and she loses it at the point she thinks she gets justice (but doesn't because Chaney doesn't die by her gunshot).

[@tenslein8977]

@@LearningaboutMovies How does Chaney die?

[@b.chuchlucious5471]

She also lost her noble horse and her Dad's saddle she fought so hard to re-obtain. A sad tale of how vengeance belongs to God, not us.

[@wingman5985]

I think this version of the movie was infinitely better than the original. Your delving into the meanings of the various scenes was excellent!

[@LearningaboutMovies]

thank you. I won't respond to all of your comments across the channel, but just fyi that I appreciate all of them!

[@wingman5985]

@@LearningaboutMovies Thank you. I really enjoy watching your videos. Have done one on "The Grapes of Wrath"?

[@bOmBAsTiK]

This is my favorite Coens' Brothers' film, and maybe my favorite Jeff Bridges performance out of many. I think there is some Norse mythology subtext in the book/film also that could explain some of the symbolism. Another great review.

[@Rob-eo5ql]

True Grit (definition): passion & perseverance. One of the best movies ever made imo.

[@thepaleprinceofruins9203]

You don't have as fancy a production, but you deliver with informative and well argued takes and your videos have helped me gain a new perspective on certain films, as well as given me the context to understand them. Thanks!

[@LearningaboutMovies]

you're welcome. This is an older video from the early days of the channel. Hopefully the production has improved a bit since then.

[@thepaleprinceofruins9203]

@@LearningaboutMovies It did, I also saw your review of The Breakfast Club and liked it as well. On my first viewing the whole "school is a prison" metaphor was missed on me, but became much more clear on rewatching it. But the comment regarding your production was not meant necessarily as a criticism, more as a compliment since there are YTers with much better production that lack much needed substance, which your videos that I've seen certainly do not lack.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

Thank you.

[@flushfries5633]

I’d say the “black figure on the horizon” thing started with No Country for Old Men The shot where you see Moss’s truck and the Mexican gang’s truck on the ridge right before the chase.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

thank you.

[@TheVCRTimeMachine]

It's light years ahead of the John Wayne version. It's not even close.

[@AlexaBellaMuerte]

Honestly this is the best analysis I've seen.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

thank you. Probably should remake the video, as it was in the early days of my channel, but I'm glad that you got something from it.

[@frankgrimes2991]

Thank you for this. This movie is a masterpiece.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

you're welcome.

[@Rob-eo5ql]

Excellent description of the Coen brothers fire/dream scenes. Very interesting

[@JoeBesserfan]

Excellent video. I learned a lot. There is nothing more satisfying than an intelligent discussion of film. I am a big fan of the novel and both movies. As far as the movies go, I give the edge to the original. But after your video, the gap has narrowed. Thanks again.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

thank you. I should remake this somewhat, given that it's older and I know more about both film and novel. Perhaps that will wait until a Coen Brothers series here on the channel.

[@c5quared626]

@@LearningaboutMovies what are they working on these days? we need more of their keen insight

[@dougjohnson9194]

Thank you Sir what a wonderful and thought provoking analysis. Cheers!

[@mangoMango-ck3et]

It had that young Hailee Steinfeld in it,,,she helped make it,,and Mr.Bridges..

[@LearningaboutMovies]

thank you.

[@StormBringer1966]

06:26 It's almost the same image as the ending from The Unforgiven

[@LearningaboutMovies]

interesting. thank you!

[@georgelaing2578]

For reference: compare the final shots on the horizon to the last images in The Seventh Seal.

[@warrenrosen132]

As shown in the trial scene, Rooster eliminates problems and the locals are not overly concerned about legal nuances. Mattie adopts the same attitude.

[@monumentofwonders]

It was the last movie I saw with father, I think it's one of the greatest, if not the greatest westerns ever made, and that's saying something.

[@ChessmanY]

Why does rooster avoid Mattie

[@haroldconner2645]

A true classic

[@Madvideoclips]

TIL Do the Right Thing was referencing The Night of the Hunter. Great vid!

[@LearningaboutMovies]

yes. Lee seems to enjoy posing with the Love/Hate knuckles.

[@allen5455]

Tom Cheney and Mattie are metaphysically the same. Mattie becomes Cheney in a never-ending circle. ...And God cursed the earth upon which man walked... Thorns and thistles came up from the good earth... And Christ wore a crown of thorns... You become your own curse.

[@PleiadesMan]

I think the analysis is going a bit too deep… The Cohen Brothers work closely with Roger Deakins in visualizing how these scenes could look on film, and it’s no mistake that they used the black silhouettes in several places in the film. A silhouette on the horizon is a powerful and moving visual. The black silhouette that Roger Deakins uses often is a method of simplification and graphic power to help tell the story… Deakins is a master of simplicity, and so are the Cohen’s, they’re just trying to tell captivating stories, which they do masterfully.

[@libeloussmith7656]

Night of the Hunter, Davis Grubb, West Virginia

[@2steelshells]

Justice without mercy.just death,build two coffins when you obsess over vengeance.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

the movie two-ups that, Rooster redeems her, and then she never sees him again. Death -- Resurrection -- Death.

[@roybaty4785]

Mattie was seeking Justice like any of us would under similar circumstances, not Revenge. She would gladly see him hanged rather than killing Cheney herself.

[@jornkirkengard8238]

Right. She killed Cheney. But she forgot about the recoil/karma. It nearly killed her too.

[@aubreyleonae4108]

Even The Big Lebowski deals so much with death.

[@aWomanFreed]

Many more men than Cheney were killed because of her vengeance. She cared nothing for them, and was equally unemotional about the death of her own father, but when the horse was killed for mercy, she was devastated. I don’t know exactly what that means, but it does seem significant.

[@dannytorres7291]

god is justice with mercy. justice without mercy is death. the little girl is justice without mercy . she is death.Rooster cogburn is justice with mercy . he is the symbol of god. he saves the little girl from the snakepit of hell wich is the wages of death. Rooster takes her in his everlasting arms of god and saves her live. the cohen brothers are spelling it out to us with the song. the everlasting arms of god.

[@VictorLepanto]

No. Mattie is a tragic figure whose life is ruined by her adventure, she is traumatized by the events of her adventure & having been maimed lives alone. Rooster basically lives & dies alone as does Mattie. Also it is about the lonesomeness of the Western hero, Did you even think about Shane? All these characters are disconnected from their world by the violence they experience.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

all fine, but you are ignoring the rescue of Mattie. that is a heroic act. if it's just about what you say, Rooster acted unethically and the climax is false to the core. your interpretation ought to account for the glory the movie seems to give to the rescue. life is violent inescapably. this is the Coens. we all have to account for what its existence does to us. these characters are no different than you. this is why the Coens keep bringing up the escape into nihilism, which is your final view flirts with. the climax to True Grit denies it. to return your unwelcome favor, did you even think about the entire Old Testament?

[@VictorLepanto]

@@LearningaboutMovies I was addressing your interpretation of the last scene. You connect it to this other movie where one of the hymns used in True Grit is included. I have not seen that movie so I can not judge any connection to it, but on the face of it that seems rather obscure. Riding or walking along a hillcrest is a common visual devise used in many movies. Mattie is not simply walking along a hillcrest, she is walking towards the horizon in the final scene, a general & classic Western devise. The most significant Western where this devise is used is Shane, starring Alan Ladd. In that movie there is a specific discussion of violence & killing. How it isolates the killer from the community he wishes to be a part of. He kills for the society & yet what he does out of love for his community separates him from them. "Shane, come back Shane!" "People sleep gently in their beds at night only b/c rough men stand read to do violence on their behalf." George Orwell. The violence of the climactic scene is portrayed as a part of a preceding cycle of violence. Rooster & Ned Pepper have some kind of history. There confrontation is unrelated to Mattie's quest. Both Rooster & Mattie are all part of a farago of violent events which they participate in b/c of their tacit acceptance of certain cultural expectations. She feels duty bound to "avenge her father's blood." All the events of Rooster's life a mediated by his own sense of duty; Civil War service, now service as a federal marshal. As a classic Western hero, Rooster must "ride off into the sunset," Mattie by her admiration of him & his values suffers a similar tragic fate.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

by your standard, referring to Shane is obscure. you cannot have it both ways. they directly quote The Night of the Hunter visually and aurally. Leaning on the Everlasting Arms is a hymn used in many westerns. it's not tragic, not Greek tragedy. Old Testament stories end in similar ambivalence. Noah and Moses are not tragic figures. the Coens are dealing in those terms. see No Country.

[@deer105]

@@LearningaboutMovies The brilliance of the film is its unabashed identification of the character trait "true grit". Rooster Cogburn and Mattie personify grit. Life doesn't resolve in rose gardens for these characters. Their dramatic life challenges, which directly extend from their bravery, are not neatly wrapped up in hero outcomes lauded by society. They aren't perfectly moral characters. They are bold, hero characters, carrying baggage. The character development in this movie was outstanding.

[@KevinShaughnessy-mt9jt]

Kim Darby ( Maddy Ross) won a best supporting Oscar. Wayne, was just an over the hill cowboy Still its a great original The Coen Bros. will admit that cimema changes. Alfred Hitchcock, is replaced by Staney Kuubrick , then replaced by Martin Scoreses then replaced by Quinton Tarantino Cinama is itself a genre

[@jimslade6333]

The scene when Mattie first confronts Rooster makes this movie truly "great." She stands outside the door of an outhouse and pesters Rooster while he's taking a shit. Absolute cinematic genius. It sums up the entire movie. Shit show.

[@DEATH_ROW_DC]

Great video!

[@LearningaboutMovies]

thank you.

[@michaelfoort2592]

The Corn bros. Version is best because the actors are top notch, the directors are top notch, etc.

[@mhuval]

Masterpiece

[@jamalnasir930]

Its really great.....

[@colinwilson4609]

It's a shame that Masters of Atlantis has a plot that's basically unfilmable. Part of me hopes that Joel and Ethan will at least give it a try.

[@ameliaochoa]

Im busting!!! 😢

[@BillyBBecker]

Big fan of the Cohen's brothers and Jeff Bridges. Plus Matt Damon is a great actor. This movie doesn't even come close to the 69 version. Quite frankly I wish they would keep clear of classics. John Wayne won an Oscar and the music is fantastic. The casting is completely wrong. Jeff Bridges doesn't come close to John Wayne's version. Matt Damon is not going to beat out Robert Duvall, he would probably tell you that. The girl is completely wrong for Maddie. Sorry the whole movie is too tragic for me.

[@Stoic777]

Great movie

[@Nala7813]

The first version is so much better acting.

[@EURASIAPLUS]

Leviticus 24:20 "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" This is not a call for personal vengeance. This is an instruction for judges so that they can give the guilty person a fair sentence. Romans 13: 1-4 Rooster Cogburn and Laboeuf are representatives of authority, therefore representatives of God Proverbs 28:1 "The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion." In the person of Rooster Cogburn, God showed mercy to the girl, In the person of Rooster Cogburn, God showed mercy to the girl, but Romans 12:19 " Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord." Psalms 94:1 " O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself." vengeance is sin.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

the book and movie make clear that the line between bounty hunter and judge is questionable, as Rooster becomes more "judge" than maybe he ought to be. This is the whole question of ambiguity about him in the trial scene, for example.

[@markoconnor995]

The original, Oscar winning, John Wayne version is so much better.

[@bOmBAsTiK]

Nah, no it's not AT ALL but just my opinion. John Wayne was awarded a "mercy" Oscar