At the beginning of the preparation of the film, the protagonist selected James Stewart, but Stewart worried that starring in this film would affect his image; then he went to Charles Hirst, and Hirst said he didn't like the script. The film itself was very unsuccessful from shooting to completion. During the filming process, the crew often encountered bad weather in the west. The director had to take the entire crew to the pub to drink and wait for the weather to get better, which caused the completion of the film to be delayed for a full 19 days, and the budget was exceeded, and the wine debt was owed. 70,000 US dollars. After completion, Warner Bros. edited the film into a two-and-a-half-hour period without Pekinpa’s consent. Pekinpa and producer Phil Federman were very dissatisfied, so Pekinpa did it himself and cut it again. It took half an hour for the movie to barely complete. After the movie was released, the box office suffered a disastrous loss, which directly led to the termination of Warner Bros. and Pekinpa. Warner Bros. no longer cares about the subsequent release of the film, but handed over the distribution rights to its subsidiaries; at the same time, the film also brought a great blow to Pekinpa’s career. Before that, Pekinpa was originally [ The first director of [Four Warriors] and [Big Tiger Crossing the Mountain]. However, many troubles still did not prevent the film from becoming the director's own favorite.
The film begins with a cowboy walking alone among the flying sand and walking rocks in the desert. The protagonist Kaibo Huge is betrayed and robbed by his friends, leaving nothing behind and being forced to trek in the desert. When he was dying of thirst, he accidentally dug up a water source, so he had a plan to sit on the ground and sell water to passers-by. The pastor who passed by threatened to sue him for illegal possession of the land, but it just inspired him to go to the town to buy the land. In the town, he met the charming prostitute Heidi and fell in love with her. The joy made him Became friends with the priest. The first half of the story fully digs out Pekinpa’s comedic talent, and the western film is like a stage play. The brave pioneers and the playful romantic women fell in love dramatically, while the "atypical Pekinpa" element still hides Pekinpa's irony to humans in real society. When the pastor Joshua was envious of Huge and Shidi, he was happy and happy, seeing the passerby who had lost her younger brother, and fell in love with her at first sight, broke into her house and touched and kissed others in the name of God, but the girl was grateful. With humorous and playful shots coupled with Joshua's theme song, Pekinpa's satirical scene is no longer sharp, but has become a kind little joke. If comedy is unexpected in the movie, but Peginpa’s characterization is very good, Joshua’s complex human nature and Huge’s pure and transparent life attitude and ideals represent the civilized society. The difference between the crowd and the crowd in the primitive life of nature, and the collision and bickering caused by the different personalities of the two people, just add a comedic effect to the film.
Compared with the typical Pekinpa attributes of the priest Joshua and the western cowboy Houg, the characterization of the prostitute Heidi is very different from the female characters in the previous Pekinpa movies. Xidi is no longer synonymous with the "fragrant and gentle country" in male hormone movies. Pekinpa not only endowed the character with playful, spicy and tender and passionate characters, but also gave her the ideal of going to the big city to work hard. Xidi's The character has a lot of three-dimensional personality. Perhaps it was Pekinpa who poured his ideals of love into this role, and women were finally recognized in this movie. Pekinpa once admitted that the actor Stella Stevens is the first choice for this role, and the latter also won praise and praise for his excellent performance in the film. It is a pity that the two never worked together again, and Stella even criticized Pekinpa for being selfish and dishonest in front of the media.
The first half of the movie shows the original expedition spirit of Western films. The establishment of "Hu Ge Qingquan Hotel" heralds the American spirit of hard work and self-reliance. The rising Stars and Stripes represents Pekinpa’s gift to a generation of American people to fulfill their dreams. Respectfully. The second half entered the prosperous period of western films, and it was also an important content closely related to the violent elements in western films-revenge. The revenge here is not like revenge itself, but more to show the blood and dignity of the tough guy in the west. After three years, Hu Ge waited in the desert for betraying his friends Tagore and Buwen. Out of soft-hearted and kind nature, he finally forgiven Buvin who begged for mercy. He decided to hand over the "Huge Qingquan Hotel" he founded, intending to accompany Xidi to New Orleans to create a new world, and all his friends will see him off. The carriage in the desert was replaced by a car, and the priest on horseback drove a motorcycle, all of which heralded the arrival of a new era, and Huge, who was killed by a car in order to save Buwen, embodied the inevitable outcome of barbaric encounters with civilization. The tone of the film is no longer hilarious. The madness of the western desert and the long sorrow of the dusk and sunset together established the end of the tragedy, and it is also full of Pekinpa's affection and unwillingness to the west. Borrowing from the male protagonist Huge, he said: "Ordinary people do my best. We all have our own way of life. Without these, we will be very lonely. I have nothing in the city, but here I can have a good start. "Huang Sha swept away the ending of Hu Ge's words and stayed in Xidi's heart forever, but unfortunately it did not impress the audience. After the movie was released that year, although the critics were very optimistic about the movie, the audience was not willing to accept the story, and the westerns quickly declined. Whether it was the brave western spirit or the westerns, they were all in Pekinpa. The predictions of this movie are verified next.
Attachment: Originally published in "Watching Movie" magazine in June 2016.
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