A tricky one to find! After browsing all streaming platforms I finally found it on CHILI. I hadn't heard of it either. What do they specialise in? Spicy movies? Confused I settled into the opening credits.
And spice there is! The scope is vast. It's a western set in Oklahoma across 40 years from 1889-1929. It opens with the Oklahoma land rush of 1889. At noon on a designated date, a member of the local council fires a gun and everyone in their horses and carts rides into this new land and can take whatever land they want. Towns of thousands spring up overnight and a new civilisation is born. One must spare a thought for the native Americans effectively having their land invaded and that sentiment should take precedence. However, the excitement of a brand new state up for grabs is palpable. All that land, all that opportunity - it must have been intoxicating.
The process is as exciting as it is dangerous. Duels with pistols, minimal law enforcement and 19th century wallpaper all feature. It is a pulsating ride that holds your attention throughout. Deserving of its Oscar, no western managed the same feat until Kevin Costner 59 years later.
Aspects of the film certainly do not age well. It is set in the post slavery world but the distinction is not so clear. An Afro-Carribean boy close to the family spends some of his time manually fanning the white people to help keep them cool on a hot day - something that makes the 21st century viewer uncomfortable at best.
Rating:
7/10
Reflections on the human condition:
What seems familiar now once represented a new land of seemingly endless opportunity.
Life can be a rich tapestry of numerous chapters - if you work to make it so.
Racial equality has come on a huge amount - yet there is still further to go.
Oscar Best Picture Rankings:
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
Wings (1928)
Cimarron (1931)
The Broadway Melody (1929)
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