Straight Shooting

The righteous heroes and human villains of Budd Boetticher's West
by Matt Zoller Seitz   posted Dec 4, 2008

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COMMENTS (2)

Thanks for the catch, Bob, and for the kind words. Boetticher's compositional sense is maybe the very best illustration of the "show, don't tell" principle.
Matthew Seitz   posted 09.12.08

Nice piece, summing up the common elements that make these five films into a vision, as well as focusing on individual examples of how Boetticher's composition and framing do much of the storytelling. The piece is as incisive and economic as a Boetticher film. One catch, though: That was Maureen O'Sullivan, not O'Hara, in THE TALL T.
Bob Cumbow   posted 08.12.08

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Courtesy Sony Pictures Entertainment
Randolph Scott and Maureen O'Sullivan in Budd Boetticher's The Tall T
Photo Gallery: Straight Shooting

KEYWORDS

Budd Boetticher  |  Retrospective  |  western  |  Randolph Scott  |  Hollywood

THE AUTHOR

Matt Zoller Seitz is a writer and filmmaker whose debut feature, the romantic comedy Home, is available through Netflix and Amazon. His writing on film and television has appeared in The New York Times, New York Press, and The Star Ledger, among other places. He is also the founder of The House Next Door, a movie and TV criticism website.

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Author's Website: The House Next Door