The success of modern Western movies likeBone Tomahawk,The Revenant, The Hateful Eight, andDjango Unchainedhave led to a renewed interest in the Western movie genre. Westerns were immensely popular until the 1970s when, potentially due to fewer original ideas,Western movies had a dip in popularity. However, they’ve not disappeared entirely, as several Hollywood actors and filmmakers have found great success in exploring the Wild Wild West on the big screen. Among the many contemporary actors to deliver quality Westerns in recent years is Kurt Russell.
With a history in the genre that goes back to his days as a child actor, Kurt Russell has been starring in Westerns for decades. A year when he was especially busy with his work in the genre was 2015; not only wasthat year a high point for Westerns, but it was notable for Russell as well, as it saw him star in two standout Westerns, released just two months apart.Russell plays a sheriff inBone Tomahawk, directed by S. Craig Zahler, and ventures on a search party to find prisoners taken by cannibal cave dwellers. InQuentin Tarantino’sThe Hateful Eight, he plays a bounty hunter and shelters from a blizzard with other criminals.
Kurt Russell Starred In Bone Tomahawk & The Hateful Eight In 2015
Bone Tomahawk Features One Of The Most Disturbing Deaths In A Western
Unlike most Westerns, which usually contain at least one heroic character,The Hateful Eighthas no real heroes, as the eight people in the cabin are killers and criminals. Russell plays John Ruth, the fur coat-wearing bounty hunter who trusts nobody and interrogates everybody. However,Russell’s character inBone Tomahawkis the archetypical good guyseen in many classic Westerns: Russell plays Sherriff Franklin Hunt, who is determined to protect as many people as possible, even while in mortal danger himself. Hunt’s heroism makesBone Tomahawk’s goriest death even more disturbing, as the audience sees it through Hunt’s eyes.
Onedisturbing death inBone Tomahawkisnotoriously hard to watch, and unusually gory for a Western moviewhich, while rarely shying away from blood and violence, does not generally venture into the horror genre. Hunt’s search party finds the kidnap victims they were looking for, but are taken prisoner themselves, with deputy Nick being scalped and dismembered while alive, asthe camera remains on Nick and the bloodiest parts throughout. Nick’s horrific death scene is not only memorable in its own right, but gives another interesting dimension toBone Tomahawk, making it both a Western and a horror.
Bone Tomahawk vs. The Hateful Eight: Which Is Better (& Which Did Better)
The Hateful Eight Was Originally Going To Feature A Classic Western Trope
Bone Tomahawkattracted a highRotten Tomatoesscore, box office success, and a shoutout from horror writerStephen King, who praisedBone Tomahawkfor the dialogue.Bone Tomahawkis considered a slow burn, but Russell is given a chance to show audiences who his character is in both domestic and dangerous settings.The Hateful Eightdid not do as well at the box office, however, the performances of the cast, which also includes Tim Roth and Samuel L. Jackson, were praised asThe Hateful Eightadded a ‘whodunnit’ aspect to the Western genre.
Rotten Tomatoes critic score
$1.8 million
$475,846 million
91%
74%
$44 - 62 million
$156.5 million
75%
77%
Bone TomahawkandThe Hateful Eightstand out from other Westerns as they include elements of other genres.Bone Tomahawkgradually increases the horror throughout the movie, whileThe Hateful Eight, which began with a typical Western trope of criminals being sent to be executed, continues as a mystery, complete with a fake letter and poisoned coffee.The Hateful Eight’s endingsaw characters double-crossing each other, Daisy being hanged, and Mannix and Warren dying as friends, but,Tarantino’s original ending featured a Western trope: a shootout, with every character killing someone, leaving Warren as the only character left alive.
Kurt Russell Has A Long History With The Western Genre
Tombstone Is Often Considered Russell’s Most Popular Western, But That Depends On Who Is Rating It
Kurt Russell’s second-ever movie role was in the 1964 WesternGuns of Diablo. From then, he played a variety of characters, who often behave as though they are in a Western, likeEscape From New York’s Snake Plissken. Though Russell has appeared in relatively few Westerns when taking the many roles in his long movie career into account, theWestern movies featuring Russellhave been very well-received. His 1993 movie,Tombstone, features what is arguably one of Russell’s best roles, in whichRussell plays legendary lawman Wyatt Earp, as well as producing and ghost-directing the movie.
Kurt Russell’s first movie role was inIt Happened At The World’s Fair, in which he kicked Elvis Presley. Later, he voiced Presley inForrest Gump.
The Wyatt Earp biopicTombstonewas seen as a career-defining movie for Russell, and was especially praised for the action and dialogue.Russell himself praisedTombstone, tellingGQ, “It’s being considered one of the greatest Westerns ever made, so I’m happy about that… I can’t say that, but I like hearing that.” ThoughTombstone’s Rotten Tomatoes rating is a lower-than-expected 73%, its audience rating is 93%. Interestingly,Tombstone’s rating is almost exactly the reverse ofBone Tomahawk’s rating, with critics givingBone Tomahawk91% and audiences giving it 74%.Tombstonemight be Russell’s greatest Western, but by the numbers,Bone Tomahawkis just one point behind.
Bone Tomahawk
Cast
Bone Tomahawk is a Western film that follows Sheriff Franklin Hunt, who gathers together a group of fighters to save three kidnapped victims from a clan of cannibals. After the town’s doctor is kidnapped along with two others, forcing the sheriff to partner with the town’s Native American professor and find the tribe before it’s too late.
The Hateful Eight
Quentin Tarantino’s 2015 Western incorporates elements of the mystery and thriller genres. Set in 1877, The Hateful Eight follows eight strangers who seek refuge from a blizzard in an isolated stagecoach stopover. Starring Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Walton Goggins, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Bruce Dern, and Channing Tatum, The Hateful Eight was inspired by the Western TV shows of 1960s.
