Episode 2 Film List

By Liliana Brooks

In Preparation for our second episode, which will discuss the mythology of the American Wild West, I have compiled my top 5, emblematic films of our titular theme 'Wyoming Cowboy'. 

Each film has been selected with not just cinematic quality in mind, but for their tones of nostalgia, desire and search existential meaning. All of which I feel are relevant for the discussions that will air tomorrow, 

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1. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (George Roy Hill, 1969)

My personal favourite Western, 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' employs all the best charms of your traditional Hollywood Wild West picture, stetson hats, moustaches, open plains and pistols. Robert Redford and Paul Newman couple to make one of cinema's most charismatic and compelling cowboy duos, which builds upon the moral ambiguity of the narrative. 

The piece's relationship with the myth of the Wild West, is one that acknowledges nostalgia, allure and romantic idealism. Dousing the film in a wash of sepia and montage stills. However, between the mountain ranges and Ponderosa Pines, the film certainly beckons over more reflexive themes and ideas to join the hole-in-the-wall gang. 

Arguably transcending the expectations of the Western genre. 

Furthermore, the film kicks off in Wyoming. How fitting.

Where to find? BBC IPlayer 

2. Badlands (Terrence Malick, 1973) 

Badlands, Malick's directorial debut, is easily in my top 20 films of all time. 

It serves as a delicately haunting and poetic experience each time I watch it. The film optically intertwines an almost biblical visual landscape with acts of cruelty and malice. 

It follows a young teenage girl, Holly, and her older boyfriend, Kit, as they embark on a killing spree and search for purpose and concrete identities. 

Spacek's hallucinatory narration fluttering over the paradisiacal geography of the American countryside, breeds a beautiful and meditative work, that ruminates over the nature of violence. Her voice chimes a reminder of subjectivity, particularly in her perspectives on Kit. 

The dusty paths, and the tall grass, trained in itching against calfs and thighs carpet the world of 'Badlands'. One of my favourite images is of Holly's dancing bare feet against fallen twigs and dirt, arguably one of many visual metaphors of the wider plot.

If you enjoy Malick's later films like Days of Heaven, or Roger Deakin's work in No Country for Old Men, I would recommend bumping this up to number 1 on your watchlist. 

Where to find? Youtube 

3. East of Eden (Elia Kazan, 1955) 

An adaptation of my favourite Steinbeck novel, East of Eden is a classic Kazan embracing a beautiful commitment to realism and intimate character portraits. Kazan's approach to fracturing out his morally ambiguous characters, under chiaroscuro light, rings true with his work here. 

The narrative is inspired by Genesis, specifically Cain and Abel, taking biblical ideas of good and evil. These themes operate within the Trask family, as they are framed by California's Salinas Valley in the early 1900s; the fertile land a geographical symbol of the underpinned American dream. 

James Dean stars in full Americana glory, and considering that this work falls into the Old Hollywood period, it is particularly innovative, and open to human complexities. 

If you even had a tiny soft spot for Of Mice and Men during GCSEs, or are tempted by the romance and wistful personalities of 50s cinema, East of Eden will not disappoint. 

Where to find? Rent on Preferred Streaming Services

4. Easy Rider (Dennis Hopper, 1969)

Easy Rider is an American New Wave classic. A quintessential late 60s counterculture film, that really serves as an illustration in propelling away from societal restrictions, towards individualistic spirit. Partially launching Nicholsons career, as he shines out like a new penny. 

Layered denim, star spangled banners, and motorbike smoke are only a few of the visual motifs that blaze upon the golden screen. For what lies behind the iconography of Americana is of course, much more turbulent and illusory. As the characters speed in search of meaning, and solace, we witness their abandonment of hope. 

Easy Rider has absolutely played a role and reference in inspiring romanticised contemporary depictions of biker culture, such as the Lana Del Rey Ride MV. Here we are soundtracked differently, but to equal perfection, thanks to Hendrix, The Byrds and Steppenwolf to name a few...

The American Landscape has never illuminated quite as sweetly with freedom as it does here. 

Where to find? Rent on Preferred Streaming Services

5. Down in the Valley (David Jacobson, 2005)

Edward Norton said he considers much lesser known 'Down in the Valley' to be a twin piece alongside Fincher's Fight Club. 

It's the most contemporary film on this list, and arguably explores the myth of cowboy iconography the most vividly out of these selected films. It follows another age gap relationship, between Norton's Harlan, and teenage indie-sleaze icon Evan Rachel Wood. Harlan adopts the cowboy persona, fashioning himself in stetsons and denim motifs. 

The film explores power dynamics, and gender roles, as while Harlan wears the suit of masculinity, wanting Tobe to be the damsel in distress, as the narrative evolves these dynamics becoming increasingly ambiguous and illusory. 

Similarly to all prior films on my Wyoming Cowboy watchlist, searching for meaning and belonging within the American landscape is a key theme. Using the mechanisms of western tropes as a form of escapism, wether that's speeding down dusty paths on horses/ motorbikes, or sleeping under the stars by bonfire, disillusionment is rooted in the American dream and plays a key role here too. 

Additionally, Down in the Valley really is one of the most Lizzy Grant adjacent films of the early 2000s. If you were on Tumblr reblogging Lyne's Lolita, Kosminsky's White Oleander or even Hardwicke's Thirteen, I would put Down in the Valley in the same realm as these. 

Where to find? Daily Motion