7 Men from Now (1956, dir. Budd Boetticher)

7 Men from Now (1956, dir. Budd Boetticher)

What Is It?: A taut revenge western about a man hunting down his wife's killers.

What About It?: The release of Budd Boetticher's 7 Men from Now, is a formerly rare event that we are happily getting used to in the era of re-releases on DVD (in the wake of the CES, we wonder what the future will bring us, tinted as it will be with Blu-ray or HD-DVD-hued glasses). Originally produced by John Wayne's Batjac company as a B-Reel picture, this was raised to classic status by the writings of French New Wave-era critic, Andre Bazin, who abhorred the coming of the "Super Western" of Shane or High Noon, and preferred the honest, lean going's on in a taut little revenge flick like this one.

Why Should I See It?: And revenge is the task at hand in this first collaboration with Boetticher and Randolph Scott (they would go on to film 6 more). As Scott hunts down the 7 men who were culpable for the death of his wife, marvel at the lean, spare storytelling. One can easily see the line drawn from Randolph Scott to Eastwood and from Boetticher to Tarantino (esp. the Kill Bill series). Highly recommended.

Reserve it at the Multnomah Public Library

If you are so inclined, you can read all about Boetticher in this fine book, Horizons West by famed San Francisco film scholar, Jim Kitses.

-- ddt/pdx