Hatfields and McCoys -- Your Opinions?

[C. Neil]

Rather surprised that no one's discussing the History Channel miniseries, which I have found superb (though I don't get to see part III until the wife gets home today, so I can't draw a definite conclusion.) Despite its Appalachian setting, it certainly looks and feels very much like a Western--and a darn good one, at that.

I'd be interested to see if the folks around here enjoyed it as much as I have. If part III is as compelling as I and II, it'll end up a keeper alongside Open Range, 3:10, and the Coens' True Grit. I will admit to being an easy target; if a movie has horses and handguns, I'm pretty much sold. I also have a distant Costner connection, so I'm doubly biased.

And since I have limited my 19th century studies to what occurred west of the Mississippi, I'd be interested to know your take on its historical veracity...before I get all obsessive and start reading every thing I can get my hands on. And to that point, I'd love reading recommendations.

CNW

[John R Wice]

I guess I've turned into an old skeptic but I don't expect much from movies, especially as I mostly only watch those based on true events, or history.  All that said Hatfield and McCoy's works and the best acting was probably Tom Berenger as Jim Vance, he was convincing in most every way.  Though I would have expected his dog to have been a Bloodhound, or Black and Tan deerhound !

[C. Neil]

To each their own, but I don't understand some of the expectations regarding violence. That's the primary subject here, more so than most Westerns. Do those of you who expressed distaste at the graphic depictions in Hatfields also dislike The Wild Bunch? The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly? The Outlaw Josey Wales? Lonesome Dove? The Searchers and The Man from Laramie have some shockingly violent imagery. Tombstone, which most everyone seems to love, is a veritable bloodbath! I guess we're not supposed to admit it, but I find a tough, bloody Western cathartic.

[Gay Mathis]

Tracking Amazon: Hatfields & McCoys Books Fight Up the Charts

(Publishers News Link)

Excerpt: On the morning of May 31, the day following the airing of the final part of the miniseries, four books in the top 10 Movers & Shakers on Amazon were related to the feud.

[C. Neil]

Somebody (whose comments I appreciated but now appear deleted) mentioned shutting it off and watching The Rifleman, which was created by "The Wild Bunch" Peckinpah and viewed at the time by critics and public alike as exceedingly brutal. In five seasons, Lucas McCain killed 113+ people--many in front of his son. While there were no bloody squib splats, I'd say that makes Lucas worse than the Hatfields and the McCoys combined, and then quadrupled.

Of course, Lucas always was in the right--so there's that counter argument. BTW, The Rifleman is one of my favorite shows.

[Steve Sanders]

Maybe the worst advertisement for The Rifleman was the intro where Lucas McCain empties his rifle and walks down the street giving the "fisheye" to the camera. My sister and I still laugh at that cornball schtick.

[David Lambert]

Sue, Costner didn't direct or write WYATT EARP.

[Sue Cauhape]

I stand corrected, David, but nonetheless, the writing of that movie seemed to be of the quality of a first-year screenwriting class. I was deeply disappointed in it.

As one of those here "weary" of the bloodletting, I guess three nights in a row of this fulfilled my cathartic needs and then some fairly quickly. True, the subject was the violence. It certainly gave this viewer a sense of the daily danger of going anywhere for these people. I was impressed by Johnsie riding to the McCoys to ask for Rosanna's hand in marriage and meeting her brothers on the trail. That was truly scary. It all worked to heighten the emotional response to the film. After six hours of it, though, I was weary of it.

[Sue Cauhape]

By the way, the Rifleman was a favorite of mine too, but my mother finally put the kibosh on it because she was offended by the opening "schtick." Regardless of Lucas' righteousness, mom thought it just a bit over the top to see him pump lead into someone like that. Oh well. Today, seeing the reruns, it seems bland by comparison to today's level of real and movie violence.

[C. Neil]

I know you all are right about Rifleman's cornball opening schtick, but darn if I still don't love it to this day. I think Chuck Connors looked slicker than owl snot. Sue me!

[Jim Hatzell]

I was very pleased to see that the HISTORY channel took time out from informing us about pawn shops,truck drivers, and trawler fishing to do a very entertaining scripted show about the Hatfield & McCoy feud. I was able to look past the modern saddles, European style wagons, and the few actors that pinched "wings" up on their slouch hats (when I'm working on a show and an actor does that more than once...I take it away from him and give him a period cap) I don't know about the historical inaccuracies but all of the best westerns in the past based on true events embellished the scenes for dramatic & thematic value. One interesting bit of trivia not lost on me....the Director Kevin Reynolds and actor Kevin Costner were very close until they had their own big blowup on the set of "Waterwold". Reynolds vowed to never work with Costner again.Ironic that this story brought them back together. I especially liked that the show...set in West Virginia & Kentucky during the mid to later 19th century, had the visual feel of what we call a western. People did not travel west in those days...stop off in St Louis to go to the "cowboy dry goods store" for clothes. With slight variables..the outfits in Wyoming or Arizona in the 1880's were the same as in Chicago or Pennsylvania. (Or even Kenya for that matter.) All in all a great 3 nights of entertainment. I hope that Hollywood...AND THE HISTORY CHANNEL were paying attention to the ratings last week.