This last weekend I shot the footage for Film #8 of the year.  In terms of genre, this month I’m making a western!  Ever since I started this project, I’ve wanted to include a western at some point.  It’s a rich genre that is filled with classic films and performances.  The genre itself is laced with specific codes and conventions that are often used to explore themes like the taming of wilderness, honor, revenge, justice, and the definition of morality.

When AFI picked their top 10 westerns earlier this year, they chose some classic films like High Noon, Shane, and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. As I was writing this month’s film, I started by watching the showdown from High Noon to get inspired.  I also watched the fantastic showdowns from two classic spaghetti westerns (so named because they were produced by Italian studios) from Sergio Leone’s “Dollars Trilogy”: A Fistful of Dollars and The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly.  It definitely got me into a good frame of mind for writing a showdown.

For your own enjoyment, here’s the finale from The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly: