Thursday, November 23, 2006

My Name is Nobody (1973)

This movie is one of my favorite Westerns. Check out IMDB for details.

Its spirit is refreshing. For example, the good is so strong it toys with hapless evil, having fun at its expense. More, the good drives the story while evil is just part of the background.

However, what really makes the movie stand out for me is this--its touch of reverence for heroes.

Jack Beauregard:You're sure trying hard to make a hero out of me.

Nobody: You're that already. You just need a special act, something that'll make your name a legend.

Jack Beauregard: What I don't understand is what difference it makes to you.

Nobody: If a man is a man, he needs someone to believe in.

Jack Beauregard: I've met all kinds in my life. Thieves and killers. Pimps and prostitutes. Con men and preachers. Even a few fellas that told the truth. The kind of man you're talking about, never.

Nobody: Maybe you've never met them. Or hardly ever. But they're the only ones who count.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I LOVE THIS MOVIE-can anyone tell me the moral story about the little bird, coyote and the cow i think.

Dennis said...

What I recall is this: when the little bird was up to his ears in cow dung, he should have kept his mouth shut and his eyes open and not be gullible enough to think that a coyote was going to help him. He didn't. The price he paid? Eaten up.

That parable was in the same scene as the exchange I cover in my post. It's a fascinating contrast, now that I think of it -- the birdbrains who get eaten up thinking that a culture's coyotes are going to help them as opposed to an independent spirit making his own way in the world, which is heroic in this day and age. "Maybe you've never met them. Or hardly ever. But they're the only ones who count."