robotovictor

Superbly created city, good camera, make up, costumes and all the looks. A bit arguable is the need of all those ill characters. Anyway, all of them but that version of Calamity Jane can be left as they are...if it was not THE ODD COMPLICATED LANGUAGE. That's ruining a bit all the great reality. We are just struggling with the meaning even with subtitles in...any language... and can't focus on what's actually happening, not to mention the atmosphere. Good variety of directors for the episodes as well as characters but almost all of them sound like university professors in something that is not parody and there is actually need to follow a good existing script. The Frequency of swearing, marked even by the name of SwearEngine, can be accepted somehow, if it was not that odd language. Otherwise, seems like lots of millions were put in those series. Such real picture an nice actors as if it was big screen cinema. The story is actually more real than most of the other westerns made in this century. And also draws contemporary parallels with the political struggles of the day, thus making it more credible.

This Series are the perfect introduction to the Old West for the young and not so well familiarized with it audience and good overall summary that will enjoy the vast mass of western lovers (like myself) that had already seen all those movie versions of the popular stories. All those Hollywood titles evolved trough the years towards better and more accurate depiction of characters and this documentary series of are the last and best so far to show it altogether, in a larger scale.

There are some new facts for everyone to discover in the series. For me the big revelations came in the Sioux story with the fact that the mass extinction of an animal kinds was actually masterminded. The photograph of four thousand skulls of killed animals represents what was deemed heroism in it's real light for first time like that. That is the new course to truthfulness in the depiction followed now in the 21st century. And doesn't steal any of the drama! As Isaac Asimov has written: ''The Truth is the most powerful Lie''. There is a new fact to everybody here or there, i guess..or not but the strong point is the big picture.

The big question is what it would have been if the authors have divided the story lines in separate episodes focusing at only one at a time instead of focusing of separate and uninterrupted development of the not linked characters. That would have given them the opportunity to include also the story of Geronimo that took place mainly after all of the rest story lines. I bet new facts would have appear that have not been covered even by the perfect 1993 Geronimo biopic.. But the timeline of that relentless Indian and his fate were different to be honest. Here we have another goal: the rapid loom of an epoch and its fatally bittersweet end.

The 8 episodes can't cover everything but focus on a somewhat of a quarter century period (1865-1890) in which the Wild West became Old West and gradually died. Perhaps that i why the four separate stories are presented not separately but part form the only flop: the alleged meeting between Jesse James and Billy The Kid in Arizona where its very doubtful the former has ever been. Good at least it is admitted it part of a LEGEND. Because of that it should not have been part of the otherwise accurate series.

It is not so important how many gangs and members Jesse James had or who shot who and where exactly in Tombstone. What does matter are many facts that seem to have been contradicted or set aside so far in the big cinema: like Pat Garett as former member of a gang. What we are being shown fully here is the formation of the certain stereotypes of the West instead of losing ourselves counting bullets and badges. We are the ones who unveil the facts missing from the known history while set in a overall situation where we are capable of accomplishing that task that we are doing anyway... Or Asking and answering to what extent exactly was Jesse James following a credo of defeated but not surrendering South.

The Big story in this large glimpse of the Wild West where ''people didn't live that long'' is of Wyatt Earp. IT the best known as facts and stands alone and most defining for the image of the era. And in the same time was never presented in such a full light, given history, reasons and ways of Wyatt that are both new and determining. i will not reveal it here of course. I will just comment how really struck do i feel that is possible the mass audience (at the time) to be so fond of the criminals, proclaiming them heroes while celebrating defeat of the law enforcement.

With grasping the historic era of the USA emerging as the one and only free country and promised land for settlers from around the globe while being born in tones of unlawfulness and mortal sins that are present not only in all of the characters (except the Native Americans) but mark with filthy stigma all layers of that society. I almost can not believe how bad was that Old West with real sheriffs unable to do justice and even being persecuted or hired to ''convert'' into man hunters by rival governor candidates. As one of the documentary specialists said it in the series: The Justice system was ... (totally corrupt)- probably cut in the editing as it sounds... not good - left after the editing.

Everyone has to see how the West was ''cultivated''. Because this is the foundation of the so-called Modern World we live in. There is good and bad mainly for everyone to find...

That is so far the best depiction of the Saxon Britain in any theatre or TV movie, take into account even Michael York's Alfred The Great who is better only to this movie's only flop, the dark hair of the king and most of saxons. They were BLOND and blue eyed, just like elves to whom they had given the name. i wonder how they found so many dark haired British even today when they are already mixed, for the acting.

All but that was the plain reality of 8th and 9th century, the warlike macho times, the freezing temperatures, of course the battle tactics and above all the way of life. That tricky turning sides were not only the way of the noble man - like all around Europe - but were typical for all the anglo-saxon inhabitants of the isle. They focused on them before and apart from the mixing with the danes in the northeast of the land and everywhere in the following century and did that pretty well even in details (except the blond hairs).

Choreography, camera-work, storyline and credibility, plenty of elaborate and grabbing characters - all superb. Congratulations for the lines of Alfred - that is marvelous piece of work, a real king's character unlike almost all big screen movie monarchs. And after all you simply can't stop watching the series straight one after another. The development of the story is perfect and with no time lost in regular reminds of what had happened in every series or during the advertisements no matter what age are you or if you like history, battles, revenge or love stories or just want to see what England has looked like a thousand years ago.