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HBO is replaying Rome this week, so I've been tivoing. I watched the first four episodes...well, actually, my TIVO erased the second ep before I could see it, so I had to read the synopsis online.
By the fourth episode of Carnivale and Deadwood I was completely, totally hooked. Especially when I watched Carnivale. They were almost like revelations. Let's just say that so far, Rome is not a revelation. It's not bad--I mean, I watched the last four eps of Nip/Tuck on Monday and that was bad in ways previously unimagined. So Rome is no Nip/Tuck, but it's no Deadwood either. Either way, I'll watch the next 8 episodes for more penii...
Now, on to gay cowboys. No, I did not watch Brokeback Mountain yet. As I have no money (literally) I doubt I'll get a chance to see it during its theater run. Rather, I'm talking about My Name is Nobody, one of the last Italian Westerns staring Henry Fonda and Terrence Hill. The movie is bizarrely good. It actually seems like two different movies. We have Fonda's character--John Beauregard--who is part of the Old Guard. It's 1898, the west is downright civilized, and he's old, looking to retire. His storyline is serious, about revenge and gold and all that good stuff. Then we have Terrence Hill--Nobody--and he's, well...he's basically playing the same character as in They Call me Trinity. His storyline was reminicient of the Three Stooges, but that doesn't mean it's bad. Just slapstick and a bit funny. Also, he's really hot.
So where does the gayness come in? Well, I was watching the IFC Documentary the other night and one of the directors mentioned that there was always an implicit thread of homosexuality in the westerns...the director in question had made a western about explicit, leather-wearing, bondage-loving, boy-raping cowboys. Anyway, the subtext in My Name is Nobody was fairly nearly text! Complete with lines like "Why'd you blow on his balls for?" (After a suggestive scene around the pool table) and "So you're my blue-eye angel keeping me from harm..." It was the way Fonda said blue eyed angel...like he was talking to a woman, not a very hot young man. Also, Nobody seems to have an interest in Beauregard that goes beyond mere hero-worship. He behaves as though he's chasing a woman.
Anyway, what capped it all for me was the end. Beauregard wrote Nobody a lovely goodbye letter that sounded more like a love letter, ending with a warning to watch out for barbors wearing the wrong man's coat, ie, don't let the fake barbor slit your throat while he's shaving you. Earlier in the film, Beauregard had threatened one such joker with a gun to the groin. The final shot is of Nobody, with his hand in the gun position (forefinger extended), jamming his hand into the fake barbor's ass. Normally, I'd think it was funny, but given the crazy subtext througout the movie, it just did not hit the funny chord, you know?
It was a good movie. I'm glad I finally got a chance to see it. I'd like to see the Trinity movies now as well, because Terence Hill is really, really hot. mmmm.
By the fourth episode of Carnivale and Deadwood I was completely, totally hooked. Especially when I watched Carnivale. They were almost like revelations. Let's just say that so far, Rome is not a revelation. It's not bad--I mean, I watched the last four eps of Nip/Tuck on Monday and that was bad in ways previously unimagined. So Rome is no Nip/Tuck, but it's no Deadwood either. Either way, I'll watch the next 8 episodes for more penii...
Now, on to gay cowboys. No, I did not watch Brokeback Mountain yet. As I have no money (literally) I doubt I'll get a chance to see it during its theater run. Rather, I'm talking about My Name is Nobody, one of the last Italian Westerns staring Henry Fonda and Terrence Hill. The movie is bizarrely good. It actually seems like two different movies. We have Fonda's character--John Beauregard--who is part of the Old Guard. It's 1898, the west is downright civilized, and he's old, looking to retire. His storyline is serious, about revenge and gold and all that good stuff. Then we have Terrence Hill--Nobody--and he's, well...he's basically playing the same character as in They Call me Trinity. His storyline was reminicient of the Three Stooges, but that doesn't mean it's bad. Just slapstick and a bit funny. Also, he's really hot.
So where does the gayness come in? Well, I was watching the IFC Documentary the other night and one of the directors mentioned that there was always an implicit thread of homosexuality in the westerns...the director in question had made a western about explicit, leather-wearing, bondage-loving, boy-raping cowboys. Anyway, the subtext in My Name is Nobody was fairly nearly text! Complete with lines like "Why'd you blow on his balls for?" (After a suggestive scene around the pool table) and "So you're my blue-eye angel keeping me from harm..." It was the way Fonda said blue eyed angel...like he was talking to a woman, not a very hot young man. Also, Nobody seems to have an interest in Beauregard that goes beyond mere hero-worship. He behaves as though he's chasing a woman.
Anyway, what capped it all for me was the end. Beauregard wrote Nobody a lovely goodbye letter that sounded more like a love letter, ending with a warning to watch out for barbors wearing the wrong man's coat, ie, don't let the fake barbor slit your throat while he's shaving you. Earlier in the film, Beauregard had threatened one such joker with a gun to the groin. The final shot is of Nobody, with his hand in the gun position (forefinger extended), jamming his hand into the fake barbor's ass. Normally, I'd think it was funny, but given the crazy subtext througout the movie, it just did not hit the funny chord, you know?
It was a good movie. I'm glad I finally got a chance to see it. I'd like to see the Trinity movies now as well, because Terence Hill is really, really hot. mmmm.