I Think I'm in Love With Clint Eastwood

Who doesn't love a good Western? Alright probably quite a few people. I think it's kind of an acquired taste. They aren't exactly mainstream these days. I love the genre though, with its gritty frontier setting and its courageous, rough around the edges, pistol wielding heroes. There's always a struggle taking place between good and evil, though the line between these two is often hard to see. The best part about Westerns though is the one liners. Epic quotes made by heroes and anti-heroes and villains that are as classic as the genre itself. One of my favorites is a line by Clint Eastwood in The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (if you've never heard of this movie then you might as well just stop reading now). 


"You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig."


Classic! I mean it's not quite a ONE liner but still, Clint's a complete bad-ass.

Anyways if you are a fan of Westerns, and you know some of the great classics (Once Upon a Time in the West, A Fistful of Dollars, The Magnificent Seven, any John Wayne movie, and even  Blazing Saddles) then have I got a treat for you. I recently watched the film Rango, which came out earlier this year and at first glance appears to just be an animated children s movie. However, it's actually a film aimed more at an adult fan-base with knowledge of the Western genre and past Westerns classics. I admittedly was drawn into watching the movie because Johnny Depp plays the main character in the story, a lizard named Rango, however as I got further into the film I become more and more exuberant as Western references popped up as fast and furious as microwaveable popcorn. By the end of the film I was practically in tears because I was so happy with the amount of shout outs the film gave. (Does that make me a Western nerd or something along those lines? I might be a little too obsessed.)


I don't want to ruin too much of the movie for anyone so I'll just list out a few of my favorite Western references from Rango.


- When Rango is made sheriff he is given the same outfit that the main character in Blazing Saddles wears when he is made sheriff.
-Soundtrack music from Once Upon a Time in the West (also used in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End) is used during climactic moments in the movie
-Rango wears Clint Eastwood's poncho outfit (worn in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly) in the final battle of the film.
-There's a classic scene of a posse riding through Monument Valley, paying homage to John Ford's movies in which John Wayne starred.


These are just a few of the multitude of references hidden in the Rango. However I've saved the best one for last. I'll describe it as I saw it. 


Near the end of the film Rango goes on a spiritual journey and discovers "The Spirit of the West." At first all I could see from the shot was a golf cart full of Oscar awards and the wavering silhouette of a man in the dazzling whiteness of the desert. The "Spirit of the West" was facing away from the camera. Then, as Rango drew closer, I could see that the man was wearing a poncho and looked suspiciously like Clint Eastwood's character from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. I started to feel a little bubble of excitement, but I managed to keep my cool. Then the man crouched down with his back to the camera, and spoke. I knew from the first two words that my suspicion was correct, and I immediately jumped out of my seat in pure joy, shouting, "Yes! Yes!" My favorite western hero, Clint Eastwood, was the "Spirit of the West." What a fucking bad-ass.