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True Grit Comparative Essay

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Comparative Analysis on True Grit (1969) and True Grit (2010)
Many modern adaptations of classical films have effectively been reinvented to successfully adapt the current market and cater audiences from the new generation. One such film is the 2010 movie “True Grit”, which is an artistic remake by the Coen brothers of the 1969 film of the same title by Henry Hathaway. While both films are adaptation of Charles Portis' 1968 novel True Grit, the two versions differ in certain cinematic elements that make their variations artistic and inventive on their own right.
One of the immediate things that differed between the two film adaptations is the character portrayal of the main characters in the story. While both featured a one eyed lawman named …show more content…

With erstwhile traditional techniques in film making, the camera in the 1969 version focuses on capturing the unrefined exquisiteness of the sceneries using natural light in bright days while somewhat dodging from anything ostentatious, that could get in the way in highlighting the star appeal of actors in the film and distorting its emphasis on the “eye for eye” western sense of justice. With better technology and techniques, the Coen version used different photographic effects and colour schemes that created a more dead beat gothic appearance that contributes to its lacklustre, indifferent and hard-bitten theme and ending. The visual approach is further complemented by varying musical backgrounds. Whereas the 1969 version exhibited the more buoyant optimistic style of most 60’s films, highlighted by folksy pop ballad of Glenn Campbell, the musical score for the modern version is way more dismal and sober in tone in order to emphasize thrilling adventure of the story instead of merely suggesting a western film genre. While the older version merely focused on creating a western ambiance in terms of music and look, the visual and music in the modern version contributed to improve the realism of the story which focused on the ambiance and feeling of specific scenes to the film which is more palatable to modern

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