Stagecoach-Unforgiven-True Grit Comparision

Stagecoach and True Grit have many things in common, but also some very different aspects. Both of the movies are common in that they are both a plot for revenge. in True Grit, Maddie hires Rooster Cogburn so that he may find the man that killed her father in cold blood. In Stagecoach, Ringo is looking for the man that killed his brother. Revenge is an essential theme in all classic westerns. Both movies have a lot of extreme long shots to show the setting, which is also needed for a movie to be a true western. Also in both movies the bad guy is killed completing the quest for revenge. Something that is different about True Grit than many classic westerns such as Stagecoach is the difference in the endings. In Stagecoach, Ringo gets what his revenge and gets to ride off with the girl while in True Grit it is not a completely happy ending. Maddie doesn't get to meet up with Rooster because he has died and she also lost her arm so this leaves us with a twinge of regret and isnt the happy ending we get in Stagecoach.

Unforgiven and True Grit have many similarities and differences. In Unforgiven, there is much more moral ambiguity than in either Stagecoach or True Grit. Will is a reformed alchoholic and killer, but when presented with the chance to make some more money for his struggling children by assassinating two men who cut up a whore he only has slight hesitation. Will quickly goes back to his ruthless ways, but it could be taken as he did it for his family, which could be seen as morally right. In contrast, in True Grit it is very clear that Tom Chaney is the bad guy and ultimately gets what is coming to him. One similarity is that both of these films take place in either the wilderness or a one street town. Another difference is that there isnt a theme of revenge in Unforgiven like there is in most classic westerns and True Grit. Will is just testing himself to see if he truly has reformed while in True Grit Maddie very clearly is on quest of revenge.

I would say that True Grit is much more comparable to a classic western film like Stagecoach than a more revisionist film like Unforgiven. Both True Grit and Stagecoach have a motivating theme of revenge throughout the story, while Unforgiven is not driven by this theme. Also the characters in True Grit and Stagecoach are much easier to distinguish as either good or bad, which is not the case in Unforgiven. Although there is one revesionist element that i found present in True Grit. This is the fact that the hero is Maddie Ross, which is not typical of a classic westen because the heros are usually strong men not strong women.