American Epic

Through the 1960s, the concept of the western swept through cinema. The now legendary Sergio Leone directed the now legendary Dollars trilogy, as well as Once Upon A Time In The West. These became the classic American Epics. Tales from the wild west portrayed in the untouchable style of Leone and sound tracked by the brilliant Ennio Morricone. The American Epic has since lived on, most notably and most recently in the 3 hour slog that is The Revenant.

These are not only films, they are incredible stories that have its environment at the core. Post-colonial America is a fascinating setting, because of the sheer space unlike anything seen before in Europe. After the acquisition of Louisiana, the mid-west of America became a vast expanse nothingness. This wilderness and sheer lawlessness is what inspired the great westerns of the 60s. Bandits rode, sheriffs chased, and now and then someone would get caught. A great portrayal of the emptiness of America at the time is the opening scene in Once Upon A Time In The West.

Despite these epic stories across vast expanses, it was only a decade before, in the 50s when Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams were writing the very opposites of an American Epic. They wrote plays that on nowhere near the incredible story of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, but instead immensely introspective concentrated. Perhaps the most famous American play by Miller, Death Of A Salesman is written like a close reading of The American Dream. A tragic tale of a single man  and his family. No crazy action scenes or drawn out chases. The brilliance of Death Of A Salesman is that Miller says so much without addressing the reader directly once. All of Miller's ideas are conveyed through the dialogue of Willy Loman and those who surround. This style of dialogue driven art has been waning since the classics of the 50s were written.

The Revenant, The Hateful Eight and The Magnificent Seven are all films released this year, perhaps signifying a revival of the American Epic. But the American Classics. Quiet, tragic tales driven by dialogue and often saying more than all the characters combined sit gathering dust. Maybe that's for the better. The climate the America is in is perhaps not ready for another shake to the American Dream, or a wake up call with regards to masculinity. And perhaps these classics will only accumulate worth as they got older, with a certain prestige and vintage growing around the stories.

American Epics and American classics each have incredible value and are wonderful works within their own rite, and today, they are where they belong. At least for now.