Riding the Rails and the Range

After last week's desperate measures, this week has proven to be somewhat of a golden gateway for UK terrestrial television. Series 1 of  Hell on Wheels is crossing our screens with a good head of steam.

I was in New Mexico when I first caught episodes of this tale of building a railway across the continent after the Civil War: revenge, racism, intimidation, mysogeny, graft... the story of everyday folk, all carrying a lot of emotional baggage. It'll be interesting to see if the multiple storylines rise above their basic descriptions.

John Ford's The Searchers certainly managed to, and still does nearly 60 years after it was made (1956), despite this week's TV guide's crass description of John Wayne's character as being in a "relentless search for his young niece". Watch the movie, mate. It didn't gather its 5 stars merely for the spectacular filming in Monument Valley. And while you're at it, read the book by Alan le May. A riveting use of colloquial speech.

The Searchers was, in fact, my first view of Monument Valley in both photograph and on screen. It made a great impression, so much so that when my young eyes laid sight on a map of the Southwest I traced not only its features but its names: Painted Desert, Mexican Hat, Vermilion Cliffs, Gila Wilderness, Grand Canyon. The surprise is that it took me so long to visit them.

Utah Legend Lives Again - Redempton

I watched The Searchers yesterday. I hadn't meant to. I was supposed to be working but caught it while eating lunch and couldn't pull myself away. It's been a while and the majesty of the landscape had eased in my memory. I'd forgotten, for instance, that the Seven Sisters shown in the header to this blog features as a backdrop. The acting, the haunting determination shown by the characters, made me want to pull Alan leMay's paperback from the shelf.

Some people despise daytime television. I love it.

And then today a surprise. Yet another reprise for the Western genre, this time from Utah in the shape of a new movie Redemption. It's based on the true story of a French immigrant, Jean Baptiste, caught grave-robbing in 1862 and, according to the film, exiled to an island. From its trailer it looks less an all-guns fiction and more an examination of the consciences of two opposing men. I like Westerns that make you think.

Interview and trailer at ksl.com http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=19890700

Enjoy your Easter.