A Q&A With Christopher Kelly
The film critic on archetypes, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and the quintessential Texas film.
The film critic on archetypes, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and the quintessential Texas film.
Once and for all: What are the ten best Texas films of all time?
Director: Joel and Ethan CoenPlot: Man hires hit man to kill his wife.Excerpts from our roundtable discussion:RAPP: But, you know, I put it next to Blood Simple or No Country for Old Men, and there’s no comparison. Blood Simple—that film is almost flawless.BLOOM: I like Blood Simple too.
Director: Joel and Ethan CoenPlot: Man finds briefcase full of drug money. Is pursued by maniac killer.Excerpts from our roundtable discussion:BLOOM: I’ve seen so many scary movies that there are very few movies that can scare me. No Country scared the crap out of me.RAPP: What’s the scariest
Director: Bruce BeresfordPlot: Out-of-luck country singer seeks redemption through love.Excerpts from our roundtable discussion:LEAGUE: I thought it was beautiful and spartan. You understand so much of the characters with so few syllables, which is also a very Texan trait. You know, you compare that to Crazy Heart—good Lord, there
Director: Tobe HooperPlot: Friends fall prey to a family of cannibals while on a road trip.Excerpts from our roundtable discussion:LEAGUE: A lot of people have argued this is the most influential horror film of all time, and at the same time, there are Texas themes that resonate through it.
Director: Peter BogdanovichPlot: Teenagers come of age in a fading small town.Excerpts from our roundtable discussion:RAPP: Last Picture Show is a documentary of the first twenty years of my life. I watched it again last night, and I’d forgotten just how authentic it is. I know that dusty, confining
Director: Arthur PennPlot: Boy meets girl. Murderous bank-robbing rampage ensues.Excerpts from our roundtable discussion:KELLY: All right. We have four votes for Bonnie and Clyde.RAMÍREZ BERG: I was the one who didn’t vote for it. It doesn’t scream out, “This is a Texas movie.” It could be Missouri or
Director: Martin RittPlot: Aging rancher struggles with his brash and callous son.Excerpts from our roundtable discussion:BLOOM: If we were to make this harder and say we have to pick the best movie based on a Larry McMurtry story, even though I think I should vote for Last Picture Show,
Director: John FordPlot: Civil War vet hunts for his niece, who was kidnapped by Comanche.Excerpts from our roundtable discussion:LEAGUE: I want to throw one more monkey wrench into the criteria. The Searchers is a bit of a mess as a movie, but it’s been so influential. And there are
Director: George StevensPlot: Rancher with East Coast bride sees Texas transformed by discovery of oil.Excerpts from our roundtable discussion:LEAGUE: It’s a deeply flawed movie, but if we’re here to talk about Texas movies, then Giant has to be on the list. I mean, subject material, quintessential Texan characters, independent
Director: Howard HawksPlot: Tensions flare on a cattle drive.Excerpts from our roundtable discussion:RAPP: What about Red River?LEAGUE: It’s a little too ham-handed. The complexity of issues in The Searchers is more interesting.BLOOM: But John Wayne is a meaner son of a bitch in Red River. Even Walter
Director: Joel and Ethan CoenPlot: Bar owner hires hit man to kill his wife and her lover. Double-crossing ensues.Excerpts from our roundtable discussion:BLOOM: I like Blood Simple too. But it’s very cinematic. It is based on images and ideas of Texas from film history and from popular-culture history more