Godless Western

[jimmyj]

Viewed Netflix western "Godless" during the holiday. Some part really violent.
but overall good a western.
The ending gun battle had a lot of period correct firearms.
One of the main characters used a Winchester Model 1886 .50-95 rifle (?).

 

[Andy Lowry]

We just started that one yesterday. So far, pretty good. Netflix doesn't skimp on cinematography or props, that's for sure. A little odd to see an Englishwoman (Michelle Dockery) pretending to be an American frontier Paiute speaker, but she pulls it off pretty well. American accents must be taught in third grade in the UK; there's a bunch of British actors that have fooled me before I learned where they were from.

 

[pharmer]

I've watched a half dozen episodes. So far so good. The country is quite nice in those parts. Joe

 

[Targets Guy]

I'm still debating whether to watch it or not. I still have three episodes of "The Punisher" to finish out. Netflix did a great job on that series.

 

[Kiwi cop]

Viewed Netflix western "Godless" during the holiday. Some part really violent.
but overall good a western.
The ending gun battle had a lot of period correct firearms.
One of the main characters used a Winchester Model 1886 .50-95 rifle (?).

I watched the first half of episode 1 last night and I am fairly certain that the opening credits said the series was set in 1884.

I often wonder how long it took for new model firearms to make their way into common usage in the old west. I am sure there were many cap and ball revolvers still in use well into the last couple of decades of the 19th century. After all, if it was still functioning why not keep it, unless you regularly engaged in multi reload gunfights.

And even more relevant with rifles.How many of us are still hunting with a rifle originally manufactured in the early-mid part of the 20th century?

Mine are a small ring Mauser action buil by Parker Hale to a .243 rifle and a pre AE Winchester 1894 in 30/30.

 

[DWalt]

I haven't seen it, but there was a good review of the series in yesterday's newspaper.

"I often wonder how long it took for new model firearms to make their way into common usage in the old west. I am sure there were many cap and ball revolvers still in use well into the last couple of decades of the 19th century. After all, if it was still functioning why not keep it, unless you regularly engaged in multi reload gunfights."

And use them they did. Back when I was growing up in the Hatfields and McCoys territory in the 1940s-50s, there were still many ML rifles and shotguns, C&B revolvers, and various other pieces of late 19th century ordnance in everyday use. And not replicas either. Most looked like they had withstood 100 years of hard use and abuse, and not many were in anything close to collector condition. I still have a couple of those from that time, including an 1853 Enfield and a Colt Model 1849. Others I have sold including several Civil War era muskets. Those guns did the job for those folks for a long time, maybe some still are. Old technology is not necessarily ineffective technology.

 

[jimmyj]

Some of the revolver used by different actors were C&B with ejector rods (cartridge conversions ?)

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Jimmy - Thanks for posting it!
Now that I’m ‘netflexed’ again,
I will watch it.

 

[M1A]

Finished it last night. I really enjoyed it. Very well done.
I'll tell you what happens.
Oops, not enough room in this box.

 

[Bakebfr480]

Can't access Netflix where I live.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Have seen three so far.
Did not expect all that stuff about The Mountain Meadow Massacre to come up.

 

[vigil617]

Time to bump this one up!

"Godless" is an excellent Western series on Netflix that just came out this month. It's a limited series -- 7 episodes -- filmed in the Santa Fe area. My wife and I have watched four episodes and are hooked!

A very interesting main story line -- a violent gang of robbers on horseback led by a complex, fanatical, and unpredictable leader played by Jeff Daniels, that terrorizes northern New Mexico and southern Colorado in the 1880s -- and equally intriguing side lines about a mining town populated almost entirely by the widows of 83 miners killed in a single explosion, and a young gang member gone straight who falls in with a family on the outskirts of town trying to survive the harsh, "godless" country. Some terrific characters, plenty of gripping action, and nice touches of humor and pathos.

A lot of historical references, some of which (the Mountain Meadow Massacre, per Pilgrim's post above) I wasn't familiar with.

An excellent series that reminds me in many ways of "Deadwood." Two thumbs up!

 

[Rio Laxas]

Overall I liked it, though some aspects of it seemed like they were trying to force a few popular modern storylines into the narrative. Additionally, I have no problem with foul language in movies and tv, but regular use of the f word in a western indicates a lack of awareness about how people actually spoke back then. "Deadwood" had the same issue. The word was around and had been for a while, but it wasn't used frequently at all and not in the same way as it is used now.

I didn't pay super close attention to the firearms, but I think most of them were period correct for the 1880s. The opening credits, on the other hand, show a pre-war S&W hand ejector and an over and under shotgun. Shotguns aren't really a big interest for me, so I had to look up when the over and under shotgun came about and actually learned something. It is my understanding that Browning had modeled the idea in the 1880s but that the Browning Superposed didn't actually come about until the 1930s.

 

[Kevin G]

During the opening credits several items are scrolled, among them what appears to be in over under shotgun? Were they in used back then? Nonetheless I enjoyed the series.
Kevin

 

[jimmyj]

Time to bump this one up!

"Godless" is an excellent Western series on Netflix that just came out this month. It's a limited series -- 7 episodes -- filmed in the Santa Fe area. My wife and I have watched four episodes and are hooked!

A very interesting main story line -- a violent gang of robbers on horseback led by a complex, fanatical, and unpredictable leader played by Jeff Bridges, that terrorizes northern New Mexico and southern Colorado in the 1880s -- and equally intriguing side lines about a mining town populated almost entirely by the widows of 83 miners killed in a single explosion, and a young gang member gone straight who falls in with a family on the outskirts of town trying to survive the harsh, "godless" country. Some terrific characters, plenty of gripping action, and nice touches of humor and pathos.

A lot of historical references, some of which (the Mountain Meadow Massacre, per Pilgrim's post above) I wasn't familiar with.

An excellent series that reminds me in many ways of "Deadwood." Two thumbs up!

Jeff Daniels was the outlaw leader ??

 

[Marshwheeling]

I am about three episodes in, reserving judgment. More than anything, it has me wondering if anybody will ever succeed in making a movie out of Blood Meridian.

 

[Targets Guy]

Jeff Daniels was the outlaw leader ??

That's what I thought as well. But one beard looks like another.

 

[pharmer]

"I've seen my death, and this ain't it." Joe

 

[sigp220.45]

I just finished it. It was one of the best Westerns I've ever seen.

It was good for the same reasons "Hickock" stunk. Cliches - Hickock was full of them, Godless avoided them. Where Hickock was absolutely predictable, Godless wasn't.

Characters you expected to live died, and ones expected to die lived.

The final shootout was possibly the best ever filmed. Horses got killed. Burning buildings and blackpowder guns made smoke. Dusty streets made dust. Guns needed to be reloaded. Guys rode horses up stairs. I decided I need a .50/95.

There were white folks, black folks, red folks, mixed race folks, gay folks, both brave and cowardly men and brave and cowardly women - just like in real life.

The guns (not counting the opening credits, which were probably farmed out) were right. The usual Colts and Winchesters, but also Remingtons and Smiths and at least one Merwin, Hulbert, & Co. The hero had good reasons for carrying his .38 cartridge conversion.

Jeff Daniels was a fantastic bad guy.

I'm sure some folks hated it. Hell, some people don't like Shane.

I'm gonna give it a week and watch it again.

 

[vigil617]

"I've seen my death, and this ain't it." Joe

That's Frank, pharmer, but a sturdy quote nonetheless. I can hardly wait to see how that particular storyline resolves!

And yes to any who wonder about it: Jeff Daniels is, in fact, the leader of the bad guys. My wife picked him out about 15 minutes into the first episode, not knowing he was cast in the movie. She is absolutely phenomenal at picking out actors and actresses. She's still having a hard time, though, with the casting of the character of Alice Fletcher with "Mary" of Downton Abbey fame (Michelle Dockery).