Big Jake Review

The Wild West also known as the Old West, American Old West, or the Great West was used to describe the area west of the Mississippi River during the 19th century. Thomas Jefferson was the 3rd President of the United States and more then double the size of the United States with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. President Jefferson assigned Louis and Ck During this time line was the Gold rush. Many people traveled to the west to claim there prize and some did thou some did not. Two Trails were used to travel the west. The Oregon trail and the Santa Fe trail. The Oregon trail was used but those seeking to farm and make a home for themselves while the Santa Fe trail was used for traders, hunters and gold seekers. In 1859 Oregon gains state hood. On May 10, 1869 the First ever rail road line to stretch across the nation was open.

The title of of the movie I have decided to review is Big Jake. Directed by George Sherman and produced by Michael Wayne. Staring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara. The move was released in 1971 on May 26th. The film sets the time period at 1909. The film starts at the McCandles Ranch going on in to Mexico.

The movie starts at the McCandles Ranch where some thugs kill ten people along with kidnapping Little Jake, Jacob's grandson, and leave a ransom for 1 million dollars for the boy. For that they call on Jacob McCandles or Big Jake to find the boy and give the kidnappers what they asked for. Joining him along the way are his dog named simply Dog, Sam Sharpnose(Played by Bruce Cabot) and his two sons James McCandles and Michael McCandles (Played by Christopher Mitchum). James is played by John Wayne's eldest son Patrick Wayne. Little Jake is played by Ethan Wayne who is John Wayne's youngest son.

The props used in the movie looked real and had me believing it was real. The costumes used in the film I think fit well with the actors and flowed well with the movie. The effects were great for there time and it was fun to watch. Compared to now days the filming was good however for the time I think it was very good.

The only big draw back when it was first realised was that in the film John Wayne's Character Big Jake cursed and at the time it was a big no no. So they bleeped that part out until years later they left it as it was.

All in all it is a great entertainment movie to watch however it is not something that holds a lot of historical value. So it would not be something to base a history report on unless you are prepared to do a lot of research on such things. I did not learn much from this film other then some info about the McCandles Raid. This movie was more of entertainment then historically in my opinion but it was fun to watch and to review.

Amistad Review.

The title of the movie I am reviewing is "Amistad" made in 1997 and directed by Steven Spielberg. The two actors I liked the most were Dijmon Hounsou and Anthony Hopkins. The movie time set is around 1839. The film starts off on board the ship Amistad then going to America where it ends.

The Movie is about a slave ship called Amistad and the slaves fight for freedom. All the way from fighting the crew of the ship to fighting for there rights in court again and again.

I really like John Adams in this movie who was played by Anthony Hopkins. His performance and just the way he captured the wisdom of his character made it look believable to me. Such as when he is in the court room speaking giving a heart moving speech to let Cinque and his people free. Cinque is played by Dijmon Hounsou who plays in another movie and one of my favorite movies "Gladiator" and did a great job in this movie as well. I do think it could have been better, however it was still very good. He shows a lot of emotion when talking to Baldwin tells him "What kind of a land is this where you almost mean what you say? Where laws almost work?"

In the film the lighting was good as far as I am concern, However I do think it could have been improved. I think the music was fitting for the films mood and setting. Some of the effects are a little out of place such as with the ships and such. Or just little changes from scene to scene. I thought the costumes were fine, but a officer in the movie is wearing the wrong out fit for his character and it is mixed up as well.

I think this movie did a good job in portraying the events of the Amistad and the slaves with only a few small down falls here and there. I learned a lot from this film about the ship Amistad itself and the history of the slaves that were aboard it. It caused a domino effect that led to civil war with the North ageist the South. It is a good history movie as well as a good drama.

Now two major people in history around the films time line were President Lincoln and Harriet Stowe. President Lincoln, 16th President of the United States, lead the country through the civil war and was assassinated after the war. Harriet Stowe wrote the book called Uncle Tom's Cabin which enraged many abolitionist and set the country even closer to civil war. When President Lincoln meet her they clam he said" So you're are the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war!"