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Reviews
Gunsmoke: No Hands (1964)
Good Character Study
There is no convenient resolution provided in this episode, the bad guys do bad things and in the end are mostly left to their own devices. However Denver Pyle creates such a despicable man in the form of Pa Ginnis and his brood you sort of feel he gets what he deserves just by having to live with his own disgusting self.
Strother Martin does a great job as the hapless wood carver who is tormented by the Ginnis clan. He's not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he has a good heart and it's disturbing when he suffers at the hands of the cruel Ginnis louts.
Overall I suppose the theme is back in the day you could find all types, the good, the bad and the somewhere in between. This episode does a good job of showing the interaction between these characters without offering any cheap comfort. The bad guys are still around at the end... you just hope for Dodge's sake they decide to move on!
Into the Wild (2007)
Read the Book First
After reading Jon Krakauers's excellent book of the same title I initially intended to avoid this movie altogether. I was afraid it would get a cheesy Hollywood treatment and also I have strong distaste for Sean Penn's public shenanigans. What a tool! That said, when it came on Showtime in HD I had to check it out and was very pleasantly surprised. It's very respectfully and well done. I think if you have not read the book the movie would be a little confusing and certainly you are missing out on a lot of the back story.
But if you have read the book the movie adds some nice visual and narrative touches to this intriguing story which we can learn a lot from. Like many adventurers McCandless was searching for some sort of truth in the wilderness he thought could not be experienced in normal civilization. I thank Mr. Krakauer for documenting the young man's search and attempting to put it into context. He succeeded.
The movie also succeeds, but at a different level. It's more emotional which is a strength of the film medium and also more shallow which is a limitation of movies since they have less space to work with.
Overall, a fine treatment of the story, but this is one case where you should also read the book. It's easy to read and definitely worth your time.