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Cinema superposition

04feb2012: Cristyn and I watched the 2010 version of True Grit tonight. It was definitely worth the watch.

Often when I see a movie, I think to characterize it as the sum or superposition of two other movies. This was a game that I was introduced to by Ryan Hickerson, back in graduate school. (It's only a game in a loose sense. Perhaps 'conversational gambit' or 'intellectual calisthenics' would be better terms.) Here was my first thought for tonight's showing:

True Grit = The Big Lebowski + Escape From New York

I picked Escape because of the manhunter with a troubled past and an eye patch. As a corollary, Rooster Cogburn is Jeff Lebowski meets Snake Plissken. Both Lebowski and Escape are a bit too campy, however, so the combination gets the tone wrong. Reconsidering...

True Grit = The Big Lebowski + Unforgiven

This seems better. It still has the manhunter with a troubled past, but adds the old west and a female to instigate the manhunt.