John Wayne might have been buried in June of 1979, but as far as I’m concerned, he never died. He starred in over a hundred films, most of them westerns, and I think I’ve seen them all. And when it comes to True Grit, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen it. I didn’t realize just how solidly this film was implanted in my brain as an icon of the western genre until I heard that the Cohen brothers were filming a remake. My first reaction was, “Sacrilege!” I confess that I over-reacted. I’m now looking forward to see how the Cohen brothers pay homage to the movie I love so deeply. And I felt compelled to review the original before I review their remake.
