"True Grit" Better than the John Wayne version.

[JanMichael]

Jeff Bridges now owns the role of Rooster Cogburn.

[redwitch]

1. I loved the original movie.

But the new version looks fabulous, hoping to see it this weekend. Bridges looks amazing, you can tell from the trailer that he was perfectly cast.

[Tom_Foolery]

2. I agree!

[mix]

3. a great one nt

[bluedigger]

4. What!

Fill your hands, you son of a bitch.

(I'm looking forward to seeing the new version.)

[alphafemale]

18. Just realized when you posted this that Jeff Bridge's Rooster has his patch on the other eye. nt

[Inspired]

5. Agreed

I watched the original movie again after I saw the remake. I liked the new version much better. The acting was better. Jeff Bridges did a great job.

[Common Sense Party]

6. I put the original in my Netflix queue. Haven't seen it in years.

To me, John Wayne IS Rooster Cogburn. We saw Bridges/Coen version today and enjoyed it, but I don't know if I can say I liked it better than the original until I refresh my memory of the Wayne version.

[bluesbassman]

7. I kind of equate it to All Along The Watchtower.

Dylan's was the original, and it was great in it's way but Hendrix took it to a whole new level.

Jeff Bridges just keeps getting better with every role.

[Joe Fields]

8. I've seen several trailers of it, have not seen the whole movie, but

just from what I've seen, Bridges seemed flat, rather lifeless in the role. If what I saw was any indication, John Wayne IS, WAS, and will always BE Rooster Cogburn.

[Auggie]

9. The films were made 41 years apart

I agree the remake is better, but the first was still a valid film for 1969. I remember seeing it in theaters as a teenager and being blown away by the cinematography. It was beautiful photographed.

[mopinko]

10. yeah, he was sleazy in a way the duke could never do.

i loved it to death. i could just smell bridges.

[TN al]

11. Jeff Bridges is just a better actor.

John Wayne played John Wayne in all of his movies. Jeff Bridges played Rooster Cogburn in this one.

[Iggo]

12. I agree that it's a way better movie, and a way better telling of the story..

But John Wayne still owns that role.

EDIT: Even though I think Jeff Bridges played the role better than John Wayne, John Wayne STILL owns that role.

[nyc 4 Biden]

13. i've only seen the new version (i know, weak sauce)

but i thought it was very well made. and jeff bridges was tremendous.

[NewJeffCT]

14. Never saw the first one, but I recently DVR'd it

in anticipation of seeing both.

[Ghost of Tom Joad]

15. Kim Darby and Glenn Campbell

are proof of your assertion.

[lutefisk]

16. "The Whatever Western"

Lee Siegel writes:

"Not to start the new year off on a dour note, but do you want to know why so many people have become hopeless about changing the political and economic mechanisms that rule our lives? Watch the 1969 True Grit and then go see the Coen brothers' recent remake, which has just about all the critics swooning. In the former, vital characters apply their will to the world and stories unfold within a story. In the new version, the Coens' devotion to the now happily marketable idea that life is senseless makes character, story and a convincing social reality disappear. Call it the "whatever western."

In 1969, the year of the original True Grit, 15 inches of snow fell on New York City, nearly putting an end to John Lindsay's mayoral career. The outer boroughs went unplowed for days, and it was precisely the working-class and lower-middle-class enclaves in the outer boroughs where Lindsay's popularity was in jeopardy. People went nuts, and called for Lindsay's head.

But that's where the similarity to Mayor Bloomberg's recent snow snafu stops. Lindsay was reelected, but not before having to undergo the most tumultuous electoral contest in the city's history, which included a run for mayor by Norman Mailer, accompanied on the ticket by Jimmy Breslin for City Council president. "The difference between me and the other candidates," Mailer liked to say, "is that I'm no good and I can prove it." When Mailer visited Queens to stump for votes, a man asked him how he would clear the streets of snow if, during his mayoralty, another blizzard hit New York. "I'd piss on it," Mailer promised. Nineteen-sixty-nine was like that. It abounded in colorful personalities who took on their environment."

http://www.observer.com/2011/opinion/whatever-western

[tinymontgomery]

17. Grew up on the Wayne one

thought the Bridges one was good and in some parts better. What was fun was finding out the differences between the two in the way the scenes were filmed.I don't want to be a spoiler so I won't list the things I found different but my wife and I found at least 4 items filmed different then the first. Lots of fun.