Does anybody actually like Alex Cox?

[Uomo_senza_ nome]

Very nice observation about the commentary bit by Cox. But as far as I remember he doesn't consider it to be a mistake/flaw. To my recollection he actually kinda praises the order of the scenes, saying it fits the mood or pace of the movie. But it could be I just forgot, been awhile since I watched the film with the commentary on

[drinkanddestroy]

Very nice observation about the commentary bit by Cox. But as far as I remember he doesn't consider it to be a mistake/flaw. To my recollection he actually kinda praises the order of the scenes, saying it fits the mood or pace of the movie. But it could be I just forgot, been awhile since I watched the film with the commentary on

no no no

he says this is a mistake in the order of the scenes, that everyone lost track of things.

In fact, Cox is the only jackass who lost track of things.

[Groggy]

I'm reading the 10,000 Ways to Die book right now. While it's enjoyable, Cox is full of shit as often as Frayling, perhaps even more so. Among others: he complains about Edda dell'Orso's "hideous screeching vocals," calls Eli Wallach a "boring choice" to play Tuco in GBU, confuses Jamie Fernandez of A Bullet for the General with Jaime Sanchez of The Wild Bunch, insists on calling The Great Silence "The Big Silence," argues at length that Django is a parable about the CIA's Operation Gladio (which wasn't anything like public knowledge in 1966), etc. Not to mention his frequent tangential political rants. The OUATITW bit Drink likes to harp on is only the tip of Cox's iceberg.

[Dust Devil]

I'm reading the 10,000 Ways to Die book right now. While it's enjoyable, Cox is full of shit as often as Frayling, perhaps even more so. Among others: he complains about Edda dell'Orso's "hideous screeching vocals," calls Eli Wallach a "boring choice" to play Tuco in GBU, confuses Jamie Fernandez of A Bullet for the General with Jaime Sanchez of The Wild Bunch, insists on calling The Great Silence "The Big Silence," argues at length that Django is a parable about the CIA's Operation Gladio (which wasn't anything like public knowledge in 1966), etc. Not to mention his frequent tangential political rants. The OUATITW bit Drink likes to harp on is only the tip of Cox's iceberg.

The post could have been significantly shorter, don't you think?

[Groggy]

Surely that applies to 90% of my posts.

[Groggy]

I also forgot where Cox thinks Colonel Mortimer was the guy Indio wasted in FAFDM's big flashback, and hence that Mortimer is incestuous, a ghost or an incestuous ghost.

[drinkanddestroy]

I also forgot where Cox thinks Colonel Mortimer was the guy Indio wasted in FAFDM's big flashback, and hence that Mortimer is incestuous, a ghost or an incestuous ghost.

 

are you serious?   does he really say that? I guess that would explain how Mortimer got the second pocketwatch! (But how does he explain the black-haired Mortimer being played by a German blond dude?)  

in that case, I can see why you said the book is enjoyable; sound to me like it's pure comedy!

In Frayling's 1981 book "Spaghetti Westerns," he mentions that some critics have mentioned the possibility that Mortimer was a voyeur to his sister's rape; otherwise, how would he know about her rape/suicide by Indio? Frayling himself discounts that theory. However, since Frayling and Cox are supposedly friends, I wonder if some of those Coxamanie (sorry, couldn't resist) theories seeped in there  

***UPDATE -- that theory is mentioned on the bottom of p. 180-top of p. 181 in Spaghetti Westerns: Frayling cites the critics who say that since Mortimer is sharing the flashback with Indio, he must have been a voyeur to his own sister's rape. But Frayling rejects this interpretation; he says it's the critics who are looking at the film from a Realist perspective who interpret it this way; whereas Frayling himself believes that at this point, Leone was just interested in presenting the flashback in a stylish manner and not to take it too litarally that Mortimer is actually sharing it. It's one of those very long half-paragraphs that appear in this book, but if anyone doesn't have the book and wants me to type the whole thing, I can do it, if you ask nicely   ***



Btw Groggy:I really disagree with you saying "Cox is even more full of shit as often as Frayling, perhaps even more" as if Frayling is often full of shit.
No doubt, Frayling has made mistakes in his works – in fact, I've pointed out several of them on these boards. There are some little annoying things like when he says Blondie thrown the sheriff's badge in White Rocks into the dust (when he actually throws it into the citizen's hat) and that Noodles went to the train station to go to Buffalo, (whereas Noodles clearly asks for a ticket on the "first bus.") [And Frayling would be the first to tell you there are mistakes in Spaghetti Westerns; in the 1998 introduction to the book's re-issue, he himself points out certain errors in the book, so he's upfront about that stuff.]
But overall, I think he is very solid (and despite his mistakes, it's certainly very rare if he'd ever make a mistake as ridiculously blatant as the nonsensical bullshit that that Cox has said.)
I have literally read, watched, and listened to just about every word Frayling has ever said or written about Leone that is publicly available (in books, podcasts, dvd commentaries, bonus features, YouTube videos, etc.) and I think Frayling is awesome.

[stanton]

Cox makes some mistakes, yes, and he has some strange theories developed which sound a bit ridiculous, but apart from that it is an enjoyable and well written book. If there ever was a bad book about Italian westerns than it was the one by Weisser. This seems to contain more errors than truth. But it is a great laugh for that.

[Uomo_senza_ nome]

I think we are being way too critical of Sir Frayling. After all he praised Leone, long before it became fashionable to do so, and he was pretty much the only critic to really take Sergio seriously. As for the "mistakes" in his books, you have to remember that they were written before the age of dvds or youtube. Back then you didn't have the luxury of watching a certain scene over and over again, and a lot of the so called mistakes, can possibly be contributed to this. Cox on the other hand only seems to enjoy the smaller and lesser known spaghettis, and you kinda get the feeling that the more obscure the movie, the more he likes it. I respect his fondness and knowledge of the genre, but his personal preferences are way off.

[drinkanddestroy]

I love Frayling. I have read, listened to, and watched every word he has written in a book, said on a podcast, dvd/brd commentary, dvd/brd bonus feature, YouTube videos, etc. about Leone. It's always a pleasure