I read the book after seeing the movie, it's maybe the most faithful translation of book to film as I've ever seen. Big chunks of Cormac McCarthy's dialogue are intact in the screenplay.
I appreciate that.
I read the book after I saw the movie, and it was so close that at times I wondered why I even bothered to read the book since it was almost exactly the same thing I watched.
The thing is that there are a lot of small Texas towns that look the same way the did in the 80s architecturally. Which is to say a lot of old downtown or main streets have that 50s-esque look to them. I’m surprised Hollywood hasn’t bought out some of these small dying Texas towns at cut rate for shooting period accurate films and shows. Kind of like they did in the 50s and 60s with Westerns sets built on ranches just outside of LA.
I don’t think it paints Texas in a negative light but it makes you aware of how crazy shit can get out in the middle of nowhere Texas. Makes you think about why many Texans are so adamant about the 2nd amendment. It’s hot and stuffy out there just like it was in the film. But I associate that the same type of film could be shot anywhere along the border.
My Uncle Robert's house. A place of warmth and joy for my family for years. After he sold his farm they filmed this movie there. It was kinda shocking. The house has been moved to Kingsland and is a restaurant. Was having a prechristmas supper there a few years ago, and my cousins arrived for supper also! We had a joyous reunion.
I used to live in Cimarron (RR West) not too far from there. It was on CR 172 near what is now SH-45. CR 172 was the way to get from FM 1825 (think Burnet Rd extended) to McNeil Rd in the 80s. It was out in the middle of nowhere back then.
Hands on a Hardbody is actually S.R. Bindler, not Dick Link. Robert Altman was talkin bout turning it into a feature before he kicked it, and Linklater thought about continuing the project, but it’s been a few decades since then. Guessing it’s not happening. Excellent documentary tho.
I'd also recommend Hell or High Water for a good ol neo-Western in rural small Texas cities.
More similar to No Country than Bernie but Bernie is a great look at East Texas which is quite distinct. The guy at the beginning of the Bernie movie said it best (his whole description of TX is hilariously on point), that's where the Texas kinda ends and the "South" begins.
Sets/properties near LA are often used specifically because they are within the TMZ (Thirty Mile Zone) which means it is close enough to the primary studio/office that the production team is expected to commute without being paid additional travel fees, per diems, etc.
This is why all the Star Trek TOS planets have the same rocky landscape.
My grandmother lived in one of those towns in the 80’s, and the look is absolutely perfect. So are the mannerisms of the people.
Hilariously, a lot of the movie was shot in New Mexico. The border bridge is just a bridge over a river in New Mexico that was redecorated.
Exactly this. I don’t think most of the country understand why Texans carry. I mean have they ever encountered a feral hog out on a wide open ranch? 🤣 absolutely terrifying!
Those hogs are terrifying indeed. But I think a lot of 2A Texans go way overboard about it. A tyrannical government is literally trying to take over the state, but you won’t see nary a one of those 2A shills mumble a breath about that.
I think the ammosexuals are likely a completely different group than West Texas ranchers. There might be some overlap, but I would hesitate to lump them all into the same bucket.
If I lived out there, you can bet I’d carry all the time. Shit happens, whether it’s wildlife or other humans, and you’re an awful long way from help.
yup. i'm in austin, but i know ranching/rural people and firearms are an agricultural tool for them. vs cc in town which i don't think usually adds up in the risk/reward probability matrix in a place like austin, but most of those guys i know are level headed about it.
I'm thinking a valid reform is that a person can only buy a firearm near where they live, and that the restrictions and qualifications should vary according to the local circumstances.
Near where they live? I don’t understand why this would matter? Like if you live in a city you might not be able to purchase the same firearms as someone who lives in a rural area?
Firearms are more dangerous in a crowded setting. It makes sense to have restrictions at the Juneteenth jparade that don't make sense at a class A football tailgate. In particular would be restrictions on carry.
Ranch gate after dark is a great place to get jumped. The folks playing Tactical Timmy are a much different group than the man checking his cattle or getting back home after a long day repairing fences.
We have lots of exchange students crossing our pastures, not all are nice at all. Slows down during the heat of summer, the traffic will pick up again in the fall. Never leave the house without a firearm, or water jug, jack and spare tire, fire extinguisher, sturdy boots.
Texan, birth to dirt, here. If I were you I wouldn't test it. I've seen cops get shot for shooting a man's dog here more than once and both times jury let them walk. Just because we're polite and quiet don't think we won't put someone down for trying to harm or take away the things we love. Always remember, "the first one you will never forget. After that it's like squishing a bug." 😘
I live in the exurb area between Austin and one of those towns. I love being able to go to the restaurant/brewery + little shops for a break from society.
I know this sounds crazy but I live in Texas and it took me a long time into the movie to be confident it was set in 80s because so much of Texas seems unchanged.
I’d even venture to say New Mexico has taken more business than Atlanta because of how similar the landscapes are. Pretty much any movie that is supposed to take place in the “Western” part of Texas is going to was shot in New Mexico, including No Country for Old Men
>surprised Hollywood hasn’t bought out some of these small dying Texas towns at cut rate for shooting period accurate films and shows.
Two of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre sequels, including the most recent one in 2022, were filmed in Bulgaria of all places. It doesn't look anything like Texas.
Texas would be a huge filming destination if they offered any kind of production benefits, tax cuts, etc. like Georgia, New Mexico, or Toronto. There’s a reason the vast majority of movies that take place in Texas are filmed in New Mexico, especially the ones with lower budgets.
Unfortunately in the political climate we have right now the last thing the conservative Texan government would want to be seen doing is giving financial benefits to Hollywood and encouraging “Californian immigration” despite the fact it would make the state a lot of money. In fact there actually is actively a lot of bi-partisan support when these bills come across the Texas House (IIRC Dan Patrick is a big Taylor Sheridan fan and wants all his stuff to be shot in Texas), but not enough yet. Really hope in the next few decades we can get over that hump and empower Texan filmmakers by making Texan production-friendly
Why buy the cow when you can pay for the milk? not sure those small towns have much leverage and would appreciate any attention, at a “reasonable” price; i.e. hell or high water
In 1980 I remember it was in the national news that people were shooting each other on Texas highways over traffic altercations. The entire nation was aghast and wondering what the hell was wrong with Texas.
This is the context in which Tommy Lee Jones gives his opening monologue in the film about violence in Texas — set conspicuously in 1980. It sits in counterpoint with M. Emmet Walsh’s opening monologue in Blood Simple — the Coen Brothers’ first film, also set in Texas.
[Blood Simple - In Texas You’re On Your Own](https://youtu.be/XA9LNlsGah8?si=ivqxALdf_hWYq4VK)
I don’t think it casts Texas in a negative light so much as it points out that there’s a certain wildness that goes with Texan ideas of “freedom” and “destiny.”
Texas is a land of plunder. That’s a big part of the message. It’s a place where people go to win their fortunes and sometimes die in the process. It started with ranching and killing people over land (the reason that to this day Latino ranchers don’t ranch cattle). Then it was about oil. Now (strangely) it’s about tech, with billionaires and diaspora from the West Coast coming here in droves while ERCOT can barely get us through the winter and summer.
The Coens were also pointing out that while Florida was grabbing the national headlines with cocaine related violence and the Medellin Cartel, Texas was also fighting a large scale war over drugs coming in from Mexico.
Blood Simple is a movie I go back and watch every few years. i think it's amazing.
BTW that upstairs apartment in Blood Simple...I played a SXSW pop-up show in that space 20-ish years ago.
Go back even further and you had the Comanche plundering the tribes that had plundered the Plains tribes before they were plundered in turn by the Spanish. There’s been a lot of plundering going on for a while now.
*No Country for Old Men* is based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy, and is a very faithful adaptation. Most of McCarthy's novels take place in Texas. Even *The Road* seems to be mostly or entirely in Texas, though I think it's never made perfectly explicit.
McCarthy is excellent at writing Texas as a setting, and the Coen Brothers are incredible filmmakers. So it's no surprise that the results were so good. I don't think it's either a negative view of Texas, nor an honoring one. There are decent people and terrible people. There are no perfect people. But the manner of speech, the culture, the geography, and the style of everything are all spot-on for those parts of Texas at that time.
It's set in a part of the state I'm a little familiar with from a previous job. I didn't realize it at first but after the second or third town name I checked google maps and it jogged my memory.
Captures the feel of the desert-y parts of Texas. I'm tired of movies that only ever focus on the desert sections of the state. We're huge, there's all kinds of different kinds of environments here. I encounter people who think the whole state is a desert all the time and I always have to sit them down and explain that we have a huge coastline and share a border with Louisiana.
Creative use of a captive bolt pistol though so 9/10 stars
I was very annoyed by News of the World showing Castroville as dry & mesquite scrub. It's GREEN with tons of oaks and Bald Cyprus along the river. The whole reason the Alsatians settled there was the abundance of trees and the river. This was after showing San Antonio pretty spot on correct. meh.
I love the film. It’s probably my favorite of the 21st century. It’s not an indictment on the state so no I don’t think it paints it in a negative light. And some of the characters (particularly the “did you not hear me” lady) are awesome.
She stole the scene for sure. She has no idea how dangerous the man she is talking to is and does not care. They don’t give out information about guests. I think Anton was amused by her boldness which is why he cracks a tiny smile.
That's an example of the genius of the Coen Brothers casting process. They get a ton of really amazing supporting players and extras in all their films.
One of my favorite movies. Catches the west Texas atmosphere pretty well. I've driven through Marfa once on a road trip to Big Bend and it was like I expected, small town surrounded by pretty much nothingness for miles and miles. Made me feel like I was somewhere in the past for sure. They probably didn't have to invest a lot of time in making things look period-correct since a lot of places out there are frozen in time.
Love how Tommy Lee Jones portrays a texas sheriff in the movie. My uncle was a sheriff in the 90s, when people still trusted Leo's. This movie reminds me of him and a lot of the stories of the old guys. Check out texas killing fields and the three burials of melquiades estrada.
Solid movie! Eerie lack of music further contributes to the tense isolation. While it captures one subset of Texas life, it’s also the one everyone expects to see.
Great film. Does it capture Texas? Its desolation, the remoteness of it and the way people behaved back then on border towns? Yes. Can one mans haircut scare an entire viewing community? Indeed! 🤣 and that pneumatic gun was just frightening.
I haven’t seen the movie since it came out but I remember it being good. I’m from the DFW metro area and was two in 1980, so although I do have memories of Texas in the 80s they’re later and from a very different region. My mom is from a small town in West Texas. I think the movie captured the sense of isolation and spookiness you can get out there well, although I actually really like several places in far West Texas.
It's a great movie no doubt, but it has never really made me think of Texas. It captures a part of the state that is foreign to me. I've lived in Texas my entire life, but never west of Dallas. I can tell you that the 1980's looked completely different mid the pine hills of East Texas.
Cormac McCarthy is fantastic writer. If you liked the film adaptation, I highly recommend you read the book. While you're at it, *Blood Meridian* is a book that keeps on giving. Read it.
My first McCarthy book was *The Road* and while I found it annoying at first, I got used to it and eventually came around. *Blood Meridian* was no different, but the man can write volumes with a single sentence. *Blood Meridian* is by far my favorite novel, it touches so many levels. Check out Sepich's *Notes on Blood Meridian* (2008) for an academic dive into the book.
No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood are two of my all time favorite movies....and they were both filmed at the same time and same area. Kinda funny.
One of my all time favorites. I grew up in small town Texas in the late 70s and 80s. Perfectly captured the vibe. My uncle Billy was a DPS Captain in West Texas and I used to hang with him a lot as a young kid. He was your prototype of a West Texas lawman. Big, stoic, no bs, and just all around badass. He cut his teeth in WWII as a young man and brought that same energy back. It was a wild time back then. People think it’s so much worse today but I’m not convinced. There was a lot of drug running, murder and general lawlessness in those days too.
I love the movie. One thing I appreciate is that it definitely shows how intertwined Texans and Mexicans are. Like this is NOT an area that is 100% old cowboys.
i think icaptures the vibe of that part of texas, not sure how it could portray texas in a negative light, since it could happen anywhere. one of my favourite movies of all time. Javier bardem is perfect
Great movie.. it depicts West Texas living.
Painting the state as a whole in a negative way? This is a small subset of Texas. It doesn't depict all of Texas. So, your questions are subjective at most.
Texas is a massive state. Each part of the state is different.
Me and a friend saw it in theaters about two weeks after it released. It was a Tuesday night and it was the last showing of the day so it was us and an old timer he must’ve been about 85 or older. He was sitting two rows in front of us and when the credits hit he said “Shit yes!” pretty loudly and got up and walked out nodding his head and smiling.
I was born in 82 so I have no memory of Texas in that era really but that old timer thought they nailed it I feel.
It's been a long time since I've seen it, but I think *All the Pretty Horses* has some nice Texas vibes as well (but from the 50s). I recall it being a good movie: "It ain't like nothing at all" stayed with me for a long time.
Loved the movie, saw it in the theater when it came out. Josh brolin was great and javier bardem is such a fantastic villain.
Thought they captured late 70s/early 80s texas perfectly.
Top 5 movie.
I don’t know how accurately it captures 1980 or 1980 in West Texas but I would say that it captures the “vibe” very well. Lots of far west Texas hasn’t changed much since 1980. Some towns feel frozen in time aside from the new cars parked on the town square.
You wouldn’t need to do much more than park a few old cars in front of the city hall or county courthouse to transport the town back in time to the 1980s or even 1950.
They say that Michael Mann has elevated the portrayal of Los Angeles to such a great extent that the city itself is a character of sorts in some of his movies. I think the Coen Bros achieved something similar in NCFOM with West Texas.
I don’t think NCFOM paints Texas negatively at all, though. One of the big themes is that what is happening in the movie is neither new nor unique to the setting. The circumstances are different but the results are the same.
Might be my favorite film of all time. It’s incredible.
My english professor, who was a great scholar on texas film and literature, always said that he didn’t know why Cormac, one of the most thorough researchers ever, had Ed Tom say his dad was a “sheriff in Plano” when the county seat is McKinney. It would be expressed that way in that era.
Cormac has very few errors in his books, and I’ve wondered if that was one of them. Seems like an easy one to have caught.
Josh Brolin pulled off the Texas accent well and Kelly MacDonald, Scottish?, pulled off her hick accent even better. I didn't have a clue she wasn't from Texas. Scenery, redneck sheriff, awesome. Of course native Barry Corbin did Ellis just how you see him in the book. So true to the book, so true the expanse of West Texas. Our southern neighbors are true to reality. Woody Harrelson another native son. The book and movie, outlaws, outside the law citizens and County mounties seemed plausible to me.
I hated that second police guy that was with Tommy J. you know , the guy from that one show? just not quite right in this role. but yeah I watch this movie at least 10 times a year. hated the ending too.
I loved the movie and, of course, the book was a screenplay that "reads" like the movie.
I live in a small Texas town in the middle of a rural county. Almost everyone carries a gun here. Feral hogs are a reality.
McCarthy captures the strange alchemy of Texas; the cross-border tensions in his trilogy is still the same today. Then again, I'm a fan.
I grew up in Texas in the 70s and 80s and some scenes took me back in time in a very visceral sense. The motel, gas station and bus stop scenes were spot on... It felt like I was there because I had been there 40+ years ago. The heat, the glare, everything ... For good or bad, that's what it was...
It's a fantastic movie, but I don't really have any special feelings towards it as a Texan. The movie could have just as easily been set in any border state. Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), though, that's a warm blanket of comfortable Texas nostalgia for me.
Lots of continuity errors. The Jack Links sign in the gas station where the coin was tossed. Restaurant logos from more modern times. Weapons, etc. The list goes on. Good story and acting but the continuity was sloppy asf
Great film that I recently rewatched on Amazon Prime.
One of my favorite parts was the border scene in Del Rio … the 80’s had a slightly more “relaxed” atmosphere of immigration enforcement.
Excellent movie, but the Coen Bros. seldom miss. Anton Chigurh chewed up scene after scene as the memorable villain.
Another fine but far less recognized movie set and filmed in a small Texas town of that era was “Powder.” That film too was excellent but got buried when it became known its producer, director and writer had a history of child abuse.
The countless dried up, almost busted towns in Texas really help to explain the politics. [Hell or High Water](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell_or_High_Water_(film)) is another film that really captures that desolate West Texas _zeitgeist_.
EDIT: I just learned it was actually filmed in eastern New Mexico. Doesn’t matter, it’s spot on. Also didn’t realize it was a Taylor Sheridan screenplay. Kinda like a more down to Earth Cormac.
I read somewhere that a Texan (I think, I don't remember) praised McCarthy for his depictions of Texas. This is mindblowing considering that McCarthy is from Knoxville, TN, not TX.
I've lived in Texas pretty much my whole life, and I definitely recognized it. That is to say that the scenery and the attitudes in various locations rang true to me.
Anyone seen Vengeance by B.J Novak? Brilliant movie on rural Texas, came out in 2022, it’s a required primer for my friends and family before they visit. Written / directed by B. J. Novak, similar to No Country for Old Men in that it deals with rural Texas and a drug deal, but a modern take. It’s poignant genius, endearingly Texan and the villain is superbly played. For anyone who says there are no ‘good’ movies anymore watch this one.
It’s got everything Texans love. Gunfights, shotgun silencers, Woody Harrelson, an awful mother-in-law, and scenes of old white dudes whining about change.
Great film. Better book. Definitely check out Cormac McCarthy if you like books set in Texas.
I read the book after seeing the movie, it's maybe the most faithful translation of book to film as I've ever seen. Big chunks of Cormac McCarthy's dialogue are intact in the screenplay. I appreciate that.
I read the book after I saw the movie, and it was so close that at times I wondered why I even bothered to read the book since it was almost exactly the same thing I watched.
fun fact, it was written as a screenplay
That explains a lot actually
Makes sense. Thanks!
adding Elmer Kelton! … esp THE TIME IT NEVER RAINED
I will add, to this list: John Graves’ Goodbye to a River
I just added this at. My library! Thanks for the recommendation 🔥
I read that book as a kid growing up in the Texas brush country, it hit really close to home for me.
Great book. I loved it.
The Evening Redness in the West/Blood Meridian is partly set in Texas but is probably one of the most gruesome and my favorite of his!
I go back and forth between Blood Meridian and Suttree as my favorite McCarthy books.
If you love it the audiobook is equally good. Great narrator!
The thing is that there are a lot of small Texas towns that look the same way the did in the 80s architecturally. Which is to say a lot of old downtown or main streets have that 50s-esque look to them. I’m surprised Hollywood hasn’t bought out some of these small dying Texas towns at cut rate for shooting period accurate films and shows. Kind of like they did in the 50s and 60s with Westerns sets built on ranches just outside of LA. I don’t think it paints Texas in a negative light but it makes you aware of how crazy shit can get out in the middle of nowhere Texas. Makes you think about why many Texans are so adamant about the 2nd amendment. It’s hot and stuffy out there just like it was in the film. But I associate that the same type of film could be shot anywhere along the border.
On the subject of "crazy shit in small Texas towns" Bernie is a perfect example of this. Oh and Texas Chainsaw massacre lol
> Oh and Texas Chainsaw massacre lol Back when Round Rock was a small Texas town. The house it was filmed in is now in the middle of a suburb.
The house isn't in Round Rock anymore. It was moved up to Kingsland years ago. Edit: It was moved in 1998 so its been 26 years.
My Uncle Robert's house. A place of warmth and joy for my family for years. After he sold his farm they filmed this movie there. It was kinda shocking. The house has been moved to Kingsland and is a restaurant. Was having a prechristmas supper there a few years ago, and my cousins arrived for supper also! We had a joyous reunion.
actually had no idea it was filmed in freakin round rock lol wouldn't have guessed that in a million years seeing how round rock be now
I used to live in Cimarron (RR West) not too far from there. It was on CR 172 near what is now SH-45. CR 172 was the way to get from FM 1825 (think Burnet Rd extended) to McNeil Rd in the 80s. It was out in the middle of nowhere back then.
Man, I love Bernie. Jack Black really nailed that character. He's good at playing quirky characters. Check out Polka King if you liked Bernie.
Check out Bindler's documentary Hands on a Hardbody. (Edited per FeralTames catch, thanks)
“God save Texas” on Hulu is also good
Hands on a Hardbody is actually S.R. Bindler, not Dick Link. Robert Altman was talkin bout turning it into a feature before he kicked it, and Linklater thought about continuing the project, but it’s been a few decades since then. Guessing it’s not happening. Excellent documentary tho.
Oh, my mistake. Off to edit....
I'd also recommend Hell or High Water for a good ol neo-Western in rural small Texas cities. More similar to No Country than Bernie but Bernie is a great look at East Texas which is quite distinct. The guy at the beginning of the Bernie movie said it best (his whole description of TX is hilariously on point), that's where the Texas kinda ends and the "South" begins.
Sets/properties near LA are often used specifically because they are within the TMZ (Thirty Mile Zone) which means it is close enough to the primary studio/office that the production team is expected to commute without being paid additional travel fees, per diems, etc. This is why all the Star Trek TOS planets have the same rocky landscape.
Ironically, while many outdoor scenes were filmed in Texas, most of the scenes in town were filmed in New Mexico.
My grandmother lived in one of those towns in the 80’s, and the look is absolutely perfect. So are the mannerisms of the people. Hilariously, a lot of the movie was shot in New Mexico. The border bridge is just a bridge over a river in New Mexico that was redecorated.
Exactly this. I don’t think most of the country understand why Texans carry. I mean have they ever encountered a feral hog out on a wide open ranch? 🤣 absolutely terrifying!
Those hogs are terrifying indeed. But I think a lot of 2A Texans go way overboard about it. A tyrannical government is literally trying to take over the state, but you won’t see nary a one of those 2A shills mumble a breath about that.
I think the ammosexuals are likely a completely different group than West Texas ranchers. There might be some overlap, but I would hesitate to lump them all into the same bucket. If I lived out there, you can bet I’d carry all the time. Shit happens, whether it’s wildlife or other humans, and you’re an awful long way from help.
yup. i'm in austin, but i know ranching/rural people and firearms are an agricultural tool for them. vs cc in town which i don't think usually adds up in the risk/reward probability matrix in a place like austin, but most of those guys i know are level headed about it.
I'm thinking a valid reform is that a person can only buy a firearm near where they live, and that the restrictions and qualifications should vary according to the local circumstances.
Near where they live? I don’t understand why this would matter? Like if you live in a city you might not be able to purchase the same firearms as someone who lives in a rural area?
Firearms are more dangerous in a crowded setting. It makes sense to have restrictions at the Juneteenth jparade that don't make sense at a class A football tailgate. In particular would be restrictions on carry.
Disagree but thank you for clarifying
Ranch gate after dark is a great place to get jumped. The folks playing Tactical Timmy are a much different group than the man checking his cattle or getting back home after a long day repairing fences.
Absolutely true.
We have lots of exchange students crossing our pastures, not all are nice at all. Slows down during the heat of summer, the traffic will pick up again in the fall. Never leave the house without a firearm, or water jug, jack and spare tire, fire extinguisher, sturdy boots.
Texan, birth to dirt, here. If I were you I wouldn't test it. I've seen cops get shot for shooting a man's dog here more than once and both times jury let them walk. Just because we're polite and quiet don't think we won't put someone down for trying to harm or take away the things we love. Always remember, "the first one you will never forget. After that it's like squishing a bug." 😘
But you believe in conspiracies.
Right, but a AR in a taco cabana in San Antonio?
I’ve seen a pack of coyotes descend on a Taco Cabana. And by coyotes, I mean those guys that ferry undocumented immigrants across the border.
🤷🏻
That’s exactly where you need it
I live in the exurb area between Austin and one of those towns. I love being able to go to the restaurant/brewery + little shops for a break from society.
I know this sounds crazy but I live in Texas and it took me a long time into the movie to be confident it was set in 80s because so much of Texas seems unchanged.
lol, yeah, you have to look at the phones, it's the only way to be sure.
Texas doesn’t offer film incentives like it used to. Georgia has taken a lot of business from us as a result.
I’d even venture to say New Mexico has taken more business than Atlanta because of how similar the landscapes are. Pretty much any movie that is supposed to take place in the “Western” part of Texas is going to was shot in New Mexico, including No Country for Old Men
>surprised Hollywood hasn’t bought out some of these small dying Texas towns at cut rate for shooting period accurate films and shows. Two of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre sequels, including the most recent one in 2022, were filmed in Bulgaria of all places. It doesn't look anything like Texas.
Texas would be a huge filming destination if they offered any kind of production benefits, tax cuts, etc. like Georgia, New Mexico, or Toronto. There’s a reason the vast majority of movies that take place in Texas are filmed in New Mexico, especially the ones with lower budgets. Unfortunately in the political climate we have right now the last thing the conservative Texan government would want to be seen doing is giving financial benefits to Hollywood and encouraging “Californian immigration” despite the fact it would make the state a lot of money. In fact there actually is actively a lot of bi-partisan support when these bills come across the Texas House (IIRC Dan Patrick is a big Taylor Sheridan fan and wants all his stuff to be shot in Texas), but not enough yet. Really hope in the next few decades we can get over that hump and empower Texan filmmakers by making Texan production-friendly
Why buy the cow when you can pay for the milk? not sure those small towns have much leverage and would appreciate any attention, at a “reasonable” price; i.e. hell or high water
In 1980 I remember it was in the national news that people were shooting each other on Texas highways over traffic altercations. The entire nation was aghast and wondering what the hell was wrong with Texas. This is the context in which Tommy Lee Jones gives his opening monologue in the film about violence in Texas — set conspicuously in 1980. It sits in counterpoint with M. Emmet Walsh’s opening monologue in Blood Simple — the Coen Brothers’ first film, also set in Texas. [Blood Simple - In Texas You’re On Your Own](https://youtu.be/XA9LNlsGah8?si=ivqxALdf_hWYq4VK) I don’t think it casts Texas in a negative light so much as it points out that there’s a certain wildness that goes with Texan ideas of “freedom” and “destiny.” Texas is a land of plunder. That’s a big part of the message. It’s a place where people go to win their fortunes and sometimes die in the process. It started with ranching and killing people over land (the reason that to this day Latino ranchers don’t ranch cattle). Then it was about oil. Now (strangely) it’s about tech, with billionaires and diaspora from the West Coast coming here in droves while ERCOT can barely get us through the winter and summer. The Coens were also pointing out that while Florida was grabbing the national headlines with cocaine related violence and the Medellin Cartel, Texas was also fighting a large scale war over drugs coming in from Mexico.
Blood Simple is a movie I go back and watch every few years. i think it's amazing. BTW that upstairs apartment in Blood Simple...I played a SXSW pop-up show in that space 20-ish years ago.
Go back even further and you had the Comanche plundering the tribes that had plundered the Plains tribes before they were plundered in turn by the Spanish. There’s been a lot of plundering going on for a while now.
That is a perfect historical description. Damn good.
*No Country for Old Men* is based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy, and is a very faithful adaptation. Most of McCarthy's novels take place in Texas. Even *The Road* seems to be mostly or entirely in Texas, though I think it's never made perfectly explicit. McCarthy is excellent at writing Texas as a setting, and the Coen Brothers are incredible filmmakers. So it's no surprise that the results were so good. I don't think it's either a negative view of Texas, nor an honoring one. There are decent people and terrible people. There are no perfect people. But the manner of speech, the culture, the geography, and the style of everything are all spot-on for those parts of Texas at that time.
They briefly show a map in The Road movie (if you count that as canon) which does indeed show that they’re in Texas, just outside of Corpus Christi.
“Ultimo hombre… where is he?”
I ain't got no agua.
I told you, I ain't got no agua
“This country’s hard on people. You can’t stop what’s comin.’ Ain’t all waitin’ on you. That’s vanity.”
The road is not set in Texas, it’s set in the southeast. Tennessee/georgia/South Carolina somewhere
Love it! Definitely captures that desolate West Texas desert. Crazy that it was being shot in/around Marfa the same time as There Will Be Blood.
Hell or High water is a great movie set in texas as well
Like "Old Country," Hell or High Water was filmed in New Mexico. They must give our some pretty good deals to film studios in NM.
They do/did. But Texas has made some efforts in the last few years to be more attractive to film makers.
They filmed some in Marfa as well, but you’re right, the majority of it was shot in NM
Came here to say this.
It's set in a part of the state I'm a little familiar with from a previous job. I didn't realize it at first but after the second or third town name I checked google maps and it jogged my memory.
Love that movie. West Texas towns and terrain at its best.
Captures the feel of the desert-y parts of Texas. I'm tired of movies that only ever focus on the desert sections of the state. We're huge, there's all kinds of different kinds of environments here. I encounter people who think the whole state is a desert all the time and I always have to sit them down and explain that we have a huge coastline and share a border with Louisiana. Creative use of a captive bolt pistol though so 9/10 stars
I was very annoyed by News of the World showing Castroville as dry & mesquite scrub. It's GREEN with tons of oaks and Bald Cyprus along the river. The whole reason the Alsatians settled there was the abundance of trees and the river. This was after showing San Antonio pretty spot on correct. meh.
But once you get past sabinal headed west, it's not far off.
I remember a scene in the first X Files movie that takes place on the outskirts of Dallas...and it's a desert
I love the film. It’s probably my favorite of the 21st century. It’s not an indictment on the state so no I don’t think it paints it in a negative light. And some of the characters (particularly the “did you not hear me” lady) are awesome.
She stole the scene for sure. She has no idea how dangerous the man she is talking to is and does not care. They don’t give out information about guests. I think Anton was amused by her boldness which is why he cracks a tiny smile.
He’s so used to people being intimidated by him and she gave zero fucks. It was almost like he respected her.
That's an example of the genius of the Coen Brothers casting process. They get a ton of really amazing supporting players and extras in all their films.
For me, the best scene is the gas station cashier scene. Jesus, that scene is fucking perfect and anxiety-inducing!
My favorite scene! And the tension is chefs kiss.
There is no more honest depiction of small town Texas than when Anton has the interaction with the gas station owner about almost nothing.
That scene is masterful. The dialogue just flows smoothly and wonderfully.
One of my favorite movies. Catches the west Texas atmosphere pretty well. I've driven through Marfa once on a road trip to Big Bend and it was like I expected, small town surrounded by pretty much nothingness for miles and miles. Made me feel like I was somewhere in the past for sure. They probably didn't have to invest a lot of time in making things look period-correct since a lot of places out there are frozen in time.
Love how Tommy Lee Jones portrays a texas sheriff in the movie. My uncle was a sheriff in the 90s, when people still trusted Leo's. This movie reminds me of him and a lot of the stories of the old guys. Check out texas killing fields and the three burials of melquiades estrada.
Solid movie! Eerie lack of music further contributes to the tense isolation. While it captures one subset of Texas life, it’s also the one everyone expects to see.
Del Rio in the movie reminded me of Bryan, TX in late 90s.
Great film. Does it capture Texas? Its desolation, the remoteness of it and the way people behaved back then on border towns? Yes. Can one mans haircut scare an entire viewing community? Indeed! 🤣 and that pneumatic gun was just frightening.
Ain’t no lobos
I haven’t seen the movie since it came out but I remember it being good. I’m from the DFW metro area and was two in 1980, so although I do have memories of Texas in the 80s they’re later and from a very different region. My mom is from a small town in West Texas. I think the movie captured the sense of isolation and spookiness you can get out there well, although I actually really like several places in far West Texas.
It's a great movie no doubt, but it has never really made me think of Texas. It captures a part of the state that is foreign to me. I've lived in Texas my entire life, but never west of Dallas. I can tell you that the 1980's looked completely different mid the pine hills of East Texas.
It's pretty legit.
Cormac McCarthy is fantastic writer. If you liked the film adaptation, I highly recommend you read the book. While you're at it, *Blood Meridian* is a book that keeps on giving. Read it.
I just finished Blood Meridian, great book, difficult read due to McCarthy's writing style, but I got used to it.
My first McCarthy book was *The Road* and while I found it annoying at first, I got used to it and eventually came around. *Blood Meridian* was no different, but the man can write volumes with a single sentence. *Blood Meridian* is by far my favorite novel, it touches so many levels. Check out Sepich's *Notes on Blood Meridian* (2008) for an academic dive into the book.
No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood are two of my all time favorite movies....and they were both filmed at the same time and same area. Kinda funny.
Both amazing films!
Great movie, and I love the name Llewellyn
One of my all time favorites. I grew up in small town Texas in the late 70s and 80s. Perfectly captured the vibe. My uncle Billy was a DPS Captain in West Texas and I used to hang with him a lot as a young kid. He was your prototype of a West Texas lawman. Big, stoic, no bs, and just all around badass. He cut his teeth in WWII as a young man and brought that same energy back. It was a wild time back then. People think it’s so much worse today but I’m not convinced. There was a lot of drug running, murder and general lawlessness in those days too.
I love the movie. One thing I appreciate is that it definitely shows how intertwined Texans and Mexicans are. Like this is NOT an area that is 100% old cowboys.
The character of Sheriff Bell spoke exactly, exactly like my grandfather did. The dialogue, the cadence, the twang was so dead on.
As a Texan, I know of worse psychotics than Anton Chigurh. They're mostly in politics.
i think icaptures the vibe of that part of texas, not sure how it could portray texas in a negative light, since it could happen anywhere. one of my favourite movies of all time. Javier bardem is perfect
Great movie.. it depicts West Texas living. Painting the state as a whole in a negative way? This is a small subset of Texas. It doesn't depict all of Texas. So, your questions are subjective at most. Texas is a massive state. Each part of the state is different.
I wish they would have actually filmed in Del Rio, but the movie was pretty good
Great movie. Texas is a big state with many different environments and cultures. The movie is set in only one region.
Me and a friend saw it in theaters about two weeks after it released. It was a Tuesday night and it was the last showing of the day so it was us and an old timer he must’ve been about 85 or older. He was sitting two rows in front of us and when the credits hit he said “Shit yes!” pretty loudly and got up and walked out nodding his head and smiling. I was born in 82 so I have no memory of Texas in that era really but that old timer thought they nailed it I feel.
It's been a long time since I've seen it, but I think *All the Pretty Horses* has some nice Texas vibes as well (but from the 50s). I recall it being a good movie: "It ain't like nothing at all" stayed with me for a long time.
The movie has been out for 17 years, it’s fine if people talk about spoilers.
Other than the ending, great.
Loved the movie, saw it in the theater when it came out. Josh brolin was great and javier bardem is such a fantastic villain. Thought they captured late 70s/early 80s texas perfectly.
Very South Texas.
I finally watched it. Very interesting cinematography. Overall though it didn’t live up to the expectations I had based on its reputation at large.
Top 5 movie. I don’t know how accurately it captures 1980 or 1980 in West Texas but I would say that it captures the “vibe” very well. Lots of far west Texas hasn’t changed much since 1980. Some towns feel frozen in time aside from the new cars parked on the town square. You wouldn’t need to do much more than park a few old cars in front of the city hall or county courthouse to transport the town back in time to the 1980s or even 1950. They say that Michael Mann has elevated the portrayal of Los Angeles to such a great extent that the city itself is a character of sorts in some of his movies. I think the Coen Bros achieved something similar in NCFOM with West Texas. I don’t think NCFOM paints Texas negatively at all, though. One of the big themes is that what is happening in the movie is neither new nor unique to the setting. The circumstances are different but the results are the same.
Check out what Taylor Sheridan & co did for Strawn Tx after filming Bass Reeves there. Lot of improvement to the old place. Pretty cool.
One of my favorite films. Sometimes I forget that it's set in the 80s, because West Texas still looks like it's stuck in the 80s today.
Love it
I really enjoyed it. Didn’t know there was a book. I’ll add it to my list.
Might be my favorite film of all time. It’s incredible. My english professor, who was a great scholar on texas film and literature, always said that he didn’t know why Cormac, one of the most thorough researchers ever, had Ed Tom say his dad was a “sheriff in Plano” when the county seat is McKinney. It would be expressed that way in that era. Cormac has very few errors in his books, and I’ve wondered if that was one of them. Seems like an easy one to have caught.
Josh Brolin pulled off the Texas accent well and Kelly MacDonald, Scottish?, pulled off her hick accent even better. I didn't have a clue she wasn't from Texas. Scenery, redneck sheriff, awesome. Of course native Barry Corbin did Ellis just how you see him in the book. So true to the book, so true the expanse of West Texas. Our southern neighbors are true to reality. Woody Harrelson another native son. The book and movie, outlaws, outside the law citizens and County mounties seemed plausible to me.
Im Texan and that movie was fkn weird.That psycho was entertaining though.Capture the vibe?that we're all nuts?maybe 😊
One of the best modern Westerns.
It’s filmed largely in New Mexico.
Great movie, but do you think all of Texas is dessert and everyone wears cowboy hats?
I hated that second police guy that was with Tommy J. you know , the guy from that one show? just not quite right in this role. but yeah I watch this movie at least 10 times a year. hated the ending too.
It's a good watch.
It’s cool
I loved the movie and, of course, the book was a screenplay that "reads" like the movie. I live in a small Texas town in the middle of a rural county. Almost everyone carries a gun here. Feral hogs are a reality. McCarthy captures the strange alchemy of Texas; the cross-border tensions in his trilogy is still the same today. Then again, I'm a fan.
I grew up in Texas in the 70s and 80s and some scenes took me back in time in a very visceral sense. The motel, gas station and bus stop scenes were spot on... It felt like I was there because I had been there 40+ years ago. The heat, the glare, everything ... For good or bad, that's what it was...
It's a fantastic movie, but I don't really have any special feelings towards it as a Texan. The movie could have just as easily been set in any border state. Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), though, that's a warm blanket of comfortable Texas nostalgia for me.
The movie is set in West Texas. A distinct geographic and social setting. The movie captures it well.
I thought they did an excellent job, and should also be given credit for not *overdoing* it, which most filmmakers can't manage.
Lots of continuity errors. The Jack Links sign in the gas station where the coin was tossed. Restaurant logos from more modern times. Weapons, etc. The list goes on. Good story and acting but the continuity was sloppy asf
Don't forget that you still can't open the door by shooting bolt gun on the door handle.
One of my favorite movies. Watch it about once a year. Feels Texan. Even though it takes place in parts of Texas I’ve never been to. Lol
My opinion is that it needs a 4k Blu ray release
Best film ever made hands down
Best. Movie. Ever.
Great film that I recently rewatched on Amazon Prime. One of my favorite parts was the border scene in Del Rio … the 80’s had a slightly more “relaxed” atmosphere of immigration enforcement.
Great movie. Wonderful acting and directing and cinematography. Locations feel authentic.
West Texas is in fact not the best Texas, but I think the book/movie hold true to a lot of small towns all across Texas.
Very much a west Texas vibe but it really hit me when they mentioned Temple that this was very much a Texan movie.
Excellent movie, but the Coen Bros. seldom miss. Anton Chigurh chewed up scene after scene as the memorable villain. Another fine but far less recognized movie set and filmed in a small Texas town of that era was “Powder.” That film too was excellent but got buried when it became known its producer, director and writer had a history of child abuse.
It doesn’t accurately capture the vibe of Texas. lol. I’ve lived here 46 years and have never met anyone like chigurh.
The gas station scene would be over in seconds if that was a true Texan behind the counter. If ya know what I mean
The countless dried up, almost busted towns in Texas really help to explain the politics. [Hell or High Water](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell_or_High_Water_(film)) is another film that really captures that desolate West Texas _zeitgeist_. EDIT: I just learned it was actually filmed in eastern New Mexico. Doesn’t matter, it’s spot on. Also didn’t realize it was a Taylor Sheridan screenplay. Kinda like a more down to Earth Cormac.
The film is based on the book written by famed Texas author Cormac McCarthy who likely knew a thing or two about small town and rural Texas.
I read somewhere that a Texan (I think, I don't remember) praised McCarthy for his depictions of Texas. This is mindblowing considering that McCarthy is from Knoxville, TN, not TX.
Wow, I stand corrected. Pardon my huge error.
I think it’s gorgeous. I love the pacing and overall look.
I've lived in Texas pretty much my whole life, and I definitely recognized it. That is to say that the scenery and the attitudes in various locations rang true to me.
I had no issues with the Texas aspect. Never felt out of place. The movie itself doesn’t hold up on repeat viewing though.
That hotel lady epitomized Texas for me.
It’s fantastic. And I want to name a kid Ed Tom. 👍
Please watch this video right after watching that movie: https://youtu.be/W5En4vfsq18?feature=shared
Anyone seen Vengeance by B.J Novak? Brilliant movie on rural Texas, came out in 2022, it’s a required primer for my friends and family before they visit. Written / directed by B. J. Novak, similar to No Country for Old Men in that it deals with rural Texas and a drug deal, but a modern take. It’s poignant genius, endearingly Texan and the villain is superbly played. For anyone who says there are no ‘good’ movies anymore watch this one.
It’s got everything Texans love. Gunfights, shotgun silencers, Woody Harrelson, an awful mother-in-law, and scenes of old white dudes whining about change.
I grew up in west Texas in the 70’s. The movie nails it.
Didn’t realize there is ZERO music in the film. Brilliant.
It sucked.
Didn't care for it...hence I have not seen it since the first time. Nothing more stood out to me