Hacker Cinema
Old Yeller
1957 · Film · 84 min
Directed by Robert Stevenson
Young Travis Coates is left to take care of the family ranch with his mother and younger brother while his father goes off on a cattle drive in the 1860s. When a yellow mongrel comes for an uninvited stay with the family, Travis reluctantly adopts the dog.
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7 comments on Hacker News
I like it but it's not amazing. And I've seen it ... 4 or 5 or more times. It's just such an easy watch.
I think the deal is that the emotional beats in it work so well that the plot can be set aside. It's also not a problem that those beast aren't particularly clever or imaginative.
It's like a jump scare in a horror movie or Old Yeller. Even when you know what's going to happen you still startle or shed a tear. Honestly even when you know you're being manipulated and think it's cheesy you still get that response.
The weird thing to me about Shawshank is that it's not a monster out of the dark or a dog getting killed. It's not a cathartic thing but something else.
Hey, pigs can be very dangerous too.. many a lad has been treed in rural America in decades past by a herd of feral hogs.. go read the book Old yeller or even watch the movie if books are not your thing
Pampering? My wife and I rescue dogs which means we end up with many who have health problems, and don't tend to live as long. A 2 year old dog we had literally died in my arms of a massive heart attack. I've seen and dealt with animal death probably more than most. I don't need to see the same thing on screen, particularly if it's just a cheap plot device. Movies/books that revolve around the animal like an Old Yeller or Racing in the Rain are fine, but I do like knowing going in.
I'll also mention that I train BJJ and fight with people for hours every week, so I'm not some super sensitive person.
Live kids movies used to be pretty savage too. I showed my young kids Born Free and Old Yeller.
Well, in the first, lions eat some people in the first scene. In the second movie, the wild pigs attack is terrifying. Never mind the rabid animals.
They didn't want to see my recommendations after those two.
Yep, same here.
However, don't forget Old Yeller. Man, that movie certainly drove the fear home.
> Yes, all of those Disney films with a sad ending like...um...
Old Yeller.
Disney started out remaking fairy tales, but rewrote them with happy endings. In the books there always was a sad or bad ending and grusome stuff.
Disney made a series of made for TV movies and the first sad ending one I saw was Old Yeller.