2007 was a big year. The Sopranos went off the air, the iPhone made its debut, and the final installment of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was published.
It was also a weirdly big year for the Western.
Gateway Film Center celebrates this unusual anniversary by bringing back a beloved relic of their own, the Double Barrel series.
It was a decade ago that Oscar winners There Will Be Blood and No Country for Old Men were released to universal acclaim.
Paul Thomas Anderson and the Coen brothers were not the only filmmakers thinking about the wild west in 2007. Other Oscar contenders cowboying up that year included Andrew Dominik’s little-seen gem The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, and James Mongold’s update to the Elmore Leonard shoot-em-up 3:10 to Yuma—each of which received two nominations.
“2007 was a magical year for Westerns,” says Chris Hamel, president and programmer at GFC. “We want to celebrate these four having their anniversaries.”
To do so, the film center revives Double Barrel.
“Double Barrel was one of my all-time favorite Gateway Film Center programs,” Hamel says. “We were able to screen almost 50 different films over the years and I always felt like the program was a success.”
The film series has shifted, morphed and rested over the years, but Hamel has resurrected his cowboy series in honor of this particular anniversary.
“I always wanted to bring Double Barrel back. My hope is the program will work a little better in small weekends like this one,” he says. “I remember seeing all these movies in 2007 and early 2008 and being blown away by how great they all were. I’m thrilled we’re able to celebrate their 10-year anniversary by presenting them on 35mm film.”
Hamel hopes to be able to continue the series.
“If the audience turns out, you can plan on seeing more Westerns on the big screen in the near future.”
Catching Daniel Day-Lewis’s Oscar-winning lead turn as captured by Robert Elswit’s Oscar-winning cinematography in 35mm? Happy anniversary, indeed.
“People need to see these on the big screen,” Hamel says. “Who knows when it might happen again?”
Catch Double Barrel at Gateway Film Center this Saturday and Sunday, November 18 and 19.
Line up:
3:10 to Yuma: Saturday, November 18, 7 p.m.
There Will Be Blood: Saturday, November 18, 9:30 p.m.
No Country for Old Men: Sunday, November 19, 7 p.m.
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford: Sunday, November 19, 9:30 p.m.
For tickets and information, visit gatewayfilmcenter.org.
Read more from Hope at MADDWOLF and listen to her film podcasts FRIGHT CLUB and THE SCREENING ROOM.