Paramount have bee kind enough to send over an exclusive new video for Rango, a movie that I absolutely adored. One of the absolute joys about watching Rango is the multitude of movies that this wondrous animated tale makes reference to. With that in mind here are some of the films that you may wish to watch to fully maximise your viewing experience.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Directed by Sergio Leone this is the epitomisation of the spaghetti western and serves as one of the main sources of inspiration for Rango. Featuring one of cinema’s best scores by Sergio Leone and a career defining performance by Clint Eastwood this is probably the best western ever made. (Honourable mention goes to Clint’s own Unforgiven).
Chinatown
The parallels of plot between Rango and Chinatown are immediately obvious, and Ned Beatty’s Mayor owes a debt of gratitude to John Huston’s epic performance in Roman Polanski’s brilliant film-noir.
Star Wars
Industrial Light and Magic are the creative force behind the animation in Rango, and Star Wars is their finest hour. Many prefer The Empire Strike Back but this is the daddy, the original space opera and one of the most important movies ever made.
Blazing Saddles
No other western has ever been this funny…I mean Rango is pretty damn funny but nothing compares to Blazing Saddles. Gene Wilder is brilliant as an ascorbic, bitter old gun-slinger, but it’s Cleavon Little who stands apart in Mel Brooks’ finest film.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Like Rango this is set in a desert. There the similarities end, except for one absolutely inspired sequence early on in the animated tale. A remarkably crazy movie, and probably not one the kids should see until they are a little bit older.
Now where was I? Oh yeah here’s the clip!