Westworld (1973)

Credit: MGM

This movie seemed right up my alley as science fiction films have been a long-time interest while the Western genre has only recently been on my radar. There have been recent sci fi/Western hybrids, like Cowboys and Aliens and even the Firefly TV series from a decade ago, though their success has varied. Westworld seemed more intriguing to me because of it's placement in the "thriller" category when making a blind-buy at the electronics store. I thought for sure I'd find it in the Western section.

The movie features a small principle cast, with James Brolin ("John") and Richard Benjamin ("Peter") starring as buddies who venture to West World for a vacation. In order to picture West World, think of an adult version of Epcot Center at Disney World, where each "world" becomes its own amusement park. Not only is there West World, but also Medieval World and Roman World. For a thousand dollars a day, patrons can joust against a knight, draw pistols at dawn with a gunslinger, or even battle a gladiator in a coliseum. And you won't even hurt anyone because androids in each "world" are programmed to lose every battle. John and Peter end up confronting the gunslinger of West World, played by a veteran of Westerns, Yul Brynner, who's famous for the lead role in The Magnificent Seven. Yet for me, the highlight of the movie was a small role by Dick Van Patten and I believe he never has a single line! He popped in briefly as a patron of West World who gleefully practiced firing his pistol in the mirror, only for it to accidentally fire and shattered the glass. Fellow West World patron Peter Martin seemed extra wimpy, especially when ordering a martini at the saloon, so it was surprising how easy he handled his pistol. I recently learned how to handle a gun and I was apprehensive, so it took away a bit of believability from his character, although that's Hollywood for ya.

The most interesting part of Westworld was that it took me nearly 60 minutes of it's 88 minute running time to figure out this is a precursor to Jurassic Park! I knew it was written and directed by Michael Crichton, and that something went wacky at an amusement park, but I didn't connect the dots right away that it actually *is* Jurassic Park only with a "wild west" setting (...and obviously a lack of dinosaurs.) Perhaps Crichton had the grand idea for dinosaurs wrecking havoc when creating Westworld, only he kept this movie more intimate and on a smaller scale since technology wasn't advanced enough yet to make realistic dinosaurs to fulfill his vision. Not only is Westworld noteworthy for being a blueprint for Jurassic Park, I feel like the gunslinger could be a prototype for villains that appeared in movies throughout the 80's, specifically the original Terminator and Jason Vorhees characters which would silently stalk their victims. I like this approach that Crichton took to crafting an intense finale, while also successfully merging genres, and in the process laying the ground work for many "silent killer" characters to come.