New true grit vs. old true grit

Seems like people are in love with the original for sentimental reasons. While I love both the new and old version, they're in entirely different categories as far as overall film making.

In the Cohen brothers version, the acting and dialogue come through as the it's finest feature. The banter between Matt Damon and Jeff Bridges is phenomenal. Particularly when they argue. Their words carry so much emotion and really show the discontentment between the two characters.

In the original, the acting is atrocious. I mean, Duvall was good, but nobody else is. Glen Campbell is downright awful. The dialogue between him and Wayne was entirely forced. It had no flow whatsoever. Admittedly, John Wayne carries a huge presence, and it serves the movie quite well, but overall he was greatly outperformed by Jeff Bridges.

The original True Grit was highly entertaining, and I can honestly say that I still love watching it (especially that it is now on netflix). Aside from nostalgic reasons, however, the Cohen brothers version a much, MUCH better made film. Acting, lighting, cinematography, sound - all far superior. It really puts the movies in two different leagues.

It's too much of an ask to expect an actor today to play a Cowboy in a role better than John Wayne did in the same role.

I loved the original and I enjoyed the remake too but only from the second watch. The first watch I spent to much time comparing it with the original.

Funny, I watched the new one when it came out and was underwhelmed. Being a huge fan of the Coens and Jeff Bridges (as well as a fan of John Wayne and the original, which I've seen many times since I was 10 or so), I was expecting "more."

However, I just rewatched it...and it's fantastic. The pacing is perfect, the tone is closer to the book--if still not quite bleak enough--and the ending not only matches the original but gives the film a gravitas the original threw away in favor of a more traditional John Wayne ending.

I still like Wayne's portrayal of Rooster. He just had that bigger-than-life persona that not even a Jeff Bridges can match, and I still like Duvall's Ned Pepper (sorry, Barry, but that's just not someone you can match). Otherwise, the remake is actually a bit better.

Both are Western masterpieces, though. All fans of oaters should see both.

John Wayne,Henry Hathaway and Glen Campbell were/are "True Grit."
There is no comparison.I agree with you.

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The Coen version adds nothing new except some extra violence but that was to be expected.
No idea why this was remade. Wayne simply rules in the original one. He sure deserved the Oscar.

I was reluctant to give the remake a shot, but I finally did. It was much better than I thought it would be. Still, I don't think it's as good as the original, and the biggest reason for that is John Wayne.

Jeff Bridges is a great actor, but Wayne's portrayal was just better, in my opinion. Bridges's slurred speech also made him a little tough to understand. I had to turn on the subtitles to catch everything. Wayne just had Cogburn down cold. There's a reason why certain iconic roles just can't be duplicated, and this was one of them. Although, as I said, Bridges was good. If the new film hadn't been a remake, it might well have stood on its own.

Still, I found Mattie Ross in the new film much more appealing and pleasant than Kim Darby's portrayal. However, I also felt that Darby was the better actress as she gave Ross more depth. But Darby's Ross was often annoying to me, so I'd take Hailee's characterization of Ross over Darby's. She made Ross softer. Also Hailee was closer in age to what Mattie was supposed to be.

Damon was a big upgrade for me over Glen Campbell. Damon is just a much better actor.

The original film just had more character development and chemistry, especially between Cogburn and Ross which is another big reason why I still think it's the better film.

Barry Pepper was good, but Robert Duvall is one of the best character actors of all time; a man who was able to hold his own with Wayne despite the limited screen time.

The remake was good, but the original still can't be topped.

Both have their own strengths and weaknesses. Both 7/10 to me. Hard to put one over the other but then again my memory of the Coen film is a bit hazy (exept for Bridges' incomprehensible mumbling).