Hardcore, Walter De Maria, 1969, 27’
Filmed in July 1969 in Nevada’s arid Black Rock Desert, Hard Core opens with a wide shot of a vast blue sky, which immediately evokes the American West and sets the scene for this innovative and experimental film by the American artist and sculptor, Walter De Maria. The work utilizes two different cinematic approaches: one explores the observational potential of the medium through 360-degree-wide angle shots that sweep across the changing desert landscape, and the other appropriates familiar visual tropes from the Western film genre―such as guns, Levi’s jeans, boot spurs and leather chaps―and makes use of them as props in a performance.

Along the Great Divide, Raoul Walsh, 1951, 88’
In the Wild West, the son of a wealthy landowner is murdered by his brother. Pop, an old man, is accused of the crime. To avoid a lynching, a representative of the law decides to hand Pop over to justice, but, along the way, he discovers a clue that may exonerate him. In his first Western role, Kirk Douglas displays in this tense and violent film a great charisma as a marshal committed to order and justice.