Wild West Movies- How the West Was Found, Won, Lost, Lied About, Filmed and Forgotten

Wild West Movies: How the West Was Found, Won, Lost, Lied About, Filmed and Forgotten by Kim Newman(Bloomsbury Publishing Limited, 1990) is a comprehensive and incisive examination of the American Western as both a cinematic genre and a cultural myth. Published in 1990, this substantial work traces how the idea of the “Wild West” was constructed, romanticised, distorted, and ultimately reinvented through film, revealing as much about twentieth-century values as about nineteenth-century history.

Kim Newman approaches the Western not simply as entertainment, but as a powerful storytelling framework through which ideas of heroism, violence, conquest, and identity have been repeatedly negotiated. The book explores the genre’s evolution from early silent films and classic Hollywood Westerns through to revisionist and post-Western cinema, examining how shifting political, social, and moral attitudes reshaped the way the West was portrayed on screen. Newman addresses both iconic films and lesser-known productions, building a broad and informed overview of the genre’s development.

A central theme of Wild West Movies is the contrast between historical reality and cinematic invention. Newman analyses how Hollywood mythologised frontier life, often marginalising or misrepresenting Indigenous peoples, women, and complex historical truths in favour of simplified narratives of conquest and destiny. At the same time, he acknowledges the genre’s capacity for self-reflection, particularly in later films that challenged earlier assumptions and exposed the costs and contradictions of the Western myth.

Written with clarity, authority, and an evident enthusiasm for cinema, the book balances critical insight with readability. Newman’s style makes the work accessible to general readers while offering sufficient depth to satisfy film scholars and serious enthusiasts.

As a 1990 Bloomsbury publication, Wild West Movies remains a valuable reference for readers interested in film history, cultural studies, and the enduring influence of the Western on popular imagination. It stands as a thoughtful and engaging account of how the West was repeatedly reinvented on screen, and why those inventions continue to matter.

Condition: Near Fine – No Notable defects