Michael and Pax have an obvious and diverse love of the Western genre.

These gentlemen know shockingly little about the Western genre.

I recently found this podcast and like it very much, but I am hesitant about the occasional woke interjections. They don’t go as far as those other dbags of the Cinefiles. Putting things into context is fine, but the woke guilt whining of the Cinefiles guys made me turn them off. I hope these fellas keep up the good work.

This is a great Western podcast! I love westerns and have no one to share my thoughts with regarding good and bad westerns. Even some bad westerns have their moments. Michael and Paxton has had some great guests appearrances and are well informed about the westerns they talk about. Also, in each episode they talk about other things they are "westerning", including TV, comics, games, books, etc. A great way to expand your knowledge of westerns and explore westerns in other mediums! The episodes will not bore you as they provide enough to interest you for an hour to an hour and a half! I've discovered some excellent westerns that I've never seen and I thought I'd seen all of the best westerns!

The first episode I listened to was the man who shot liberty valance. I’ve err all I liked the episode. But I found it lacking in the a lack of placing it in the historical time period it takes place in. Specifically the flashback period is when the west was still wild and made up of territories not states. During this period there was little law that was enforced. It was the Wild West. When Ransom was believed to kill Liberty Valance he was then pushed into running for the single delegate to go to to Washington to work on getting the territory into a State. Years later after statehood and the state becoming civilized, he is coming back for the funeral as a Senator. It’s not because of the shooting it’s because he changer the territory for a significantly better future. This was the how our country became what it is. It’s a story that should be mandatory watching as part of US history. Coincidently I listened to your magnificent seven episode today. This too needs to be place in the historical time. That is when the west was radically changing from the Wild West to the western US. Gunslingers like chris and vin no longer could make a living. Some did take jobs as federal Marshall’s but most just road off and disappeared or died. Like Chris and Vin they just no longer could fit in and could never settle down because of the life they lead. Putting westerns into the historical timeframe is a key to fully understanding them. All this said I do like and enjoy you podcast.

I have now listened to around 6 podcasts and I love the way you discuss these movies. There are a few times when I may hold a completely opposite view, but that’s to be expected and serves to make me consider other views. As an example, I think Matt in Red River was dead wrong. They took the word of one man that there was a railroad in Kansas. The whole state of Texas was dependent upon the success of the drive. What would have happened had there not been a railroad there? I’m not saying Dunson was right in some of the things he did, but taking the herd away was a huge risk. Also, it should have just been between Matt and Tom. Cherry should have kept his nose out of it. I wish Tom would have drilled him good at the end lol. I like the way you bring many other pieces of information together in each podcast. Again, some I may not have interest in, but others may lead me to other movies, other actors, books, etc. I look forward to watching along with you.

Say what you will about Michael and Paxton but it’s clear they love the western genre. This is a great podcast if you want to introduced to films you haven’t heard of or if you want a fresh perspective on films you know.

Found the show completely by accident while searching for something else over the Summer. Halfway thru one “trial” episode, I was hooked and have since devoured the backlist and anxiously await each new episode. I love that Michael and Pax are having real conversations about the movies and not just reading an IMDb list of tidbits like other shows do. They have their opinions, good and bad, discuss character theories, and they even recognize when a movie is just fun, check-your-brain entertainment. Worth listening to!

When I was in college, my best friend Eric always scolded me if I went out to see a movie by myself. He insisted that movie going MUST include the process of the " breakdown discussion" afterwards and that is done with a like-minded date, or buddy . Leave the multi-plex---head to a coffee cafe or bar---sit with a libation--- and talk out the details of the film to the wee hours. Today, I wish I had a friend that loved the Western genre as much as I do but the "Hellbent for Letterbox" podcast is the next best thing. Michael May and Paxton Holley would make my old college buddy Eric proud. Hundreds of westerns have accompanied my popcorn addiction over the years, but these two gentlemen bring out the nuances and details that, I confess, I often miss. One feature I greatly value is the homework they do, particularly reading the (often rare ) novelizations of these films. Name me a movie critic, from the established press, that ever goes to that much trouble. Michael and Paxton also throw in quick highlights of TV shows, Graphic novels, and obscure indie films always Western-themed. I always look forward to " Hellbent " as it is throwback to a time when people took movie -viewing seriously.

Not too bad....once they finally get around to talking about the movie. Just too much rambling things like other movies the actors were in or how much they didn’t want to watch this movie. I couldn’t care less about all that, just discuss the movie at hand. I thing the three amigos episode took about 12 before they started discussing it.