*** Spoilers*** Caught this one when PBS ran a series in the late '70's focusing on Academy Award-winning shorts. THE RESURRECTION OF BRONCO BILLY paints a poignant portrait of a lonely young man whose wistful daydreams slam head-on into harsh reality. His room is wall-papered with western posters; he imagines himself (while standing on a street corner waiting for a light to change) facing off against another gunslinger (they walk toward one another when the light changes, in classic gunfighter fashion- and then abruptly brush past each other); in the final scene, he is soundly beaten by bullies... but has a final fade-out fantasy of himself as a gallant horseman sweeping a beautiful damsel off her feet. Outstanding even among an entire series of Academy Award-winners, THE RESURRECTION OF BRONCO BILLY is the kind of short aspiring filmmakers should seek out and study.
Review of The Resurrection of Broncho Billy
