This Award-Winning Western Has A Strange Connection To A Keanu Reeves Comedy

by

Keanu Reeves is famous for many films, including a comedy that surprisingly links to a highly-regarded Western. While he’s excelled in various genres, Reeves hasn’t often appeared in Westerns, with his only role in the genre being in the 1993 film, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues.

Keanu Reeves’s John Wick films take inspiration from both Westerns and samurai movies, but he doesn’t typically play roles in Westerns himself. However, he’s done a lot of comedy throughout his career, and one of his most successful series actually has ties to the Western genre – it’s even been called one of the best franchises of the 21st century.

No Country For Old Men Has A Fun Connection To Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey

At first glance, the films No Country for Old Men and Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey seem completely different. No Country for Old Men is a violent story about a ruthless killer tracking down stolen drug money and the man who unexpectedly finds it, resulting in a high number of deaths.

Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey follows up on the success of Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, the film that launched Keanu Reeves into stardom. While the first movie featured the duo using time travel to complete a history assignment, the sequel shows them on a quest to write a song that will unite the world and fulfill their destiny.

The two movies were very different – one explored senseless violence, while the other focused on a positive future. Interestingly, both films dealt with death, and they both drew their inspiration for this theme from the same source: the classic Ingmar Bergman film, The Seventh Seal.

Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal tells the story of a knight who returns home from the Crusades while facing the Black Death. Desperate to see his wife before succumbing to the plague, he challenges Death to a chess game, hoping to postpone his fate and buy himself time to reach home.

In Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal, Death is depicted as a pale man in a long, black cloak who enjoys playing games, and is portrayed by Bengt Ekerot. Later, in Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, when Bill and Ted die, they challenge Death to a game, promising to return to life if they win. This Death, played by William Sadler, looks identical to the character from The Seventh Seal.

Both films share a common idea: characters playing high-stakes games with life itself as the prize. This is particularly evident in No Country for Old Men, where the character Anton Chigurh, played by Javier Bardem, embodies death. The filmmakers, the Coen Brothers, directly acknowledged their inspiration from Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal, referencing it several times throughout the script.

Woody Harrelson’s character, Carson Wells, compares Anton Chigurh to the bubonic plague, a clear nod to the deadly disease depicted in the film The Seventh Seal. While Chigurh doesn’t engage in traditional games, he introduces an element of chance by flipping a coin to decide who lives and dies.

I’ve noticed something really interesting when watching movies! Both Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey and No Country for Old Men clearly got ideas from Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal, especially how they deal with death. Bill & Ted actually shows a character inspired by the film, while the Coen Brothers’ movie takes the ideas about death and builds its story around them. But honestly, both films are a fantastic tribute to that original Swedish classic!

Keanu Reeves’s John Wick Also Fits Anton Chigurh’s Ideal Of An Unstoppable Killer

Although the Keanu Reeves film that nods to Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal is purely a comedy, Reeves has also played a character remarkably similar to Anton Chigurh. Both characters represent inevitable death, and once they appear, no one stands a chance.

Anton was known as a harbinger of death, leaving destruction in his wake. John Wick, however, is even more ruthless, eliminating anyone who stands between him and his revenge. He’s far deadlier than Chigurh (at least in the films), and once he targets someone, their fate is sealed.

While John Wick seeks revenge for specific wrongs, Anton Chigurh seems to kill randomly, even harming innocent people. Despite this difference, both characters are incredibly deadly and dispatch others to the afterlife without hesitation.

No Country For Old Men Was Named One Of The 21st Century’s 10 Best Films

Although Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey has a dedicated following, it’s unlikely to be called a truly great film. This is different from movies like The Seventh Seal and No Country for Old Men. The Seventh Seal is a genuine masterpiece, and it stands as one of Ingmar Bergman’s best works – which is high praise given his incredible career.

Despite being released only twenty years ago, No Country for Old Men has quickly become a classic film. The New York Times, after surveying industry experts, ranked it among the ten best movies of the 21st century to date.

Besides No Country for Old Men, the only other Western film to appear on the list was There Will Be Blood, which also landed in the top ten. Interestingly, both films were released in the same year. There Will Be Blood‘s powerful portrayal of death and compelling story ensure its place as a cinematic classic for generations.

Read More

2026-01-18 01:29