...a memorable film filled with memorable sights, memorable performances, and memorable virtues.
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"Do not forsake me, oh, my darlin', on this our weddin' day-ee; do not forsake me, oh, my...." Sorry. Wrong classic Western. Let me try again. "Shane. Shane, come back." There. That's better. Can I help it? Two of the best Westerns ever made were released within a year of each other, "High Noon" in 1952 and "Shane" in 1953. Interestingly, "Shane" was actually made earlier, in 1951, but not released until after "High Noon." Together, the two films transformed the American cowboy saga, introducing psychological elements into the usual gunplay. With these films we begin to see genuine personality traits, human relationships, and character motivations come into use that had only until then been hinted at in Western films. These were landmark pictures, "High Noon" the more mature, "Shane" the more visually stunning. They stand up as well today as any Westerns made, with "Shane" benefiting the more from its splendid DVD presentation.
"Shane" is the now-familiar story of the gunfighter attempting to go straight, the man who has had enough of killing and is trying to lay down his guns for good. Of course, things don't always work out the way people want them to, and in Shane's case circumstances force him to strap on his pistols once more in the cause of good. The same formula has been repeated countless times since, culminating in Clint Eastwood's harder-edged account in "Unforgiven."
Alan Ladd stars as the reluctant hero, but the real showstopper is the film's glorious scenery. It's hard not to want to freeze the picture now and then just to admire the landscape. Although "Shane" was nominated for six Academy Awards--Best Picture, Supporting Actor (Brandon de Wilde), Supporting Actor again (Jack Palance), Director (George Stevens), Screenplay (A.B. Guthrie, Jr.), and Cinematography (Loyal Griggs)--it was the cinematographer who brought home the Oscar. Loyal Griggs's color photography of the Wyoming mountains and valleys is, indeed, spectacular, providing the story with an even more epic grandeur than Jack Schaefer's novel, upon which the script is based.
The story begins in an idyllic Rocky Mountain valley, where the Starrett family--Joe (Van Heflin), his wife Marion (Jean Arthur), and son Joey (Brandon de Wilde)--are among a small group of homesteaders trying to eke out a living in a land dominated by big cattle interests. Needless to say, the cattlemen, represented by the evil Ryker (Emile Meyer), are doing everything short of murder to drive the homesteaders out, and before long even that expedient is pursued. Into this drama rides Shane, the mysterious gunman looking for a new life. He obtains work as a farm hand with the Starretts, but we can see from the outset he's going to be doing more than chopping wood and mending fences. When Ryker hires a professional gunslinger, Jack Wilson (Jack Palance), to scare off the homesteaders, it's up to Shane to choose sides and take up his weapons once again. He must come to find himself, confirm his identity, and maintain the time-honored adage that a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do, or a guy's gotta be what a guy's gotta be, or I yam what I yam what I yam. Or whatever.
At first glance, the plot of "Shane" would appear to be formulaic. Bronco Billy Anderson, Tom Mix, Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, and a hundred other movie cowpokes had been coming to the rescue of downtrodden farmers for years. What sets "Shane" apart is that it's not really a typical action adventure. In fact, there is little physical action involved. There is a fistfight toward the beginning, a shooting in the middle, and one of the best showdowns ever filmed, maybe THE best, at the end. In between we have personal conflicts and character developments.
As portrayed by Alan Ladd, Shane is more than a "Man With No Name"; maybe we should call him a "Man With No Second Name." He's clearly a decent, soft-spoken, gentle person from his outward appearance, but just as clearly we come to recognize that he is much more; after all, he has spent his life killing people for a living, something most decent folk don't abide. Like Eastwood's William Munny in "Unforgiven," Shane seems to regret his past, although unlike Munny, Shane would appear to have had conscience enough to have killed only bad men. It's a Romantic notion that fits Shane's persona. He is larger than life, a tribute to the mythical knights of yore. Indeed, his initial appearance, riding up in buckskins, evokes the image of a heroic champion, a Round Table knight, a paladin out questing for a noble deed. Even his blond hair wreathes his head like a golden crown. Yet there's always that underlying feeling that there's something not entirely respectable about him, something dangerous, something the heavies skulking around the local saloon notice right away.
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[release]4987[/release]