Shane

Rating:
Summary: "I heard you're a low down Yankee LIAR".
Review: Greatest western ever made..."Tombstone" second.

Rating:
Summary: Maybe The Best Western Ever
Review: Opening scene of the Tetons (which are a backdrop for the entire movie), a quail call and the deer in the garden have a resounding peace about them. This movie has a personal touch that shows what a farmer might face in a West that was built around cattle.
Joey's run and cry of Shane come back still brings back memories of the first time I saw the movie and as a 5 year old stood in the theater and started crying Shane come back at the top of my lungs.
Jack Palance is the ultimate bad guy and Alan Ladd the handsome hero. A a true good vs evil flick.

Rating:
Summary: aspect ratio confusion
Review: SHANE is a great film, but this DVD doesn't quite present it correctly. Paramount released SHANE in 1953. Its intended projection aspect ratio was 1.66:1 (coincidentally the European widescreen cinema aspect ratio; and, very close to our current video favorite, 16:9). Check out this article: http://www.widescreenmuseum.com/widescreen/evolution.htm
I haven't watched this DVD carefully enough (I don't enjoy the crop-job, and prefer my memory of seeing it in the theatre) to determine if it was panned/scanned or centered to eliminate edge material, but it definitely does not present the film in the aspect ratio intended for cinema projection in 1953.
This is a greater shame, because SHANE was at the vanguard pushing cinema screens to the wider ratios we enjoy today.

Rating:
Summary: Skip the Film
Review: Disney presents Shane in panoramic Technicolor! Ugh. How could they have turned such a brilliant, to the point novel into this movie? Shane fans, new and old alike, please avoid this film, which is about as subtle as a sledgehammer. What a shame is Shane.

Rating:
Summary: NOT P&S!!!!!
Review: I just wanted to address the reviewer below who bemoaned the fact that Shane is presented in a pan & scan format - It IS NOT Cropped, but is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1 (or 4x3). Most older movies were shot in this format....So enjoy it in all its splendor as it was intended to be seen.

This disc is a great deal too....good to see Paramount coming down out of the clouds with their pricing finally.

Rating:
Summary: Fine film in original aspect ratio
Review: After having only heard about this film, I bought this DVD and watched "Shane" for the first time recently. I have to say that this film deserves the reputation and all the positive reviews it has earned over the years; it is definitely a keeper that I will watch again and again over time. Ordinarily I haven't much cared for Paramount DVD's, as they are usually lacking commentary or other vital features, and their multidisk sets are typically ill-packaged, but I am very much satisfied with this release of "Shane."

First, to correct the reviewer who complained that this DVD is "pan-and-scan" and missing part of the picture, this issue may be misleading. "Shane" was actually filmed in the Standard 4:3 ratio, not wide-screen; so the version on this DVD *is* the original aspect ratio, and with this disk you will be getting the entire picture. Early on, the studio tried to appeal to the emerging wide-screen trend at the theaters by converting the original film to wide-screen by chopping off the tops and bottoms of the frame to make to fit that ratio; so, in effect, that was just as bad as pan-and-scan conversions going the other way. Second, this release also includes a fine commentary by the director's son (who worked on the film with his father) and the Associate Producer, who give valuable inside information about conscious decisions that were made to give the movie the look, sound, imagery, realism, and character developments that went in to make Shane the quintessential American classic that it is today.

I'm trying to catch up on good films from the past that I may have missed over the years. After hearing a local newspaper critic praise "The Searchers" recently, I went out and rented it and am glad I saw it, but I didn't think it was good enough for me to own and probably won't watch again. On the other hand, I heartily recommend "Shane," both the movie and the DVD package.

Rating:
Summary: Cinematic masterpiece
Review: Shane is certainly one of the finest Westerns ever made and it is the archetype for many other pictures, some good and some not. One of the things that sets Shane apart from other films is its amazing cinematography. The shot of Shane's silhouette framed within the antlers of the deer at the beginning of the picture is more amazing than any CGI effects you'll see today. The chemistry between the actors is excellent and their performances are convincing. This is a great movie everyone should see.

Rating:
Summary: A Photography Oscar?!?
Review: What about Best Movie? Best Director? Best Actor (Alan Ladd playing the role of his career as the stranger with a shady past and a golden heart)? Best Supporting Actor (Heflin, Palance, Meyer, Cook, or even de Wilde)? This is hands-down one of the top Western/Romance/Friendship/Come-of-Age features of all time. A near-perfect piece of mythic Americana.

Those 'low-down Yankee liars' who cast the ballots for the Oscars...

Rating:
Summary: Farmers vs. Ranchers
Review: Shane is the title of the movie and the main character of this well-made Western. Alan Ladd plays the stranger who arrives in a Western community where a range war between farmers and ranchers is about to play out. The farmers' leader is Joe Starrett, played by tough, reliable Van Heflin. He wants the farmers to stay, to stand up to rancher Rufe Riker and his hired hands.

Riker tries to buy Starrett out, but Starrett won't go. Then Riker hires a gunman - Wilson - played by Jack Palance. He's as mean as they come and he verbally goads one of the farmers into trying to "draw" on him. Wilson(Palance) kills the farmer without blinking.

The farmers are about ready to give up. But when Riker sets fire to a farmer's home as the community gathers to bury its dead, the farmers vow to "play one more hand." Riker sends men to Starrett's ranch to tell him that Riker wants to see him. But Shane stops Starrett by physically knocking him out. He knows that he must go into town to "talk" to Riker.

Civilization is fast approaching on the Western range. And Shane is going to hasten that change by going into battle against Riker.

Rating:
Summary: Hero's Journey
Review: Shane is a creative and unique blend of western action and drama, sure to enthrall audiences. The movie follows the Starrit family, homesteaders in the "Wild West." They, along with other homesteaders, are embroiled in a feud with ranchers, who drive their cattle through the homesteaders farms in attempts to drive them off their land. Into this conflict steps Shane, en ex-gunfighter trying to abandon his past ways. Shane becomes close to the Starrits, especially Joey, the boy. The ranchers react cooly to Shane, and provoke him into fighting, but Shane emerges victorious. The ranchers react by bringing in a gunslinger, who draws one of the homesteaders into a fight and guns him down. Shane then has to decide what to do, because he is the only one skilled enough to match the gunslinger. His decision and its consequences are far-reaching.

The film is a "Hero's Journey" for Shane. The plot is divided into three acts. The film needs no special effects, because it is great without them. This film is both exciting and touching. The bond between Shane and Joey touches the heart. Gun battles and fist-fights provide action and excitement. Shane is a great movie, displaying a perfect mix of heartfelt themes and western action.