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Summary: Simply extraordinary
Review: Shane has long been one of my favorite movies; but I'd never before seen it in the theater, previously limited to TV showings chock full of advertising interruption. This DVD version is very well done, except for some sound volume variation problems, revealing the extraordinary cinematography and acting. The commentary (yes, watched it through twice last night) added significantly to my enjoyment.So, watch the good guys win in the end, albeit wounded along the way, Shane perhaps irrevocably, and be surprised by how appealing, even rational, some of the bad guys are.
Rating:
Summary: THE classic western.
Review: Shane is THE classic western. The plot is simple but classic: A gunfighter trying to escape his past must fight again to save homesteaders from a ruthless cattle baron and his hired killer (well played by Jack Palance). Alan Ladd rises above his normal roles and convincingly plays Shane as a reluctant but implacable hero. The cast as a whole is strong, and Ben Johnson stands out as a ranch hand who taunts and fights Shane at first but eventually warns him of the impending trap which leads to the film's dramatic climax. The background scenery is gorgeous as is Victor Young's film score. Shane is a great movie, not just a great western.
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Summary: Shane
Review: This is a must have for any Western fan, and for that matter any fan of American cinema. One of the original "good man with a gun" Westerns, this film is sure to impress. The movie pulls on underlying sexual and romantic tension between the family and the gunslinger Shane. As the the boy says in the the end, "we want you shane" and it's true, we all want shane for his stoic and skillful power. Who else could tame those bad guys like shane. Two great scenes: watch for the scene when shane meets his adversary played by Jack Palance. They are both gunslingers one on the side of the good family and one on the side of the evil ranchers. But they admire and respect each other like no two characters in the movie. The director does a wonderful job of showing this when he plays it out like it is a romantic meeting. Shane looks, Palance looks as if he is Bogart staring at Bergman when he sees shane. Watch as they both admire eachother equipment . . . guns. the other great scene is at the end when Shane says to the rancher "your time has passed" and the rancher shoots right back "what about you gunslinger" and it's true. The west was going to be populated by the Joe Starks of the whorls not the Shane's. That is the beautiful tragedy of Shane. Shane is as out of place as the men he fights and he too is destined to die right with them. This is why we admire him and why the entire stark family wants him. A great movie.
Rating:
Summary: PALE RIDER
Review: Director Georges Stevens's SHANE is without contest, in my opinion, one of the 50 best movies ever made and should take a place of choice in any serious movie lover's library. SHANE offers a large number of scenes which already belong to Movie History. Jack Palance's character, for instance, has inspired I don't know how many actors in the following years and will become in the seventies a hero, with the anglo-french name of Phil Defer (!), of one of the books of the well-known belgian comics serie LUCKY LUKE. The provoked duel with Elisha Cook Jr is one of the most intense gunfights ever filmed. This movie will also inspire Clint Eastwood whose PALE RIDER is a vibrant homage to SHANE : same location, same hero coming from nowhere who quickly becomes a substitute father for a child. Just take the time to watch once again Eastwood's masterpiece with the glasses of SHANE and you will be amazed. Director George Stevens proves here that he deserves to take place in the legend of Hollywood and I cannot wait for his other movies to be released in the DVD standard. The actors are perfect with a special word for Ben Johnson playing a bad guy with a heart. A DVD which is already in your library.
Rating:
Summary: Kudos to Paramount
Review: All credit to Paramount for doing an outstanding job of restoring a great older film without any commercial incentive to do so. This film (which won the Academy Award for Color Cinematography) has been returned to virtually pristine condition by the studio as a result of a painstaking restoration. The beauty of the photography along with the fine story and acting performances will blow you away. Please support these studio efforts by purchasing this DVD. Incidentally, contrary to what has been written here, Shane was originally meant to be presented in the 4:3 ratio of most TVs. Any widescreen versions cut off the top and bottom of the original image.
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Summary: Paramount shame on you
Review: This is one of the classic movies that every Western movie fan should see and own if possible. However, you should know that this particular DVD release is a pan and scan version not wide screen version. Paramount, big big shame on you!
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Summary: LADD'S IMMORTAL CLASSIC WESTERN
Review: A masterpiece of simplicity, this picture practically stands as a legend among films. Rather than avoiding the cliches, platitudes and stereotypes of the Western genre, "SHANE" EMBRACES them; everything in the film favours its treatment as a myth (and it became a cult classic for the very reason that it worked beautifully!) SHANE was made in 1953 and today it can still be counted as a national treasure! A classic, flawless western has Ladd cast as a retired gunfighter who comes to the aid of a homestead family who are threatened by a land baron and his hired gun. The mystery man becomes young DeWilde's idol (the boy's haunting cry S-H-AANNNE! was legendary stuff throughout the fifties). The Pulitzer Prize winning novelist A.B. Guthrie, Jr. adapted the screenplay from the novel by Jack Schaefer; at 117 minutes, it's longer than many realize or remember, but definitely worth every minute of the viewer's time! Arthur's last film; she died in 1990 at the age of 89.
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Summary: Shane looks fantastic on dvd.
Review: I am amazed at the picture quality of this dvd which looks very clean and clear considering its age of nearly 50 years. I am glad owning it on dvd. This is one of my most favorite movies of all-time.
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Summary: He has come back ... in grand style.
Review: Sam Peckinpaugh, who directed "The Wild Bunch" and "Ride the High Country" among several other westerns, credited "Shane" as an influence on his career. Director George Stevens originally envisioned Montgomery Clift in the title role, William Holden as Joe Starrett, and Katherine Hepburn as Starrett's wife. Those are among the stories told by the director's son, George Stevens Jr., during an interesting commentary track (also featuring associate producer Ivan Moffat) on this long-awaited DVD version of this film classic. "Shane" is on most people's short lists of the best westerns ever filmed. This DVD transfer will not disappoint, although I believe the movie was originally released in a wide screen format and here it is standard frame. It is not made clear if the theater release was a matted version of this full frame, or if we are losing some of the picture here. Still, the vistas of the Grand Teton mountain range are beautiful and there is more sharpness in the picture than in the VHS version. The sound, mostly confined to the front center channel, is adequate considering this is a 1953 film. This story of the aging gunfighter, Shane, who takes part in the struggle of the homesteaders' fight with a headstrong cattleman can be enjoyed on many levels. Beautifully filmed, beautifully written, beautifully acted, this film deserves the praised heaped upon it for years. And Paramount, at the time, didn't have any idea the quality of film it had. That, too, is mentioned in the commentary, which isn't overwhelming when compared to talk on other DVDs, but it is quite entertaining. "Shane" on DVD is worth the price.
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Summary: Insight into the American character
Review: Like the best American movies, "Shane" says something profound about the American experience. In this case, a masterpiece of a Western shows a post-WWII America coming to grips with the obligations of world leadership -- skeptics would say empire -- in the Cold War. Here is Shane, a world-beating gunman who just wants a piece of the simple life. He hangs up his pistols and strikes out for a quiet patch of heaven under the Tetons. When trouble brews between the local farm families and a cattle baron, Shane tries to stay out of the fight. He counsels caution and moderation. Shane is tired of fighting, and he knows better than anyone else how quickly rash words lead to bullets and he knows too much about the grief those bullets leave behind. Shane, like the Americans who came home from World War II, just wants to savor a little hard-earned peace. But the dispute escalates, and Shane sees that the farmers, and in particular the brave man Shane has hired himself to, need his help to stand up to the cattle baron's terror. Shane, of course, does the heroic thing, risking his life and sacrificing his domestic happiness to champion the farmers' cause. And like all the best movies, the good guys win but the ending is heartbreaking, not happy. Shane's heroism is that of a contented democracy willing to fight a war it didn't want just because nobody else could. Anyone who wants to understand the mindset of America in the "long twilight struggle" of the Cold War needs to watch "Shane." Incidentally, Alan Ladd and Jack Palance give carreer performances, the supporting cast is uniformly excellent; the cinematography evokes David Lean and the script has the spare muscularity of a Hemmingway short story but is much more humane. If you haven't seen "Shane," do so now. And if you don't own it, you should.
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