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List Price: $29.95 | | Label: A & E Home Video
Salesrank: 117796
Released: August 10, 2004 |
| Our Price: $2.95 |
| Used Price: $2.95 |
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MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
This installment in A&E's Biography series follows the life of John Wayne from his troubled childhood to his peak as America's biggest box-office draw to his later years as a controversial conservative icon. Examined closely, Wayne's life is a startling series of contradictions. He was a member of his high school's Shakespeare club who began his career by acting in scores of B-grade Westerns, and though he avoided military service, he was considered an American hero. Filled with well-chosen archival stills, as well as seldom-seen early clips, this video also features interviews with fellow actors Charlton Heston and Ron Howard, as well as writer and scholar Garry Wills (author of a brilliant intellectual study of Wayne's work and life, John Wayne's America). Taking a generally chronological approach, this video presents an insightful look at the progression of Wayne's acting career (the discussion includes clips from such milestone films as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Quiet Man). But the production also seeks to explain the contradictions and upheavals of Wayne's private life. John Wayne, as a man, an actor, and a symbol, gets a thoughtful and balanced examination in this video. --Robert J. McNamara
Biography - John Wayne: American Legend (A&E DVD Archives) Reviews:
Excellent Documentary. 
2007-06-09 - Well, I just saw this on DVD so I'm not sure why it is described as VHS tape only but the DVD definitely exists. Overall, I thought it a solid documentary of the Duke. All of his character traits are discussed and elucidated which allows us to separate the man from the gigantic legend which has been constructed around him. Most pleasing is that Wayne never took himself too seriously as evidenced by his appearance at Harvard and the making of True Grit. His range as an actor has totally been underappreciated. Ron Howard points out that no leading man in Hollywood today would have taken his role in The Searchers as it's far too complex and nuance filled for our modern times, but not for John Wayne. He had his own times. John Wayne was and is an American legend, and, although it's a cliché, I wish we had more men like him today. As an aside, without commercials many of these biographies are a slim and brisk 90 minutes which makes you wonder why we ever agreed to watch TV in the first place.
Superb Wayne primer, once again fine job by A & E. Take that, his tory (propaganda chanel)! 
2006-06-07 - The 100 cigs a day did the old Duke
in, in case you wanted me to cut to
the chase. Great biographical sketch
about one of USC's early great football
players, too. Had an affinity for latino
ladies. But hey; I like hawai'ian ones,
so...
It is not closed-captioned 
2006-03-24 - I'm disappointed that Amazon.com listed this item as closed-captioned under format field which is incorrect. I already sent correction to Amazon.com. I also am disappointed with A&E not including caption or subtitle for this biography.
The biography on this DVD runs like VHS, no menus, anything like that except it will go back to the beginning every time you stop playing. Not convenient. Good luck on fast forwarding or rewinding to exact location you are looking for.
A good, but not great, look at the Duke's life
2003-06-09 - I believe there have been few Americans in the last 50 years who do not recognize John Wayne, and even fewer who have never seen him. The Duke has become a great American legend. But despite all his fame, most people know relatively little about his life. Wayne became so famous that the name "John Wayne" became associated more with a mythical figure than with a real man. This biography attempts to go behind the manly, tough-as-nails American hero and tries to discover the real John Wayne.
For only being 100 minutes long, the documentary is surprisingly good. It is not easy to chronicle the career of a man who made over 150 films in less than two hours. Despite this, however, I felt that this film overlooked some important elements in Wayne's career, including many of his best-loved films like the Cowboys and El Dorado. Also, the film gives the Duke's film total at 169, while I have seen several other (good) sources which seem to agree on the neighborhood of 153. This is a minor detail, of course, but worth mentioning.
Despite its shortcomings, this was an enjoyable documentary, certainly worth the time it took to watch it. Any fan of the Duke will enjoy this film, even if for no other reason than a visual chronology of (most of) the highlights of John Wayne's extremely illustrious career.
A Legend which will last forever!
2002-02-25 - I have completely enjoyed anything that has been shown for John Wayne. Since I was a little boy, my mother would take me to see his movies and it never showed ignorant cussing or sex scenes that would appaul the parents. He showed manhood and decency to us kids. I wish I could spend hours of telling how this man impressed me. And how it helped me become a well educated and successful businessman. May it continue to help children learn how to be somebody.
