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List Price: $12.98 | | Label: Warner Home Video
Salesrank: 9099
Released: August 2, 2007 |
| Our Price: $6.99 |
| Used Price: $7.99 |
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MPAA Rating: Unrated
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Nine passengers ride a stage through Apache territory...and into movie immortality. The John Ford classic that won two Academy Awards(R) and made John Wayne a star. Year: 1939 Director: John Ford Starring: Claire Trevor, John Wayne, Andy Devine,
Description of Stagecoach:
This landmark 1939 Western began the legendary relationship between John Ford and John Wayne, and became the standard for all subsequent Westerns. It solidified Ford as a major director and established Wayne as a charismatic screen presence. Seen today, Stagecoach still impresses as the first mature instance of a Western that is both mythic and poetic. The story about a cross-section of troubled passengers unraveling under the strain of Indian attack contains all of Ford's incomparable storytelling trademarks--particularly swift action and social introspection--underscored by the painterly landscape of Monument Valley. And what an ensemble of actors: Thomas Mitchell (who won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar as the drunken doctor), Claire Trevor, Donald Meek, Andy Devine, and the magical John Carradine. Due to the film's striking use of chiaroscuro lighting and low ceilings, Orson Welles watched Stagecoach over and over while preparing for Citizen Kane. --Bill Desowitz
Stagecoach Reviews:
5 star package of famous film 
2009-12-23 - There are endless reviews extolling the merits of this famous film, a landmark of sorts in 1939, much imitated but in fact, not quite the trendsetter which might be concluded. All the cliches for westerns abound but the quality of the acting and the direction are what makes it special. The film made John Wayne an A feature star after years toiling in Z grade westerns and he certainly has presence even if his acting is still immature. Claire Trevor and Thomas Mitchell are the standouts and Mitchell won a deserved Oscar.
What makes this DVD really special, other than the restored but not perfect print, is that this a 2 disc edition with some great extras:
- a first rate commentary by Scott Eyman which is easy on the ear and full of insight into the maverick director John Ford and his technique.
- a detailed documentary exploring the complex relationship and rich legacy of the collaboration of Ford and Wayne
- a further documentary on the film itself some of which is covered in the commentary
There is also a radio adaption but that holds little interest because that medium can not capture the filming techniques which lift this film above its obvious cliches.
The DVD is good value, expecially if purchased as part of a John Wayne collection.
civilized, poetic, human, epic
2009-12-09 - John Ford was a man of few words and concise images. Let it suffice to say that this film is one of the works which may come to define America for all time. It will be a fine monument.
Stagecoach w/John Wayne
2009-11-16 - A lot of great movies came out in 1939...Stagecoach was close to the top of the list. It helped launch John Waynes career from "B" movies to one of the best, if not the best cowboy of all time.
Life and Death in the Southwest 
2009-10-25 - The film opens on a road in the southwest. Two riders gallop into an Army post. The Apaches are on the warpath, led by Geronimo. [No reason given.] The coach stops to change their six horses. The conversation introduces the characters. "What's good for the banks is good for the country." [Does the banker resemble President Harding?] Dallas is driven out of town by the good women to avoid a calamity. Doc Boone hasn't done well. Cavalry escorts the stagecoach to guard against attack. The banker hops aboard. Johnny Ringo hitches a ride. They proceed through Monument Valley. Shall they continue without a cavalry escort? They take a vote. "What difference does it make?" Seating at the table shows their status.
The banker spouts political slogans that are still relevant (and wrong) today. They take a detour north for safety and learn bad news. Mrs. Mallory faints and needs medical attention. "It's a baby!" Ringo must carry on the family feud. We learn more about the people and their concerns. [Too sentimental?] Smoke on the mountain sends a signal. The stress affects the people. The next stop reveals a burned house and ferry. They get across the stream and continue. An arrow announces the Apache attack, the chase begins. [That wasn't much of an ambush! Would the clever Apaches attack in the open?] Will the cavalry arrive in the nick of time? The survivors arrive in town. "Johnny Ringo is in town." Luke's hand had aces and eights. The telegraph was repaired and the Sheriff greets banker Gatewood.
Ringo is given his ten minutes. The men in the bar await the news. Three men look for Ringo in the dark. Shots are heard, a woman screams. Ringo returns to the Marshal, and meets Dallas again. There is a surprise for a happy ending. The film reflects the culture of that era and hasn't aged bacly. Ringo had knocked around enough to know what Dallas was and wouldn't care anyway. [Too sentimental?]
Ernest Haycox wrote many popular Western novels, some adapted to films. This is a story of clichés about a group of people who are thrown together, face a peril, and live through it. How did it compare to the other western movies from that era? Few have survived to be placed on tape or disc. Was it more censored in some respects and less in others? I think remakes of this fil will drop the banker and pregnant wife due to cultural changes. John Wayne played in many westerns before this film.
On rails
2009-09-30 - This is about a stagecoach trip, but the movie might as well be "on rails." The plot is predictable in the extreme, and the characters are one dimensional. There's the whore with the heart of gold, although we are never told specifically what her calling is. There's the killer who is really a nice guy and deserves a break. There's a drunken doctor who sobers up at the crucial moment and comes through in spades. Etc. Subtlety is not to be found here.
The one redeeming quality is the almost poetic cimematography at times. As was often the case, director Ford used Monument Valley as a backdrop. In fact, the stage never quite gets out of the valley, town after town. Still, the backdrop is spectacular and wonderfully filmed.
I realize that this movie is revered as a cinema classic, but I don't understand why. Westerns of the era were so predictable, mostly B movies and Saturday matinee fare for the kiddies. Later westers would improve to give us "The Ox Bow Incident," and "True Grit" and best of all "Lonesome Dove." I will probably be criticised for mocking "Stagecoach," but that's the way I saw it.
