Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9500 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-06-05
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Formats: Black & White, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 96 minutes

Synopsis
Regarded by many as the best Western ever made, Stagecoach shot John Wayne to stardom and elevated the prestige of a genre that had hitherto been considered a B-movie province. With rumours in the air of a possible Apache attack, a motley group of travellers in a small New Mexico town board the Overland Stage bound for Lordsburg. Among them are the pregnant Lucy Mallory (Louise Platt); timid liquor salesman Peacock (Donald Meek); Hatfield, an aloof gambler (John Carradine); Gatewood (Berton Churchill), a pompous, embezzling banker; and two who have been exiled from town, alcoholic Doc Boone (Thomas Mitchell) and Dallas (Clair Trevor), a lady of the evening. Along the trail, they pick up the Ringo Kid (John Wayne), an outlaw who's escaped from prison to take revenge on the Plummer brothers for destroying his family and framing him for murder. As their journey progresses, the hypocrisy of the supposedly respectable passengers becomes clear, and it's the tainted outsiders who display courage and humanity. Described by Orson Welles, who watched the film innumerable times before making Citizen Kane, as his cinematic textbook, Stagecoach is superbly made in every respect, layering humour and sharp characterisation into an exciting plot that includes a spectacularly photographed chase in Monument Valley.

Customer Reviews

Early Ford, early genius!
This film has the best intro for a character ever, the tracking shot that goes slightly out of focus as it moves in on John Wayne's young face, but the shot says it all and promises the brilliance that was to come from these two great maestro's in years to come.

Watch it, it is pure class!

Great film, awful DVD
One of the great Westerns is done no justice by this dreadful Universal Pictures 2006 DVD release. This is such an important film, featuring one of cinema's most popular stars, that it deserves a proper restoration. Watch the astonishing Warner special editions of Casablanca and The Adventures Of Robin Hood to see what can be done with films from this era.

John Ford + John Wayne + Stagecoach = The beginning of one of the greatest partnerships in cinema history
A group of seven strangers set off on a stagecoach to Lordsburg, New Mexico, along the way they pick up fugitive The Ringo Kid (John Wayne) whom has just escaped prison and is now tracking the people responsible for killing his own brother. Of course the story is made all that more interesting when they are informed Geronimo and his group of Apaches is on the loose in the area; but they go on anyway.

Stagecoach has one of the most unique storyline of any Western, it primarily dealing with the relationship of those on the journey. Contrasting personalities cause confrontations almost instantly, but it's the lingering fear of the Apaches inevitable attack that gives this film its greatest twist. The Apache attack on the Stagecoach is nothing short of superb, the cinematography, so unique at that time made this movie stand out from the rest, and still stands up today as an amazing action set piece. Back in 1939 danger was not a factor for stuntmen, which simply creates an authentic action scene rarely seen today.

Although I have already commented on the cinematography it definitely deserves another mention. Filmed on location in Monument Valley, Utah, one of John Fords many trademarks, the scenery is so stunning it deserves a second watch to take it all in.

Although John Wayne had starred in over 80 movies, it was his role in Stagecoach that catapulted him to movie stardom. He plays his role effortlessly as the "nice guy" he plays in most films, and you can never say he "overplays" a character. The rest of the cast are great in their various personas, but it's Claire Trevor who stands out as Dallas, a woman left bitter after being run out of town by the local females for her questionable behaviour.

At the helm was one of the greatest directors of Old Hollywood, John Ford. This set the bar for not just all Westerns but all movies to follow. Characterisation and relationships between characters was rarely explored in as much detail before this movie was made. Ford has taken stereotypical characters and brought them to life by giving them believable personalities and revealing them for the people they are underneath; whether that is a hypocrite or just a misunderstood "lady of the night" in the case of Dallas. (Nominated for seven academy awards and winning to of them (Best Supporting Actor and Best Music Scoring) this movie was seen as revolutionary for its time. Orson Welles famously watched this movie over 40 times while creating Citizen Kane.

The first thing you probably noticed about the DVD is the box, yes; I agree it does look hideous, but fortunately that's not the box I received and believe me the correct box is a lot more pleasing to eye, however that is not really important. What is important is the extra features, basically there is none, but thinking about, it would be almost impossible to find any thing extras about such an old film. Like most films from the era it was shot in Full Screen 4:3, which you cannot really complain about considering the age of this movie. I have also read many complaints about the quality and treatment of this masterpiece, but to be honest I had no problem with and it certainly does not spoil the enjoyment of this movie.

In simple words this movie is a masterpiece of Old Hollywood, this movie should be adored by none Western lovers and Western lovers alike, of course to class this movie as a Western is slightly false as many genres are represented here; Western, Drama, Comedy, Romance and Action.