Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #124512 in DVD
• Released on: 1997-10-29
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: AC-3, Black & White, Closed-captioned, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 96 minutes

Customer Reviews

Affectionate look at Wayne's first big film.
The classic western, Sfagecoach, launched John Wayne as a major screen star and was the first of 10 epic films Wayne and director, John Ford made together.The first of a new sophisticated type of western, it re-established the genre as a box office draw. The spectacular Monument Valley is the backdrop as the drama of the stagecoach journey unfolds. A party of misfits; a drunken doctor,woman of ill-repute,a card shark, a whiskey drummer and an ailing cavalry officer's wife are enroute to Lordsburg,across Apache territory. Geronimo has jumped the reservation and is on the warpath. John Waynes entrance to the film is one of his most memorable scenes, and the swinging of the winchester" so effctive, was improvised by him. The Ringo Kid, Wayne, has broken out of jail to avenge the murders of his brother and father. He hijacks the stage only to find the marshall riding shot gun. The simple plot is enhanced by the class conflict amongst the passengers and the thrilling action scenes directed by Ford. The long expected attack by the Apaches, provides the first extensive Indian chase in western history. Yakima Canutt delivered the daring stunts.As Wayne later said, no such chase could ever have happened as the Indians would have shot the lead horses and that would have been that.Holywood never let truth get in the wy of a good scene The cavalry save the day and Ringo gets his just deserves. As the Ringo Kid ,Wayne begins to develop the character which became his own. The "diamond in the Rough" the tough, loner exterior with the heart of gold. A man who did not judge others by their reputation but by their deeds and words. A true gentleman when others fail the test. He is gentle and protective towards women but not pushy, usually tongue and reticent. John Wayne received only $3000 for the part although he was the leading male.However the career move from B to A movies, which it meant, was more important than the money. His good looks and athletic physique proved to be a winner with the college audiences and his film career never looked back as he grew to be the ideal of the all American hero. A truly great western, it received 7 Oscar nominations but only 2 awards, Best supporting actor for Thomas Mitchell as the doc and Best score. A must for all Wayne/western fans.

The first real western, "Stagecoach" made the Duke a star
John Ford's 1939 classic "Stagecoach" is a landmark film in the history of western movies in so many ways, the most memorable of which is the emergence of John Wayne as a major star. But more importantly the good guys in the white hats versus the bad guys in the black hats is finally replaced by real human beings who have their strengths and weaknesses. "Stagecoach" is about six passengers, the driver, a sheriff and an outlaw who joins them on their journey. Wayne plays the Ringo Kid, who has been framed for a murder and is seeking the real killers; Claire Trevor plays Dallas, a prostitute fleeing her unhappy life; Thomas Mitchell is the courageous but alcoholic Dr. Josiah Boone; John Carradine is the gambler, Hatfield; Berton Churchill is Henry Gatewood, a banker who has embezzled a fortune; Donald Meek is Samuel Peacock, a mousy little salesman; Louise Platt is Lucy Mallory, a pregnant woman traveling to join her husband; Andy Devine is the stagecoach driver, Buck and George Bancroft is the tough but fair minded Sheriff Curly Wilcox.

"Stagecoach" was filmed in what would prove to be Ford's favorite locale, Monument Valley, Utah. During their journey the personality of each character is revealed as Lucy gives birth, the stagecoach is attacked by Indians, and the Ringo Kid gets revenge on his enemies. A nice balance between character study and action, "Stagecoach" sets standards for how westerns should look and how characters should be real people. Wayne does not really stand out in this strong ensemble cast, but we can clearly see all the elements of the persona that would make him a screen legend. Final word of advice: skip the sequel and stick to the original. Whether you are a fan of the Duke or of the genre, this is one western you have to watch at some point in your life.

two disc edition
I recently purchased the region 1 s/e that is shown in the above graphics and thought some one should give a review of the special features.They consist of a commentary by author,the life and times of john ford,Scott eyman,which is very informative and enjoyable,a new 84min documentary on ford/wayne parternership,which is excellent and a new 30min retrospective on the making of the movie,which unfortunately is narrated by scott eyman and therefore covers most of the same ground of the commentary.I hope this will help prospective buyers make up their minds about which edition to buy.I posted this because in so many movies the reviews seldom review the actual edition shown and it is hard to know which to buy.