Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #36954 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-01-01
• Rating: Universal, suitable for all
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Subtitled, PAL
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 109 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
One of the greatest Westerns ever made gets the deluxe treatment on this superior disc. Written by Carl Foreman (who was later blacklisted during the anticommunist hearings of the 1950s) and superbly directed by Fred Zinnemann, this 1952 classic stars Gary Cooper as just-married lawman Will Kane, who is about to retire as a small-town sheriff and begin a new life with his bride (Grace Kelly) when he learns that gunslinger Frank Miller (Ian MacDonald) is due to arrive at high noon to settle an old score. Kane seeks assistance from deputies and townsfolk, but soon realises he will have to stand alone in his showdown with Miller and his henchmen. Innovative for its time, the suspenseful story unfolds in approximate real time (from 10:40 a.m. to high noon in an 84-minute film), and many interpreted Foreman's drama as an allegorical reflection of apathy and passive acceptance of Senator Joseph McCarthy's anticommunist campaign. Political underpinnings aside, this remains a milestone of its genre (often referred to as the first "adult" Western), and Cooper is flawless in his Oscar-winning role. The first-rate DVD gives this landmark film all the respect it deserves, beginning with a digitally remastered transfer from the original film negative. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

Video Description
DVD Special Features :

24 Minute Documentary
Theatrical Trailer
Photo & Poster Galleries
Filmography
Stereo Digitally Remastered
Ratio 4:3
Subtitles: English for deaf and hard of hearing

Synopsis
Gary Cooper is Hollywood's perfect hero, the very embodiment of integrity and grace in this greatest of all Westerns. As a newly married town marshal, he must balance an innate sense of justice and duty with loyalty to his beautiful new--and pacifist--bride (Grace Kelly). When he is left by an ungrateful town to face a gang of deadly outlaws alone, the hands of the clock move in real time as one of the greatest showdowns in movie history draws ever closer. Frequently interpreted as a parable about artists left to stand alone and face persecution during the McCarthy-era Hollywood blacklistings, the film was declared un-American by none other than John Wayne--apparently he was offended by the film's ending, which shows Sheriff Kane removing his badge and tossing it in the dirt.

Customer Reviews

The tin star in the dust
This is the quintessential Hollywood western. It will continue to represent the genre for many decades to come.

It stars Gary Cooper, one of the most beloved of leading men who personified soft-spoken heroic courage in scores of important films, including Beau Geste (1939), The Pride of the Yankees (1942), Along Came Jones (1945), The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955), etc., and Grace Kelly in her debut role. Directed by Fred Zinneman, whose credits include From Here to Eternity (1953), A Man for All Seasons (1966), Julia (1977) and a dozen more, High Noon tells the story of Will Kane, a small town marshal who, on his wedding day faces a man just let out of prison with three of his outlaw friends who are aiming to get revenge for his being sent up.

The enduring image of the film is Gary Cooper walking tall in the deserted streets of the town in a black Western hat, a black vest, long-sleeved white shirt, black string necktie, watch chain, boots, and low slung holster and two belts, while off to the side inside the wooden buildings we see "that big hand move along, nearin' high noon--which is when the train arrives carrying the freed prisoner.

Will Kane has cleaned up the town, but now the gunslingers return and he is their target. His wife of less than an hour (Kelly) demands that he leave town. The town itself, in fear of the gunmen, also wants him to leave town, hoping to take the fight away from them. He tries to recruit deputies but everyone is afraid. Even his lone deputy (Lloyd Bridges) deserts him. In the background is Dimitri Tiomkin's haunting ballad, sung by Tex Ritter: "Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling (On This Our Wedding Day)." Both Cooper and the song won Oscars. Noteworthy was the fine performance by Kay Jurado as ... Ramirez, Cane's ex, a shrewd barroom lady and proprietress.

What is interesting about the moral conflict (from the story, "The Tin Star" as interpreted for film by screenwriter Carl Foreman), that of facing your enemy rather than running, is that Kane's rationale is logical. If he runs they will only come after him again and again. Only two people get this, Kane and Ramirez. The larger moral issue of whether to fight to defend yourself (Grace Kelly is cast as a Quaker and does not believe in killing) is resolved during the climatic shootout by Grace Kelly's character herself in a manner that did not set well with Quakers.

How well does this black and white classic Western play today? The towns people seem cliches and the outlaws are quickly drawn, but Gary Cooper as Will Kane seems entirely believable, admirable, heroic in the best sense of the term as a man who knows the dangers, feels the fear, and yet must act, and he does. He is no shallow, two-fisted, machine-gun hero so often seen in Hollywood productions, but a man of maturity whose "grace under pressure" (a fine definition of courage) tells us and himself who he really is.

See this for Gary Cooper whose "slow-talking, slow-walking," (lyrics from the Coaster's hit song from the fifties, "Along Came Jones"), and soft-spoken heroics delighted and enthralled a couple of generations of film-goers.

a classic in every sense
This film is absolutely marvellous, almost faultless. Against the advice of everyone and at great personal risk, a man - Gary Cooper, who is wonderful - stays true to himself and faces the Miller gang. If he turns away from his destiny, his life's work goes for nothing. If he faces it, he loses his new wife (Grace Kelly) and possibly his life as well. So it seems, but the film has some surprises to spring. No-one of note stands by him, though one or two, touchingly, try. The film is full of beautifully shot scenes, Cooper is mesmerising and the rest of a fine cast never let him down - and there is extra atmosphere from the haunting little cowboy song called, 'Do not Foresake me O my Darling'. This really is one of the classics of American cinema, one of the best of all Westerns, and well worth seeing.

"Will Kane will go out there at noon and die, and this town will die with him"
The greatest and best Western ever made, beautifully dark, real and with almost all of the usually prevalent adventurous and romantic John Wayne style removed. This is a thrilling, emotional and yet truthfully simple film that is directed with all the tense skill that Zinnemann would go on to show in 'Day of the Jackal'. The plot builds and builds in suspense, and while Cooper and Kelly expertly perform the pitiful roles of Kane and his bride that gain our empathy, the other townfolk demonstrate a contrasting cruel cowardice that is just...genuine.
The skill of the acting and direction and stark bleakness of the plot, mixed with a heady infusion of true love and goodness, gives it a reality that puts it above more romantic views of the West such as 'Stagecoach' and 'Rio Bravo'. 'The Searchers', 'Shane' and Eastwood's recent effort 'Unforgiven' come close to reproducing this, but it will take a real act of perfection to tumble 'High Noon' from its pedestal. I salute you!