Crusty Movie Corner
In which we re-visit an unfashionable old movie that is not on the AFI's Top-100 list.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, 1962
John Ford's relatively unappreciated film from late in his career featuring, John Wayne, James Stewart, Vera Miles, Lee Marvin, Edmond O'Brien, Andy Devine, Woody Strode.
When summarizing the American director and reluctant autour with the most impressive and consistent body of work (other than Peter Hyams), the sheer numbers overwhelm: with some 135 films dating back to 1917, 10 can be cataloged as masterpieces, another 10 can be given the designation of "great" and another 20 are films that any other director would be glad to include in their body of work. These are fuzzy numbers since few of us have seen the entire Ford catalog, but to make the claim that Liberty Valance should rank in the top five would be viewed as fighting words by some. After all, who are you going to boot? "The Searchers", "Stagecoach", "The Quiet Man", "My Darling Clementine" "She Wore A Yellow Ribbon"?
For several years I have carried in my wallet a review of "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance", a brief posting from the events calendar of the Los Angles Times -- author unknown. In under one hundred words, it makes the case succinctly:
"A chamber film about memory, the frontier, civilization, and the ironies and illusions of history. The town is pasteboard, the landscapes almost nonexistent, and most of the actors 20 to 30 years older than the characters they play (in flashback). But this is still a masterpiece: The story of how the wilderness became a garden and how four people -- a lawyer, a woman and two gunmen -- became trapped in the roles legendry thrust on them. The cast makes it almost the Casablanca of westerns."
In which we re-visit an unfashionable old movie that is not on the AFI's Top-100 list.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, 1962
John Ford's relatively unappreciated film from late in his career featuring, John Wayne, James Stewart, Vera Miles, Lee Marvin, Edmond O'Brien, Andy Devine, Woody Strode.
When summarizing the American director and reluctant autour with the most impressive and consistent body of work (other than Peter Hyams), the sheer numbers overwhelm: with some 135 films dating back to 1917, 10 can be cataloged as masterpieces, another 10 can be given the designation of "great" and another 20 are films that any other director would be glad to include in their body of work. These are fuzzy numbers since few of us have seen the entire Ford catalog, but to make the claim that Liberty Valance should rank in the top five would be viewed as fighting words by some. After all, who are you going to boot? "The Searchers", "Stagecoach", "The Quiet Man", "My Darling Clementine" "She Wore A Yellow Ribbon"?
For several years I have carried in my wallet a review of "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance", a brief posting from the events calendar of the Los Angles Times -- author unknown. In under one hundred words, it makes the case succinctly:
"A chamber film about memory, the frontier, civilization, and the ironies and illusions of history. The town is pasteboard, the landscapes almost nonexistent, and most of the actors 20 to 30 years older than the characters they play (in flashback). But this is still a masterpiece: The story of how the wilderness became a garden and how four people -- a lawyer, a woman and two gunmen -- became trapped in the roles legendry thrust on them. The cast makes it almost the Casablanca of westerns."
posted by Call Stack at 11:40 AM
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