The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance on DVD (1962)

The Western that questions itself

Tinderbox from England , 20/07/2004

Liberty Valance is an infamous name for the wrong kind of reason: he is a hired gun, a malicious and violent man who terrorises the town of Shinbone in the name of the cattle ranchers that employ him.

James Stewart is his ultimate opposite as the young lawyer Ransom. He has no truck for the law of the Old West, and hates gun violence: he firmly believes in the power of legislation and the progress of the railroads and the homesteaders.

Together with Tom Donophin (played by John Wayne) Ransom must face down the criminals who are halting the political emancipation of Shinbone and the men who keep it together.

Under John Ford's steady hand, his mission takes in many of the great themes of the Western. It asserts the need for romantic mythology, but at the same time it recognises that progress for the US lay in what came after the pioneers.

The newspaper editor's final command is to print the legend over the fact every time. "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" is a timeless exploration of everything such a statement entails. Brilliantly paced and effortlessly directed, it proves that Ford was a force to be reckoned with, even towards the final stages of his career.

Read all reviews

Not just another western, but a very good film!

Kate from Manchester , 15/07/2004

State senator Ransom Stoddard (James Stewart) returns to his tired old hometown of Shinbone to attend the funeral of the unknown Tom Dononvan (John Wayne). He recounts the story of how he first came to Shinbone and took on Liberty Valence, the local bully boy (a genuinely scary Lee Marvin).

Wayne was never better as the tough-as-nails cowboy, and Stewart produces a very characteristic good guy who cannot accept the lawlessness and gun-dependent nature of Shinbone. Marvin also delivers a fantastic performance, as the most gloriously evil hoodlum the Wild West ever saw.

Naturally there's a twist at the end which works nicely enough. It's interesting that Shinbone becomes such a sad and run-down little town after Valences reign of terror is ended -quite a sad ending, but well worth a watch.

Highly recommended to the western fans. And the James Stewart fans. And everybody else in fact. Add it to your selection -you can blame me.

Read all reviews

Last of the Western Heroes

William Johnson from Leamington , 09/04/2005

This was one of the last black and white westerns ever made and at the time Ford was criticized for not using colour but still the cinematography from William Clothier, who had worked with Ford previously, is precise and compelling, each shot perfectly composed to complement the mood of the story.

Shots of a train passing through the empty prairie of the West begin and end the film like a pair of inverted commas. At its first appearance the train is bringing the well dressed and successful senator Ransom Stoddard (James Stewart) and his wife Hallie (Vera Miles) to the backwater little town of Shinbone. They are greeted by an old and scruffy ex-sheriff (Andy Devine) and the garishly dressed young newspaper man who tries to get an interview with the visiting celebrity. Senator Stoddard has come to town to pay his last respects to a dead fried Tom Doniphon (John Wayne) and it is the story of that friendship that Stoddard recounts to the newspaper men.

It is a story of the progression of the Wild West from lawless territory to a law-abiding State of the Union. A story made interesting and alive by Ford?s use of contrasts and conflicts ? between cattlemen and lawyers, between the bad men, notably Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin) and the good men played by Wayne and Stewart, between the old gun-toting West (Wayne) and the new men of law books and politics (Stewart), between the legend and the truth. It is the integration of all these subtle and shifting relationships together with the twist in the tail that makes this movie far superior to the usual simplistic Western fare.

It marked a development for Ford in that he tried to abandon the cloying sentimentality of his earlier works. His Boy Scout morality and patriotism is still there (unlike in the later ?Cheyenne Autumn) but in its complex relationships this film is pointing the way to the modern Western with its more subtle shadings and moral ambiguities.

This is not only a good film it is an important film both for Ford fans and Western fans alike.

Read all reviews

A Model Ford

Ewen Robertson from London, England , 23/09/2004

A brilliant, classic western that covers Ford's favourite theme; old west vs new west. Stewart and Wayne are superb in the leads, with fine support all round. But the real star of the show is, as usual, John Ford. Every shot, every frame, is absolutely faultless. How can an old b+w film look just so lush? If you accept film is a language then Ford is as expressive as Dickens and as poetic as Milton. One particular shot (of a burnt out farmhouse) is as well framed and beautiful as a Caravaggio. An absolute master at the top of his game.

Read all reviews

Once Upon A Time In The West Prequel

McClennan from St Helens , 24/08/2005

Excellent picture transfer first and foremost which added to the enjoyment of the film. Great performances all round, although John Wayne isn't as effective on screen as I thought he was in the Howard Hawks films. Exploring the decline of the west it covers a time similar to Once Upon A Time In The West when law, order and capitalism come to the fore, taking away the lawlessness that preceded these forces.

Read all highest rated reviews

Not just another western, but a very good film!

Kate from Manchester , 15/07/2004

State senator Ransom Stoddard (James Stewart) returns to his tired old hometown of Shinbone to attend the funeral of the unknown Tom Dononvan (John Wayne). He recounts the story of how he first came to Shinbone and took on Liberty Valence, the local bully boy (a genuinely scary Lee Marvin).

Wayne was never better as the tough-as-nails cowboy, and Stewart produces a very characteristic good guy who cannot accept the lawlessness and gun-dependent nature of Shinbone. Marvin also delivers a fantastic performance, as the most gloriously evil hoodlum the Wild West ever saw.

Naturally there's a twist at the end which works nicely enough. It's interesting that Shinbone becomes such a sad and run-down little town after Valences reign of terror is ended -quite a sad ending, but well worth a watch.

Highly recommended to the western fans. And the James Stewart fans. And everybody else in fact. Add it to your selection -you can blame me.

Read all highest rated reviews