The Man who Shot Liberty Valance has to be among the greatest of Westerns
Heavily stylized. Nostalgic
Illustrates the painful process of westward expansion taking a small town as a microcosm
It is both tragic and comic
And features two legends of the West - Stewart and Wayne
Heavily stylized. Nostalgic
Illustrates the painful process of westward expansion taking a small town as a microcosm
It is both tragic and comic
And features two legends of the West - Stewart and Wayne
Both Stewart and Wayne were in their mid-to-late 50s when the film was shot
Yet they played characters who were some 20-25 years younger!
It is absurd yes. But you never question it!
Because they're Stewart and Wayne!
Yet they played characters who were some 20-25 years younger!
It is absurd yes. But you never question it!
Because they're Stewart and Wayne!
Ford made this film in 1962. That is 2 years after Psycho. 2 years after Breathless.
But it looks and feels like an "Old Hollywood" film.
It could well have been made in the mid 1940s at the peak of the studio era!
But it looks and feels like an "Old Hollywood" film.
It could well have been made in the mid 1940s at the peak of the studio era!
Unlike a lot of other great John Ford films, "Liberty Valance" is an "indoor" western. 80% of the film is indoors. Unusual for a "Western"
One can also think of it as the last of the great "classic" westerns
The Spaghetti Western (e.g. The Good Bad and Ugly was just 4 yrs away!
One can also think of it as the last of the great "classic" westerns
The Spaghetti Western (e.g. The Good Bad and Ugly was just 4 yrs away!
With the rise of Sergio Leone, the Western genre would change for ever.
More action oriented. More emphasis on encounter-sequences and less on narrative.
Liberty Valance is a tribute to an earlier style of film making. Which would have its demise in the late 60s
More action oriented. More emphasis on encounter-sequences and less on narrative.
Liberty Valance is a tribute to an earlier style of film making. Which would have its demise in the late 60s
The narrative in "Liberty Valance" centers around a small town somewhere out West - Shinbone
And is set likely in the 1850s or so, before the advent of the railroad
And is set likely in the 1850s or so, before the advent of the railroad
A young lawyer from the East (Stewart) enters this town and attempts to set up a campaign for statehood and develop some enthusiasm for "rule of law" in what is an anarchic town dominated by strongmen
The irony of the film is that the transition to the new order in Shinbone is made possible by the use of force, and the extra-judicial killing of a notorious outlaw by another outlaw.
Driving home the need for shedding idealism when one has to drive change in a hostile setting
Driving home the need for shedding idealism when one has to drive change in a hostile setting
I like to think of "Liberty Valance" as a great conservative classic.
A film that expresses its skepticism of theoretical abstractions, legal procedurals and their utility in a practical western setting
A film that expresses its skepticism of theoretical abstractions, legal procedurals and their utility in a practical western setting
Ironically John Ford was a liberal. Though the two leads Stewart and Wayne were strong Republicans
The film nevertheless is an avowedly conservative one in my view
The film nevertheless is an avowedly conservative one in my view
