Stagecoach (The Criterion Collection) (1939)

I've just viewed the latest Criterion edition of Stagecoach and compared it side by side with the WB 2 disc set. The picture is improved.... not perfect ...but much better. I prefer the commentary by Scott Eyman on the WB edition. The second disc on the WB set has the spectacular American Masters Documentary and a wonderful featurette. The new Blu-Ray and DVD sets by Criterion also have a wealth of bonus features topped by an hour interview with Ford himself! If you are a fan I'd keep the older edition for the bonus features and Eymans commentary and feel good about adding the new edition for better picture and non-repeated bonus features. The featurette on the stunt man Yakima Canutt is excellent, Bogdonovich is always interesting...Ford home movies fun.....it's a solid Criterion package!

This special edition is jam-packed with goodies for fans of the film and of the western genre, starting off with an audio commentary on the first disc by film historian and western scholar Jim Kitses. He challenges the conventional view that Stagecoach lacks the depth and command of craft of John Ford's later films. Kitses does a fantastic job of explaining how Ford's camerawork and the use of invisible editing set up differences in class and established genre conventions. When not offering expert analysis, he provides biographical information on various cast members in this eloquent and informative track.

Also included on this disc is a trailer.

Disc two starts off with "Bucking Broadway," a 54-minute silent film from 1917 that stars John Ford favorite Harry Carey as a cowboy whose true love is taken away by a big city type. It features many of the themes and conventions that Ford would explore again and again in later films.

There is a 1968 interview with Ford by British journalist and television presenter Philip Jenkinson. Running over an hour, the filmmaker talks about his childhood, how he got his start as a director, working with John Wayne, and, of course, Stagecoach. Ford comes across as a no-nonsense man and plain-spoken, refusing to romanticize his past despite the interviewer's best attempts.

Filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich offers his thoughts on Stagecoach and praises the strong script and solid ensemble cast. He analyzes Wayne's performance and how he reacts to the things that happen around him. Bogdanovich also offers his impressions of Ford and Wayne, having met both of them.

"Dreaming of Jeanie" is a video essay that examines Ford's visual style in Stagecoach. It analyzes several of the film's themes through clips and illustrates how Ford used camera movement, framing and background details to show the traits of the various characters.

"John Ford Home Movies" is an interview with the director's grandson and biographer Dan Ford. He talks about his grandfather's home movies that show the man at his most relaxed, complete with clips from the actual films. We see the likes of John Wayne and Henry Fonda lounging around with Ford on his boat.

"True West" is an unexpected treat featuring author Buzz Bissinger talking about the 1920s trading post operator Harry Goulding and his role in telling filmmakers like Ford about Monument Valley. The land belonged to the Navajos but he staked out a claim thanks to his friendship with them. Bissinger talks about how Goulding met Ford and persuaded him to make Stagecoach in Monument Valley.

Another outstanding extra is a featurette about legendary stuntman Yakima Canutt who performed many of the amazing stunts in the film. He went on to become an important figure in the stuntman industry. Fellow industry legend Vic Armstrong offers his thoughts and impressions of the man and talks about just how groundbreaking Canutt was back in the day.

Finally, there is "Screen Director's Playhouse," a radio adaptation of Stagecoach that aired on January 9, 1949 and starred John Wayne and Claire Trevor, reprising their film roles.

As a nice bonus, the accompanying booklet includes the original short story that provided the basis for the film itself!

Buy Stagecoach (The Criterion Collection) (1939) Now

Let's see take a whiskey drummer, add a boozy doctor (served in the Union Army,) a snaky gambler (Confederate vet played by John Carradine,) a good girl (haughty young wife of a horse soldier posted out west with the 6th Cavalry,) and an obnoxious and imperious businessman with a secret to hide. Add one bad girl (Claire Trevor) driven our of town with the drunken doc by the town's respectable marm hens, and one cuffed outlaw, the Ringo Kid (John Wayne.) Shake vigorously in a stagecoach plunging violently through hostile Apache territory.

Made in 1939, the Year of the Motion Picture, John Ford's STAGECOACH is pretty much everything you want or need in a western. Nominated for a slew of Academy Awards, it took one home when Thomas Mitchell won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor as the shrewd, whiskey-loving physician. In 1995 it was placed on the National Film Registry by the National Film Preservation Board.

Well, this is the first film Ford shot in Monument Valley, and it looks great. It's also one of the first big-movie breaks for Wayne. Check out the first Wayne shot the camera eagerly rushes up to him and holds him in a wide-eyed close-up for a couple of seconds. An entrance worthy of an icon, even if Ford was a couple of decades premature. And the always reliable, underrated Claire Trevor looks great as... well, I'm not quite sure what she is, though she dresses well and the respectable folks drive her away when they can, shun her when they can't. In fact, the only thing that doesn't look all that marvelous on the Warners' 1997-released dvd is the print itself, which is scratchy in some spots and muddy and murky in others. Not terribly so, but c'mon, Warner Brothers. You'll throw scrubbers, cleaners, and polishers and a host of long-winded commentators at suspect crime thrillers if they have `Film Noir' stamped on the front cover. How's about throwing some love and attention to an undisputed classic? As long as this one remains the only one available I strongly recommend it, although it truly deserves a full-scale restoration.

Read Best Reviews of Stagecoach (The Criterion Collection) (1939) Here

This review refers to "Stagecoach", Warner Bros DVD Edition(released 1997)..

"Stagecoach", one of The Duke's finest westerns, is a definitive look at the American Western we have come to love. Made in 1939, Wayne in his early years as a rising star, gives as a glimpse of his extraordinary on screen presence yet to come. The film includes other wonderful stars of the era, masterful direction by John Ford, magnifcent cinematography,and a captivating storyline.It is a real cinematic treat.

Wayne is a wanted man who is along for the ride with a group of passengers, each not only battling their own demons and prejudices, but the elements of the rugged terrain and Indian attacks as well. And what a group...it also stars Claire Trevor, Andy Devine, John Carradine, Thomas Mitchell, and Donald Meek.The journey that Ford takes us on is magnificent in the stunning black and white cinematography that captures all the rugged terrain of the old west.

The DVD transfer of this 65 year old film is not as pristeen as some other B/W classic of the era, but certainly looks good. a few scratches here and there, a little flickering, but once you are involved with this film, you won't even notice. The Dolby Dig sound is very good, all the sounds of the old west clear and distinct. The DVD includes some production notes, seven trailers, and has subtitles in English, French and Spanish.

If You are a die-hard Wayne or Ford fan, or great Westerns in general, you may want to purchase the "John Wayne Collection" which includes this one along with another Ford favorite, "The Searchers" and one of Wayne's later Westerns, the touching story of "The Cowboys".

Saddle up for some great Western adventure with John Wayne, and a wonderful journey from John Ford.

Happy Trails......Laurie

also sold in 2 pack:The Searchers / Stagecoach

more westerns from the 1930s:

Rocky Mountain Mystery [VHS](Randy Scott)

King of the Pecos (John Wayne)

Great American Western V.5, The(Gene Autry 30s and 40s 4 films)

Want Stagecoach (The Criterion Collection) (1939) Discount?

"Stagecoach" is a landmark film in so many ways. While probably not the very best western ever created this stunning production is memorable as being one of the first of the genre where just as much emphasis was placed on character development as action. It also marked the breakthrough role (and first collaboration with frequent director Ford) for a young John Wayne after a decade of appearing in countless B films, and the first time that director John Ford used his most favourite location of Monument Valley, Utah for shooting which gives this film an almost out of this world ,mythical quality.

Produced in the magical year of 1939 "Stagecoach" more than holds its own with all the other great classics produced in that year. Honoured with two Academy Awards for its musical score and the beautiful performance by Thomas Mitchell as the drunken doctor travelling on the stagecoach the film tells a very simple story of the intertwined lives of a group of people travelling through dangerous Indian territory on a stagecoach and how each effects the others lives in different ways. Ford assembled a sterling cast of performers here and apart from Wayne as the wrongly convicted outlaw the Ringo Kid we have the before mentioned Thomas Mitchell (in the same year that he played Scarlett O'Hara's father in "Gone With The Wind"), as the drunken doctor who is forced to deliver a baby on route, Claire Trevor in a superb performance as the "scarlett lady" Dallas, run out of town for her morals who forms an attachment to Wayne's character , Andy Devine as the coach driver and John Carradine as the shady gambler Hatfield. Donald Meek also registers as the fumbling spirits salesman who keeps having his samples raided by Mitchell. Louise Platt also does some memorable work as the very pregnant Lucy Mallory, travelling on the stagecoach to join her husband who gives birth during the journey and with help from Dallas learns a good lesson in understanding and tolerance of other's failings. "B" movie cowboy veteran Tom Tyler also makes a rare appearance as the Ringo Kid's nemesis Luke Plummer who is involved in a shoot out with Ringo at the finale.

"Stagecoach" contains many memorable moments, the most outstanding without a doubt being the lengthy and cleverly filmed Indian attack on route which contains some of the most amazing stunt work seen in films up till then. It is the work of stuntman genius Yakima Canutt who doubled for John Wayne in all the complicated action sequnces such as when the Ringo Kid takes control of the horses leading the stagecoach when it is attacked. These stunt scenes became re-used footage in countless westerns over the succeeding years so brilliant they were and are still considered.

While not being a huge fan of the western genre I do love this film for its intelligent writing and attention to character development often not seen in alot of westerns. The beautiful location photography adds a tremendous boost to the overall look of the film and really sets the mood for the whole piece. It is such a landmark film in so many ways already mentioned however for sheer entertainment value for those that like action adventure tales it is unsurpassed. I dont feel you even need to be a western lover to enjoy it so well crafted are the characters and the action story that they are involved in. For stirring western excitement you can't go past John Ford's memorable classic "Stagecoach".

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