Shane

UPC: 097360652277

Studio: Paramount

MPAA Rating: NR   Contains:[Violence]

Summary: The simple story of a Wyoming range war is elevated to near-mythical status in producer/director George Stevens' Western classic Shane. Alan Ladd plays the title character, a mysterious drifter who rides into a tiny homesteading community and accepts the hospitality of a farming family. Patriarch Joe Starrett (Van Heflin) is impressed by the way Shane handles himself when facing down the hostile minions of land baron Emile Meyer, though he has trouble placing his complete trust in the stranger, as his Marion (Jean Arthur) is attracted to Shane in spite of herself, and his son Joey (Brandon De Wilde) flat-out idolizes Shane. When Meyer is unable to drive off the homesteaders by sheer brute strength, he engages the services of black-clad, wholly evil hired gun Jack Wilson (Jack Palance). The moment that Wilson shows he means business by shooting down hotheaded farmer Frank Torrey (Elisha Cook Jr.) is the film's most memorable scene: after years of becoming accustomed to carefully choreographed movie death scenes, the suddenness with which Torrey's life is snuffed out -- and the force with which he falls to the ground -- are startling. Shane knows that a showdown with Wilson is inevitable; he also knows that, unintentionally, he has become a disruptive element in the Starrett family. The manner in which he handles both these problems segues into the now-legendary "Come back, Shane" finale. Cinematographer Loyal Griggs imbues this no-frills tale with the outer trappings of an epic, forever framing the action in relation to the unspoiled land surrounding it. A.B. Guthrie Jr.'s screenplay, adapted from the Jack Schaefer novel, avoids the standard good guy/bad guy clich?s: both homesteaders and cattlemen are shown as three-dimensional human beings, flaws and all, and even ostensible villain Emile Meyer comes off reasonable and logical when elucidating his dislike of the "newcomers" who threaten to divest him of his wide open spaces. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Category: Western

Awards: Best British Film – British Academy of Film and Television Arts U.S. National Film Registry – Library of Congress 100 Greatest American Movies – American Film Institute Best Director – Directors Guild of America Best Color Cinematography – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Director – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – National Board of Review Best Director – National Board of Review Best Supporting Actor – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Supporting Actor – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Features: Standard version
Dolby Digital: English 2.0; French mono
English subtitles
Interactive menus
Scene selection
Theatrical trailer
Commentary with George Stevens Jr., production assistant and son of the late director/producer George Stevens, and Ivan Moffat, associate producer

Shane

Format: DVD

Release Date: 01/01/1899

Audio: 5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, 1 USA & territories, Canada

Runtime: 117 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,French

Subtitles: English

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 --
0. Scene Selections
1. Call Me Shane. [:06]
2. An Elegant Dinner. [1:27]
3. Store-Bought Clothes. [5:47]
4. A New Sodbuster. [6:59]
5. Homesteaders. [7:33]
6. Fists Fly At Grafton's. [:47]
7. Slick Wilson. [2:32]
8. A Gun Is A Tool. [3:44]
9. Independence Day. [6:21]
10. I'm A Fair Man. [1:35]
11. Stonewall. [6:59]
12. Cemetery Hill. [4:14]
13. Stacked Deck. [1:52]
14. No Match For Wilson. [2:16]
15. A Lowdown Yankee Liar. [5:43]
16. Come Back Shane. [2:24]

Dan Jardine

Despite being burdened with grand pretensions, George Steven's Shane stands securely as one of the most intelligent westerns of its era. The story, underscored by potent historical conflicts between cattle ranchers and homesteaders, and broad philosophical issues contrasting the rugged individualist of American lore with the value of belonging to a community, is mythic in scope. The massive, imposing and ragged landscape of Wyoming's Grand Tetons, captured capably by Oscar winner Loyal Griggs, provides an appropriately awe-inspiring backdrop to the action. Stevens rarely passes up a chance to offer up attention-seeking directorial flourishes (long takes capped by extended fades), but in the end his faithfulness to the characters and their stories preserves the movie's greatness. Jack Palance, whose sneering charisma is palpable, is the embodiment of evil as the ranchers' hired assassin. Alan Ladd, who is enigmatic and mysterious as the neo-pacifist ex-gunslinger titular character, is quietly imposing (despite his lack of physical stature) in the role. As a man with a dark past, Shane willingly martyrs himself in order to atone for past sins and to save his newly adopted family. Therefore, it is appropriate that his son-by-proxy Joey provides the predominant point-of-view, since it is his coming-of-age that reflects the maturation of the American west. Some of the more subversive critics have pointed to the psychosexual nature of the exchanges between Joey and Shane as evidence of the film's subconscious perversity. Nominated for 5 Oscars, winner of one for its stunning color cinematography. ~ Dan Jardine, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Bill Cartledge  Actor 
John Miller  Actor 
Henry Wills  Actor 
George Lewis  Actor 
Charles Quirk  Actor 
Rex Moore  Actor 
Ewing Miles Brown  Actor 
Chester W. Hannan  Actor 
Beverly Washburn  Actor 
Elisha Cook, Jr.  Actor 
Steve Raines  Actor 
Howard Negley  Actor 
Jack Sterling  Actor 
Ivan Moffat  Producer 
Jack Sher  Screenwriter 
Victor Young  Composer (Music Score) 
George Stevens  Director 
George Stevens  Producer 
A.B. Guthrie, Jr.  Screenwriter 
Alan Ladd  Actor 
Jean Arthur  Actor 
Van Heflin  Actor 
Brandon de Wilde  Actor 
Jack Palance  Actor 
Ben Johnson  Actor 
Edgar Buchanan  Actor 
Emile G. Meyer  Actor 
Douglas Spencer  Actor 
John Dierkes  Actor 
Ellen Corby  Actor 
Paul McVey  Actor 
Edith Evanson  Actor 
Leonard Strong  Actor 
Ray Spiker  Actor 
Janice Carroll  Actor 
Martin Mason  Actor 
Helen Brown  Actor 
Nancy Kulp  Actor 

Country: USA