tomfirak-674-201999
Shane is a great movie but everyone seems to not realize that much of the plot was borrowed from the movie Whispering Smith that starred Alan Ladd and was a excellent western also.
pongup
I watched this one because it was mentioned in Logan. After finish watching, it instantly became one of my all-time favorites. No wonder it was very popular when it first came out in 1953. Story is simple and cliché --the good guy appeared just in time for helping the poor from the bad guy. What made it so good was the details of the story and how it developed along the path of the movie. The camera work was great. All actors were superb. Our hero (Ladd) looked mysterious but likable. The villain (Palance) was so gleefully vicious that you wanted him to be finished off once and for all. The showdown scene was well-crafted, and the ending is iconic. This is one of the best western movies I've ever seen.
Caleb Crann
After its heavy prominence in 2017's Logan, I thought Shane would be a film worth checking out. While the film is over sixty years old, I was pleasantly surprised at just how much the picture still holds up today. While Shane works as a piece of entertainment, the everlasting value comes from what's behind the surface. The film is supposed to be an allegory about the end of the gunslinger era, and by the end we come to understand this. From the beautiful landscape cinematography to the committed performances of the main cast, it is no wonder that Shane has been revered as one of the greatest Westerns of all time. What makes Shane truly stand out however are its themes. From the coming of age young Joe goes through, we cant help too but to marvel at Shane. Despite his reservation as a closeted man, he beams of confidence. This isn't a cold blooded killer, but it is someone who has done things he regrets. When Shane is forced to go down that path once more, its made all the more potent as we know he must leave the valley. Running away from your past isn't easy, and Shane knows this all too well. As he tells young Joey, "There's no living for the killing". As Joey yells for him to come back, you cant help but get a little weepy eyed.So what is the final verdict? There isn't much that hasn't already been said about this film, but the answer is clear. The stakes are high, and this film soars. Shane is a pure classic of cinema. As much as older movies can grow dated, the heart of this story will remain its crowning jewel. For that reason, Shane will remain a gem for a very long time. If you haven't, see it already!
erin_linds
If George Stevens' goal was to make the most boring, slow, uninteresting, and dreadful western ever, then he absolutely succeeded. I'm a fan of classic movies so I decided to give this "timeless classic" a watch. It was one of the worst movies I had ever seen. Sure, the cinematography is gorgeous but that doesn't make it a great movie. It seems Stevens tried to use extra stunning backgrounds to make up for the fact that he did not have a good story nor good characters. The dialogue is bland and incredibly corny...like when Jean Arthur sees her husband take out a gun and screams, "NOOO!!! You can't kill him!! That's so wrong!!" Plus I noticed quite a few continuity errors, which is not uncommon in movies but still.I honestly can't think of a single thing I like about this movie. I looked up a few clips on YouTube so I could browse the comments and see what other people thought of it. I was shocked that so many people loved it. One person mentioned having watched the movie "over a hundred times". Geez, I could barely sit through this movie once, let alone watch it a hundred times. I think the only way somebody could enjoy this movie is if they really love home-on-the- range scenery or have a crush on Alan Ladd or something. I'm not sorry I watched the movie though; it teaches a good lesson. The lesson is that a true masterpiece lies in the eyes of the beholder. While I despise this disaster of filmmaking, it has nonetheless been awarded the "greatest western ever made". But in my mind, this only proves that the audience had extremely poor taste in films.
AD
