STACK #146 Dec 2016

FEATURE DVD&BD

UNFORGIVEN (1992) Clint Eastwood’s Best Picture Oscar-winner is everything you’d expect from one of the genre’s icons. The director also stars as a weary former gunslinger that takes one last job in Big Whisky, Wyoming, where the town’s brothel workers have put a bounty on the heads of a pair of cowboys who attacked one of their own. A modern tale rooted in the mythology of the Old West, Unforgiven is a dark look at the effect of violence on the souls of the men who dispense it for a living, and a bona fide classic.

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (1960) The oppressed residents of a Mexican village enlist the help of seven mercenary gunslingers to fight off marauding bandits in John Sturges’ star-powered reworking of Akira Kurosawa’s classic Seven Samurai (1954). It’s grand, epic entertainment and one of the last great Hollywood Westerns before a certain Italian filmmaker named Sergio Leone took up the reins. And of course there’s that unforgettable theme from Elmer Bernstein, too.

HIGH NOON (1952) “Do not forsake me, oh my darlin’.” Gary Cooper’s

marshal must stand alone against a vengeful killer when the townsfolk refuse to help him in this unconventional Western. A highpoint of the genre, High Noon is also a tightly wound suspense thriller set against a Wild West backdrop, with a ticking clock counting down to the arrival of a train carrying Cooper’s nemesis. The film won Oscars for Cooper’s performance, Editing, Original Score, and Original Song.

3:10TOYUMA (1957) Drought-stricken rancher Dan Evans (Van Heflin) is hired to escort notorious outlaw Ben Wade (Glenn Ford) to the titular prison train, only to discover that Wade’s posse is waiting for its arrival, too. Based on a short story by Elmore Leonard and shot in atmospheric black and white, 3:10 to Yuma echoes what was great about High Noon , with the suspense building towards a climactic showdown (and the arrival of a train). Glenn Ford is terrific as the charming villain, and the cautious respect that develops between the two men adds a dramatic layer to this classic ‘50s oater. Watch for the scene in the hotel room.

is out on Dec 30 (2016)

39