The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (Paramount Centennial Collection)

Delivery Time: 7 to 15 Working Days Format: DVD

John Ford's epic western stars James Stewart as a U.S. senator who returns to his old home after 25 years for the funeral of old friend John Wayne. When asked about Wayne by a reporter, Stewart tells of the story of his friendship with Wayne and how he saved his life from sadistic outlaw Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin). Vera Miles, Edmond O'Brien, Andy Devine, and Woody Strode also star in this classic. 123 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital mono, Spanish Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, French, Spanish; audio commentary; featurette; photo gallery; theatrical trailer. Two-disc set.
"When the legend becomes fact, print the legend." That's more than the code of a newspaperman in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance; it's practically the operating credo of director John Ford, the most honored of American filmmakers. In this late film from a long career, Ford looks at the civilizing of an Old West town, Shinbone, through the sad memories of settlers looking back. In the town's wide-open youth, two-fisted Westerner John Wayne and tenderfoot newcomer James Stewart clash over a woman (Vera Miles) but ultimately unite against the notorious outlaw Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin). Ford's nostalgia for the past is tempered by his stark approach, unusual for the visual poet of Stagecoach and The Searchers. The two heavyweights, Wayne and Stewart, are good together, with Wayne the embodiment of rugged individualism and Stewart the idealistic prophet of the civilization that will eventually tame the Wild West. This may be the saddest Western ever made, closer to an elegy than an action movie, and as cleanly beautiful as its central symbol, the cactus rose. --Robert Horton