By Lee Pfeiffer
John Ford's 1939 classic Stagecoach finally gets the inimitable deluxe release from Criterion. The film's merits should be obvious to viewers of any generation, as it remains a wonderfully entertaining adventure. However, what has probably been diminished to many movie fans over the decades is the impact Stagecoach had on the Western movie genre. With this film, Ford had elevated the Western from the realm of B matinee productions by providing a highly intelligent, superbly written scenario designed to appeal to adults rather than the traditional core audience for Westerns, which was primarily children. In reality, there had been several attempts to elevate the Western to a higher plain prior to Stagecoach - primarily Raoul Walsh's 1930 epic The Big Trail. However, that film required theaters in invest in expensive widescreen projection equipment - something they were loathe to do during the Depression. Thus, the movie lost a fortune and relegated its star, John Wayne, back to B movie hell. Ford rescued Wayne by bucking studio executives who wanted a more prestigious star for Stagecoach. The rest, as they say, is history.
Criterion's edition of the film provides the usual crystal-clear transfer and also includes an abundance of creative and fascinating extras. They include:
- Bucking Broadway, a restored 1917 Ford silent film starring Harry Carey. It's a charming and highly entertaining movie focusing on a country bumpkin who pursues his fiancee when she is lured to New York by an unscrupulous city slicker suitor. The movie features some ambitious fight scenes and plenty of the humor that would become hallmarks of Ford productions.
- An extensive 1968 BBC interview conducted by journalist Philip Jenkenson that, in many ways, is the highlight of this release. Ford didn't give many in-depth interviews because he disdained directors who were prone to analyzing their own work. Jenkenson managed to interview the lion in winter but suffers the usual Fordian impatience and insults, including numerous jibes against British culture (though Ford is clearly simply trying to get a rise out of the younger man.)
- New interview with director Peter Bogdanovich, who- as a young man- was astute enough to befriend Ford at a time of life when the film industry was practically ignoring the old warrior.
- Ford's home movies are presented with commentary by his grandson and biographer Dan Ford and they offer tantalizing glimpses into Ford's social life. Most are filmed aboard his yacht and feature pals like John Wayne and Ward Bond indulging in fishing and drinking, two hallmarks of Ford's past-time pleasures.
- Writer Tag Gallagher's beautifully written and very thought-provoking video essay about Ford's techniques as a director and how they contrasted with some other prominent filmmakers such as Hitchcock.
- A new interview with prominent stuntman and stunt coordinator Vic Armstrong, who worked on the Indiana Jones and James Bond films along with many other blockbusters. Armstrong pays homage to legendary stuntman Yakima Canutt, who performed the famous horse jump stunt in Stagecoach.
- Writer Buzz Bissinger's highly informative essay about the significance of Monument Valley to Ford, along with biographical information about Harry Goulding, the owner of the trading post who convinced Ford to film there.
- An original theatrical trailer
- A 1949 radio adaptation of the film, directed by Ford and starring John Wayne, Claire Trevor and Ward Bond.
- An extensive, illustrated booklet with essays about the film and the entire Ernest Haycox original short story, Stage to Lordsburg, on which the movie was based.
This is the ultimate home video presentation of the classic film that has been available to date. Another big thumb's up to Criterion.
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