
While I can see why Hawks may have seen the film the way he did, the more I've watched it, the more I see it a little differently. I see Gary Cooper more as a man that's doing what he feels like he has to do. His town marshal character is caught in a mighty conundrum. A man that he had sent away for murder is returning to town after being released and has vowed to kill him. Though all the townsfolk are encouraging him to run away - as fast and as far as he can - he seems to know that he'll never fully escape without dealing with this situation. He's literally just gotten married and he knows that this killer will not rest until he gets his vengeance. So while Cooper is kind of running around town trying to scrape together any and all help that he can, he has still resigned himself to his fate. He will face it and take what comes, whether he gets help or not. He'll even let his wife leave him instead of retreating with her. It's not the Hawksian way exactly, but it has a certain resonance nonetheless.
As a movie, it's an entertaining and suspenseful little ride. It has a great cast outside of Cooper and Grace Kelly - including Beau Bridges, Thomas Mitchell, Lee Van Cleef, Henry Morgan, Lon Chaney and Otto Krueger. Also - Grace Kelly is about the sexiest Quaker woman I've ever seen in a movie. Her wedding dress is gorgeous and the way it clings to her slender frame is downright stunning. Lastly, as another reason why I am grateful this movie exists - it has inspired other enjoyable "real time" films. Without HIGH NOON, there wouldn't be any THREE O'CLOCK HIGH - which is one of my favorite films if the 1980s. John Badham's NICK OF TIME is pretty good too.
Special Features:
This disc and JOHNNY GUITAR are the first of Olive Film's new "Olive Signature" line. They've already issued these films on Blu-ray, but these new editions include new transfers and extra features. Think of these discs as Olive's attempt to appeal to collectors and cinephiles who love Criterion Collection releases. Both films are mastered from new 4K restorations and both have some nice extras. HIGH NOON's include:
-“A Ticking Clock” – Academy Award-nominee Mark Goldblatt on the editing of High Noon
-“A Stanley Kramer Production” – Michael Schlessinger on the eminent producer of High Noon
-“Imitation of Life: The Blacklist History of High Noon” – with historian Larry Ceplair and blacklisted screenwriter Walter Bernstein
-“Ulcers and Oscars: The Production History of High Noon” – a visual essay with rarely seen archival elements, narrated by Anton Yelchin
-“Uncitizened Kane” – an original essay by Sight and Sound editor Nick James
-Theatrical trailer
You can purchase this edition of HIGH NOON here:
http://amzn.to/2cwhjDZ
-“A Ticking Clock” – Academy Award-nominee Mark Goldblatt on the editing of High Noon
-“A Stanley Kramer Production” – Michael Schlessinger on the eminent producer of High Noon
-“Imitation of Life: The Blacklist History of High Noon” – with historian Larry Ceplair and blacklisted screenwriter Walter Bernstein
-“Ulcers and Oscars: The Production History of High Noon” – a visual essay with rarely seen archival elements, narrated by Anton Yelchin
-“Uncitizened Kane” – an original essay by Sight and Sound editor Nick James
-Theatrical trailer
You can purchase this edition of HIGH NOON here:
http://amzn.to/2cwhjDZ

As I have often done here at Rupert a Pupkin Speaks, I must give a nod to Danny Peary for introducing me to this movie. He wrote about it in his amazing book CULT MOVIES (which if you don't own you should snap up a copy). I highly recommend reading his essay included in that book as it examines the film from a few different angles - be they its potential feminist elements, as parody of the western genre and also its angle on being "indictment of McCarthyite mob hysteria and bigotry". What's great about movies is the variety of ways they can be interpreted and embraced by audiences even decades after their initial release. Some of them are thin with subtext and others (like JOHNNY GUITAR) are waist deep in it.
Westerns have been a round for a long long time and we've seen them rise and fall from popularity for as long as movies have been around. They never totally disappear though and they says something about how we as an audience must have some kind of primal connection to them. Maybe we all long for a simpler time and see these as very stripped down stories, free from the entanglements and complications of technology and our "modern" lives. Who knows the reason why westerns are still with us, but I hope they never go away. There is always room for more of them as far as I'm concerned and the best ones are the films they try to do something a bit different with the genre. JOHNNY GUITAR is timeless in that way and though it may seem a bit strange in comparison to some, I find it to be a really great one.
Special Features:
This disc is even more stacked than the HIGH NOON disc, including lots of new material and a commentary. For fans of Criterion Collection releases I would have to call this a must
own. Supplements included:
-Introduction by Martin Scorsese
-Audio commentary with historian and critic Geoff Andrew
-“Tell Us She Was One of You: The Blacklist History of Johnny Guitar” – with historian Larry Ceplair and blacklisted screenwriter Walter Bernstein
-“Is Johnny Guitar a Feminist Western?: Questioning the Canon” – with critics Miriam Bale, Kent Jones, Joe McElhaney and B. Ruby Rich
-“Free Republic: The Story of Herbert J. Yates and Republic Pictures” – with archivist Marc Wanamaker
-A critical appreciation of Nicholas Ray with critics Miriam Bale, Kent Jones, Joe McElhaney and B. Ruby Rich
-“My Friend, the American Friend” – Nicholas Ray biographical piece with Tom Farrell and Chris Sievernich
-“Johnny Guitar: The First Existential Western” – an original essay by critic Jonathan Rosenbaum
This disc is even more stacked than the HIGH NOON disc, including lots of new material and a commentary. For fans of Criterion Collection releases I would have to call this a must
own. Supplements included:
-Introduction by Martin Scorsese
-Audio commentary with historian and critic Geoff Andrew
-“Tell Us She Was One of You: The Blacklist History of Johnny Guitar” – with historian Larry Ceplair and blacklisted screenwriter Walter Bernstein
-“Is Johnny Guitar a Feminist Western?: Questioning the Canon” – with critics Miriam Bale, Kent Jones, Joe McElhaney and B. Ruby Rich
-“Free Republic: The Story of Herbert J. Yates and Republic Pictures” – with archivist Marc Wanamaker
-A critical appreciation of Nicholas Ray with critics Miriam Bale, Kent Jones, Joe McElhaney and B. Ruby Rich
-“My Friend, the American Friend” – Nicholas Ray biographical piece with Tom Farrell and Chris Sievernich
-“Johnny Guitar: The First Existential Western” – an original essay by critic Jonathan Rosenbaum
You can purchase this edition of JOHNNY GUITAR here:
No comments:
Post a Comment