High Noon (1952)

One of the greatest Westerns ever made gets the deluxe treatment on this superior disc from Republic Home Video's Silver Screen Classics line of special-edition DVDs. Written by Carl Foreman (who was later blacklisted during the anticommunist hearings of the '50s) and superbly directed by Fred Zinnemann, this 1952 classic stars Gary Cooper as just-married lawman Will Kane, who is about to retire as a small-town sheriff and begin a new life with his bride (Grace Kelly) when he learns that gunslinger Frank Miller (Ian MacDonald) is due to arrive at high noon to settle an old score. Kane seeks assistance from deputies and townsfolk, but soon realizes he'll have to stand alone in his showdown with Miller and his henchmen. Innovative for its time, the suspenseful story unfolds in approximate real time (from 10:40 a.m. to high noon in an 84-minute film), and many interpreted Foreman's drama as an allegorical reflection of apathy and passive acceptance of Senator Joseph McCarthy's anticommunist campaign. Political underpinnings aside, this remains a milestone of its genre (often referred to as the first "adult" Western), and Cooper is flawless in his Oscar-winning role. The first-rate DVD gives this landmark film all the respect it deserves, beginning with a digitally remastered transfer from the original film negative. Additional features include the exclusive documentary The Making of High Noon, hosted by film historian Leonard Maltin and featuring interviews with the late Lloyd Bridges (who played Cooper's rival ex-deputy), director Fred Zinnemann, and producer Stanley Kramer. Also included is the original theatrical trailer and a special chapter stop highlighting the Oscar-winning song "Do Not Forsake Me." Offered in English and dubbed French and Spanish, with English closed-captioning or Spanish and French subtitles. --Jeff Shannon Amazon.com essential video

a brave man facing certain death

This is an "adult" western in that the townpeople act like townspeople. When faced by the possibility of an attack by five desperados, they prefer to do nothing and hope for the best. The movie may have also had a political viewpoint. We were locked in a deadly cold war with the Soviet Union. Many people, just as the townpeople in "High Noon", reckoned that disarmament and coexistence was a safer policy than confrontation.

Gary Cooper, as the resigning marshal of this small town, expects support--in terms of a posse--from the townsfolk. United they will outnumber the desperados many times and should be able to kill or capture them. One by one, however, the would-be posse peals away. Some won't fight for religious reasons, some for personal reasons, some for diability reasons and one, would be hero, is a drunk.

Cooper is left without allies and a bitter pill it is. Even his beautiful wife [Grace Kelly] won't stay. She wants them both to run. The only person who shows some guts is Katie Jurado who wants to fight for the marshal [and we know she would] but he belongs to another woman and so she gets out too.

Cooper, with every expectation of death on a dusty street, waits for the outlaws to arrive on the noon train. Hollywood style, he manages to gun down his enemies and then, in front of the assembled townsmen, throws down his badge in total disgust.

It's a powerful film of a brave man and of human frailty.

Ron Braithwaite author of Mexican Conquest novels, "Skull Rack" and "Hummingbird God." June 19, 2008

a great study in honor and duty

I dont think any of us has been as isolated as gary cooper was in that town, when it came to finding support and maybe a true friend when you needed one. I think why you watch this over and over again on repeated viewings, is the great character studies...I mean would we help and stand up for right when it came down to it?...everybody gave a great performance in that movie!...by the way,I watched the first half of the lionsgate new edition last night..and I must say, they did this movie proud!...great picture and sound... an improvement over past editions...notice the great facial closeups..you can see every bead of tension mounting stress and sweat ( o.k. im sure it was hot as well...)....contrast was corrected from past editions , great job! June 11, 2008

2 Disc Ultimate Edition

I can't believe someone gave this film a 1 star simply because he wasn't pleased with Amazon's write up of the film.

Yes, it is remastered, and yes its filled with an entire disc of special features.

And yes, the actual film itself is an absolute classic.

June 10, 2008

HIGH NOON

Putting aside the plot of the movie and director & producer..A little about the co-stars. On the last dvd release Leonard Maltin said nothing whatsoever on the rise of a young LEE VAN CLEEF.Shame on him.Instead he talks about one of the other outlaws who went on to become a charater villan in westerns by the name of ROBERT J.WILKE...who by the way is a very,very good actor.However...it was LEE VAN CLEEF who really shot to the top in the 1960's with "For A Few Dollars More".."The Big Gundown"..."Day Of Anger"..and his best..."THE GOOD,THE BAD And UGLY.And the very first actor that comes on the screen is who else..LEE VAN CLEEF!And the rider coming to meet him is SHEB WOOLEY...Mr.Maltin also forgot his acting for the future...such as a regular on "RAWHIDE"And song writer and singer...famous for his"THE PURPLE PEOPLE EATER.Mr.Maltin..shame twice on you.And forget having the remake with Lee Majors on the same dvd.That was a nightmare.You just can't remake a classic.They tryed twice
for.."STAGECOACH".Terrible.Let's keep it a classic all around.Anyhow...High Noon is a classic.Also United Artist Studios made the movie.Sounds like Paramount is buying up a lot of movies they never made.Such as"ISLAND IN THE SKY"John Wayne..was great.Made by WARNER BROS.
Oh well...as long as Paramount does right by it. Thankyou-Jack June 2, 2008

This dvd will be worth the upgrade

I can't believe people are giving this new dvd release bad ratings before it's release. I have heard from several sources that this release will have the restored by Paramount from the original negative film version that has never been released in the states. I have not seen this version but have read rave reviews on it's extremely clean and sharp look with perfect brightness and contrast. This print was not allowed to be loaned out for the previous two releases and an inferior print was used. In addition, a friend of mine John Mulholland has done a 50 minute documentory on this movie and he is an expert on both Gary Cooper and High Noon, so it is worth an upgrade just for that. Below is an excerpt from John on High Noon:

"HIGH NOON was hailed upon its release in 1952 as an instant classic. It won several Academy Awards, including one for its legendary star, Gary Cooper. It was named the year's best picture by the New York Film Critics Society. And yet, even though it's high on the American Film Institute's 100 Best Films of the Century, HIGH NOON's respect has been hard won, indeed. Perhaps no other classic film has had such a rocky road as this "simple little western."

Decried by influential auteurist critics and academics, HIGH NOON has been attacked for being untrue to the western genre - read anti-populist; for being "middle-brow" (whatever that might mean); for being social drama hiding behind the western genre - and muddled social drama, at that; for being the most un-American film ever made (courtesy of John Wayne), etc.

However, 56 years after its release, HIGH NOON still powerfully resonates with audiences around the world. When Solidarity needed a universal image to promote democracy and the right to vote in Poland in 1987, they chose Gary Cooper in HIGH NOON, a ballot in his hand rather than a gun. Conservatives and liberals both manage to cite HIGH NOON on the floor of Congress as a metaphor for their competing political ideals. Political cartoonists and headline writers inevitably use HIGH NOON as reference for countless crises. President Eisenhower cited High Noon as his favorite film, as have President Clinton and former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizuma.

On one hand, HIGH NOON has been attacked for being a conservative, damaging portrait of arrogant male paternalism. On the other hand, HIGH NOON is praised for challenging entrenched notions of gender, for exploring masculine anxiety, masculinity as a construct. Feminist critics and academics are offering intriguing and complex new readings to HIGH NOON.

Example: Amy Fowler (Grace Kelly) is having her new husband, Marshall Will Kane (Cooper), quit his career, leave his town, leave his friends, marry outside his church, and open a store of her choosing (wearing, perhaps, an apron?). Does Will Kane take on the villains at noon as a final gasp of masculine protest, as a declaration of independence from his wife's control?

Ernest Hemingway compared a story's meaning to an iceberg - like the iceberg, 7/8th of which lies hidden beneath the surface, 7/8th of a story's meaning lies beneath the surface.

Carl Foreman's bare-to-the-bones script and Fred Zinnemann's equally spare direction are a perfect film correlative to Hemingway's iceberg theory. This taut, seemingly straightforward little suspense western is complex, multi-layered, and perhaps even more relevant today than when it opened 56 years ago.

John Mulholland, writer/director
INSIDE HIGH NOON"
May 19, 2008

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