High Noon (1952)

Very best movie i ever watch

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

One of my all time favorites.

Nice effects though.

I can always nitpick about some aspect of how the script plays out and think I can do a better job. When it comes to the camera stuff I will not pretend to know anything. Now that I have got that out of the way I have always felt the visuals in "Shane" were the best of any film I had seen. At over 60 I have finally taken the time to watch "High Noon" and was blown away by the way it was filmed. Black and white works here when I am sure it would have made Shane a poorer movie. Wilke, Cleef, and Wooley played their parts in what I would call an understated and very believable way. Grace Kelly has to be the most beautiful woman to ever have graced the silver screen. It could have been a silent film and still been a joy to watch, though the song "The Ballad of High Noon" and dialogue make it a much better experience. For different reasons High Noon now joins Shane at the top of my list of favorite Westerns.

Despite the fact that "High Noon" is highly regarded as one of the greatest western films of all- time, it took me a long time to actually spin it up in the DVD player. Probably because, to be honest, I was afraid it would be little more than a "stock western". When I did "give in", however, I now completely understand the praise.For a basic plot summary, "High Noon" is a story about an Old West town that is about to see the return of Frank Miller (Ian MacDonald), a convicted gunslinger freshly released and ready to wreak havoc on the town that sent him "up the river". Waiting for him is a posse led by fellow no- gooder Jack Colby (Lee Van Cleef). In the town itself, Marshal Will Kane (Gary Cooper) has just been wed to his beloved Amy (Grace Kelly) and about to begin the honeymoon when he gets news of Frank Miller's return. Kane's high moral standards compel him to stick around for the confrontation, but will he be able to rally the town around him to clean up the streets once again?There are two reasons why I consider this movie to be a cinematic classic:First, it is actually a very complex film in terms of thematic material. It is most definitely NOT the traditional 1950s western flick. The movie really delves into themes of humanity and how people react in times of great stress. Seemingly every single person or group of people in the film have their own set of values, and at some point they are all called into question as the intensity ratchets up.Secondly, the tension just continues to pick up as "high noon" (the train's destination time) approaches. With every passing moment, the weight of the day pushes down harder on Marshal Kane.The acting in this movie is also top-notch. Besides those already mentioned above, Thomas Mitchell, Lloyd Bridges, and Katy Jurado play great auxiliary roles, adding their own little niches to the overall tapestry.Overall, I really had no expectations going into this movie and by the time the credits rolled I was thoroughly impressed by the human drama. This is one of the most entertaining westerns ever made, provided you enjoy movies with great character interactions. Yes, you do get the gunfights and the typical western iconic landmarks, but you also get top-notch drama to boot.

I cannot fault this movie and can't imagine the film industry today being able to produce such a minimalist and beautiful film that is also entertaining to watch rather than a chore.Cooper is superb as timeworn Kane, about to retire with his new wife but unable to leave the town he protected from evil for so long when it's safety and the safety of those he thinks of as his friends is threatened. He stays to defend the town against the arrival of the outlaw Miller but is abandoned by all those he fights for, and all the values he holds true are questioned.The direction, editing, music etc. all add to a tense and nail biting experience even if you've seen it several times before.I'm not altogether sure why length is the way one judges whether a review is adequate for submission and is the reason I write so few no doubt. Rather sad IMDb. I am incapable of finding anything to add that does not merely replicate all that has already been said a million times or filling this little box with waffle and irrelevance. It really is very frustrating. And I'm still not even anywhere near the length required

I've talked before about the resurgence in classic movies making their way to blu-ray format. It's a treat for movie fans and students of film to finally see these films in the most pristine condition possible. One company that's been releasing films this way, everything from schlock drive-in films to full blown top notch older blockbusters, is Olive Films. Most of their releases have been simple, the title alone with few to no extras. Now they've decided to add their name to the list of companies that handle the classics they have the right to in full blown fashion with their Signature Series. These movies offer the cleanest prints possible as well as some extras thrown in. It's a pure pleasure to see these this way and Olive has kicked it off with one of the all-time classics, HIGH NOON. If you've never seen the film the plot on the surface is fairly simple. The sheriff of a small western town, Will Kane (Gary Cooper) is taking off his badge and getting married to Amy (Grace Kelly), a Quaker who doesn't believe in violence or his carrying a gun. But immediately after their marriage and before they can leave word reaches Kane that Frank Miller (Ian MacDonald) has been pardoned from prison and Miller's gang is waiting at the train station for his arrival on the noon train to arrive. Kane straps his guns on again against the protests of Amy who says she will leave him if he does. What follows is Kane's attempt to get the town people to rally behind him to take on the gang. But no one does, leaving him to stand alone against the four men. So that's a long paragraph but sums up the surface story being told here. What it doesn't tell is the story that lies underneath it all and one that Hollywood reacted to. The reality is that beneath that surface was the story of screenwriter Carl Foreman who wrote the screenplay and the problems he faced with the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). While most think of Sen. Eugene McCarthy and the word McCarthyism with these activities he actually came into the situation later and investigated politicians as opposed to Hollywood. HUAC was investigating the influence of Communism in the world of entertainment and looking to find out just who was a Communist. They put aside the fact that many were registered as such during WWII when Russia was our ally. Instead rather than seek out any true saboteurs of traitors they labeled anyone connected to the Communist Party as such. Foreman had registered as a Communist years before and only remained involved with them for a year before leaving. But he didn't like the tactics used by HUAC to ferret out people they felt were traitors. HUAC offered two alternatives. You either provided them with names of anyone else you associated with the Party or you were basically run out of the business or worse imprisoned. Foreman stood up to these methods by admitting his being a member for a single year but refusing to name names. He ended up leaving the country for England. Now the story of HIGH NOON might seem about a sheriff against an outlaw. But in truth the parable is telling the story of a man standing up for what is right and finding that no one will stand with him. The worst examples of western folk hate him for sending Miller to prison and taming their town, the result of which was their inability to do what they pleased. But then the upstanding members of the community don't back him either. They claim he was paid to handle things, that they will find themselves looking bad before politicians or that this isn't their fight. In the end he finds himself alone taking on the problems the world has placed in front of him, the same situation Foreman found himself in with his fellow writers, producers and studio members. No one stood with him. That is the real story behind HIGH NOON. Olive has done a spectacular job with this release. I've never seen the print of this film look so vibrant, something that many won't understand since the film is in black and white. But never fear black and white films. It is the story that matters not the flash of color. And if you are one of the few who've started down the 4k trail it is indeed a 4k master. They've also put together an impressive collection of short featurettes that add to the enjoyment of the film and its background. Included are: A Ticking Clock - Academy Award nominee Mark Goldblatt on the editing of High Noon; A Stanley Kramer Production - Michael Schlesinger 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; and finally the theatrical trailer. None of these is overlong and actually add to the enjoyment of the movie you can discover after your first viewing. With the quality on hand with this release it makes me look forward to future Olive Films Signature Series releases. My guess is that all other film fans will feel the same way. And at a list price on amazon of $16.99 it makes it a value not to be beaten.