March 25, 2009

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

Title: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Year: 1962
Director: John Ford
Writers: James Warner Bellah & Willis Goldbeck, based on the story by Dorothy M. Johnson
Starring: John Wayne, James Stewart, Vera Miles, Lee Marvin
Music: Cyril J. Mockridge
Distinctions: Oscar nomination for Best Costume Design (black-and-white); currently #248 on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: a politician tells the story of how his career started as "the man who shot" a famous outlaw
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), April 2008
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay).
Objective Rating: 7/10 (points off for story, dialog and cinematography) c. 2.7/4 (Good).

Not bad. Jimmy Stewart in a John Wayne movie is enough for me, especially since Wayne has a relatively small part. The music was ripped off by John Williams as the Superman theme. The movie slows down a lot near the end, but for the most part it kept my interest.

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