Film

What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases

Get 2 for 1 cinema tickets with Orange Click Here

Search cinema listings

Browse cinemas A-Z

Search 20,000 reviews

 

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

Director: John Ford

Average user rating
No reviews

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

Ford's purest and most sustained expression of the familiar themes of the passing of the Old West, the conflict between the untamed wilderness and the cultivated garden, and the power of myth. Stewart plays a respected senator who returns on a train (in an opening echoing that of My Darling Clementine) to attend the funeral of his old friend Wayne. In one scene, Stewart wipes the dust off a disused stagecoach, marking in a simple gesture the distance between the Old West inhabited by Wayne and the new West which he himself represents. In the central flashback sequence, it is revealed that it was not Stewart who shot the outlaw Liberty Valance (Marvin) but Wayne, the gun law of the Old West paving the way for the development of a new civilisation. For Ford, the passing of the Old West is also the passing of an age of romantic heroism. The only link between the two worlds is the desert rose, a flowering cactus hardy enough to survive the harshness of the desert and humanise the wilderness.

Author: NF 0000-00-00 00:00:00

Time Out Film Guide


  • Print this page
  • Send to a friend
Get 2 for 1 cinema tickets with Orange Click Here

What do you think?
Post your review now

clear rating
Min 1 star. Zero stars will be treated as unrated.

*mandatory fields





Top Stories

Hippies who work for The Man

Hippies who work for The Man

To celebrate George Clooney comedy 'The Men who Stare at Goats', we look back at six memorable onscreen hippies who fought the system from within

Roland Emmerich's guide to disaster movies

Roland Emmerich's guide to disaster movies

Ahead of the release of '2012', Roland Emmerich offers his ten tips on creating the perfect global catastrophe

Grant Heslov: interview

Grant Heslov: interview

Grant Heslov, director of 'The Men who Stare at Goats' talks about his old pal George Clooney, his interest in the paranormal, and his fond memories of working on 'Happy Days'

The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'

The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'

Masters of contrary comedy, Joel and Ethan Coen have struck gold again with their latest, ‘A Serious Man’

Ten inspirations behind 'Avatar'?

Ten inspirations behind 'Avatar'?

Time Out ponders the influences behind James Cameron's anticipated space-opera on the basis of the trailer

Michael Jackson's This Is It: review

Michael Jackson's This Is It: review

Kenny Ortega's posthumous concert film is a rousing eulogy for one of pop's great enigmas

Michael Haneke: The man behind the menace

Michael Haneke: The man behind the menace

From Cannes to Munich to London, Dave Calhoun tours Michael Haneke's Palme d'Or winner, 'The White Ribbon'

Lone Scherfig talks 'An Education'

Lone Scherfig talks 'An Education'

Danish director Lone Scherfig was an unlikely choice for a very English affair like 'An Education'. Cath Clarke meets her

How Jane Campion brought John Keats back to life

How Jane Campion brought John Keats back to life

Time Out gets Romantic with the ‘difficult’ New Zealander about her new film, 'Bright Star'

Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam

Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam

In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations