Stagecoach: Blu-ray (1939)

John Ford's Stagecoach is one of the most influential films of all time. Orson Welles reportedly viewed it around 40 times while making Citizen Kane in order to watch a perfect example of filmmaking. It's the movie that made John Wayne a star and helped reestablish the western as a commercially successful genre in the sound era (they had become low budget B-movies at this point). Stagecoach features and establishes what would become (for better or for worse) archetypes of the western genre. There's the hero who lives on the outside of the law, the hooker with the heart of gold, the alcoholic doctor, the evil banker, the sheriff who struggles with balancing his personal feelings and his commitment to the law and the portrayal of Native Americans as savage killers.

Stagecoach is also far more than just a historical document. All the characters are brought together in a tightly paced and impeccably shot movie that still ranks as one of the finest westerns off all time. The performances by the entire cast are excellent and Wayne's screen presence is extremely powerful, even in his younger years. The introductory crane shot of his character is legendary and an extended action sequence involving an Cherokee attack on the stagecoach is one of the most exciting action scenes of the black and white era. The characters are all developed and the movie's pace never drags. Ford is one of the most highly regarded directors of all time and this is where his legacy was really established.

The blu-ray is about as high quality as anyone could hope for. It must be kept in mind that the movie over 60 years old and the original print was destroyed long ago. There are plenty of scratches throughout the film and detail is good but not great even compared to other blu-ray's from this time period (M, The General). It still looks pretty damn good but expectations should be kept in check. Audio wise it comes with a standard mono track that doesn't have any annoying scratches and is a clear and faithful representation of the film.

Stagecoach is obviously a very important film but even beyond it's historical impact it's an enjoyable and exciting movie that holds up very well today. The blu-ray is probably as good a presentation that we will ever see and is well worth checking out for anyone interested in film history or great westerns in general.

Ratings:
Movie: 5/5
Blu-ray: 4/5