Shane (1953) Remastered 1080p BluRay x265 HEVC AAC-SARTRE + Extras

The simple story of a Wyoming range war is elevated to near-mythical status in producer/director George Stevens' Western classic Shane. Alan Ladd plays the title character, a mysterious drifter who rides into a tiny homesteading community and accepts the hospitality of a farming family. Patriarch Joe Starrett (Van Heflin) is impressed by the way Shane handles himself when facing down the hostile minions of land baron Emile Meyer, though he has trouble placing his complete trust in the stranger, as his Marion (Jean Arthur) is attracted to Shane in spite of herself, and his son Joey (Brandon De Wilde) flat-out idolizes Shane. When Meyer is unable to drive off the homesteaders by sheer brute strength, he engages the services of black-clad, wholly evil hired gun Jack Wilson (Jack Palance). The moment that Wilson shows he means business by shooting down hotheaded farmer Frank Torrey (Elisha Cook Jr.) is the film's most memorable scene: after years of becoming accustomed to carefully choreographed movie death scenes, the suddenness with which Torrey's life is snuffed out -- and the force with which he falls to the ground -- are startling. Shane knows that a showdown with Wilson is inevitable; he also knows that, unintentionally, he has become a disruptive element in the Starrett family. The manner in which he handles both these problems segues into the now-legendary "Come back, Shane" finale. Cinematographer Loyal Griggs imbues this no-frills tale with the outer trappings of an epic, forever framing the action in relation to the unspoiled land surrounding it. A.B. GUTHRIE JR.'s screenplay, adapted from the Jack Schaefer novel, avoids the standard good guy/bad guy clichés: both homesteaders and cattlemen are shown as three-dimensional human beings, flaws and all, and even ostensible villain Emile Meyer comes off reasonable and logical when elucidating his dislike of the "newcomers" who threaten to divest him of his wide open spaces.

Extras

• Neil Sinyard on Shane (22:18) - Film scholar and eloquent enthusiast for Shane Neil Sinyard delivers an enthralling overview of the film and its director, whose early career he outlines, including the impact the experience of liberating Dachau had on him and his subsequent film work. He also details some of the changes that were made to the novel when adapting it for the screen, and discusses how the critical enthusiasm that accompanied the film's release was subsequently tempered, only for the film to be later championed by filmmakers and film enthusiasts alike.

• Lux Radio Theater Adaptation (53:47) - An audio adaptation of the film for the Lux Radio Theatre in which Alan Ladd and Van Heflin reprise their roles. Again a treat for completists, but robbing the film of its visuals, most of its principal cast and Stevens' direction also strips it of its poetry. Jack Palance in particular is sorely missed here, and the need to fit the whole story into half the film's running time does see it skip along at an overly hurried pace. Well worth a listen nonetheless, but the very slow zoom on the almost monotone poster will likely have plasma TV owners chewing their fingernails.

• Theatrical Trailer (1:57) - Newcomers beware, as this trailer begins with the film's famed ending, and then goes one step further and includes a key part of the final shoot-out. It thus goes without saying that you should steer well clear of this until after you've seen the film.