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39

FEATURE

DVD&BD

is out on Dec 30

(2016)

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN

(1960)

The oppressed residents of a Mexican village enlist the

help of seven mercenary gunslingers to fight off marauding

bandits in John Sturges’ star-powered reworking of Akira

Kurosawa’s classic

Seven Samurai

(1954). It’s grand, epic

entertainment and one of the last great Hollywood Westerns

before a certain Italian filmmaker named Sergio Leone took

up the reins. And of course there’s that unforgettable theme

from Elmer Bernstein, too.

HIGH NOON

(1952)

“Do not forsake me, oh my darlin’.” Gary Cooper’s

marshal must stand alone against a vengeful killer when

the townsfolk refuse to help him in this unconventional

Western. A highpoint of the genre,

High Noon

is also a tightly

wound suspense thriller set against a Wild West backdrop,

with a ticking clock counting down to the arrival of a train

carrying Cooper’s nemesis. The film won Oscars for Cooper’s

performance, Editing, Original Score, and Original Song.

3:10TOYUMA

(1957)

Drought-stricken rancher Dan Evans (Van Heflin) is hired

to escort notorious outlaw Ben Wade (Glenn Ford) to the

titular prison train, only to discover that Wade’s posse is

waiting for its arrival, too. Based on a short story by Elmore

Leonard and shot in atmospheric black and white,

3:10 to

Yuma

echoes what was great about

High Noon

, with the

suspense building towards a climactic showdown (and

the arrival of a train). Glenn Ford is terrific as the charming

villain, and the cautious respect that develops between the

two men adds a dramatic layer to this classic ‘50s oater.

Watch for the scene in the hotel room.

UNFORGIVEN

(1992)

Clint Eastwood’s Best Picture Oscar-winner is everything

you’d expect from one of the genre’s icons. The director also

stars as a weary former gunslinger that takes one last job

in Big Whisky, Wyoming, where the town’s brothel workers

have put a bounty on the heads of a pair of cowboys who

attacked one of their own. A modern tale rooted in the

mythology of the Old West,

Unforgiven

is a dark look at the

effect of violence on the souls of the men who dispense it

for a living, and a bona fide classic.