Shane (1953)
I initially planned on rewatching Pale Rider but instead went to this very classic American western that supposedly was a big inspiration to Pale Rider.
The “very classic” part should be heavily underlined, but mostly in a good way. We have the well known conflict between peaceful hard working homesteaders that just want to live the American dream and make a home for themselves through hard work, and the ruthless cattle ranchers that tries to intimidate the homesteaders away from their rightful land. A mysterious gunslinger rides in and helps with the good fight.
It is a 70 year old movie and the western genre has evolved a lot since then. It has a simple narrative with a very well defined line between good guys and bad guys, an overly enthusiastic symphonic score and everything is drenched in American idealism. It is just very well made and I really appreciate how it is mostly a peaceful and calm movie. There is little violence, and when it is there - like one of the most amazing bar fights scenes I have ever seen in a western, or the final showdown with Shane, it is handled quickly and with grace. While the cattle ranchers are the villains, they are not murdering psychopaths, so the conflict feels real - even though we don’t see anything to understand the cattle owners side of things.
Not my favorite of the 50s westerns, but a well worthy classic that deserves to be remembered.
Rating: 3.5