Classic James Stewart
Added 9/13/2009
This is a classic civil war era movie wioth some great actors and a pretty good script. Leaving a son and daughter-in-law with a new baby alone with all the bad guys in the area, while you take all the rest of the men hunting for a lost younger son, is a little bit unbelieveable but I guess that's how they write them. I think the Ranchers take on who provided for their success in farming is very indicative of out humanist society. God is given a backup role in their success. All in all, this was an entertaining movie.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Jimmy Stewart at his best
Added 5/26/2009
Loved the movie. Great acting from the youngest to the oldest actors. This is from an era when movies were great!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Moving, beautifully filmed Drama about family's determination to stay together during America's Civil War.
Added 5/5/2009
Absolutely beautiful film that only gets better with age, showcasing one of the great actor, James Stewart's very best performances.
The film tells the story of a close knit family led by patriarch Stewart who is determined to keep his family out of the Civil War and stay to work on there farm in Virginia. However, the war catches up to them eventually and with it comes tragedy,loss,death and finally, hope.
Director Mclagen was mainly known for directing films more of the Action variety, but embues the film with a great subtlety and warmth that connects and involves the viewer in the story.
Stewart's character is a noble character whom the audience can identify with. A good man who is a widower and truly loves and cares for his family and does not believe(rightfully) in the insanity of War. The rest of the cast are absolutely believable in there parts, but it's Stewart that anchors this film.
The film is often classified in the Western genre, but it's really more of a historical Drama and one of cinema's best interpretations of the American Civil War.
Both sides are handled with equally amounts of symapthy and neither are villiainized for the antagonist of this piece is rather war itself than the men involved therein.
Veteran actor George Kennedy has a classic bit as a world weary general who sympathesizes with Stewart's dstraught father who has just had his young son taken prisoner by the Union Army. It's a little scene but it adds alot of weight to the film.
Credit must be given to how unexpected the deaths are presented within this film, adding extra layers of tragedy that makes for a film destined to be labelled a tearjerker.
Easily one of the best films about this most written about topic in American history and one of the most neglected. Certainly worth a reappraisal by audiences seeking entertainment with genuine heart and feeling not dilluted by rampant cynicism.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Shenandoah
Added 4/1/2009
I was very impressed with the dvd. I love this movie. Thanks for the great service. Susan Coker
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Unremarkable, depressing and ultimately unsatisfying American Civil War drama
Added 2/5/2009
"Shenandoah" tells the tale of a large family caught in the crossfire of the American Civil War. The family's patriarch played by James Stewart is determined to ignore the war even as it rages around his Virginia farm but in the end he and his family cannot avoid it.
This somewhat artificial situation is a lens through which the viewer can experience the agony of the civil war. Being made in 1965 the film still has older western conventions such as the courtship, the wedding and a big fist-fight but also features some "modern" touches such as its downbeat tone and lack of any real resolution. Unfortunately the director never takes this combination anywhere particulary interesting so we are left with an unremarkable, depressing and ultimately unsatisfying film. Stewart is excellent and the film is not without merits but one can't help wondering what Peckinpah could have made of this material.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Classic James Stewart
Added 9/13/2009
This is a classic civil war era movie wioth some great actors and a pretty good script. Leaving a son and daughter-in-law with a new baby alone with all the bad guys in the area, while you take all the rest of the men hunting for a lost younger son, is a little bit unbelieveable but I guess that's how they write them. I think the Ranchers take on who provided for their success in farming is very indicative of out humanist society. God is given a backup role in their success. All in all, this was an entertaining movie.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Jimmy Stewart at his best
Added 5/26/2009
Loved the movie. Great acting from the youngest to the oldest actors. This is from an era when movies were great!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Moving, beautifully filmed Drama about family's determination to stay together during America's Civil War.
Added 5/5/2009
Absolutely beautiful film that only gets better with age, showcasing one of the great actor, James Stewart's very best performances.
The film tells the story of a close knit family led by patriarch Stewart who is determined to keep his family out of the Civil War and stay to work on there farm in Virginia. However, the war catches up to them eventually and with it comes tragedy,loss,death and finally, hope.
Director Mclagen was mainly known for directing films more of the Action variety, but embues the film with a great subtlety and warmth that connects and involves the viewer in the story.
Stewart's character is a noble character whom the audience can identify with. A good man who is a widower and truly loves and cares for his family and does not believe(rightfully) in the insanity of War. The rest of the cast are absolutely believable in there parts, but it's Stewart that anchors this film.
The film is often classified in the Western genre, but it's really more of a historical Drama and one of cinema's best interpretations of the American Civil War.
Both sides are handled with equally amounts of symapthy and neither are villiainized for the antagonist of this piece is rather war itself than the men involved therein.
Veteran actor George Kennedy has a classic bit as a world weary general who sympathesizes with Stewart's dstraught father who has just had his young son taken prisoner by the Union Army. It's a little scene but it adds alot of weight to the film.
Credit must be given to how unexpected the deaths are presented within this film, adding extra layers of tragedy that makes for a film destined to be labelled a tearjerker.
Easily one of the best films about this most written about topic in American history and one of the most neglected. Certainly worth a reappraisal by audiences seeking entertainment with genuine heart and feeling not dilluted by rampant cynicism.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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