[.ca] She Wore a Yellow Ribbon

Amazon.com Essential Video:
The second installment of John Ford's famous cavalry trilogy (which also includes Fort Apache and Rio Grande), this meditative Western continues the director's fascination with history's obliteration of the past. It features one of John Wayne's more sensitive performances as Capt. Nathan Brittles, a stern yet sentimental war horse who has difficulty preparing for his impending military retirement. All things considered, he refuses to leave before fulfilling his obligation to the local Indian tribe. It's a film about honor and duty as well as loneliness and mortality. And Oscar-winner Winton C. Hoch beautifully photographs it in Remington-like Technicolor tones (you've never seen such stunning cloud-covered skies). The combination of melancholy and farce (Victor McLaglen makes a perfect court jester) evokes comparisons to Shakespeare. Best of all, the scene in which Wayne fights back tears when receiving a gold watch from his troops is unforgettably bittersweet. If you view the whole trilogy, it actually makes sense to save this for last. --Bill Desowitz

Yellow Ribbon:
This is the second and ,as many have said, best in John Ford's famed cavalry trilogy. I go further in claiming for it high status in the genre of western films, it is one of the finest. Wayne wears makeup that ages him 20 years and his acting performance transforms him into that older man Captain Nathan Brittles, soon to be retired from the U. S. Cavalry. Captain Brittles talking to his late wife at her grave ,while he waters the plants he has placed there, with Monument valley in the background is one of the more moving scenes. This and "The Searchers" are Wayne's finest acting performances. "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" won an academy award for it's color cinematography and it was well deserved. This is one beautiful film. Ford shot many of his westerns in Monument valley, this is his definitive Monument valley western, you really see alot of the landscape and clouds and it's glorious. The special features on this dvd has a short home movie of Ford and Wayne flying down to Mexico and hanging out back in the forties. Own this one because it's one of those rare films you can, and will want to, watch over and over.

THE SECOND LEG OF GREATNESS:
SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON is the second leg of greatness in the John Ford Cavalry Trilogy. Cinematography-wise SWAYR is the jewel in the crown, it's much heralded Oscar winning celluloid images are breathtaking. All three films have their own moments of greatness, here it's John Wayne as Capt. Nathan Brittles, in make-up aging him 20 years no less "making his report" graveside to his wife and daughter; His receiving his silver watch from his troops ("Lest we forget,") and his negotiating Victor McLaglen's retirement ("A man of a thirst like that can't survive on less than a sergeant's pension!"). Of course there is the cavalry's march to their 3 theme songs: "Garry Owen", "She Wore A Yellow Ribbon" and "The Girl I Left Behind Me" (a constant in the trilogy). Sterling performances across the board. SWAYR is an all time classic.

John Wayne in his element:
When this film was released I was six years old, living in grey, cold, bankrupt post war Britain, a world of food and clothing rationing. Cinema was pure escapism and I thank my parents for taking me there every week. Westerns were big in those days. They had titles such as "Broken Arrow" or "Winchester 73". As my love of cinema was slowly nurtured "She Wore A Yellow Ribbon" left an indelible impression on my psyche. I loved every bit of it. The odyessic story, with its lack of 'white man good' 'red indian bad' stereotyping. The sophistication of Ford's direction with its cool appreciation of America's big country. The actors - Wayne, of course, towering above all, and decades before he blotted his copybook with his embarrasing gung-ho roles, to Victor McLagen's 'Oirish' knockabout sargeant, via the under-stated work of Joanne Dru and John Agar. "Never apologise, son. It's a sign of weakness." A simply unbeatable movie.

Great film, but where is Fort Apache?:
I must watch this film 5 to 10 times a year and never get tired of seeing it. I also watch "Rio Grande" almost as often. Now when the heck are they (whoever "they" might be) going to put "Fort Apache" out on DVD?

"Lest we forget!":
Capt. Nathan Brittles (John Wayne) is near retirement and looks at it with an unsure and heavy heart. After years in the U.S. Cavalry it is all he knows and is not sure what will become of him when he leaves it. Brittles knows that the Army and life will go on, but what will his role in life be, since he lost his wife years before. This is the second and best film in the John Ford cavalry trilogy. As it Brittles is not very keen on handing over command to younger soldiers who are yet to prove themself in leading other men and in combat. For all it's worth he has little to no say about what will happen to those who take over and what will become of the indian tribe that he has worked with and delt with for so long. Victor McLaglen is a great supporter in the film as he also faces retirement and enjoys his whiskey and fights along with the other men. A story about trust and service along with changing times, it features one of Wayne's best performances. An Oscar winner for best color cinematography (Winton C. Hoch) that features Monument Valley, this is a film to see as it is a western and war film wraped into one. It is simple yet not boring and it get's to the point when needed. Grade: B+