Review of Stagecoach (1939) by Matt G — 01 Apr 2010

I think this is my favorite John Ford film I've seen thus far. Gorgeous black-and-white cinematography and a charismatic cast drives a simple (and arguably boring) story setup. In fact, almost everything in the film seems to be archetypical on the surface, but it is Ford's savvy of the craft of filmmaking that makes it stand above the rest.

John Wayne is truly awesome, but strangely enough, never really feels like the main character in this movie, which is probably why. He's not in every scene, and I felt like I got the perfect amount of him in this.

The last 30 mins or so are unbelievably awesome. Perfectly set up, perfectly shot. Ford seems to understand when to utilize silence as a device to build momentum in the suspense of the story. The chase scene is also great.