The Shootist | | Cast : | John Wayne, Lauren Bacall | | Director : | Don Siegel | | Studio : | Paramount Home Video | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen | | Released Date : | August 20, 1976 | | DVD Released Date : | July 24, 2001 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), French (Dubbed), English (Subtitled), English (Original Language), French (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | July 17, 2005 | | Summary | A Bittersweet Movie | Content
 | I think that this is the Best Movie the Duke put out. It has the feeling of reality without a lot of the over the top machoism. It has a fine cast and the film developes naturally. The only bad part is the knowledge that is in the back of your head is that the man is really dying in front of you. I just hope that I go out with the class and dignity that was shown here.
A Classic! |
| Rating | | | Date | July 14, 2005 | | Summary | Rethink your opinion of John Wayne! | Content
| Wonderful film - as is John Wayne in his swan song. Never realised he was such a subtle actor. Highly recommended |
| Rating | | | Date | July 01, 2005 | | Summary | Wayne's Nudge to Ron Howard | Content
| I always think of this movie as a last hurrah not only for John Wayne but for Jimmy Stewart too.
The way Wayne tries his best to dissuade young Ron Howard from becoming a gunfighter, it's almost as though there were a subtext to this storyline, I feel that it is John Wayne trying subtly to dissuade Ron Howard away from being an actor and to nudge him gently into a directing career. After all, this is one of Howard's final pictures as an actor and soon afterwards he picked up the directing reins where he's been sitting pretty ever since. Wayne's own debut as a director was THE ALAMO and if you remember it was re-made not too long ago, not by Ron Howard but he was going to do it only the studio wouldn't back him up as to the huge budget the project required--exactly the same battles the Duke had fought way back in 1960. Now, Ron Howard has been very clear about the debt he has owed the Duke, and it all stems from working together on this one Don Siegel project. His recent flop Western film THE MISSING wioth Cate Blanchett is very much a tribute to Wayne's classic 1956 movie THE SEARCHERS. Howard's career has been more expansive than Wayne's, but really it's a case of the apple landing not too far from the tree. This lends their scenes together in THE SHOOTIST that extra edge of poignancy, it's like a glimpse into the heroic past of John Wayne, and into the directing future of Ron Howard. The clips that you see at the beginning of THE SHOOTIST were chosen with care, and provide a brief panoply of the greatness that was John Wayne. Though THE SHOOTIST isn't the best Wayne movie, not by a long shot, it was miles better than most films of the Bicentennial year 1976, and it seems to look better every year that goes by.
It's great to see Ricky Nelson, Christopher George and Johnny Crawford in bit parts on the DVD version, where you can stop the action and say, "Wow, that is who I thought it is!" |
| Rating | | | Date | June 13, 2005 | | Summary | Perfect Ending to a Great Career | Content
| Most people agree that "The Shootist" was a perfect ending to John Wayne's 50 year movie career, and I'm one of them. It's almost like a full dress farewell parade: the clips from John Wayne's past movies (Red River, Hondo, Rio Bravo & El Dorado)narrated by Ron Howard; Wayne's elegaic entry onto the screen out of the mountains; the final John Wayne walk into the Metropole Saloon, the nodding approval to Ron Howard as he throws his gun away. I don't know if Wayne intended for this to be his last movie, but you hope it was when you watch this. Notice that he doesn't wear his usual neckerchief, vest and chaps; he wears a suit, like this was a formal occasion. And in a sense, it was: the final farewell from one of the great cinematic legends! His last few movies prior to "The Shootist," quite frankly, had been real clunkers: Rooster Cogburn, McQ, Brannigan. Imagine if one of these had been his last film? Think about how sadly some of the great stars ended their careers: Errol Flynn with "Cuban Rebel Girls" (1959), Joan Crawford with "Trog" (1970). I've heard that Wayne toyed with the idea of doing other movies after "The Shootist." Thank God he didn't! |
| Rating | | | Date | April 13, 2005 | | Summary | John Wayne jumps on the revisionist bandwagon | Content
| He ends his career with a film about the dying fantasy of the invincible western hero by dying. Don't let that spoiler fool you, it's not really a spoiler. It's revealed early in the film that he's going to die of cancer soon. What's interesting is the context in which he dies which everyone should see. This is a film that really challenges the romanticism of the western gunman and what that really does to his life. Obviously, it makes him a constant target and so he's in constant danger not because of dangerous characters around him, but because people want to kill him for the fame. Interesting performances by Lauren Bacall, Ron Howard, and Jimmy Stewart makes this an interesting dramatic piece. It works even if you don't know that Wayne was dying of cancer in real life at the time the movie was made. |
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