Search - High Noon [Collector's Edition] on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Content Advisory: Mild Violence, Adult Situations Movie Release: 1952 DVD Release: 10/22/2002 Format: DVD - Black and White - Closed Captioned Edition: Restored/Remastered,Special Collection SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 25 mins Studio: Republic Pictures Members Wishing: 22 Genres: Western, Psychological Western See Also: High Noon, High Noon [Ultimate Collector's Edition] [New Collectible Packaging]

This Western classic stars Gary Cooper as Hadleyville marshal Will Kane, about to retire from office and go on his honeymoon with his new Quaker bride, Amy (Grace Kelly). But his happiness is short-lived when he is informed that the Miller gang, whose leader (Ian McDonald) Will had arrested, is due on the 12:00 train. Pacifist Amy urges Will to leave town and forget about the Millers, but this isn't his style; protecting Hadleyburg has always been his duty, and it remains so now. But when he asks for deputies to fend off the Millers, virtually nobody will stand by him. Chief Deputy Harvey Pell (Lloyd Bridges) covets Will's job and ex-mistress (Katy Jurado); his mentor, former lawman Martin Howe (Lon Chaney Jr.) is now arthritic and unable to wield a gun. Even Amy, who doesn't want to be around for her husband's apparently certain demise, deserts him. Meanwhile, the clocks tick off the minutes to High Noon -- the film is shot in "real time," so that its 85-minute length corresponds to the story's actual timeframe. Utterly alone, Kane walks into the center of town, steeling himself for his showdown with the murderous Millers. Considered a landmark of the "adult western," High Noon won four Academy Awards (including Best Actor for Cooper) and Best Song for the hit, "Do Not Forsake Me, O My Darling" sung by Tex Ritter. The screenplay was written by Carl Foreman, whose blacklisting was temporarily prevented by star Cooper, one of Hollywood's most virulent anti-Communists. John Wayne, another notable showbiz right-winger and Western hero, was so appalled at the notion that a Western marshal would beg for help in a showdown that he and director Howard Hawks "answered" High Noon with Rio Bravo (1959). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Gary Cooper - Will Kane
Grace Kelly - Amy Kane
Thomas Mitchell - Jonas Henderson
Lloyd Bridges - Harvey Pell
Katy Jurado - Helen Ramirez
Otto Kruger - Percy Mettrick

Fred Zinnemann's High Noon makes its second appearance on DVD in this Collector's Edition disc, which includes souped up audio and a brace of extra features. The transfer is comparable to the old Criterion laserdisc, minus the anomalies that used to crop up on laser pressings, though given the impact of digital video tachnology, one should have expected a more dramatic improvement over that 1987 release than we actually get. The main enhancements are the bonuses, which include the documentary "Behind High Noon," featuring the reminiscences of the children of Gary Cooper, Carl Foreman, Fred Zinnemann, and Grace Kelly; the featurette "The Making of High Noon," which was widely seen on AMC during the late 1990's; and an audio commentary track. "Behind High Noon" is a personalized documentary that balances the more historical account in "The Making Of High Noon"; it is enjoyable thoughnot very profound, a problem that afflicts most of the special features on this disc. The main attraction is the commentary track, a four-way round-robin featuring Maria Cooper-Janis, Tim Zinnemann, Jonathan Foreman, and John Ritter, all discussing their parents and their work on the movie, as well as their larger careers. Alas, as enjoyable as their talk is to hear, it is no substitute for Howard Suber's commentary on the Criterion laserdisc -- it's fun to hear their recollections and some of the personal details (though Jonathan Foreman sounds a little rehearsed and coached at times), such as Maria Cooper-Janis's memories of the bad back that her father suffered from, that made one seemingly playful scene absolute agony to film; but Suber's track offered a penetrating analysis and a much more serious analysis. The best that this track can offer over the scene introducing Katy Jurado's character is John Ritter's memory that his father (who wasn't in the movie) liked Latina women, but married a Grace Kelly-type. One doesn't wish to begrudge Artisan Entertainment for giving us something extra, but High Noon is exactly the kind of serious movie that should have invited a serious commentary track as a no-brainer. This doesn't have to be the equivalent of Cameron Diaz remembering the raunchy takes that didn't make it into The Sweetest Thing. One suspects that Katy Jurado (who was alive when this disc was in production) might have had something more serious and penetrating to say about her work and her role; additionally, there is no one here to speak for some of the lesser known blacklistees in the movie. And speaking of blacklistees, as long as the next generation was doing commentary of their parents, one of Lloyd Bridges' sons (or his daughter) could have been asked in on this project. A few people whose faces disappeared from the screen thanks for the red scare are mentioned, but others aren't, and that's the main fault of this bonus feature -- it is unfocused, and too spontaneous to be of real use, except as entertainment with some interesting information spread around intermittently. The 20 chapters are suited to the 85 minute running time ofthe movie, and the disc opens to a multi-layered menu that is more confusing and complicated than it has to be -- it took this reviewer a few tries to access all of the features, and a map would have been helpful. In its defense, the image is very clean, if not as strikingly sharp or rich in contrast as one might have hoped for, and the audio is extremely clear and mastered at a healthy volume. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide