Shane is a western film produced and directed by
George StevensGeorge Stevens was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer.-Film career:Born in Oakland, California, Stevens broke into the movie business as a cameraman, working on many Laurel and Hardy shorts...
from a
screenplayA screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. A play for television is known as a teleplay.- Format and style :...
by A.B. Guthrie Jr., based on the
novel of the same nameShane is a 1949 western book by Jack Schaefer. It is often considered his greatest novel.-Characters:*Shane – the traveller and ex gunfighter, a mysterious gunman who enters into the life of Joe Starrett and his family and carves a place for himself in their hearts...
by
Jack SchaeferJack Warner Schaefer was a twentieth century American author known for his Westerns. His most famous work is Shane, which was made into a critically acclaimed movie.-Biography:...
. The film stars
Alan LaddAlan Walbridge Ladd was an American film actor.-Early life:Ladd was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas to an American father and an English-American mother . His father died when the boy was four, and his mother relocated to Oklahoma City, where she married Jim Beavers, a housepainter...
,
Jean ArthurJean Arthur was an American actress and a major film star of the 1930s and 1940s. She remains arguably the epitome of the female screwball comedy actress. "No one was more closely identified with the screwball comedy than Jean Arthur...
and
Van HeflinEmmett Evan "Van" Heflin, Jr. was an American film and theatre actor. He played mostly character parts over the course of his film career, but during the 1940s had a string of roles as a leading man...
, and features
Brandon De WildeAndre Brandon De Wilde was an American actor born into a theatrical family in Brooklyn. His father, Frederick A. De Wilde, was a Broadway production stage manager, and his mother, Eugenia De Wilde, was a part-time Broadway actress...
,
Elisha Cook Jr.Elisha Vanslyck Cook, Jr. was an American actor who made a career out of playing cowardly villains and neurotics in dozens of films. He was noted for his portrayal of the "gunsel" Wilmer, who tries to intimidate Humphrey Bogart's Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon.-Career:Cook started out in...
,
Jack PalanceJack Palance was a Ukrainian American film actor. With his rugged facial features, Palance was best known to modern movie audiences as both the characters of Curly and Duke in the two City Slickers movies, the first for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, but his career...
and
Ben JohnsonBen "Son" Johnson, Jr. was an American motion picture actor who was mainly cast in Westerns. He was also a rodeo cowboy, stuntman, and rancher.-Personal life:...
. The cinematography was by
Loyal GriggsLoyal Griggs , was an Academy Award-winning U.S. cinematographer.Griggs joined the staff of Paramount Pictures in 1924 after graduating from school and initially worked at the studio's process department...
, with a music score by
Victor YoungVictor Young was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor. He was born in Chicago.-Biography:...
.
A mysterious stranger who calls himself Shane (
Alan LaddAlan Walbridge Ladd was an American film actor.-Early life:Ladd was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas to an American father and an English-American mother . His father died when the boy was four, and his mother relocated to Oklahoma City, where she married Jim Beavers, a housepainter...
) drifts into an isolated western valley. It soon becomes apparent that he is a
gunslingerGunfighter, also gunslinger, is a 20th century name, used in cinema or literature, referring to men in the American Old West who had gained a reputation as being dangerous with a gun.-Origin of the term:...
, and he finds himself drawn into a conflict between simple
homesteaderThe Homestead principle in law is the concept that one can gain ownership of a natural thing that currently has no owner by using it or building something out of it...
Joe Starrett (
Van HeflinEmmett Evan "Van" Heflin, Jr. was an American film and theatre actor. He played mostly character parts over the course of his film career, but during the 1940s had a string of roles as a leading man...
) and powerful cattle baron Rufus Ryker (
Emile MeyerEmile Meyer was an American actor usually known for tough, aggressive, authoritative characters in Hollywood films from the 1950s era, mostly in westerns or thrillers. Memorable as Ryker in Shane and the corrupt cop in Sweet Smell of Success ....
), who wants to force Starrett and every other homesteader in the valley off the land.
Shane is a western film produced and directed by
George StevensGeorge Stevens was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer.-Film career:Born in Oakland, California, Stevens broke into the movie business as a cameraman, working on many Laurel and Hardy shorts...
from a
screenplayA screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. A play for television is known as a teleplay.- Format and style :...
by A.B. Guthrie Jr., based on the
novel of the same nameShane is a 1949 western book by Jack Schaefer. It is often considered his greatest novel.-Characters:*Shane – the traveller and ex gunfighter, a mysterious gunman who enters into the life of Joe Starrett and his family and carves a place for himself in their hearts...
by
Jack SchaeferJack Warner Schaefer was a twentieth century American author known for his Westerns. His most famous work is Shane, which was made into a critically acclaimed movie.-Biography:...
. The film stars
Alan LaddAlan Walbridge Ladd was an American film actor.-Early life:Ladd was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas to an American father and an English-American mother . His father died when the boy was four, and his mother relocated to Oklahoma City, where she married Jim Beavers, a housepainter...
,
Jean ArthurJean Arthur was an American actress and a major film star of the 1930s and 1940s. She remains arguably the epitome of the female screwball comedy actress. "No one was more closely identified with the screwball comedy than Jean Arthur...
and
Van HeflinEmmett Evan "Van" Heflin, Jr. was an American film and theatre actor. He played mostly character parts over the course of his film career, but during the 1940s had a string of roles as a leading man...
, and features
Brandon De WildeAndre Brandon De Wilde was an American actor born into a theatrical family in Brooklyn. His father, Frederick A. De Wilde, was a Broadway production stage manager, and his mother, Eugenia De Wilde, was a part-time Broadway actress...
,
Elisha Cook Jr.Elisha Vanslyck Cook, Jr. was an American actor who made a career out of playing cowardly villains and neurotics in dozens of films. He was noted for his portrayal of the "gunsel" Wilmer, who tries to intimidate Humphrey Bogart's Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon.-Career:Cook started out in...
,
Jack PalanceJack Palance was a Ukrainian American film actor. With his rugged facial features, Palance was best known to modern movie audiences as both the characters of Curly and Duke in the two City Slickers movies, the first for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, but his career...
and
Ben JohnsonBen "Son" Johnson, Jr. was an American motion picture actor who was mainly cast in Westerns. He was also a rodeo cowboy, stuntman, and rancher.-Personal life:...
. The cinematography was by
Loyal GriggsLoyal Griggs , was an Academy Award-winning U.S. cinematographer.Griggs joined the staff of Paramount Pictures in 1924 after graduating from school and initially worked at the studio's process department...
, with a music score by
Victor YoungVictor Young was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor. He was born in Chicago.-Biography:...
.
Plot
A mysterious stranger who calls himself Shane (
Alan LaddAlan Walbridge Ladd was an American film actor.-Early life:Ladd was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas to an American father and an English-American mother . His father died when the boy was four, and his mother relocated to Oklahoma City, where she married Jim Beavers, a housepainter...
) drifts into an isolated western valley. It soon becomes apparent that he is a
gunslingerGunfighter, also gunslinger, is a 20th century name, used in cinema or literature, referring to men in the American Old West who had gained a reputation as being dangerous with a gun.-Origin of the term:...
, and he finds himself drawn into a conflict between simple
homesteaderThe Homestead principle in law is the concept that one can gain ownership of a natural thing that currently has no owner by using it or building something out of it...
Joe Starrett (
Van HeflinEmmett Evan "Van" Heflin, Jr. was an American film and theatre actor. He played mostly character parts over the course of his film career, but during the 1940s had a string of roles as a leading man...
) and powerful cattle baron Rufus Ryker (
Emile MeyerEmile Meyer was an American actor usually known for tough, aggressive, authoritative characters in Hollywood films from the 1950s era, mostly in westerns or thrillers. Memorable as Ryker in Shane and the corrupt cop in Sweet Smell of Success ....
), who wants to force Starrett and every other homesteader in the valley off the land. Shane accepts a job as a farmhand, but finds Starrett's young son Joey (Brandon DeWilde) drawn to him for his strength and skill with a
gunIn military parlance, a gun is a muzzle or breech-loaded projectile-firing weapon. There are various definitions depending on the nation and branch of service. A "gun" may be distinguished from other firearms in being a crew served weapon such as a howitzer or mortar, as opposed to a small arm...
. Shane himself is uncomfortably drawn to Starrett's wholesomely charming wife, Marian (
Jean ArthurJean Arthur was an American actress and a major film star of the 1930s and 1940s. She remains arguably the epitome of the female screwball comedy actress. "No one was more closely identified with the screwball comedy than Jean Arthur...
).
As tensions mount between the factions, Ryker hires Jack Wilson (
Jack PalanceJack Palance was a Ukrainian American film actor. With his rugged facial features, Palance was best known to modern movie audiences as both the characters of Curly and Duke in the two City Slickers movies, the first for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, but his career...
), a skilled gunslinger. After Wilson kills another homesteader (Elisha Cook, Jr.) who had stood up to him, Joe Starrett decides to take it upon himself to go kill Wilson and Ryker and save the town; however, he is stopped by Shane who insists on going himself. Starrett and Shane fight over who should go on to face Wilson; Shane regretfully uses his gun to hit Joe over the head and knock him out, knowing this was the only way to prevent Joe from getting killed. Shane then goes to take on Wilson in a climactic showdown, killing him and Ryker, but being wounded in the shootout. After urging young Joey to grow up strong and take care of both of his parents, Shane rides away from the town towards the mountains that surround it.
As Shane rides away, Joey calls after him, "Pa's got things for you to do! And Mother wants you. I know she does." The movie closes with Joey shouting "Shane! Come back!" as he watches Shane riding into the mountains.
Thirty two years later Clint Eastwood directed and acted in a remake of Shane entitled
Pale RiderPale Rider is a 1985 Western Technicolor film produced and directed by, and starring Clint Eastwood. This movie has plot similarities to the classic Western Shane , including a final scene that is very similar to the famous final scene of the earlier movie...
in which a stranger drifts into a mining settlement and helps miners in their fight against the local magnate while at the same time consummating a romantic relationship with the female head of household where he is staying. The magnate hires professional guns and Eastwood kills every one of them. As he rides off into the mountains the daughter of the woman he has made love to shouts her love for him.
Cast
- Alan Ladd
Alan Walbridge Ladd was an American film actor.-Early life:Ladd was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas to an American father and an English-American mother . His father died when the boy was four, and his mother relocated to Oklahoma City, where she married Jim Beavers, a housepainter...
as Shane
- Jean Arthur
Jean Arthur was an American actress and a major film star of the 1930s and 1940s. She remains arguably the epitome of the female screwball comedy actress. "No one was more closely identified with the screwball comedy than Jean Arthur...
as Marian Starrett
- Van Heflin
Emmett Evan "Van" Heflin, Jr. was an American film and theatre actor. He played mostly character parts over the course of his film career, but during the 1940s had a string of roles as a leading man...
as Joe Starrett
- Brandon De Wilde
Andre Brandon De Wilde was an American actor born into a theatrical family in Brooklyn. His father, Frederick A. De Wilde, was a Broadway production stage manager, and his mother, Eugenia De Wilde, was a part-time Broadway actress...
as Joey Starrett
- Jack Palance
Jack Palance was a Ukrainian American film actor. With his rugged facial features, Palance was best known to modern movie audiences as both the characters of Curly and Duke in the two City Slickers movies, the first for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, but his career...
as Jack Wilson (as Walter Jack Palance)
- Ben Johnson
Ben "Son" Johnson, Jr. was an American motion picture actor who was mainly cast in Westerns. He was also a rodeo cowboy, stuntman, and rancher.-Personal life:...
as Chris Calloway
- Edgar Buchanan
Edgar Buchanan was an American actor with a long career in both film and television, most familiar today as Uncle Joe Carson from the Petticoat Junction, Green Acres and Beverly Hillbillies television sitcoms of the 1960s...
as Fred Lewis
- Emile Meyer
Emile Meyer was an American actor usually known for tough, aggressive, authoritative characters in Hollywood films from the 1950s era, mostly in westerns or thrillers. Memorable as Ryker in Shane and the corrupt cop in Sweet Smell of Success ....
as Rufus Ryker
- Elisha Cook, Jr. as Frank 'Stonewall' Torrey
- Douglas Spencer
Douglas Spencer was a film actor. He appeared in Monkey Business . Also in the western classic Shane as "Swede" and in the thriller The Glass Wall . The balding, lanky actor usually appeared in films as a doctor or reporter, as he did in Them!...
as Axel 'Swede' Shipstead
- John Dierkes
John Dierkes was an American character actor present in several classic films.-Life and career:Dierkes was born on February 10, 1905 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He attended Brown University and subsequently went to work as an economist for the United States Department of State. In 1941 he joined the Red...
as Morgan Ryker
- Ellen Corby
Ellen Corby was an American actress. She is most widely remembered for the role of "Grandma Esther Walton" on the CBS television series The Waltons, for which she won three Emmy Awards.-Early life:...
as Mrs. Liz Torrey
- Paul McVey as Sam Grafton
- John Miller
-Politics:* John Miller , Governor of North Dakota, 1889–1891* John Miller , Governor of Missouri, 1826–1832; U.S. Representative from Missouri, 1837–1843...
as Will Atkey, bartender
- Edith Evanson as Mrs. Shipstead
Production notes
Although the film is fiction, elements of the setting are derived from
WyomingWyoming is a state in the Western United States. The majority of the state is dominated by the mountain ranges and rangelands of the Rocky Mountain West, while the easternmost section of the state includes part of a high elevation prairie region known as the High Plains. While the tenth largest...
's
Johnson County WarThe Johnson County War, also known as the War on Powder River, was a range war which took place in April 1892 in Johnson County, Natrona County and Converse County in the U.S. state of Wyoming...
. The physical setting is the high plains near Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and many shots feature the
Grand TetonGrand Teton is the highest mountain in Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park, and a classic destination in American mountaineering.- Geography :...
massifIn geology, a massif is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term is also used to refer to a group of mountains formed by such a structure...
looming in the near distance. Other filming took place at
Big Bear LakeBig Bear Lake is a reservoir in the San Bernardino Mountains in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It has an east-west length of approximately 7 miles and is approximately 2.5 miles at its widest measurement, though the lake's width mostly averages a little more than 1 mile...
,
San Bernardino National ForestSan Bernardino National Forest is a federally-managed forest covering more than 800,000 acres . There are two main divisions which are the San Bernardino Mountains on the easternmost of the Transverse Range, and the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa Mountains on the northernmost of the Peninsular...
, the Iverson Ranch,
ChatsworthChatsworth is a district of the City of Los Angeles, California, United States in the San Fernando Valley region.-Geography:The district is bordered by the Santa Susana Mountains and unincorporated Los Angeles County lands to the north, Porter Ranch to the northeast, Northridge to the east, West...
and at Paramount Studios in Hollywood, California.
Director George Stevens originally cast
Montgomery CliftEdward Montgomery Clift was an American film actor. He was known for his brooding, sensitive working-class character roles. He received four Academy Award nominations during his career.-Early life:...
as Shane, and
William HoldenWilliam Holden was an American film actor.Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1954, and the Emmy Award for Best Actor in 1974....
as Joe Starrett. When they both proved unavailable, the film was nearly abandoned. Stevens asked studio head
Y. Frank FreemanYoung Frank Freeman was an American film company executive for Paramount Pictures. Freeman graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1910. In addition to his work with Paramount, he also worked with banking, higher education, and athletics.He was the first winner of the Jean Hersholt...
for a list of available actors with current contracts. Within three minutes, he chose Alan Ladd, Van Heflin and Jean Arthur.
Although the film was made between July and October 1951, it was not released until 1953 due to director Stevens' extensive editing. The film cost so much to make that at one point, Paramount negotiated its sale to Howard Hughes, who later pulled out of the arrangement. The studio felt the film would never recoup its costs. In fact, the film ended up making a significant profit. Another story reported that Paramount was going to release the film as "just another western" until Hughes watched a rough cut of the film and offered to buy it on the spot from Paramount for his
RKO Radio PicturesRKO Pictures is an American film production and distribution company. As Radio Pictures Inc. and then RKO Radio Pictures Inc., it was one of the so-called Big Five studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chains and Joseph P...
. Hughes' offer made Paramount reconsider the film for a major release.
Jean Arthur was not the first choice to play Marian;
Katharine HepburnKatharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, television and stage.Hepburn holds the record for the most Best Actress Oscar wins with four, from 12 nominations. Hepburn won an Emmy Award in 1976 for her lead role in Love Among the Ruins, and was nominated for four other Emmys, two...
was originally considered for the role. Even though she had not made a picture in five years, Arthur accepted the part at the request of George Stevens with whom she had worked in two earlier films,
The Talk of the Town (1942) and
The More the MerrierThe More the Merrier is a 1943 comedy film made by Columbia Pictures which makes fun of the housing shortage during World War II, especially in Washington, D.C.. It stars Jean Arthur, Joel McCrea, Charles Coburn, Stanley Clements and Richard Gaines. The movie was directed by George Stevens and...
(1943) for which she received her only Oscar nomination.
Shane marked her last film appearance (when the film was shot she was 50 years old, significantly older than her 2 male costars), although she later appeared in theater and a short-lived television series.
Jack Palance had problems with horses and Alan Ladd with guns. The scene where Shane practices shooting in front of Joey required 116 takes. A scene where Jack Palance mounts his horse was actually a shot of him dismounting, but played in reverse. As well, the original planned introduction of Wilson galloping into town was replaced with him simply walking in on his horse, which was noted as improving the entrance by making him seem more threatening.
The film opened in New York City at
Radio City Music HallRadio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city...
on April 23, 1953. According to
Motion Picture Daily:
- Opening day business at the Music Hall was close to capacity. The audience at the first performance applauded at the end of a fight sequence and again at the end of the picture.
Shane ended its run at Radio City Music Hall on May 20, 1953, racking up $114,000 in four weeks at Radio City.
Technical details
Shane was the first film to be projected in a "flat"
widescreenA widescreen image is a film, computer or television image with a wider and shorter aspect ratio than the standard Academy frame developed during the classical Hollywood cinema era. Silent film was projected at a ratio of four units wide to three units tall, often expressed as 4:3 or 1.33:1...
, a format that Paramount invented in order to offer audiences something that Television could not—a panoramic screen. Paramount, in conjunction with the management of Radio City Music Hall, installed a screen measuring 50 feet wide by 30 feet high, replacing the Hall's previous screen, which was 25 feet high by 34 feet wide. Although the film's image was shot using the standard 1.37:1
Academy ratioThe Academy ratio of 1.375:1 is an aspect ratio of a frame of 35mm film when used with 4-perf pulldown. It was standardized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as the standard film aspect ratio in 1932, although similar-sized ratios were used as early as 1928.The Academy ratio is...
, Paramount picked
Shane to debut their new wide-screen system because it was composed largely of long and medium shots that would not be compromised by cropping the image. Using a newly cut aperture plate in the
movie projectorA movie projector is an opto-mechanical device for displaying moving pictures by projecting them on a projection screen. Most of the optical and mechanical elements, except for the illumination and sound devices, are present in movie cameras.-Physiology:...
, as well as a wider-angle lens, the film was exhibited in its first-run venues at an aspect ratio of 1.66:1. Just before the premiere, Paramount announced that all of their films would be shot for this ratio from then on. This was changed in 1954, when the studio changed their house aspect ratio to 1.85:1.
The film was originally released with a conventional
optical soundtrackSound-on-film refers to a class of sound film processes where the sound accompanying picture is physically recorded onto photographic film, usually, but not always, the same strip of film carrying the picture. Sound-on-film processes can either record an analog sound track or digital sound track,...
in March 1953, but the success of the film convinced the producers to re-mix the soundtrack in May with a new three-track, stereophonic soundtrack, which was recorded and played on a 35mm magnetic full coat reel installed by Altec, in interlock on another dubber in the projection booth. This process was new to the general public, only having been debuted in New York City with
This is CineramaThis is Cinerama is a 1952 full-length film designed to introduce the then-new widescreen process Cinerama, which broadens the aspect ratio so the viewer's peripheral vision is involved...
and nationally with Warner Bros. picture,
House of WaxHouse of Wax is a 1953 American horror film starring Vincent Price. It is a remake of 1933's Mystery of the Wax Museum without the comic relief featured in the earlier film, and was directed by André De Toth...
The film was also one of the first films to attempt to recreate the overwhelming
sound of gunfire.
Warren BeattyHenry Warren Beatty is an American actor, producer, screenwriter and director.-Early life and education:Beatty was born Henry Warren Beaty in Richmond, Virginia's, Bellevue neighborhood...
cited this aspect of
Shane as inspiration during the filming of
Bonnie and ClydeBonnie and Clyde is a American crime film about Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, the bank robbers who operated in the central United States during the Great Depression. The film was directed by Arthur Penn, and stars Warren Beatty as Clyde Barrow and Faye Dunaway as Bonnie Parker...
(from the documentary "
George StevensGeorge Stevens was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer.-Film career:Born in Oakland, California, Stevens broke into the movie business as a cameraman, working on many Laurel and Hardy shorts...
: A Filmmaker's Journey").
In addition,
Shane was one of the first films in which actors were attached to hidden wires that yanked them backwards when they were shot from the front.
In the mid to late 1970s, the Welsh television station
HTVITV Wales & West, previously known as HTV, is the ITV contractor for Wales and the West of England, owned and operated by ITV plc from studios in Cardiff and Bristol...
Cymru/Wales broadcast a version dubbed into the
WelshWelsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of Celtic spoken natively in Wales, in England by some along the Welsh border and in the Welsh immigrant colony in the Chubut Valley in Argentine Patagonia....
language. This was one of three films that were dubbed into Welsh, another being "Rhaid Dinistrio Frankenstein", a more-or-less literal translation of "
Frankenstein Must Be DestroyedFrankenstein Must Be Destroyed is a British horror film directed by Terence Fisher for Hammer Film Productions in released in 1969. The cast includes Peter Cushing , Freddie Jones , Veronica Carlson and Simon Ward. The film is the fifth in a series of Hammer films centering on Dr. Frankenstein...
", the English title.
Awards and honors
Wins
- Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are presented annually by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers. The formal ceremony at which the awards are presented is...
: Best Cinematography, Color, Loyal GriggsLoyal Griggs , was an Academy Award-winning U.S. cinematographer.Griggs joined the staff of Paramount Pictures in 1924 after graduating from school and initially worked at the studio's process department...
; 1954.
Nominations
- Academy Awards: Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Brandon De Wilde; Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Jack Palance; Best Director, George Stevens; Best Picture, George Stevens; Best Writing, Screenplay, A.B. Guthrie Jr.; 1954.
Other
- In 1993, Shane was selected for preservation in the United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
National Film RegistryThe National Film Registry is the United States National Film Preservation Board's selection of films for preservation in the Library of Congress. The Board, established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, was reauthorized by acts of Congress in 1992, 1996, 2005, and again in October 2008...
by the Library of CongressThe Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress and is the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and holds the largest number of books. The head...
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
- Shane was listed at #69 on the original AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies
The first of the AFI 100 Years… series of cinematic milestones, AFI's 100 Years…100 Movies is a list of the 100 best American movies, as determined by the American Film Institute from a poll of more than 1,500 artists and leaders in the film industry who chose from a list of 400 nominated movies...
list in 1997. When the list was revisitedAFI's 100 Years…100 Movies — 10th Anniversary Edition was the 2007 updated version of 100 Years… 100 Movies. The original list was first unveiled in 1998....
in 2007, it rose to #45.
- In June 2008, AFI revealed its "Ten top Ten"—the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community. Shane was acknowledged as the third best film in the western genre.
American Film InstituteThe American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
recognition
- AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies
The first of the AFI 100 Years… series of cinematic milestones, AFI's 100 Years…100 Movies is a list of the 100 best American movies, as determined by the American Film Institute from a poll of more than 1,500 artists and leaders in the film industry who chose from a list of 400 nominated movies...
#69
- AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains
AFI's 100 Years…100 Heroes and Villains is a list of the 100 greatest movie heroes and villains chosen by American Film Institute in June 2003. It is part of the AFI 100 Years… series. The series was first presented in a CBS special hosted by Arnold Schwarzenegger...
:
- AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes
Part of the AFI 100 Years... series, AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes is a list of the top 100 movie quotations in American cinema. The American Film Institute revealed the list in June of 2005 in a three-hour television program on CBS...
#47
- "Shane. Shane. Come back!"
- AFI's 100 Years... 100 Cheers
100 Years…100 Cheers: America's Most Inspiring Movies is a list of the most inspiring movies as determined by the American Film Institute. It is part of the AFI 100 Years… series, which has been compiling lists of the greatest movies of all time in various categories since 1998...
#53
- AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition)
AFI's 100 Years…100 Movies — 10th Anniversary Edition was the 2007 updated version of 100 Years… 100 Movies. The original list was first unveiled in 1998....
#45
- AFI's 10 Top 10
AFI's 10 Top 10 honors the ten greatest American films in ten classic film genres. Presented by the American Film Institute , the lists were unveiled on a television special broadcast by CBS on June 17, 2008....
#3 Western
Copyright status in Japan
In 2006,
Shane was the subject of a major legal case in
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
involving the expiration of its
copyrightCopyright is a form of intellectual property that gives the author of an original work exclusive right for a certain time period in relation to that work, including its publication, distribution and adaptation, after which time the work is said to enter the public domain...
in Japan. First Trading Corporation had been selling budget-priced copies of public domain movies, including Shane, as Japanese law only protected cinematographic works for 50 years from the year it was published—which meant that Shane fell into the public domain in 2003. In a lawsuit filed by Paramount, it was contested that Shane was not in the public domain in Japan due to an amendment which extended the copyright term for these works from 50 to 70 years, and came into effect on January 1, 2004. It was later ruled that the new law was not retroactive, and any film produced during or before 1953 was not eligible for the extension.
External links
- Watching Movies With...Woody Allen: Coming Back To Shane, an August 2001 article from The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded in 1851 and published in New York City. The largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, "The Gray Lady"—named for its staid appearance and style—is regarded as a national newspaper of record...
- Shane at Filmsite.org
Filmsite.org is a website operated by Tim Dirks since 1996. It contains about 300 in-depth reviews of what Dirks judges to be the "greatest films" of all time. In many cases, the review is scene-by-scene. It also contains many other pages offering an introduction to cinema literacy. Filmsite.org is...