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Movies / On DVD / High Noon
High Noon

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High Noon (1952)

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95 %
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Reviews Counted:40

Fresh:38

Rotten:2

Average Rating:8.7/10

Runtime: 1 hr 51 mins

Genre: Westerns

Synopsis: Gary Cooper is Hollywood's perfect hero, the very embodiment of integrity and grace in this greatest of Westerns. As a newly married town marshal, he must balance an innate sense of justice and... Gary Cooper is Hollywood's perfect hero, the very embodiment of integrity and grace in this greatest of Westerns. As a newly married town marshal, he must balance an innate sense of justice and duty with loyalty to his beautiful new--and pacifist--bride when he is left by an ungrateful town to face a gang of deadly outlaws alone. As we watch spellbound, film time is real time as the showdown grows ever closer. HIGH NOON is a masterpiece that is frequently interpreted as a parable about artists left to "stand alone" and face persecution during the HUAC Hollywood blacklisting. However, Howard Hawks allegedly devised RIO BRAVO as an answer to the film's "wimpiness," and John Wayne once declared HIGH NOON as un-American--he was apparently offended by the ending of the film, which shows Sheriff Kane removing his badge and tossing it in the dirt. [More]

Starring: Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly, Thomas Mitchell, Lloyd Bridges

Starring: Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly, Thomas Mitchell, Lloyd Bridges, Katy Jurado, Otto Kruger, Lon Chaney, Harry Morgan, Ian MacDonald, Eve McVeagh

Director: Fred Zinnemann

Director: Fred Zinnemann
Producer: Stanley Kramer
Screenwriter: Carl Foreman
Producer: Elmo Williams
Composer: Dimitri Tiomkin

[See More Credits]

Reviews for High Noon

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

High Noon won a fistful of Oscars, but in these days of pasteboard screen machismo, it's worth seeing simply as the anatomy of what it took to make a man before the myth turned sour.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Derek Adams
Derek Adams
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A film about what it means to be a man that manages to avoid the musk of machismo, High Noon is truly a film that improves with each and every viewing.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
04/17/01
David Wood
David Wood
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
10/18/08
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
06/14/08
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

One of top five westerns of all time w/Cooper's Oscar winning role. Powerful.

comment 1 Comment
03/08/08
Steve Crum
Steve Crum
Video-Reviewmaster.com

Some of the results ring false, but the memorable theme song and some equally memorable character acting (by Thomas Mitchell and Lon Chaney Jr. more than Lloyd Bridges and Katy Jurado) help things along.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
09/04/07
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader

One of the essentials

comment Comment
04/20/07
Lori Hoffman
Lori Hoffman
Atlantic City Weekly

No review available.

comment Comment
11/10/06
Susan Granger
Susan Granger
www.susangranger.com

No review available.

comment Comment
08/27/06
Robert Roten
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope

One of the most overestimated Westerns in film history, High Noon is schematic and more of a reflection of the times in which it was made than the classic it's considered to be, though Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly are excellent.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
07/29/06
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

A simple, somewhat creaky tribute to defiant courageousness.

Full Review Source: Lessons of Darkness | comment Comment
05/04/05
Nick Schager
Nick Schager
Lessons of Darkness

No review available.

comment Comment
04/07/05
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

Drop-dead brilliant Western Noir.

comment Comment
04/03/05
Scott Weinberg
Scott Weinberg
eFilmCritic.com

No review available.

comment Comment
03/08/05
Mark Palermo
Mark Palermo
Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

Generates claustrophobic suspense by focusing on three images: Kane's increasingly tense, pained expression; implacably ticking clocks; and the ominous, empty train tracks.

Full Review Source: Decent Films Guide | comment Comment
08/22/04
Steven D. Greydanus
Steven D. Greydanus
Decent Films Guide

No review available.

comment 1 Comment
06/04/04
Jake Euker
Jake Euker
F5 (Wichita, KS)

Can be enjoyed simply because it's so well done.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
04/30/04
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

More than a half-century later, Foreman was right after all: High Noon is a scorching and sour portrait of American complacence and capacity for collaborationism.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
04/27/04
Michael Atkinson
Michael Atkinson
Village Voice

...plays on the psychology of its characters and situations; an oater with insight and introspection...thought over action.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
12/04/03
John J. Puccio
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com

THE great American Western.

comment Comment
11/28/03
Jonathan R. Perry
Jonathan R. Perry
Tyler Morning Telegraph (Texas)
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
all

Latest News for High Noon

November 07, 2007: Hollywood Remake Clock Strikes High Noon
John Wayne's least favorite Western is making its way back to a theater near you. We're talking about High Noon, the thinly veiled swipe at McCarthyism that Wayne called "the... More...

September 05, 2007: Total Recall: 3:10 to Yuma And The Dark Side of the Frontier
3:10 to Yuma joins a long line of Westerns that explore the complexities of human nature against the unforgiving backdrop of the frontier. More...

June 22, 2007: AFI Announces Top 100 Movies of All Time ... Again
Ten years ago the AFI gave us a list of the Top 100 American Films Ever Made -- and when that was done they churned out 15 other lists every few years. And then last night they... More...

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