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Movies / On DVD / High Noon
High Noon

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High Noon (1952)

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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 critic A-Z; 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

Flaws don't negate the strong impact this film would have on the viewer, the impact that inspired many future filmmakers and made High Noon one of the most important pieces of American film legacy.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dragan Antulov
Dragan Antulov
rec.arts.movies.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

The Western may be one of the few truly American art forms, and High Noon shows exactly how much potential it can embrace.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
03/21/01
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews

Meaningful in its implications, as well as loaded with interest and suspense, High Noon is a western to challenge Stagecoach for the all-time championship.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/20/03
Bosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

High Noon (1952) is possibly the all-time best Western film ever made - a successful box-office production by Stanley Kramer

Full Review Source: Tim Dirks' The Greatest Films | comment Comment
01/01/00
Tim Dirks
Tim Dirks
Tim Dirks' The Greatest Films

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

Regarded as '50s melodrama, it's nearly perfect.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
05/30/03
Stephen Hunter
Stephen Hunter
Washington Post

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

This outstanding drama ticks by in real time, only 84 tense minutes long.

Full Review Source: Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies | comment Comment
04/20/02
Nell Minow
Nell Minow
Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies

quintessential Western that transcends the genre

Full Review Source: Old School Reviews | comment Comment
09/27/03
John A. Nesbit
John A. Nesbit
Old School Reviews

Just a good guy, a bad guy, and a clean-cut ending that leaves you shrugging the whole thing off.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment 4 Comments
06/27/01
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

...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

There’s no reason to upgrade if you own the previous DVD release. ... [But] if you don’t have this movie, you should pick up a copy. It’s a classic.

Full Review Source: Reno Gazette-Journal | comment Comment
11/12/02
Mark Robison
Mark Robison
Reno Gazette-Journal

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

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

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

Arguably THE classic western.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
01/01/00
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile

O primeiro filme a ensinar que um faroeste poderia ter densidade dramática sem perder suas próprias características.

Full Review Source: Cinema em Cena | comment Comment
05/31/02
Pablo Villaca
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z; 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...

See All

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