Stagecoach
1939 | Western | USA | Directed by John Ford
Overview
Nine strangers ride through Apache country, and John Wayne becomes a star with one slow camera turn. Ford shot Monument Valley into a character and lifted the western from B picture to serious art. The stagecoach chase, with Yakima Canutt stunts, remains the action editing template. Orson Welles studied it shot by shot before making Citizen Kane.
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