Shane is a western. Shane is a mythic western. Shane is one of the most mythical of the mythic westerns around. And westerns, like Shane, are the most mythical of genres. Shane is a very important movie with very important issues. Shane should be seen, if only to make sure I counted the name 'Shane' being uttered 8,675 times!!! Give or take a 'Shane'. Honestly, the hype over George Stevens' Shane was such that I felt unworthy to consider myself a film buff (or whatever epithet you prefer) for not having seen it yet. Shane on me! Shane! Shane!! Shane!!! I mean it is beautiful to look at and the copy I saw was far from pristine. A lot has been said about the 'calculated' breathtaking shots found throughout Shane, like the clouds' shadows on the actors' faces for example. I really wanted to love Shane. I didn't see why I wouldn't since there are at least five actors I have always admired in the cast of Shane. At some point I even tried to imagine if my pleasure would be greater if the mysterious drifter, that would be Shane, was wearing a trench coat instead of buckskin and placed the action in Anytown suburbia circa 1953 and it almost worked. I could see the posse of station wagons making the trek downtown to go catch a movie at the Bijou, maybe a western like Shane, but hopefully something in Cinemascope, possibly with Marilyn Monroe in it, anything to make them forget their troubles for an hour and a half. Obviously I am not a big fan of westerns but I always thought it was because I hadn't seen the good ones, like Shane. Boy was I ever wrong!...or rather, was I ever right! 6/10.
