Broken Arrow
|
List Price: Our Price: $7.01 You Save: $7.97 (53%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $4.93 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of Broken Arrow
Movie Review: good old western
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a good movie with James Stewart in the lead. These old westerns are enjoyable to watch and most are quite affordable.Movie Review: Broken Arrow DVD
Summary: 5 Stars
DVD arrived quickly and in new condition, as advertised. GREAT movie! Thank you for the quick reliable service!Movie Review: "Broken Arrow (1950) ... James Stewart ... 20th Century Fox (2007)"
Summary: 4 Stars
20th Century Fox presents "BROKEN ARROW" (1950) (93 min/Color) (Fully Restored/Dolby Digitally Remastered) - Tom Jeffords (James Stewart) is a scout who seeks to heal the divisions between the Apaches and white men --- Cochise (Jeff Chandler) is outstanding as the Apache leader --- Debra Paget as Sonseehray is played within the boundaries of innocence and caring bliss --- Excellent adaptation of Elliott Arnold's book "Blood Brother" concerning the talk, the need, and the struggle for peace between the white man and the Apache Indians in 1870 Arizona.
Strong, moving story relies on the complicated interpersonal relationships between the characters for its impact, and the performances from Stewart, Paget, and Oscar-nominated Jeff Chandler do not disappoint --- Beautifully filmed on rugged locations Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California --- Delmer Daves directs a winner, one of the best westerns of the '50s, which has been dubbed a classic.
1951 Nominated Oscar Best Actor in a Supporting Role by the Academy Awards was Jeff Chandler --- Best Cinematography, Color was Ernest Palmer
Best Writing, Screenplay Albert Maltz (Originally Michael Blankfort had been listed for this nomination. Blankfort fronted for Maltz, who was a blacklisted writer at the time. Following research by the Writers Guild of America West in July 1991, the Academy officially attributed the nomination to Maltz and removed Blankford)
The picture is very clear and sharp --- There are only a handful of night scenes during the film but all showed an impressive lack of low level noise.
Under the production staff of:
Delmer Daves [Director]
Elliott Arnold [novel "Blood Brother"]
Albert Maltz [Screenwriter]
Julian Blaustein [Producer]
Hugo Friedhofer [Original Film Score]
Ernest Palmer [Cinematographer]
J. Watson Webb Jr. [Film Editor]
BIOS:
1. Delmer Daves [Director]
Date of Birth: 24 July 1904 - San Francisco, California
Date of Death: 17 August 1977 - La Jolla, California
2. James Stewart
Date of Birth: 20 May 1908 - Indiana, Pennsylvania
Date of Death: 2 July 1997 - Los Angeles, California
3. Jeff Chandler [aka: Ira Grossel]
Date of Birth: 15 December 1918 - Brooklyn, New York
Date of Death: 17 June 1961 - Culver City, Los Angeles, California
4. Debra Paget [aka: Debralee Griffin]
Date of Birth: 19 August 1933 - Denver, Colorado
Date of Death: Still Living
the cast includes:
James Stewart - Tom Jeffords
Jeff Chandler - Cochise
Debra Paget - Sonseeahray ('Morningstar')
Basil Ruysdael - Gen. Oliver 'The Christian General' Howard
Will Geer - Ben Slade, Rancher
Joyce Mackenzie - Terry, Scatfly Proprietress
Arthur Hunnicutt - Milt Duffield, Mail Superintendent
Jay Silverheels - Geronimo
Mr. Jim's Ratings:
Quality of Picture & Sound: 4 Stars
Performance: 4 Stars
Story & Screenplay: 4 Stars
Overall: 4 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]
Total Time: 93 min on DVD ~ 20th Century Fox ~ (05/22/2007)
Movie Review: Sympathethic View
Summary: 4 Stars
Broken Arrow is excellent, though imperfect film by today's PC standards with the blue-eyed Jeff Chandler cast as Cochise. Still, the story is compelling and well-told with a great cast headed by the always great, James Stewart. I have to take issue with the part of Richard Jameson's Amazon review where he states: "Broken Arrow wasn't the first Western to express sympathy for the Indian side in the frontier wars (Devil's Doorway came out earlier in 1950 and filed a more scathing brief on the Indians' behalf). No kidding! Off the top of my head, here are several films sympathetic to Native Americans that pre-date DEVIL'S DOORWAY. As mentioned in another customer review John Ford's FORT APACHE (1948), Cochise is portrayed as an honorable leader, concerned for his people and forced to flee the reservation due to the corrupt management of the Indian agent and forced to fight due to a cavalry commander's (Henry Fonda) arrogance and ignorance. A corrupt Indian agent is again the villain in Ford's SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON (1949). Also, Ford cast Native Americans in both these films as well as many other of his works. Corrupt business interests are clearly the "bad guys" in 1946's BUFFALO BILL and in 1942's THEY DIED WITH THEIR BOOTS ON. Granted, while painting George Armstrong Custer as sympathetic to the plight of the plains indians is strictly a plot convenience, the plots also make it clear in both films that the Cheyenne and the Sioux are forced into war by broken promises and lies. Chiefs Yellow Hand and Crazy Horse are both portrayed as men of honor, and coincidentally both portrayed by Anthony Quinn. To his credit, Mister Jameson is aware that the first films to portray the Native American situation in the 1800s in a sympathetic light were not LITTLE BIG MAN or DANCES WITH WOLVES. Other than that, I have no opinion on this matter.Movie Review: Influential Western
Summary: 4 Stars
Along with the lesser known "Devil's Doorway" ,also made in 1950,this movie started a trend in Hollywood Westerns of either treating Native Americans as the heroes or else dealing with Native American concerns in a sympathetic way .It was groundbreaking in its time and while much of its initial impact has diminished thanks to other movies taking up this theme due honour should be paid to the makers of Broken Arrow for their pioneering role .
James Stewart plays Will Jeffords a Cavalry scout who lives with the Apache after having been sent to negotiate a truce between them and the US Army.He falls in love with Sonseeahay (Debra Paget)and the two marry.He also becomes fast friends with Cochise (Jeff Chandler)and they become blood brothers
In later movies the blame for Native American uprisings was laid at the door of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington and corrupt business interests .Here it is the activities of crooked traders and renegades Apaches under Geronimo (Jay Silverheels) that gives rise to violence and warfare and an outcome which contains its share of tragedy.
The movie is touching and exciting by turns and is ravishingly shot in Technicolor .Performances are excellent with a particularly sincere turn by Stewart.So impactful was Chandler's performance that it shot him to stardom and he went on to play Cochise in two other movies .
Viewed from today its looks and sounds a lot less daring than it was back then and the casting of white actors in the role of Apaches is slightly dicomforting but this is still a fine movie and marked the beginning of Delmer Daves' career as a maker of Westerns and he made some beauties -eg The Last Wagon
Its a worthwhile and moving piece of cinema and I thoroughly recommend it