Product: Fort Apache (Color Enhanced) [VHS] (1948)
Rating: 5.0
Fort Apache
The first installment in Ford's illustrious Cavalry Trilogy, "Apache" soars to great heights thanks to Fonda, effectively playing an arrogant, rigid Easterner, and the brawny Wayne, superb as a savvy frontiersman who knows it's foolish to go up against Apache leader Cochise. Apart from critiquing the sensationalization of military heroics and the myth of the "savage," Ford works in sequences of everyday frontier rituals, like dances, chores, and even a romance involving Thursday's daughter, played by an all grown-up Shirley Temple. With its exquisite black-and-white shots of Monument Valley, assured acting, and Custer-esque storyline, "Apache" is an enduring Western winner.