The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

“The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” black-and-white film tells the story of a killing of a man that helped a town progress and become civilized. The film begins when a young quixotic man fresh out of law school from the East, moves to a western town called Shinbone without knowing this town is a wilderness ruled by guns and savages. The optimistic lawyer named Ransom eventually brings law and order to the town after the local troublemaker is shot. He is then known as the man who shot Liberty Valance

John Ford’s acclaimed film The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) is well-known among cinema buffs and historians to have emerged out of a brutal, often contentious process. Tension between the lead actors, as well as tension between the actors and the director, spawned some of the best behind the scenes stories of on-set rivalry and outright pettiness that still circulate in an industry that is primarily built on controversy and rumor. The film itself must be regarded as a masterpiece. This assessment

In John Ford’s 1962 western, “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance,” the audience experiences a narrative with a flashback retell for most of the film. Ford uses diegesis storytelling to portray details about the taming of the western frontier and the experiences of his characters in the modernization of the frontier through narrative. This film uses a social ideology that it is time for the taming of the western frontier, with law and order. The audience learns through a flashback sequence that

1. The Man who shot liberty valance Tom Doniphon, the outlaw hero, shot Liberty Valance To protect Hallie and Ransom Stoddard because he knew that Ransom is the right future for his town and Hallie, even though Ransom views contradict with Toms views and wishes. Throughout the movie there is a clear message; wilderness V. civilization. Shine bow, Tom, Liberty, etc., portraying the wilderness and Tom Donovan and The East portraying the civilization. Tom believed in the lawless frontier and is even

John Ford’s The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) centers around the story of infamous bandit Liberty Valance’s death. Ransom Stoddard (James Stewart) reveals the little known fact that it was not he, the new-to-the West lawyer, but Western gunslinger Tom Doniphon (John Wayne) who shot Valance. A newspaper editor decides to leave Ransom’s account unpublicized. He explains, “This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.” From a historical perspective, this statement can

Throughout the movie The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and the modules that we have discussed this past semester we get a big picture of what politics, rhetoric, and order/the law means. The story portrayed in the movie is one set in the lawless west and follows one man as he tries to uphold what is right when there is so much wrong around him. The movie opens with the funeral of Tom Doniphon in the town of Shinbone and the main character Ranse Stoddard is in attendance. After being questioned about

hand, over the course of the film, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Tom Doniphan deceives all of Shinbone for their benefit. When Ransom Stoddard confines Liberty Valance to an ultimate duel, it is Tom who hides in the lurking shadows and shoots Liberty. From the standoff, it is obvious that Ransom has no chance as he is nothing but a lawyer that represents the “feminised masculinity” of “weakness, cowardice, selfishness, or arrogance” (Trifonova) and Liberty, being the hard, brutal criminal is the

The Films of John Ford Theme: John Ford is a great film director who has a clearer personal vision and consistent visual style, which are very evident in his characters and ideas. A brilliant director, Ford’s films express the unique experiences of the American people and their endorsement of their common unity of purpose (Russell 62). Although his heroes appear to be loners and outsiders who speak more through actions, their conflict with the society reflect the larger American experience, a profound

For the film, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, there are characters who all lie so they can personally gain for themselves. Ever since Ransom goes to Shinbone, it sparks an upheaval of civil events, such as “holding an election”, “wanting statehood”, and “education” (Ford), all in a settled community. But there is disapproval from those wants, as the big ranch farmers in the country do not want a government over them, as it would limit their trade and minimize their profits. So, they take it upon

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance included round and flat characters, diegetic  and non-diegetic elements, while making an impact on American Cinema. Western films, according to Richard Barsam, and Dave Monahan, “predates the invention of motion pictures, and this single genre has fascinated European Americans since the frontier was just a few hundred miles inland from the eastern coast” (102-103) .     Previously, in chapter four; “a round character was described as a complex character possessing