Retrospective Film Review

Stagecoach (1939) • 85 Years Later — ground-breaking film that birthed the modern Western

A group of people travelling on a stagecoach find their journey complicated by the threat of Geronimo and learn something about each other in the process.

It’s June, 1880. A group of eight people pile into a stagecoach travelling from Tonto, Arizona Territory, to Lordsburg, New Mexico. However, they are heading across perilous terrain — Geronimo and his legions of Apaches wait ominously on the horizon. If these eight strangers are to make it across the desert in one piece, they’ll need to rely on each other.

John Ford’s Stagecoach has been credited with revitalising the Western genre. Perhaps even more impressively, it’s also been acclaimed as one of the best films ever made. While I wouldn’t herald the work as highly as that, it’s easy to see why this film represents a significant milestone in cinema history. With vast, sweeping shots of Monument Valley, Ford forges a new era in American filmmaking by creating a story steeped in…