Building tension during its near real-time length through repeated imagery and precise use of music, Fred Zinneman's bleak Western is generations ahead of the cheery oaters of its day. Following on from an hour of constant talk as Marshall Kane pleads with the townsfolk to support him against the gunmen arriving at noon, the almost silent final 15 minutes have more excitement than most of today's volume-cranked blockbusters can even dream of.
DVD Extras:
Documentary, trailer, photo and poster galleries, filmography. Did you know the dads of both David Crosby (he of beardy rockers Crosby, Stills and Nash) and US sitcom fave John Ritter both worked on High Noon (as cinematographer and theme song singer respectively)? The disc's Leonard Maltin-hosted doc may err on the glossy side but it's packed with trivia like this as well as more serious stuff about blacklisting and the House Un-American Activities Commission. Couple that with an excellent remastered transfer and you can almost forgive the scant galleries and pointless two-page filmography.
