Blu Ray Review: Shenandoah (1965)

Kino Lorber has released Andrew McLaglen’s classic 1960s western about Civil War pacifism, starring James Stewart.

I think that I sometimes tend to overlook James Stewart’s contribution to the western genre. Because the actor excelled in every genre, and has a filmography that is loaded with timeless classics like Rear Window and It’s a Wonderful Life, I don’t always stop to realize that Stewart is as important to the western film as icons like John Wayne, Randolph Scott, and Clint Eastwood. Stewart’s work with Anthony Mann is especially significant to the genre. Shenandoah is directed by Andrew McLaglen, a stylist who owes much to mentor John Ford.

By the time Stewart made Shenandoah, the 1960s was starting to be defined, with the JFK assassination, Beatlemania, and the Vietnam war as cultural checkpoints. Cinema would be respond to the culture as the decade continued, for example the Arthur Penn film Bonnie and Clyde giving real life 1930s gangsters the wild-child attitudes of 60s-era youths.

Shenandoah is a Civil War story, but its pacifism connects with the 60s reaction by many young people to the Vietnam war. Westerns were not as popular in the 60s as they had been in the 50s (or before) and the genre would be redefined considerably once the Sergio Leone westerns featuring Clint Eastwood (aka the Dollars trilogy) hit American theaters a couple years later.

Charlie Anderson is one of James Stewart’s most layered and complicated screen characters. On one hand, he considers himself “God fearing” but angrily blames his being a widower on God. The family attends church each Sunday, but often arrive late and cause a disruption. He lives on a large farm, but takes care of it with his six sons, refusing to own slaves. His daughter and daughter-in-law (Rosemary Forsyth and Katherine Ross, each making their film debut) take care of the household work. He refuses to allow his sons to join the war because it doesn’t involve them specifically or personally. While he is anchored in his anti-war stance, he is conflicted when it actually does reach his family specifically.

Shenandoah was a box office hit, and especially popular in Virginia where the film was set. Kino Lorber’s blu ray features commentary by the very knowledgeable and interesting C. Courtney Joyner, Michael Blake, and Constantine Nasr, who break down the film, and offer some really fascinating insights on the influence of John Ford, the film’s historical and aesthetic importance, etc. It is one of the more interesting commentary tracks I have heard.

Shenandoah is one of the best westerns from the 1960s and the Kino Lorber blu ray is available at this link: SHENANDOAH