High Noon tells the story of a lawman named Will Kane (Skerritt) who has just married a young bride, Amy (Thompson), promising to leave his dangerous career and settle down for a quiet life. Just as they are about to leave, word comes that a vicious killer Kane had sent to prison years earlier, is coming to town on the noon train seeking vengeance. Kane attempts to rally the town to fight the gunman, but not even his former deputy Harvey (Diamond) is willing to help. Harvey's cowardice infuriates his girlfriend, Helen (Alonso), whose romantic past with both Kane and with the arriving gunman convinces her to pack up and leave town. As the dreaded noon hour approaches, Kane realizes he must stand alone against the coming storm.
Reviews
This one is worth watching but falls far short of the original. The absence of almost any music for much of the movie is disappointing. The intermittent injecting of Ritters singing and the distinctive "box drum" beat throughout the original is genius. The absence of the clock shots was catastrophic. That was the one thing that instilled the intensity of the moment. Remember, this story takes place in less than two hours, just a little longer than the play time of the movie. Michael Madsen, dressed as Woody from Toy Story, was hilarious. Tasselled gloves!!?? Good Lord..!! I did appreciate story line dedication. Set detail was perfect. Not sure why they chose mud instead of dust for the streets tho. All in all the characters were well portrayed.
I saw the original version in 1952 when I was 11 years old. I have since seen it so many times that I know the script word for word. I prefer the original version.Cinema is all about creating 'moments' for fans. For one of the best moments in cinematic history - in my opinion - please have a look at the scene in the original, where Cooper asks for help, between Gary Cooper and Lon Chaney Jnr. Some people said that Chaney wasn't really an actor - he was!! This scene proves it. I also think Katy Jurado is more of a firecracker than Maria Alonso. Classics are hard to remake - this 2000 version tries hard.
There is nothing to Say for this film. This is a pathetic , not even appreciated effort to create a replica of an old story and a silver screen success of past giants such as actor G.C and director F.Z . Ther is not much to comment about the acting, either- this one is certainly lifeless. Had not the original 1953 version been made and this one was the first to be created with the same title and plot,no impact would even be made on movie goers (or TV observers in this case). It lacks in-depth struggle between the good and the bad, the personal dilemma's the 1953 contained and leaves absolutely no social message....waste of time, switch over to the next channel...
Is it possible to improve perfection? Why try? I saw the original HIGH NOON(1952) when I was six years old, and have seen it hundreds of times since. It is more than just a movie to me, it became the moral code for which I've lived my life. Making tough decisions, I would often (in my mind) hitch up my belt and walk out to face Miller and the old gang. So this new entry didn't have much of a chance with me, I guess. Legend says that the original was first produced without the quick shots to the clocks and the actors faces, and the great Tiomkin score and Ritter ballad. It was brought back in, re-edited and re-scored and a great movie was born. This one needed more than that. Too often in this newer version, the plot was tediously pre-chewed for us, and needless scenes inserted to let us know for sure what was going on. This new version cried out for someone to sing the ballad at the conclusion, but it was not there. However I did find some good points in the newer version. the casting was pretty good, and Madsen as Frank Miller was genius. Guess I'm stuck in the 50s, huh?