High Noon

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.

Sometimes, a remake can be as good, or better than an original. The 1997 version of Titanic was award winning and the 1998 remake of Les Miserables was outstanding. But, I'm sorry to say that's not so with the TBS, made for television, version of High Noon.

Alright, so I grew up on the original -- but, it's still a classic!

I will admit that in the remake, some of the characters played their roles admirably: Tom Skerritt portrayed a viable Will Kane and Maria Conchita Alonso was superior as Mrs. Ramirez. Even Dennis Weaver was credible as Martin Howe, but I never felt for him and his circumstances the way I felt for Lon Chaney Jr. in the 1952 version. In fact, throughout the entire program, I never got to where I really cared for the characters as I did in the original.

Advance P.R. in the television guides said that the producers wanted a more "vicious" villain, and so cast Michael Madsen as Frank Miller. But, Madsen looks and acts more like Broderick Crawford in "The Highway Patrol" TV series than a villain in the old west. His twin nickel (or chrome) plated Remington revolvers did nothing to enhance the role for him.

In the 1952 version, Fred Zinnemann used a crane to back off and show the loneliness of Kane as he goes about the task before him. The director of the 2000 remake tries to do the same thing, but the effect is no where as dramatic. Something is missing.

In the final scene in the 1952 original, you can see Kane's contempt for the town on the face of Gary Cooper -- contempt for having been left alone, and abandoned. That emotion was totally lacking in the remake and so the ending is almost anti-climactic.

This is a very good movie and Skerrit & Alonso give Cooper & Jurado a run for their money. But, it is not up to the drama, tension & insights into human nature of the original movie. Besides, what is High Noon without the song by Tex Ritter?

Michael Madsen is the definitive bad man. It is too bad his time on screen is so limited.

For what it is, this is a dandy and should be seen & enjoyed by all. Just don't think it will be taking over for the original! No way!

I was originally going to pass on watching this one, until I saw in the commercial that the climactic gunfights were filmed in Saving Private Ryan-O-Vision. (I know of no other way to describe this distinctive look--which I realize has been used well before Saving Private Ryan was ever released--and if anyone know how this style is achieved, please contact me via e-mail.) I'm kind of a sucker for that particular technique, so I figured I'd give it a try. Having seen the original only a couple days beforehand, I was fully prepared to be able to pick it apart like crazy.

I was immediately stricken by the opening shot. The silhouettes of Frank Miller's gang against the desert sky was a beautiful image that impressed me right out of the gate. Unfortunately, it became all too apparent that it was made for television, using the many simple, money-saving camera techniques seen in many made-for-TV movies. Aside from that, something just seemed missing from this film, and I just can't put my finger on it. It didn't have the spirit of the original film, nor did it involve me emotionally as the 1952 version did. The aforementioned gunfights were very well-filmed, and a tad bit more exciting than the original, but due to the emotional content, they were much less engaging. Still, though, it was an enjoyable movie.

What got me to watch was the casting of Tom Skerrit as the Marshall. He's a great choice and one of our best actors. Susanna Thompson was equally fine as his new wife. What was lacking for me was not only the absence of Tiomkin and Ritter's contribution, but the essence that made it all work so well was that it was under Fred Zinnemann's direction. There are many fine points to the remake but the original should be used by film schools as a study in technique. The original may look a little dated by now but the impact is still enduring. It only looks dated because the pioneering format it created has been adapted to so many story lines since. I think Hardy did a fine job.