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Features: DVD, Spanish
The dust has settled on Capt. Nathan Brittles' career. After years of rugged service, he faces mandatory retirement. "Lest we forget" says the inscription on the watch he receives. With this masterpiece of mood and heroics, director John Ford makes sure we never will. John Wayne plays Brittles in this second film in Ford's renowned cavalry trilogy (Fort Apache and Rio Grande are the others). Wayne's moving performance is rightly judged one of his best. Under make-up aging him some 20 years, he inhabits the role of a wily veteran who knows the sting of war and vows to make his last mission one of peace. The ritual of outpost life, the sweep of battle, the advance of the patrol beneath ominous skies: She Wore A Yellow Ribbon, an Academy Award-winner for its color cinematography, paints a memorable portrait of the honor, duty and courage that are in the finest tradition of the cavalry. And of Ford filmmaking.
"Wayne excellent..." Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide
"A dilly of a cavalry picture. Yeehooooo!" The New York TImes
"Still fun and compelling..." VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever
Editor's Note
A lament for the passage of time and the second in the director's acclaimed series of cavalry films, John Ford's SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON stars John Wayne as Capt. Nathan Brittles, a cavalry officer stationed in the Southwest. While contemplating his retirement, which is only a week away, Brittles is assigned to escort the wife and niece of his commanding officer, Maj. Mac Allshard (George O'Brien), to the stage line at Sudros Wells. Although he would prefer to battle the rampaging Cheyenne Indians as his final action, Brittles obeys orders. En route, two of the men in Brittles's patrol, Lieutenants Cohill and Pennell (John Agar and Harry Carey Jr.), get an eyeful of the major's distracting niece, Olivia (Joanne Dru), and nearly kill each other trying to attract her attention. Brittles then gets word from a scout, Sergeant Tyree (Ben Johnson), that a group of Arapaho Indian warriors is heading straight toward Sudros Wells. Wayne is at his best in his sensitive portrayal of an older man reluctantly stepping away from the only life he's known. Despite the constant skirmishing of Ford and cinematographer Winston Hoch, the cameraman won an Oscar for his work on the film and would go on to shoot the director's THE QUIET MAN and THE SEARCHERS.
Plot Summary
As an army captain who's just one campaign away from retirement readies his troops for battle against an Indian tribe, his soldiers become involved in a series of more personal confrontations--especially when a lovely lady visits the fort, capturing the attention of more than one man.
| Features | Ford/Wayne Collaboration Notes | | Audio: English & French Mono | | Subtitles: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese | | All-New Digital Transfer | | John Ford Location-Shoot Home Movies | | Trailer |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Turner Home Entertainment |
| Release Date: 6/4/2002 |
| Running Time: 103 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1949 | | Catalog ID: 6423 | | UPC: 00053939642322 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English, French Dubbed | | Available Subtitles: English, French, Portuguese, Spanish | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | 4:3 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Oscar (1950) |  | Winton Hoch, Winner, Best Cinematography-Color |
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| | Professional Reviews | The Motion Picture Guide 8 of 10
Wayne gives one of the finest performances of his career... As Capt. Brittles, a man a full generation older than the actor, Wayne is at his most human.
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