Features rare dye-transfer Technicolor print
"Shane," the 1953 Western classic directed by George Stevens, will open the new season of the Brigham Young University Motion Picture Archives Film Series, on Friday, Sept. 29, at 7 p.m. in the Harold B. Lee Library auditorium.
Admission is free, but seating is limited. No food or drink is permitted in the auditorium, and children 8 and up are welcome.
"Shane" will be introduced by James D'Arc, curator of the Motion Picture Archives housed in the library's L. Tom Perry Special Collections.
"Shane" stars Alan Ladd as the gunfighter who tries to settle down with a family of farm owners, played by Van Heflin and Jean Arthur, and who is idolized by their young son, played by Brandon De Wilde. The family is menaced by cattlemen who hire a gunfighter, played with icy determination by Jack Palance, to run the "sodbusters" off the land.
"We are pleased to offer this rare dye-transfer Technicolor print of 'Shane' to open this eighth season of the film series," says D'Arc. "This is a movie to be enjoyed on the big screen and with an audience. The opportunity to see classic motion pictures like this anymore in the United States is rare."
"Shane" received five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. It won for the stunning cinematography by Loyal Griggs.
"'Shane' is a big Western," wrote Saturday Review film critic Arthur Knight. "Few films in this genre, big or little, have so well succeeded in conveying the substance and the meaning of the eternal Western conflict between the good and the bad."
The BYU Motion Picture Archives Film Series, co-sponsored by the Friends of the Harold B. Lee Library and Dennis and Linda Gibson, presents original film prints of classic movies from the library's permanent collection every month. A complete 2006-2007 film series schedule may be accessed online at sc.lib.byu.edu.