Stagecoach
Tokyo, 2006

My view of the 19th century “West” was largely shaped by the popular movies of 60’s – The Good, The Bad, The Ugly; For a Few Dollars More; Once Upon a Time in the West. It was a glamorous land full of macho gun-totting men – some bad and some good. There would be saloons, poker, alcohol, girls and gunfights. The glamour of “The West” was so strong and widely acknowledged that Chiranjeevi made a Western in Telugu, an Andhra Western in the 80’s (the Gult fascination with the “West” is nothing new).

John Ford’s Stagecoach presents a de-glamorized view of the same epoch. Stagecoach shows real places inhabited by real people – some brave, some kind, some vulnerable, some selfish – facing severe hardships of a hostile environment. It shows families and friends, social structures and prejudices, hatred and kindness. Just like any other place in the world. What Stagecoach is most memorable for is its depiction of a world from a long time ago - a world that is lost to us – buried under the scientific “advances” of later years. Like a good period film, Stagecoach holds up the past to us and makes us wonder what we have “thrown-away” as we “progressed” through the years.