"Actor: Chief John Big Tree"

• She Wore A Yellow Ribbon | DVD | (30/04/2001) from £12.99   |  Saving you £-3.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  The second instalment of John Ford's famous cavalry trilogy, this meditative Western continues the director's fascination with history's obliteration of the past. It features one of John Wayne's more sensitive performances as Capt. Nathan Brittles, a stern yet sentimental war horse who has difficulty preparing for his impending military retirement. All things considered, he refuses to leave before fulfilling his obligation to the local Indian tribe. It's a film about honour and duty as well as loneliness and mortality. And Oscar-winner Winton C. Hoch beautifully photographs it in Remington-like Technicolor tones (you've never seen such stunning cloud-covered skies). The combination of melancholy and farce (Victor McLaglen makes a perfect court jester) evokes comparisons to Shakespeare. Best of all, the scene in which Wayne fights back tears when receiving a gold watch from his troops is unforgettably bittersweet. If you view the whole trilogy, it actually makes sense to save this for last. --Bill Desowitz, Amazon.com

• The Big Trail | DVD | (30/06/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  John Wayne hits the pioneer trail in his first feature film. Starring as the leader of a wagon trail he battles through tough terrain and Indian attacks and learns of love and friendship in this sweeping Western epic!