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Fort Apache

Fort Apache

Western · 1948

Owen Thursday sees his new posting to the desolate Fort Apache as a chance to claim the military honour which he believes is rightfully his. Arrogant, obsessed with military form and ultimately self-destructive, he attempts to destroy the Apache chief Cochise after luring him across the border from Mexico, against the advice of his subordinates.

Movie details

Fort Apache

“John Ford's Masterpiece of the Frontier!”

1948 Western 2h 8m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.0 / 10

Community rating

Owen Thursday sees his new posting to the desolate Fort Apache as a chance to claim the military honour which he believes is rightfully his. Arrogant, obsessed with military form and ultimately self-destructive, he attempts to destroy the Apache chief Cochise after luring him across the border from Mexico, against the advice of his subordinates.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Fort Apache?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Sergeant Rutledge

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Respected black cavalry Sergeant Brax Rutledge stands court-martial for raping and killing a white woman and murdering her father, his superior officer.

Major Dundee

Major Dundee

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During the last winter of the Civil War, cavalry officer Amos Dundee leads a contentious troop of Army regulars, Confederate prisoners and scouts on an expedition into Mexico to destroy a band of Apaches who have been raiding U.S. bases in Texas.

The Man from Laramie

The Man from Laramie

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Will Lockhart arrives in Coronado, an isolated town in New Mexico, in search of someone who sells rifles to the Apache tribe, finding himself unwillingly drawn into the convoluted life of a local ranching family whose members seem to have a lot to hide.

Duel at Diablo

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In Apache territory, a supply Army column heads for the next fort, an ex-scout searches for the killer of his Native wife, and a housewife abandons her husband to rejoin her Apache lover's tribe.

Wyatt Earp

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The Dead Don't Hurt

The Dead Don't Hurt

Western · 2024

In the 1860s, fiercely independent French-Canadian Vivienne Le Coudy embarks on a journey with Danish immigrant Holger Olsen, attempting to forge a life together in the dusty town of Elk Flats, Nevada. When Holger decides to go fight for the Union in the burgeoning Civil War, Vivienne must fend for herself, which isn't easy in a town controlled by a corrupt mayor.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

John Ford

Written by

James Warner Bellah · Frank S. Nugent

John Wayne

John Wayne

Capt. Kirby York

Henry Fonda

Henry Fonda

Lt. Col. Owen Thursday

Shirley Temple

Shirley Temple

Philadelphia Thursday

Pedro Armendáriz

Pedro Armendáriz

Sgt. Beaufort

Ward Bond

Ward Bond

Sgt. Maj. Michael O'Rourke

George O'Brien

George O'Brien

Capt. Sam Collingwood

Victor McLaglen

Victor McLaglen

Sgt. Festus Mulcahy

Court is in session

Put Fort Apache on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Auteur Devotee

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.