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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

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

7.4 / 10

21.2K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

100 %

Tomatometer

TMDB

7.0 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

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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Ulzana's Raid

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As a Civil War veteran spends years searching for a young niece captured by Indians, his motivation becomes increasingly questionable.

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Sergeant Rutledge

Sergeant Rutledge

Western · 1960

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.

Duel at Diablo

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.

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

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Wyatt Earp

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Rio Conchos

Rio Conchos

Western · 1964

Two Army officers, an alcoholic ex-Confederate soldier and a womanizing Mexican travel to Mexico on a secret mission to prevent a megalomaniacal ex-Confederate colonel from selling a cache of stolen rifles to a band of murderous Apaches.

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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

“Patience is part of the point.”

Duration becomes texture. The film asks you to inhabit its world instead of merely processing its plot.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“A test of endurance, your honour.”

Stillness keeps submitting itself as meaning. At some point, contemplation needs something worth contemplating.