Shenandoah

This is not a movie about violence per se. It is about family and loss, and deals with the notion of trying to be in the world but apart from it and how difficult that can be because the world has a way of rolling over you. The Civil War is the backdrop of this question. Jimmy Stewart's character, Charlie Anderson, is a widower who still grieves for his lost sweetheart. He has a bunch of sons and one daughter. He tries to keep them out of the war, but cannot. His daughter is pursued by Lieutenant Sam (Doug McClure) who fights for the Confederacy. (If both armies are bad to Charlie Anderson - the Yankees are the worse army in this movie.)

My two favorite scenes are the family prayer over the meal where Charlie thanks God for the meal and food while noting without their hard work it wouldn't be on the table. The other is when Lieutenant Sam asks Charlie for Jennie's hand in marriage. Charlie asks Sam why he wants to marry Jennie. Sam say's its because he loves her. Charlie says that isn't good enough. Sam is nonplussed. Charlie asks if he likes her. Sam doesn't get it. And the explanation Charlie gives should be printed on a card and handed to EVERY young couple contemplating marriage. It is wonderful and true.

This is a good movie if not a great one. If you enjoy Jimmy Stewart, this is a very good performance. If you like heartfelt movies and enjoy something not laced with the bitter taste of modern movies, then this is one you will likely enjoy. I still like to watch it now and again.


Keep A Box Of Kleenex Close By   February 2, 2003
D. Mikels (Skunk Holler)
12 out of 12 found this review helpful

Charlie Anderson (James Stewart) may be a gritty, crusty, widowed father of six sons and one daughter, but there's no denying this tough patriarch loves and cherishes his family beyond words or understanding. And with the brutal savagery of the Civil War raging maniacally around his farm in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, he is able to keep his family out of the conflict--at least, for awhile. Inexorably, inevitably, the war comes to the front porch of Anderson's home when his youngest son, simply named "Boy" (Phillip Alford) is mistakenly taken prisoner by Union solidiers.

And thus the film SHENANDOAH embarks on a more ominous dimension, as Anderson and his sons journey forth into the insanity around them to find the boy. Their quest is unsuccessful--the subsequent tragedy to the family unbearable. Stewart so vividly portrays a tough man who is stricken down, again and again, by the horrors of man's inhumanity to man. Yet he succeeds in keeping his now fragile family together, a family that has abandoned its search and returned home. Stewart's scene in the family cemetery--a quiet plot now hosting fresh graves--is one of the most moving, compelling scenes I have ever watched. And if you're not wiping tears from your face when this film reaches its powerful, emotional conclusion, you've either fallen asleep or not paid attention to the story.

The supporting cast--including Doug McClure, Glenn Corbett, Rosemary Forsyth, Patrick Wayne, and Katherine Ross--is solid; director Andrew V. McLagen provides a beautiful, haunting film. SHENANDOAH is a bonafide tearjerker, a powerful family drama that stands the test of time.


Wrenches the heart   November 15, 2003
Grace Chen (San Francisco, CA United States)
12 out of 12 found this review helpful

I first saw the movie in my English 10 Honors class in high school. We were supposed to look for allusions, allegories, irony, and metaphors within the movie. I was prepared for a boring old western (even though it was a Jimmy movie). I was surprised but pleased about how poignant and mature the movie was. The acting, for the most part, was very effective; the family's initial happiness and the tragedies they go through are played out perfectly with heart-wrenching emotion.

I am not a big fan of "old movies" or "classics," because sometimes I find them superficial or overacted. Shenandoah effectively battles those annoyances of mine with its mature themes and honesty. The movie is funny, sad, nostalgic, simple, and complex, but any emotion you're going to feel will be geared toward the characters, not the movie itself. That's the power of a true "classic."

Also, the music is just beautiful.