Ford’s last great western is an elegiac reassessment of the legendary vision of the West that he himself helped create with films like Stagecoach and My Darling Clementine, with the iconic figure of John Wayne embodying its fading ideals of independence, personal honor and a deeply individualized moral code. Using a spare, minimalist visual style, Ford’s tale of civilization – represented by James Stewart’s Eastern lawyer – paving over the freedom of the old west takes on the tone of a parable about the high cost of progress. A summation and perfect distillation of dominant themes and ideas explored throughout Ford’s oeuvre, Liberty Valance remains among his most indispensable and engaging films.