93
Metascore
15 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertStagecoach holds our attention effortlessly and is paced with the elegance of a symphony.
- 100The New York TimesFrank S. NugentThe New York TimesFrank S. NugentHere, in a sentence, is a movie of the grand old school, a genuine rib-thumper and a beautiful sight to see.
- 100TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineThe classic western, Stagecoach is one of John Ford's greatest frontier epics.
- 100The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayStagecoach gives fine shading to a simple story, making it look and feel like a forgotten American myth.
- 100San Francisco ChronicleWalter AddiegoSan Francisco ChronicleWalter AddiegoStagecoach both revived and elevated the Western.
- 100Time OutTime OutThe contrast between the innocence of the wilderness and the ambiguous 'blessings of civilisation' are brilliantly stitched into a smoothly developed narrative, which climaxes with the famous Indian attack on the stagecoach.
- 88Slant MagazineSlant MagazineIf this is the Old West of our dreams, it’s one that exists in an outsider’s limbo, away from society’s rules, alternating between the breathtaking breadth of the American landscape and the Germanically shadowy lighting of Ford’s claustrophobic interiors.
- 80Sweeping and powerful drama of the American frontier, Stagecoach displays potentialities that can easily drive it through as one of the surprise big grossers of the year. Without strong marquee names, picture nevertheless presents wide range of exploitation to attract, and will carry far through word-of-mouth after it gets rolling.
- 63Chicago ReaderDave KehrChicago ReaderDave KehrCertainly it's the weakest of Ford's major westerns, burdened with a schematic and pretentious Dudley Nichols script (the "cross section of society" on board the stagecoach), but its virtues remain intact.