Beautiful, moving film.

A very feeble attempt at affirmatie action

A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

I don't always enjoy remakes of the classics, especially those who are considered the all-time greats. "Stagecoach" (1939) was perfection, giving John Wayne the switch from B western actor to superstar. Claire Trevor and Thomas Mitchell were shear perfection, and the direction by John Ford was superb. So the question is, how do you top that, especially for a TV movie nearly 50 years later? The answer is you don't. You gather the best cast you possibly can, and pray. As far as the casting is concerned, they succeeded admirably. Country and Western singer superstars headline the cast, and prove that they are indeed good actors. There's Johnny Cash as a marshal guiding wagonmaster John Schneider through Apache territory, Willie Nelson as Doc Holliday, Kris Kristopherson as "the Ringo Kid", an alleged crook out to clear himself, and Waylon Jennings as a gambler who wins at cards no matter what it takes. Then there's Anthony Newley as a booze salesman, Anthony Franciosa as a mysterious cold gentleman, Elizabeth Ashley as a big hearted woman trying to get over the many mistakes in her life and Mary Crosby as a woman joining her officer husband and about to give birth.Of course, the goal is to survive, but there are plenty of conflicts between the passengers and crew. A lone Apache soldier, staring on at the road which will be traveled by the strangers, and it is explained that the theft of their land is the motive of their revenge. Of course, the argument over this between one passenger being honest about the reasons the Apaches are on the warpath and the other passengers make the one man look to be in their mind an "Injun lover" when all he's doing is revealing the truth. This TV version doesn't wrap up all the stories and is not flawless, but for a remake, isn't bad at all and proves that not all remakes are unnecessary.

Where to start? Well, it's a good movie. Very good. And not a 100% shot by shot remake of the 1939 John Ford story. Events closely mirror the 1939 film, but are changed up, almost entirely for the better, so even if you've seen the 1939 film, it's like you're watching a different movie because you're never quite sure what will be included and what will change from the original. In general, the changes are almost all more naturalistic. Without giving spoilers, I will say that Mr. Peacock gets a chance to leave the stagecoach at the first stop, preventing the story from having to carry on the dead weight of an unwilling passenger who has no reason to take the dangerous trip, Buck is changed from the cowardly moron he was in the 1939 film to more of an every-man, and Curley Wilcox is a more compassionate, sensible man, instead of the guy dragging everyone along like he seemed in the 1939 film. The 1939 film was good in its own right, and a classic, but that's no reason to skip over the fact that it had plot holes. My hat goes off to the writers of this movie, who changed it so it's the same basic story, but people act more logically and events happen more naturally. Plus, the dialogue was good. Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash stole the spotlight as the only really recognizable actors (well, musician-actors), but the other, less recognizable actors in the movie held up quite well. And, particularly in the middle of the movie, there were several conversations with laugh-out-loud funny parts in them (at least I thought so!).Now, for why I'd rate it a 9 out of 10 instead of 10. First, I thought changing Doc in the original to Doc Holiday, on his way to Tombstone, was kind of contrived and gimmicky. Second, the movie was a bit lower budget by comparison to the 1939 film, and it had less cinematography and less music (it seemed like there was only one tune in the movie, the one made by Willie Nelson), but that was only a minor disappointment. And third, the conversations between Dallas and Ringo were only so-so, and I felt like Curley and Buck had a more meaningful relationship than they did.But those are just minor quibbles. If you haven't seen John Ford's 1939 movie Stagecoach, you won't be lost watching this movie. And if you have seen his 1939 film, this film is an improvement and a new story, which will keep you guessing what will happen next from beginning to end. Either way, this movie is well worth your money if you see it as a triple-feature DVD in the Wal-Mart Bargain Bin like I did.

It seems most reviewers are impotent to view and comment on artistic work on its merit. They remain cognizant of previous works with the same title and their innate objectivity [if they had any] goes screaming out the door.This work if being compared, should be compared to earlier works by these singers .... er actors. I've seen Johnny Cash so stiff and stoic he appears like a page in a dull novel. Here he comes to life and is really believable in his role. The writers gave these people lines that they rarely muffed or failed to deliver with absolute perfect clarity and hesitancy if orchestrated that way. I was so impressed with the writing I made a bee line to see who the writers were. I was amazed I must tell you it gave me more appreciation for the artistic work of these singers in their second at least not primary, chosen area of labor. Any objective person who wants to enjoy a western movie can relish and savor this to the penultimate if he or she sits with NO preoccupation with the title, how many times done before and who might have played the parts. Bring innocent objectivity to your seat and then sit down and savor a well done movie [arguably the BEST ever done] by these talented artists who are not working in their primary field but skillfully put their varied abilities to the test on the big screen which is unrelenting enough of mistakes without someone sitting there with the preoccupied thought of seeing what doesn't compare with 1939. Its a winner if YOU can be objective.

Willie, Waylon, Johnny, and Kris play tough old west gunslingers who are on a coach in injun territory. This is a tale that has been told and re-told a thousand times. Nothing new here, but it may be a hoot for country fans to watch their heroes do a western. Not too bad acting out of the singers, except for Waylon. A cigar store indian is less wooden than he was. I guess the best thing about the film was that none of the gunslinging heros broke into song. Honestly though folks, Willie Nelson as Doc Holiday?