This magnificent western is one of the highlights of American cinema, the first of three remarkable films director John Ford made about the US Cavalry. It's a satisfying, finely crafted work, not least because of Ford's ability to create a tangible sense of time and place in a displaced community against the majestic surroundings of his beloved Monument Valley. Ford regular Henry Fonda is particularly outstanding - after this, he retired from films for nearly a decade to concentrate on stage success - cast against type as martinet officer Owen Thursday. Thursday is an embittered man set on a tragic course and is clearly modelled on George Armstrong Custer. He breaks a peace deal with Apache leader Cochise, an agreement that was originally engineered by Kirby York, here played by John Wayne, giving one of his finest, most delicate performances. The life of the cavalry - its music, its women, its mythology - is all superbly realised by Ford, who, in one simple shot of a lone soldier reading his Bible, confirms his greatness.

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.